JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY, 11(3): 473-476. 1991 
iMJ^^Ji^ 
HENRY VON PRAHL 
(1948-1989) 
Carcinology has not been immune to the 
violence experienced in Colombia due to 
the war on drugs. A bomb that exploded on 
a Colombian airliner flying from Bogota to 
Cali, on 27 November 1989, killed Henry 
von Prahl at the early age of 41. Henry was 
bom near Munich, Germany, 4 February 
1948. His parents emigrated to Colombia 
in 1953, settling near the Caribbean coast 
where Henry was sent to a boarding school 
in Cartagena. At the early age of six, his 
father gave him a microscope which gen- 
erated in him great curiosity. Henry's family 
later moved to Bogota where he graduated 
from high school in 1968 at the Liceo Cer- 
vantes, and then entered the Universidad 
de Los Andes (UNIANDES) where he ob- 
tained his degree of Licenciado en Biologia 
(B. Sc.) in 1974. Here he used his passion 
for nature to distinguish himself as a bril- 
liant professional, and started his teaching 
career. He also met several German scien- 
tists of the then Instituto Colombo-Aleman 
de Investigaciones Marinas de Punta de Be- 
tin (Santa Marta) and began to apply his 
knowledge in microbiology and zoology to 
the marine environment. Henry was a keen 
observer, had an analytical mind, loved to 
write, and was an excellent artist. 
Henry began his doctoral research on the 
subject of shrimp culture during the devel- 
opment of commercial shrimp culture op- 
erations on the Pacific coast. He spent three 
years at a government station near Guapi 
(Cauca), and became manager of the Com- 
paiiia de Camarones Guapi, one of the first 
to produce pond-cultured shrimps in Co- 
lombia. During this time he explored the 
extensive estuaries and mangroves of the 
Pacific drainage of Colombia, and expressed 
473 
474 JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOUXiY. VOL. 11. NO. 3, 1991 
his wishes to work at the Universidad del 
Valle (UNIVALLE), Cali. In 1978, during 
a congress in Manizales, Henry met Caria 
Restrepo (Henry's love, although he never 
married) who was studying at UNIVALLE, 
and so provided him with the additional 
motivation to work at this University. His 
wishes became reality three years later. 
He obtained a doctoral degree from the 
Universitat Kassel, Germany, in 1980, ob- 
taining a summa cum laude in his oral ex- 
aminations. His dissertation was entitled 
"Zur Biologie der blauen Gamele Penaeus 
{Litopenaeus) stylirostris (Stimpson, 1879) 
und deren Zucht in Teichanlagen." Henry 
was professor of biology at UNIANDES, 
Bogota (1978-1981), University of Wizen- 
hausen, Germany (1979), and UNIVALLE, 
Cali (1982-1989). Although extreme diffi- 
culties are commonly encountered in prac- 
ticing biology in the Latin American envi- 
ronment, he managed to publish more than 
8S scientific papers, eight books, and 13 
popular articles. These reflected his primary 
interest in crustaceans, particularly brach- 
yuran crabs (he also published extensively 
on corals). 
Henry played a paramount role, with the 
aid of his research, in the establishment of 
Gorgona Island and the Ensenada de Utria 
as national parks. He had a dynamic char- 
acter and was involved in many activities 
such as oceanographic work, ecological sur- 
veys, aquaculture projects, and production 
of videos divulging the ecological impor- 
tance of habitats on the Pacific coast. He 
was a man of great vision with many plans 
for the future, including publication of more 
books about the Colombian environment 
and the building of a marine laboratory on 
the Pacific coast where scientists could con- 
duct their field research. 
During his tenure at his beloved UNI- 
VALLE, Henry was not only a tireless work- 
er, but also served as an inspiration to oth- 
ers. His unusual capacity to investigate, his 
prolific scientific work, and his human qual- 
ities made him the favorite professor to di- 
rect research theses. Colombia and the car- 
cinological community have lost a great 
scientist. Henry's writings and projects 
showed the strong love he professed for sci- 
ence. It is at least some consolation to know 
that most of his research was left for us to 
share in the form of pubUcations. Perhaps 
more important is that, as a result of his 
teaching, he left a school of thought in the 
form of capable students who, surely, will 
continue to carry on with his legacy. Henry 
left the world of the living, but his spirit and 
experiences will remain forever in our 
memories.?Gabriel E. Ramos, Facultad de 
Ciencias, Seccion Biologia Marina, Univ- 
ersidad del Valle, Apartado Aereo 25360, 
Cali, Colombia, and Rafael Lemaitre, 
Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Cen- 
ter, National Museum of Natural History, 
Washington, DC 20560. 
