Obituary: Max Sparreboom (18Th January 1951-30Th August 2016)

Amphibia-Reptilia 38 (2017): 571-574

Obituary: Max Sparreboom (18th January 1951-30th August 2016)

Prof. Dr. Max Sparreboom died on the 30th of August 2016 at the age of 65 from lung cancer.

Max Sparreboom started his academic edu- cation at the Leiden University. He obtained his doctorate there on the subject of the lan- guages and literature of India, analysing as- pects of the classical Sanskrit, Vedic and Old Persian, the archaeology of the Middle East, and the religious history of South Asia. He then worked at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research in The Hague, the Eu- ropean Science Foundation in Strasbourg, and later became Dean at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and Director of the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden. He combined these posts with his position as Direc- tor of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, where he had been working for 16 years. Max had just retired when he learnt that he had cancer. Figure 1. Max with an Emys orbicularis in Greece (2014). Already as a child, Max, together with his Photo: Frank Pasmans. brother Jan, could be found along ditches catch- ing smooth newts (Lissotriton vulgaris) and tak- In 1981 Max Sparreboom edited the book ing them home to observe them in aquaria. “The Amphibians and Reptiles of The Nether- Many other amphibian and reptile species fol- lands, Belgium and Luxembourg” with numer- ous prominent Dutch herpetologists contribut- lowed in the years to come. In the sixties, he being. It did not only contain descriptions of in- came a member of the Leiden city group of the dividual species and their distribution records, Dutch Society for Herpetology and Terrarium but also chapters on field methods, habitats and Keeping called “Lacerta”. He had a broad in- potential threats. This book had been for many terest in herpetology and was keeping all kinds years the standard reference for amphibians and of reptiles and amphibians at home. In 1972 he reptiles in Dutch language. published his first papers in the journal Lacerta More and more Maxs’ interest shifted to the on the two European fire-bellied toads followed study of salamander behaviour, especially with by many more publications in this journal in the regard to their reproductive biology, being in- years to come. spired by American and European scientists, Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 12:45:46AM via free access © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2017. DOI:10.1163/15685381-00003138 572 Obituary

Figure 2. Stuyding Triturus pygmaeus in Portugal (2010). Photo: Pim Arntzen. such as Steven J. Arnold, Tim R. Halliday and rus group (today this group comprises the ge- Paul A. Verrell. To pursue his passion, Max nera Triturus, Lissotriton, Ichtyosaura, and Om- combined the keeping of selected species in matotriton), and their hypotheses were first pre- captivity with fieldwork. He spent countless sented at the fourth meeting of the Societas Eu- hours watching salamanders and newts court- ropaea Herpetologica in 1987, and published in ing, making notes, taking photographs, and the prestiguous Journal of Zoology in 1989. The recording their behaviour on film. His disci- paper still holds to show that ethological data plined work ethics produced a series of im- can help to unravel the tree of life. portant scientific publications on the reproduc- Max participated actively in many herpeto- tive behaviour of various European and Asian logical meetings. He attended the first Euro- salamanders. His extensive expertise in captive pean Herpetological Congress in 1981, which keeping and breeding of newts and salaman- marked the beginning of the Societas Europaea ders was reflected in his contributions to the Herpetologica (SEH), the “Triturus meetings” book: “Salamanders, keeping and breeding”, that were initiated by English urodele re- published in 2014 with Frank Pamans, Sergé searchers and he even attended a symposium Bogaerts and Henry Janssen. on the breeding and keeping of amphibians that At the same time, he tried to inspire other was held in Schleusingen in the former East hobbyists and motivate them to work together Germany (DDR) in 1988, which was a rather in a consistent manner, so that data on the study difficult undertaking at this time. In that same of these animals could be useful to a broader year, he was one of the founding members of public as well as scientific audience. the Urodela AG of the DGHT in Frankfurt/M, Max quickly realized that the observed be- which was dedicated to the study and keeping haviour could also be of relevance to recon- of newts and salamanders. struct phylogenetic relations between studied In the nineties, Max’ focus shifted to the Far species. Max and Pim Arntzen used etholog- East. The Japanese sword-tailed newt, Cynops ical characters in combination with biochemi- ensicauda popei, was a species he studied for cal data to resolve the phylogeny of the Tritu- several years both in the field and in captivity. Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 12:45:46AM via free access Obituary 573

