Gordon Enoch Gates

Gordon Enoch Gates (11 January 1897 – 11 June 1987) was an American zoologist. He is known for his taxonomic work on the Oligochaeta and for being a "world authority" on the subject.[1][2][3] He published in his field for nearly 60 years.[4][5]

His main focus was the morphology, physiology, taxonomy, and zoogeography of earthworms, a collection of which he donated to the National Museum of Natural History.[6]

Biography

Gates was born in Warner, New Hampshire, in 1897.[7] He graduated from Colby College in 1919 with a Bachelor of Arts.[7][8] In 1920, he was a student at Harvard Medical School where he received a Master's degree.[2][8]

The same year, he married Helen Louise Baldwin. The couple had two daughters: Evelyn G. and Alice G.[2]

Time in Myanmar

In the 1920s, Gates moved to Myanmar to do missionary work.[3][9] In 1921, Gates began teaching pre-medical students at Judson College in the country.[3] There he founded and headed the Biology department until the 1940s.[3][10] While in Myanmar, he began studying earthworms.[3]

Gates also collected ants in Yangon and sent them to Dr. William Morton Wheeler. Among more common ants were a new species of what was believed to be Aphaenogaster (but is now Pheidole gatesi) and a new variety of Aenictus binghami.[11]

In 1942, he was forced to evacuate Myanmar due to Japanese military presence in the country.[2] His earthworm collection and library and the majority of his manuscripts and records were destroyed during World War II.[5]

Move to India

From 1934-1940, Gates utilized mainly borrowed material from the Zoological Survey of India and the British Museum to study earthworms in India. His studies revealed many new genera: Scolioscolides, Nellogaster, Barogaster, Lennogaster, Rillogaster, Pellogaster, Priodochaeta, Priodoscolex and Travoscolides.[5]

After fleeing Myanmar, he and his family reunited in India.[2] He then shifted his oligochaetological focuses to South Asia in Allahabad.[5] He sampled species in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, central India, Dehradun, and other regions. From 1941-1945, he also wrote on Sri Lankan earthworms. His work in India led him to create a new classification of earthworms based on "stable somatic characters."[5]

Return to the United States

He was a fellow at Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1946 to 1947, followed by being a Professor and the head of Biology at Colby College from 1948 to 1950.[10][3] He resigned as head of the department in July 1951.[12]

He then was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952 and 1953.[6] He was granted the fellowship in 1952 for his study of Burmese earthworms and in 1953 for studies of tropical earthworms.[13][14]

From 1952 to 1962, he continued publishing on Burmese earthworms using materials rescued from the war.[5]

Death

Gates died in Orange County, Florida on 11 June 1987.[2]

Associated taxonomy

Described species

Gates described many species of earthworms, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia.[15] He reportedly described 369 species in total.[4]

• Amynthas procerus
• Komarekiona eatoni
• Metaphire arcuata
• Metaphire houlleti

Honorific species

The species Glyphidrilus gatesi is named after Gates, due to his "great contributions to taxonomy and systematics of earthworms."[15] The species Pheidole gatesi was also named in his honor by Dr. William Morton Wheeler.[11]

Publications

• Gates, G. E. (1945). "On Some Indian Earthworms." Proceedings: Indian Academy of Sciences, 21, 208-258. DOI: 10.1007/BF03049816.

References

1. Pethiyagoda, Rohan (2007). Pearls, Spices and Green Gold: An Illustrated History of Biodiversity Exploration in Sri Lanka. WHT Publications. p. 106. ISBN 978-9559114383.
2. "Gordon Enoch Gates (1897-1987)" (PDF). Nomenclatura Oligochaetologica. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 Jan 2025.
3. Ruys de Perez, Stephanie (2013). Colby Missionaries in East Asia, 1822-1949 (PDF) (Thesis). Colby College.
4. Blakemore, Rob (2005). "Whither Octochaetidae- Its family status reviewed".
5. Animal Resources of India: Protozoa to Mammalia: State of the Art. Zoological Survey of India. Calcutta. 1991.
6. "Biography". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
7. General Catalogue of Officers, Graduates and Former Students of Colby College, Volume 4. p201. Colby College The College, 1920.
8. Chipman, Charles P.; Taylor, Julian D.; Smith, Jennie M.; Bailey, Dudley P.; Merrill, Percy S.; Shaw, Frank K.; Seaverns, Charles F. T., eds. (1920). General catalogue of officers, graduates, and former students of Colby College 1820-1920 (Centennial ed.). The Galahad Press. p. 201.
9. "Alice Gates Haughwout". Bates Magazine. 2015. p. 91. Archived from the original on 5 Aug 2024.
10. Archives, Smithsonian Institution; sysadmin. "SIA Acc. 96-111, Gates, G. E (Gordon Enoch) 1897-1987, Gordon Enoch Gates Papers, circa 1931-1979". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
11. Wheeler, William Morton (1927). "Burmese ants collected by Professor G. E. Gates". Psyche: 42–46.
12. "News and Notes". Science. 114 (2956): 222–226. 1951-08-24. doi:10.1126/science.114.2956.222.
13. "22 New Englanders Win Guggeinheim Study Grants". The Boston Globe. 1953-05-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
14. "33 Guggenheim Fellowships awarded to New Englanders". The Boston Globe. 1952-04-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
15. Shen, Huei-Ping; Yeo, Darren C. J. (2005). "Terrestrial earthworms (Oligochaeata) from Singapore" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 53 (1): 13–33.