Dr Geoff Monteith - Queensland Museum Staff
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Qualifications: |
BSc, PhD |
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Biographical Info: |
Geoff worked as a field collector in New Guinea for three months in 1961/62 before joining the Entomology Department of the University of Queensland in 1962, becoming Curator of the University Insect Collection from 1966 to 1978. In 1978 he joined the Queensland Museum as an insect curator. Geoff's research specialises on the systematics of the bark bugs (Heteroptera: Aradidae) but he also has a general interest in all aspects of rainforest insects. He has systematically carried out survey collecting in all major rainforest areas in Australia, and has concentrated on the rich mountain fauna of the Wet Tropics of North Queensland for the last 15 years. Subsidiary collecting has been undertaken in nearby tropical areas including New Caledonia, Fiji, New Guinea, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. The massive collection of rainforest invertebrates accumulated from this field work is a major resource of the Queensland Museum drawn upon by researchers around the world. Geoff has developed a database of 40,000 specimens of critically identified rainforest insects from these surveys which is being used for geographic analysis of the areas it covers, particularly the Wet Tropics and Southeast Queensland zones. The dung beetles have been recognised as an important group for environmental assessment purposes and Geoff has developed a major collection and database resource for these insects at the Museum. Insects have great potential for use for education and public display purposes. Geoff has pioneered many such activities at the Queensland Museum. These include the display of living insects in the public galleries, the development of educational workshops about insects for school teachers, and the touring of travelling exhibitions. The last included the very successful "Butterfly Man of Kuranda" exhibition which toured Queensland and New Zealand for 3 years and led to the publication of Geoff's biography of Frederick Parkhurst Dodd, a leading early entomological figure in Queensland. For his public and educational activities Geoff was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1997 and the Queensland Natural History Award in 1998. |
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Contact: |
You can contact Queensland Museum staff via our Inquiry Centre.
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