He travelled to Okinawa (first in 1993) several His travels to study amphibians in the wild times where he conducted field studies with led Max to many parts of the world. He went to Hidetoshi OTA (published in the Herpetological China and Japan, but also to Thailand, India and Journal in 1995). Some of the first specimens he Vietnam. Closer to home, he regularly visited collected then were still alive when Max died, the Mediterranean countries and Costa Rica was suggesting them to be at least 25 years old. also one of his most loved destinations. Max By the late nineties, Max collaborated with was an excellent travel companion, enjoying Chinese scientists during a three-year study, in- every bit of fieldwork, working together with cluding three field trips, on one of the rarest local people, and experiencing local cultures salamanders of the world, which culminated in and food. a Chinese-Dutch paper on the “Breeding mi- Max Sparreboom was a bridge between two gration and oviposition of the Chinhai salaman- worlds, and presented his research with equal der, Echinotriton chinhaiensis” (2000) and on verve to hobbyists during local meetings and the reproductive behaviour of the same species to academic audiences at herpetological confer- (2001). Both papers were co-authored by Feng ences. Max believed in the scientific value that XIE and Liang FEI of the Chengdu Institute of could be contributed by hobbyists. The knowl- Biology, China. edge of the ecology of salamanders and newts In 2007, Max started authoring an online cat- if they studied their captive-kept animals and alogue of European, Asian and North African published everything from simple notes on how newts and salamanders, working as a honorary many eggs a female would lay at a time to ob- scientist at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in servations on behaviour and making video clips Leiden, The Netherlands. It was a freely acces- available online. His papers and collaborative sible website that was built gradually until 2013 results proved that he was on the right track. inspired by, and sharing data with, other web- Max always tried to convey his own enthusi- sites like www.amphibiaweb.org. Max started asm to others to encourage them to look more from scratch to write chapters, for which he closely at urodelans and to accurately document collaborated with many specialists all over the their observations. He was an autodidact who, world to bring information up to date and make through his interest and eagerness to learn and it accurate. Later, he expanded and updated all acquire skills, met the standards of a profession- ally trained ethologist. His contribution to our species accounts for his book. It would become today’s knowledge of salamanders and newts his magnum opus, his personal tribute to the cannot easily be overestimated. 1968 book by Robert THORN that had origi- nally inspired him most. This life work, “Sala- manders of the Old World”, entered the market Sergé Bogaerts, Frank Pasmans, Pim Arntzen in 2014 and was instantly hailed a standard ref- Edited by Sebastian Steinfartz erence. It also showed that Max was loved and greatly respected by both the salamander keeper community and prominent salamander scien- A selected bibliography of publications by tists. Max dedicated his last year to the book that Max Sparreboom recently was published “Salamanders in Art and Science”, co-authored with Bas Teunis. Unfor- 2017: Sparreboom, M. and B. Teunis. Salaman- tunately, his illness prevented him from seeing ders in Art and Science. Bas Teunis Zoological the final product, the publication of which was Illustrations, Sinderen. made possible by the loving dedication of Bas 2014: Sparreboom, M. Salamanders of the Old Teunis and Max’ wife Marianne Stoffer. World. KNNV Publishers, Zeist. Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 12:45:46AM via free access 574 Obituary

