Boltovskoy graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Rostov, U.S.S.R., in 1937. He believes that his interest in oceanography began when he spent five years in the merchant navy before joining the university. Between 1939 and 1942, he taught some specialized courses and prepared several short communications on Neogene faunas; some of these were published in local journals of rather limited distribution. At the end of the second world war, he worked as a paleontologist for a short period at the Institut für Bodenforschung in Vienna, Austria. In 1948, he moved to Argentina and two years later joined the scientific staff of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia," Buenos Aires, to begin a research career that is still flourishing.

This museum now is a great center for foraminiferal research. Starting from scratch, Boltovskoy has built a treasure of more than 12,000 slides that contain about half a million cataloged specimens, mainly of Cenozoic foraminifera from all over the world. In spite of his busy schedule, he has played cheerful host to numerous visiting colleagues, including the present biographer. Although his job does not have a formal teaching component, he has acted as an adviser to graduate and undergraduate students in Argentina, and in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States. He has presented courses on foraminifera and has lectured on various specialized topics in several countries. He has also found time to participate in several oceanographic cruises in the Atlantic, Indian, and Antarctic oceans, including the DSDP Leg 26.

His first major research papers on Argentine foraminifera were two detailed distribution reports in 1954, on assemblages from the San Jorge Gulf and the San Blas Bay. There were many such reports to follow in the next twenty years, but interspersed with these were articles on diverse subjects, including those of direct interest to most foraminiferal researchers, regardless of their geographic location. Here is a selection: chemical ecology (Micropaleontology, 1956), shell abnormalities (Ameghiniana, 1957), taxonomic problems (Micropaleontology, 1958), relationship to ocean currents and water masses (Micropaleontology, 1959, 1962), annual cycles (Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie, 1965), habitat depth of infaunal species (Contributions from the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research, 1966), seasonal occurrence and standing crop (CCFFR, 1969), microdistribution (Revue de Micropaleontologie, 1969), sinking velocity (Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie, 1970), fresh water taxa (JFR, 1971), patchiness of distribution (Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Planktonic Microfossils, 1971), stratigraphy of South Atlantic cores (Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, 1973), vertical migration of planktonic species (JFR, 1973), Quaternary marine climates (Boreas, 1973), Indian Ocean Cenozoic assemblages (In J. B. Heirtzler et al., eds., Indian Ocean Geology andBiostratigraphy, 1977; Marine Geology, 1978), size change in phylogeny (Revista Española Micropaleontologia, 1984; Lethaia, 1988),Tertiary species in Quaternary bathyal sediments (JFR, 1987), and Cenozoic faunal turnovers (Revue de Micropaléontologie, 1988).

Of the numerous articles written by Boltovskoy, none has stirred the conscience of professional micropaleontologists more than the one labeled "Twilight of Foraminiferology" (Journal of Paleontology, May 1965). After taking stock of numerous proven and probable synonyms, he demonstrated that taxonomic hair-splitting has gone too far with the foraminifera, and unless we mend our careless ways (by seriously taking into account intra-species variability before naming "new" species), most foraminiferal species names would become meaningless. Boltovskoy concluded that "our science of foraminifera has reached a stage of gravest danger," but luckily for us, he did not give up the study of these organisms in disgust. On the contrary, he went on to publish over a hundred papers on the foraminifera since the "Twilight," including a few on taxonomy.

His first book, La Corriente de Malvinas (Buenos Aires, 1959), is a report on the Malvin Current in which he used foraminiferal species as hydrological indicators. The next book (Planktological Dictionary, Buenos Aires, 1964) is a five-language (English, Spanish, German, French, and Russian) dictionary of biological and oceanographical terms used in research on major marine planktonic taxa. Masas de Agua en la Superficie del Atlántico Sudoeste (Buenos Aires, 1970) deals with the distribution and characteristics of surface water masses; planktonic foraminifera are used as main tracers. Atlas of Benthic Shelf Foraminifera of the Southwest Atlantic (The Hague, 1980; with Graciela Giussani, Silvia Watanabe, and Ramil Wright) is a carefully prepared taxonomic atlas, with generic and specific descriptions, distribution maps, and 36 valuable plates of scanning electron micrographs.

His most widely read book, however, is Recent Foraminifera (The Hague, 1976; with Ramil Wright). The original version by Boltovskoy (Los Foraminiferos Recientes, Buenos Aires, 1965) was already regarded as a very useful text by researchers and graduate students in the Spanish-speaking world when the English version went into preparation. Recent Foraminifera is so thoroughly updated that it is almost a new book. Even now, it is the most comprehensive text available on modem foraminifers, and includes just about everything a student might want to look up-biology, shell morphology, classification, distribution patterns of benthic and planktonic species, aspects of ecology, geological and oceanographical applications of foraminiferal studies, and practical suggestions on collection, preparation, and culture of material.

Boltovskoy has received many honors. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (U.S.A.) in 1956. The University of La Plata, Argentina, awarded him a Diploma al Mérito in 1977. The same year, the Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales of Argentina gave him its Angel Gallardo award and a gold medal. He received an award of distinction from the Secretaria de Cultura y Educación of Argentina in 1981. In 1983, he received the Konex Prize for achievement in the field of biological oceanography. In electing Esteban Boltovskoy for the 1988 Cushman Award, the Directors of the Cushman Foundation have formally recognized his outstanding contribution to the field of science he has served with great devotion and distinction for decades.

BARUN K. SEN GUPTA

Department of Geology and Geophysics
Louisiana State University

Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 19, no. 3, p. 169-170, July 1989

More information about Esteban Boltovskoy:

http://www.macn.secyt.gov.ar/colnac/foram/esteban.htm (in Spanish)

http://www.ehu.es/~gpplapam/galeria/Boltovskoy.html (in Spanish)