Charles L. Griffiths

Charles Griffiths was born in Kenya and educated at Blundell’s Public School in Devon, UK, then at Southampton University (UK), where he was awarded a BSc(Hons) in 1970. He obtained his PhD from the University of Cape Town in 1974. He joined the University of Cape Town staff at the age of 22, rising through the ranks from Research Assistant to Full Professor and was Director of the UCT Marine Biology Research Centre for 17 years up to his retirement in 2013. He is currently an Emeritus Professor and Senior Scholar in the Department of Biological Sciences. He married Dr Roberta Griffiths in 1974 and they have two adult children, Melinda (b 1980) and Matthew (b 1986).

His main current research interests are the documentation of marine biodiversity and the impacts of marine alien species. He is an author of papers describing well over 100 species new to science and recording more than 200 additional species in South Africa for the first time. Six new species have also been named (by other researchers) in his honour. He is author of eight guide books to the South African fauna, including three best-selling field guides: ‘Two Oceans – a Guide to the Marine Life of South Africa’ (now in its 4th edition), ‘Field Guide to the Insects of South Africa’ (now in its 3rd edition) and the recent ‘Freshwater Life’. He has published 17 book chapters, 215 research articles and over 80 semi-popular scientific articles. He is also author of over 200 conference presentations and has convened four conferences. His ‘H- Index’ is 51 and his work has been cited over 8500 times.

A total of 53 masters and 26 PhD students have graduated under his supervision, with a further 6 MSc and 3 PhD students currently under supervision. He is a recipient of the UCT book award, is a Life Fellow of the University of Cape Town, a Team Member of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Invasion Biology and winner of the Gold Medal of the Zoological Society of South Africa. He is a former editor of the journal African Zoology and a current or former member of the editorial boards of the journals Marine Biology, Koedoe, Smithiana, Animals, and African Natural History and has acted as a reviewer for over 75 different journals. In his recreation time he is a serious natural history photographer and well over 2000 of his images have been published in textbooks, magazines, advertisements and calendars around the world, including over 20 featured as magazine or book covers.