2014: Pasmans, F., S. Bogaerts, H. Janssen and 1997: Sever, D.M., M. Sparreboom and G. M. Sparreboom. Salamanders – Keeping and Schultschik. The dorsal tail tubercle of Merten- Breeding. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Muenster. siella caucasica and M. luschani (Amphibia: 2014: Pasmans, F., S. Bogaerts, H. Janssen and Salamandridae). J. Morphol., 232: 93-105. M. Sparreboom. Molche und Salamander halten 1997: Sparreboom, M. and M.M. Faria. Sex- und zuechten. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Muenster. ual behaviour of the Chinese ﬁre-bellied newt, 2013: Bogaerts, S., M. Sparreboom, F. Pasmans, Cynops orientalis. Amphibia-Reptilia, 18: 27- A. Almasri, W. Beukema, A. Shebab and Z.S. 38. Amr. Distribution, ecology and conservation of 1996: Sparreboom, M. Sexual interference in Ommatotriton vittatus and Salamandra infraim- the sword-tailed newt, Cynops ensicauda popei maculata in Syria. Salamandra, 49: 87-96. (Amphibia: Salamandridae). Ethology, 102: 672- 2012: Pasmans, F., G.P.J. Janssens, M. Spar- 685. reboom, J. Jiang and K. Nishikawa. Repro- 1995: Sparreboom, M. and H. Ota. Notes on duction, development, and growth response to the life-history and reproductive behaviour of captive diets in the Shangcheng Stout Sala- mander, Pachyhynobius shangchengensis (Am- Cynops ensicauda popei (Amphibia: Salaman- phibia, Urodela, Hynobiidae). Asian Herpeto- dridae). Herpetol. J., 5: 310-315. logical Research, 3: 192-197. 1994: Sparreboom, M. On the sexual behaviour 2011: Wiens, J.J., M. Sparreboom and J.W. of the sword-tailed newt, Cynops ensicauda Arntzen. Crest evolution in newts: implications (Hallowell, 1860). Abh. Ber. Naturk. Magde- for reconstruction methods, sexual selection, burg, 17: 151-161. phenotypic plasticity and the origin of novel- 1990: Sparreboom, M. and B. Teunis. The ties. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24: 2073- courtship of the marbled newt, Triturus m. mar- 2086. moratus. Amphibia-Reptilia, 11: 351-361. 2010: Bogaerts, S., F. Pasmans, M. Sparreboom 1989: Arntzen, J.W. and M. Sparreboom. A phy- and M. Biricik. Observations on a breed- logeny for the Old World newts, genus Tritu- ing population of Neurergus strauchii barani rus: biochemical and behavioural data. J. Zool., Oez, 1994 (Caudata: Salamandridae) on Kubbe Lond., 219: 645-664. Mountain, Turkey. Salamandra, 46: 55-58. 1987: Giacoma, C. and M. Sparreboom. On the 2003: Sparreboom, M. Triturus italicus (Per- sexual behaviour of the Italian newt Triturus acca 1898) Ð Italienischer Wassermolch. italicus (Caudata: Salamandridae). Contr. Zool., Pp. 707-725 in: Handbuch der Amphibien 57(1): 19-30. und Reptilien Europas. Urodelen, Band 4/IIA. 1986: Zuiderwijk, A. and M. Sparreboom. K. Grossenbacher and B. Thiesmeier (Eds). Territorial behaviour in crested newt Triturus 2001: Sparreboom, M., F. Xie and L. Fei. Re- cristatus and marbled newt T. marmoratus (Am- productive behaviour of the Chinhai Salaman- phibia, Urodela). Contr. Zool. B, 56(2): 205- der (Echinotriton chinhaiensis) (Caudata, Sala- 213. mandridae). Amphibia-Reptilia, 22: 309-320. 1983 2000: Sparreboom, M., S. Steinfartz and G. : Sparreboom, M. On the sexual be- Schultschik. Courtship of Neurergus (Caudata: haviour of Paramesotriton caudopunctatus (Liu Salamandridae). Amphibia-Reptilia, 21: 1-11. and Hu) (Amphibia: Caudata: Salamandridae). 1999: Sparreboom, M. and B. Thiesmeier. Amphibia-Reptilia, 4: 25-33. Courtship behaviour of Pachytriton labiatus 1981: Sparreboom, M. (Ed.) De amﬁbieën en (Caudata: Salamandridae). Amphibia-Reptilia, reptielen van Nederland, België en Luxemburg. 20: 339-344. Balkema, Rotterdam.

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