PUBUCATIONS ON CRUSTACEA BY 
HENRY VON PRAHL 
Prahl, H. von, and M. Gardeazabal. 1977. Com- 
mercial culture of the blue shrimp (Penaeus styli- 
rostris Stimpson) in Colombia.?World Mariculture 
Society. 
 , and .   1977.  Descripcion de las larvas 
del camaron azul Penaeus stylirostris Stimpson.? 
Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas de 
Punta de Betin 9:157-172. 
-, and R. Arreaza.  1978. Observaciones 
sobre la biologia del camaron azul (Penaeus styli- 
rostris Stimpson).?Cespedesia 7: 25-47. 
 , F. Guhl, and M. Grogl.   1978. Carideos(De- 
capodos, Natantia, Palaemonidae) de Gorgona.? 
Cespedesia 7: 49-64. 
 , , and .   1978.  Crustaceos deca- 
podos comensales del coral Pocillopora damicornis 
L. en la Isla de Goigona, Colombia.?Anales del 
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas de Punta de 
Betin 10:81-93. 
-, and F. Guhl.   1979.   NoUs sobre la biolo^a 
de Uca (Minuca) panamensis (Stimpson, 1859) 
(Crustacea, Ocypodidae) y su distribucion en Colom- 
bia.?Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Mari- 
nas de Punta de Betin 11: 147-152. 
-, and .   1979.  Nuevas localidades para 
cangrejos Majidae colectados en el Pacifico Colom- 
biano.?Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Ma- 
rinas de Punta de Betin 11: 159-193. 
 .   1980. Descripcion de los estados larvates del 
camaron azul Penaeus stylirostris obtenidos en un 
laboratorio de campo.?Re vista Colombiana de 
Ciencias Biologicas 12: 41-42. 
 .  1980. Importancia del manglar en la biolo^ 
de los camarones Penaeidos.?/n.' Memorias del 
Seminario sobre Estudio Cientifico e Impacto Hu- 
mano en el Ecosistema de Manglares, UNESCO, pp. 
341-343. 
 .  1980. Cultivode camaron en Colombia/Gar- 
nelenzucht in Kolumbien.-PROEXPO-CONTEC, 
pp. 1-141. 
Kerr. N. M., B. P. Thain, F. Pineda, H. von Prahl, R. 
M. Pitt, J. Marmolejo, and H. Riching. 1981. Es- 
tudio de maricultura.?Corporacion Autonoma Re- 
gional del Cauca-Sea Fish Industry Authority-Uni- 
versidad del Valle, pp. 1-246. 
Prahl, H. von. 1981. Cangrejos del subgenero Uca en 
el Pacifico Colombiano.?Cespedesia 10: 197-204. 
HENRY n. PRAHL 475 
 .  1981. Notas sobre los cangrejos gecarcinidos 
(Crustacea: Gecarcinidae) y su distribucion en el Pa- 
cifico Colombiano.?Cespedesia 10: 205-211. 
-.   1982.  Las formaciones de pustulas coralinas 
por el cangrejo Haplocarcinus marsupialis Stimpson 
(Crustacea: Decapoda) en Gorgona, Colombia.? 
Anales del Institute de Investigaciones Marinas de 
Punta de Betin 12: 97-103. 
1982.   Cangrejos xantidos asociados a for- 
maciones rocosas en la zona surel Pacifico Colombi- 
ano.?Cespedesia 11: 69-82. 
 .   1982. Cnistaceos fitdfilos del liioral Pacifico 
Colombiano.?Cespedesia 11: 83-93. 
-, and F. Guhl.   1982.   Tyche sulae (Crustacea: 
Majidae) a new spider crab from Gorgona Island, 
Colombia.?Revista de Biologia Tropical 30: 169- 
170. 
-.   1982.  tiotas sobrc Sylviocarcinus piriformis 
(Pretzmann, 1968) (Crustacea: Trychodactylidae) con 
enfasis en su zoogeografla.?Actualidades Biologicas 
11:22-25. 
 .   1982.   El cultivo de Penaeus vannamei en 
jaulas: una altemativa para el pequeiio acuicultor.? 
Revista Latinoamericana de Acuicultura (Mexico) 
14: 46. 
