In Memory of Fahire Battalgazi; Bringing Back a Fish Collection to Life

Abstract

Istanbul University (I.U.) plays an important role in handing down the valuable to the next generations by protecting its scientific and cultural assets with the museums it possesses. Fish collection have inherited from I.U. Hydrobiology Institute to I.U. Faculty of Aquatic Sciences and have preserved until today in I.U. Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Inland Fisheries Production and Research Unit located in Sapanca (Sakarya, Turkey). Over time, the protective liquid of fish material has begun to evaporate from the jars; or they have lost their efficiency in protection in some ways. For this reason, it is aimed to recover this collection, which contains rare samples from Turkish seas and freshwater habitats, to update the jar labels, and to replenish the preservative fluids. During this venture, we came across some fish samples that were collected and examined by Prof. Dr. Fahire Battalgazi, the first Turkish woman ichthyologist, who occupies an important position in the history of science of Turkey. Here we introduce the fish species (Alburnus kotschyi, Capoeta barroisi, C. trutta, Carasobarbus luteus, Garra kemali, Gobio microlepidotus, G. insuyanus, Oxynoemacheilus eregliensis, Petroleuciscus borysthenicus, Squalius fellowesii and Vimba vimba) collected and/or examined by Prof. Dr. Fahire Battalgazi and labeled with her own handwriting.

Keywords

• Battalgil
• fish
• history of science
• museum

References

1. Anonymous (1951). İstanbul Üniversitesi Hidrobiyoloji Araştırma Enstitüsü Yönetmeliği. Resmi Gazete, Sayı: 7845, Tarih: 27.06.1951. (https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/arsiv/7845.pdf). Electronic version accessed 21.12.2020.
2. Băcescu, M. C. (1962). Contribution à la systématique du genre Cobitis. Description d'une espèce nouvelle, Cobitis calderoni, provenant de l'Espagne. Revue de Biologie, Académie de la République Populaire Roumaine, Bucarest, 6(4), 435-448.
3. Bahadır, O. (2018). İlk kadın zoologumuz Fahire Battalgazi. Bilim Akademisi, https://sarkac.org/2018/03/ilk-kadin-zoologumuz-fahire-battalgazi/, Electronic version accessed 20.12.2020.
4. Battalgil, F. (1940). Yeni bir Cyprinid nev'i. Eine neue Cyprinidenart. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université d'Instanbul, Série B: Sciences Naturelles, 5(1/2), 74-77.
5. Battalgil, F. (1941). Türkiye’nin tatlı su balıkları. Les poissons des eaux douces de la Turquie. (Collection de l'Institut de Zoologie de l'Université d'Istanbul.). Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université d'Instanbul, Série B: Sciences Naturelles, 6(1-2), 170-186.
6. Battalgil, F. (1942). Türkiye tatlı su balıkları hakkında. Contribution à la connaissance des poissons des eaux douces de la Turquie. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université d'Instanbul, Série B: Sciences Naturelles, 7(4), 287-306.
7. Battalgil, F. (1944). Türkiye'de yeni tatlı su balιklarι. Nouveau poissons des eaux douces de la Turquie. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université d'Instanbul, Série B: Sciences Naturelles, 9(2), 126-133.
8. Battalgazi, F. (1944). Türkiye'de yeni ve az tanınmış balıklar. Poissons nouveaux et peu connus de la Turquie. Revue de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université d'Instanbul, Série B: Sciences Naturelles, 9(4), 299-305.

9. Battalgazi Uslu, A. D. (2019). Turkey’s first zoologist Prof. Dr. Fahire Battalgazi’s short but fruitful academic life. Turkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections, 3(2), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.26650/tjbc.20190010.
10. Bogutskaya, N. G. (1997). Contribution to the knowledge of leuciscine fishes of Asia Minor. Part 2. An anotated checklist of leuciscine fishes (Leuciscinae, Cyprinidae) of Turkey with descriptions of a new species and two new subspecies. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 94, 161-186.
11. Erk'akan, F., Atalay-Ekmekçi, F. G. & Nalbant, T. T. (1998). Four new species and one new subspecies of the genus Cobitis (Pisces: Ostariophysi: Cobitidae) from Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 22 (1), 9-15.
12. Freyhof, J. (2014a). Alburnus akili. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T787A19005895. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T787A19005895.en. Downloaded on 13 January 2021.
13. Freyhof, J. (2014b). Alburnus nicaeensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T19018670A19222798. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T19018670A19222798.en. Downloaded on 20 February 2020.
14. Freyhof, J., Özuluğ, M., Kaya, C., Bayçelebi, E. &Turan, D. 2018. Redescription of Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner, 1863, with comments on Alburnus sellal adanensis Battalgazi, 1944 (Teleostei: Leuciscidae). Zootaxa, 4382(3), 573-582. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4382.3.8.
15. Fricke, R., Eschmeyer W.N. & Van der Laan, R. (2020). Eschmeyer's catalog of fishes: Genera, Species, References. (http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp). Electronic version accessed 20.02.2020.
16. Geldiay, R. & Balık, S. (2009). Türkiye Tatlısu Balıkları. Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Kitaplar Serisi: 46, Ders Kitabı: 644, Bornova-İzmir.
17. Kadıoğlu, S. (2003). Raymond Hovasse’ın Türkiye’deki bilimsel çalışmaları ve Baltalimanı Hayvanat İstasyonu’nun kuruluşu. Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları, 4, 61-81.
18. Küçük, F. (2012). Extinct endemic fishes of Turkey: Alburnus akili (Gövce) and Pseudophoxinus handlirschi (Kavinne) (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 12, 345–347.
19. Ladiges, W. (1960). Süßwasserfische der Türkei, I. Teil Cyprinidae. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 58, 105-150.
20. Mercin, L. (2017). Müze eğitimi, bilgilendirme ve tanıtım açısından görsel iletişim tasarımı ürünlerinin önemi. Milli Eğitim Dergisi, 214, 209-237.
21. Naseka, A. M., Erk'akan, F. & Küçük, F. (2006). A description of two new species of the genus Gobio from central Anatolia (Turkey) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Zoosystematica Rossica, 15, 185-194.
22. Okan, B. (2015). Günümüzde müzecilik anlayışı. Sanat ve Tasarım Dergisi, 5(2), 187-198.
23. Özuluğ, M. & Freyhof, J. (2007). Rediagnosis of four species of Alburnus from Turkey and description of two new species (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 18(3), 233-246.
24. Özuluğ, M. & Saç, G. (2019). İstanbul ili (Türkiye) tatlısu balık faunası. Turkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections, 3(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.26650/tjbc.201930004.
25. Zararsız, İ., Kuş, İ., Çolakoğlu, N., Pekmez, H., Yılmaz, H. R. & Sarsılmaz, M. (2004). Formaldehit maruziyeti sonucu sıçan akciğerinde oluşan oksidatif hasara karşı melatonin hormonunun koruyucu etkisi: Işık mikroskobik ve biyokimyasal çalışma. Van Tıp Dergisi, 11(4), 105-112.