James Murray (biologist)

James Murray with Adélie Penguin chick (Nimrod-Expedition)

James Murray (21 July 1865, Glasgow – February 1914) was a biologist and explorer.

Career

In 1902, he assisted the oceanographer, Sir John Murray, with a bathymetric survey of Scottish freshwater lochs. Murray undertook both biological and bathymetric surveys. In particular, he contributed to tardigrade and bdelloid rotifer science: describing 113 species and forma of rotifer and 66 species of tardigrade.

In 1907, at the age of 41, he served under Shackleton on the Nimrod Expedition where he was in charge of the base camp. In 1913, he co-wrote a book about the expedition, titled Antarctic Days, with George Edward Marston (1882–1940), a fellow member of the expedition.

In 1911, at 46, he joined with the explorer Percy Fawcett, Henry Costin and Henry Manley to explore and chart the jungle in the region of the Peru-Bolivian border. Murray, unused to the rigors of the tropical regions, fared poorly. Eventually Fawcett diverted the expedition to get Murray out, such was his condition. He briefly dropped out of sight, having been recovering in a house in Tambopata. He reached La Paz in 1912, learning that he was thought to have died.

Murrary, angry at perceived mistreatment at Fawcett's hands, wanted to sue, however friends at the Royal Geographical Society advised him against it.

In June 1913, he joined a Canadian scientific expedition to the Arctic aboard the ill-fated Karluk as oceanographer. The ship became trapped in the Arctic ice in August 1913. Eventually, Murray mutinied against the captain and departed across the ice with three others, none of whom were seen or heard from again.

Works

Tardigrades

• Murray, J., 1905. The Tardigrada of the Scottish Lochs. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb., 41: 677 - 698
• Murray, J., 1905. Microscopic life of St. Kilda. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 54: 94 - 96
• Murray, J., 1905. The Tardigrada of the Forth Valley. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 55: 160 - 164
• Murray, J., 1906. The Tardigrada of the Forth Valley. Part II. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 60: 214 - 217
• Murray, J., 1906. Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Tardigrada of the South Orkneys. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb., 45: 323 - 339
• Murray, J., 1906. Scottish Alpine Tardigrada. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 57: 25 - 30
• Murray, J., 1906. Scottish Alpine Tardigrada. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 60: 214 - 217
• Murray, J., 1907. Water-bears or Tardigrada. Quekett Micr. Club, 10: 55 - 70
• Murray, J., 1907. Arctic Tardigrada, collected by Wm. S. Bruce. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 45: 669 - 681
• Murray, J., 1907. Some Tardigrada of the Sikkim Himalaya. J. Roy. Microsc. Soc., 1907: 269 - 273
• Murray, J., 1907. Encystment of Tardigrada. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb., 45: 837 - 854
• Murray, J., 1907. Some South African Tardigrada. J. R. Micr. Soc. London, 5: 515 - 524
• Murray, J., 1907. Some Tardigrada from the Sikkim Himalaya, Journ. R. Micr. Soc., pt. 3: 269 - 273, pl. 14
• Murray, J., 1907. The encystment of Macrobiotus. The Zoologist, 11: 4 - 11
• Murray, J., 1907. Scottish Tardigrada collected by the Lake Survey. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, 45: 641 - 668
• Murray, J., 1910. Tardigrada. British Antarctic Expedition 1907 - 1909. Reports on the Scientific Investigations. Vol. 1 Biology (Part V): 83 - 187 (plates 14 - 21)
• Murray, J., 1910. Canadian Tardigrada. In Report for the Scientific Investigation of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907 - 1909. Volume I. London: 158 - 178
• Murray, J., 1911. Water-bears or Tardigrada. J. Quekett Micr. Club., 11: 181 - 198
• Murray, J., 1911. Arctiscoida. Proc. R. Ir. Acad., 31: 1 - 16
• Murray, J., 1911. Scottish Tardigrada, a review of our present knowledge. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist., 78: 88 - 95
• Murray, J., 1911. Clare Island Survey: Arctiscoidea. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., Dublin, 31: 1 - 16
• Murray, J., 1913. African Tardigrada. J. R. Micr. Soc. London, pt. 2: 136 - 144
• Murray, J., 1913. Notes on the Natural History of Bolivia and Peru. Scottish Oceanogr. Lab., Edinburgh: 1 - 45 (Tardigrada, pp. 28 – 30)

Further reading

• Niven, Jennifer (2001). The Ice Master. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-39123-2.
• "Captain Bartlett has no views". Washington Post. July 6, 1914.
• Shackleton, Heart of the Antarctic.
• Grann, David (2009). The Lost City of Z. Doubleday. pp. 110–124. ISBN 978-0-385-51353-1.