 .   1982.   The distribution of the genus Uca 
(Crustacea: Ocypodidae) along the Colombian Pa- 
cific coast.?Zoologische Jahrbucher Abteilung fur 
Systematik, Okologie und Geographic dcr Tiere 109: 
433-442. 
1983.   Hypolobocera gorgonensis sp. nov. 
(Crustacea: Brachyura: Pseudothelphusidae) un nue- 
vo cangrejo de agua dulce de la Isla de Gorgona.? 
Cespedesia 12: 105-110. 
-.  1983. Intertidal and terrestrial crabs (Decap- 
oda: Brachyura) of San Andres Island, Colombia.- 
Caribbean Journal of Science 19:2.3-26. 
 , and G. Manjarres. 1983. Cangrejos gecarcini- 
dos (Crustacea: Gecarcinidae) de la Isla Providencia, 
Colombia.?Caribbean Journal of Science 19: 31- 
34. 
 .   1983.   Formaciones de pustulas y cavemas 
en corales del Pacifico Colombiano por cnistaceos 
comensalesbrachyuros.?Actualidades Biologicas 12: 
118-123. 
 .   1983.  Primer registro de Gecarcinus (John- 
garthia) planatus Stimpson, 1860 (Crustacea: Ge- 
carcinidae) para Colombia y notas sobre su zoogeo- 
graHa en el Pacifico Americano.?Anales del Institute 
de Investigaciones Marinas de Punta de Betin 13: 
143-148. 
-, C. Caicedo, and R. Rios.   1984.   Camarones 
palaemonidos (Crustacea: Palaemonidae) de agua 
dulce y salobre del Departamento del Cauca.?Ces- 
pedesia 13: 45-58. 
and G. Manjarres.   1984.   Terrestrial crabs 
(Crustacea: Brachyura) of Providencia Island. Co- 
lembia.?Mitteilungen aus dem zoologischen Mu- 
seum in Berlin 60: 3-9. 
 , and .   1984.   Cangrejos gecarcinidos 
(Crustacea: Gecarcinidae) de Colombia.?Caldasia 
14: 149-168. 
 , and J. Froidefond.   1985. Shallow-water xan- 
thid crabs (E>ecapoda: Brachyura: Xanthidae) col- 
lected along the Pacific coast of Colombia.?Zoolo- 
gische Jahrbucher fur Systematik. Okologie und 
Geographic der Tiere 112: 261-273. 
 , and N. Toro.   1985.   Uca (Uca) intermedia 
(Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) a new fiddler 
crab of the Pacific coast of Colombia.?Zoologischer 
Anzeiger 215: 274-278. 
, and O. F. Sanchez.  1985. Cangrejos grapsidos 
(Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) del Pacifico Col- 
ombiano.?Boletin Ecotropica 12: 31-49. 
1985. Distribucion del cangrejo de agua dulce 
Hypolobocera heieri Pretzmann, 1968 y anatomia de 
su gonopodo.?Actualidades Biologicas 14: 43-47. 
, and J. Giraldo.   1985.  Un nuevo cangrejo de 
agua dulce de la Cordillera Central de Colombia.? 
Lozania 49: 1-5. 
-, and G. Manjarres.   1985.   La asociacion del 
cangrejo xanthido Plalypodiella spectabilis con cora- 
les blandos del genero Palythoa en el Caribe Colom- 
biano.?Actualidades Biologicas 13: 106-108. 
1985.   Cultivation of shrimp in cages as a 
development alternative.?/?.? Proceedings of shrimp 
aquaculture in the Caribbean Basin: prospects and 
constraints, pp. 111-119. 
1986. Notas sobre la zoogeografla de corales, 
cnistaceos, moluscos y peces.?/n; H. von Prahl and 
M. Alberico, eds., Isla de Gorgona. Banco Popular- 
Universidad del Valle, pp. 91-127. 
-, and O. Sanchez.   1986.  Cangrejos calapidos 
(Crustacea: Brachyura: Calappidae) del Pacifico Co- 
lombiano.?Boletin Ecotropica 14: 21-33. 
1986. Cnistaceos decapodos asociados a di- 
ferentes habitats en la Enscnada de Utria, Choco, 
Colombia.?Actualidades Biologicas 15: 95-99. 
Camera, J. R., H. von Prahl, and R. Neira. 1987. 
Moluscos, cnistaceos y equinodermos asociados a la 
gorgonia Lophogorgia alba Duchassaing y Michelot- 
ti 1864, en la Isla dc Gorgona, Colombia.?Boletin 
Ecotropica 17:3-23. 
