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| Kottelat | |
|---|---|
| Name | Maurice Kottelat |
| Birth date | 1957 |
| Birth place | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Fields | Ichthyology, Taxonomy, Systematics |
| Alma mater | University of Geneva |
| Known for | Freshwater fish taxonomy, Southeast Asian ichthyofauna |
Kottelat Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist and taxonomist noted for extensive work on freshwater fishes of Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has worked with institutions such as the Natural History Museum, London, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and the Smithsonian Institution while collaborating with researchers from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beijing. His contributions span field surveys, species descriptions, and systematic revisions influencing agencies like the IUCN and programs including the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Born in Geneva in 1957, he studied at the University of Geneva and completed training linked to the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Genève. Early mentors included curators and taxonomists affiliated with the Natural History Museum, London and the Royal Society. He carried out fieldwork supported by institutions such as the World Wildlife Fund, the European Commission, and the National Geographic Society, undertaking expeditions to river systems in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Malay Peninsula.
Kottelat's career includes postings and collaborations with the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, the Natural History Museum, London, and the National Museum of Natural History (France), as well as partnerships with universities like Chulalongkorn University, Khon Kaen University, Mahidol University, Canterbury Christ Church University, and the University of Oxford. He has surveyed basins such as the Mekong River, Salween River, Chao Phraya, Mahanadi River, and the Irrawaddy River, working alongside ichthyologists including Ronald Fricke, Peter Fuller, Richard Pethiyagoda, Hans Freyhof, Jörg Freyhof, and Ralf Britz. His systematic revisions have impacted collections at the Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, and the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen.
Kottelat authored monographs and checklists used by museums and conservation bodies, publishing with presses tied to the Royal Society, Cambridge University Press, Brill, Oxford University Press, and regional publishers in Bangkok and Singapore. His major works include faunal surveys and systematic treatments cited by the IUCN Red List, the FAO, and scholars such as Maurice Burton, Carl Linnaeus (historical context), G. A. Boulenger (historical context), Albert Günther (historical context), and modern taxonomists like Teodor T. Nalbant and Eschmeyer, William N.. He described numerous taxa across families including Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Nemacheilidae, Gobiidae, and Sisoridae, naming species from locales like Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.
His field inventories informed conservation assessments used by the IUCN Red List Committee and national agencies in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, and supported programs of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and United Nations Environment Programme. Kottelat's work has been cited in environmental impact statements for projects on the Mekong River Commission and influenced policy discussions within bodies such as the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Peers including David Roberts, Brian W. Coad, Ian G. Baird, and Anthony B. Smith have referenced his revisions in conservation planning.
Kottelat has received recognition from museums and scientific societies including the Linnean Society of London, the Royal Society, and regional academic institutions such as Mahidol University and the National University of Singapore. Several species and genera have been named in his honor by colleagues from institutions like the Natural History Museum, London, the Smithsonian Institution, the Zoological Survey of India, and the Australian Museum. His publications have been used by awarding bodies such as the Junk Publishers-associated prizes and cited in lists from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the European Ichthyological Society.
Kottelat has collaborated with an international network including researchers from the University of Copenhagen, University of Paris, University of Leiden, University of Vienna, University of Zurich, University of Basel, and the Australian National University. His legacy is reflected in collections held at the Natural History Museum, London, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Smithsonian Institution, and numerous regional museums across Southeast Asia. Colleagues such as Lothar Seegers, Ralf Britz, Klaus J. Wagner, and Sorin Popa have discussed his influence in museum catalogues and symposiums hosted by the Royal Society and the Linnean Society of London.
Category:Swiss ichthyologists