Prahl, H. von. 1987. Hypolobocera dentata sp. nov.: 
A new freshwater crab (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pseu- 
dothelphusidae) from the Cordillera Occidental, Co- 
lombia.?Revista de Biologia Tropical 35: 93-95. 
 , and G. Ramos.   1987.   Potamocarcinus co- 
lombiensis &p. nov.: Un nuevo cangrejo de agua dulce 
(Decapoda: Brachyura: Pseudothelphusidae) de la 
Serrania Costera del Baudo, Colombia.?Revista de 
Biologia Tropical 35: 131-133. 
1987.  Redescripcion de Hypolobocera buen- 
aventurensis, un cangrejo de agua dulce (Decapoda, 
Pseudothelphusidae) del Pacifico Colombiano.? 
Boletin Ecotropica 16: 59-64. 
1987.   Strengeriana antioquensis sp. nov. 
(Crustacea: Pseudothelphusidae) a new freshwater 
crab of Colombia.?Caribbean Journal of Science 
23: 244-246. 
 .   1987.   Cangrejos de agua dulce (Crustacea: 
Brachyura: Pseudothelphusidae y Trichodactylidae) 
capturados en el Departamento de Antioquia, Co- 
lombia.?Boletin Ecotropica 18: 3-17. 
 , B. Gutierrez, and J. E. Restrepo.   1987.  Se- 
leccion de zonas aptas para el cultivo de camarones 
de agua salada y dulce en el Pacifico Colombiano. 
Revista de la Asociacion Colombiana de Ciencias 
Biologicas 4: 37-47. 
 . 1988. Fresh-water crabs (Crustacea: Decap- 
oda: Pseudothelphusidae) of the Pacific drainage of 
Colombia.?Zoologische Jahrbucher, Abteilung fur 
Systematik, Okologie und Geographic der Tiere 115: 
171-186. 
476 JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY, VOL. 11. NO. 3. 1991 
Romero, L. E., and H. von Prahl. 1988. Elcamaron 
rojo de rio, Procambarus clarkii.?Boletin Red Acui- 
cuUura2: 11-lS. 
Prahl, H. von, and F. Sanchez. 1989. Unidaddefil- 
tracidn para el desarroUo larval de camarones de 
no.?In: Memorias VI Seminario Nactonal de Cien- 
cias del Mar, Bogoti, pp. 67-70. 
 .   1989.   Cangrejos terrestres (Pseudothelphu- 
sidae) como indicadores de eventos geologicos y 
ecologicos.?/n.? Memorias VI Seminario Nacional 
de Ciencias del Mar, Bogota, pp. 93-101. 
Ramos, G. E., and H. von Prahl. 1989. Alpheus 
utriensis, new species (Caridea, Alpheidae), from 
Utria Sound, Pacific coast of Colombia.?Journal of 
Crustacean Biology 9: 477-481. 
Escobar, J. C, and H. von Prahl. 1989. Efccto de la 
aclimatacion al agua dulce sobre el crecimiento y 
desarroUo de Penaeus vannamei, en el Pacifico Co- 
lombiano.?Memorias de la Tercera Reunion Red 
Nacional de Acuicultura, Cali, 31 Octubre, Catima, 
1-3 Noviembre. 
Prahl, H. von, G. E. Ramos, and R. Rios. 1990. The 
crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of the Pa- 
cific coast of Colombia.?Revista de Ciencias Uni- 
versidad del Valle 2: 23-35. 
Rios, R.,G.E. Ramos, and H. von Prahl. 1990. Notas 
sobre un extrano cangrejo hermitaiio, Xilopagunis 
cancellarius Walton, 1950 (Crustacea: Anomura: Pa- 
guridae), del Pacifico de Colombia.?Revista de 
Ciencias, Universidad del Valle 2: 77-81. 
 , , and . 1990. Sand crabs (Crus- 
tacea: Decapoda: Albuneidae) from the Pacific coast 
of Colombia.?Boletin Ecotropica 22: 26-32. 
Prahl, H. von. (In press.) Strengeriana pisimbalensis 
sp. nov. (Crustacea: Pseudothelphusidae): un nuevo 
cangrejo de la Cordillera Central de Colombia. 
Ramos, G. E., H. von Prahl, and R. Rios. (In press.) 
Los camarones atidos (Decapoda: Atyidae) de la ver- 
tiente del Pacifico Colombiano.?Boletin Ecotrdpi- 
ca.