Abstract: Our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Walter James Harman, passed away on 1 April 2002, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He was a long time faculty member at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. Dr. Harman is survived by his wife of 47 years, Dorothy Brewster Harman, two daughters, three grandsons, and his mother. Dr. Harman was born on February 25,1928 in Strong, Arkansas. After completing primary and secondary education in Arkansas, he attended Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, receiving his Bachelor's degree in 1948. He then enrolled in graduate school at The University of Arkansas, receiving his Master of Arts degree in 1950. In January 1950, Dr. Harman became an instructor in the Zoology Department of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1952-1954, he again joined the faculty of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute as a zoology professor. In 1955, Dr. Harman enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Illinois. After completing class and research requirements for his doctoral degree, he returned to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute to teach while writing his PhD thesis on the taxonomy and nomenclature of earthworms. His doctoral degree was awarded in 1960. In 1961, he took a zoology position at Louisiana State University, and in 1963 was appointed Chairman of the Department of Zoology and Physiology. He served as chairman of that department until 1977, then continued as a professor until his retirement in 1989. Dr. Harman's research focused primarily on the taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of terrestrial and aquatic oligochaetes. The majority of his publications focused on the Naididae and Opistocystidae of North, Central, and South America, but his research interests also included other annelid groups, nemerteans, mollusks, and cycads. Dr. Harman was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Microscopic Society, American Society of Zoologists, Louisiana Academy of Sciences, and the Society of Systematic Zoology, and was the founding father the Cycad Society. He was the author or co-author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications, book and book chapters, and popular articles. Dr. Harman will best be remembered by his colleagues, students, and friends as a gentleman, and for his love of teaching, his subtle yet humorous wit (as dry as the martinis he occasionally sipped), a constant gentle charm, a love for books and plants, and the worship of God through the uniqueness, diversity, and beauty of the zoological and botanical world in which we live.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Mark J. Wetzel, Research Scientist and Curator of the INHS Annelida Collection, Illinois Natural History Survey,
Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820 USA

''Wetzel, M.J. 2006. In Memoriam: Professor Walter James Harman, PhD (1928-2002). Pp. 1-4, In: P.F.M. Verdonschot, H. Wang, A. Pinder, and R. Nijboer, eds. Developments in Hydrobiology 186. Aquatic Oligochaete Biology IX. Selected papers from the 9th International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaeta, 6Ð10 October 2003, Wageningen, The Netherlands (published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 Dordrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 1-4020-4781-9).''

Harman, W.J. 1952. A taxonomic survey of the earthworms of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 15: 19-23.

Harman, W.J. 1954. Some earthworms from southern Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 35: 51-55. [This paper was most likely published in 1955; the proceedings are for the year 1954, and printed information in this volume stated that papers were received in late December, 1954, for publication.]

Harman, W.J. 1955. Earthworms of commercial importance and their effect on distribution. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 18: 54-57.

Harman, W.J. 1956. Isolation of earthworm setae by use of histophagous protozoa. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 75: 332-333.

Harman, W.J. 1960. Studies on the taxonomy and musculature of the earthworms of central Illinois. Ph. D. thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana. v + 107 pp.

Harman, W.J. 1961 [1960]. A double-tailed earthworm. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 23: 75-76. [Ô1961Õ is clearly stated on front cover of this volume as the year of publication, even though Ô1960Õ is printed as the publication date at the top of the first page of this paper.]

Harman, W.J. 1961. Plain facts about earthworms. Organic Gardening 8(11): 23-27. *

Harman, W.J. 1961. Seta, p. 915, in Gray, P (editor). The encyclopedia of the biological sciences. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York.

Harman, W.J., and J.H. Platt. 1961. Notes on some aquatic oligochaetes from Louisiana. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 24: 90-95.

Harman, W.J. 1962. A fresh water nemertine from Louisiana. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 25: 32-34.

Dundee, D.S., and W.J. Harman. 1963. Corbicula fluminea (Müller) in Louisiana. Nautilus 77(1): 30.

AIBS Subcommittee on Facilities and Standards [members W. Johnson, W. Balamuth, C.R. Bell, W. Harman, S.E.A. McDallan, and H. Schneiderman]. 1963. Standards for staff and facilities in departments of biological science. AIBS Bulletin 13(6): 14-19.

Roberts, J.H., H.B. Boudreaux, and W.J. Harman. 1963. Laboratory manual for general zoology. Part two: The invertebrates. Wm. C. Brown Book Co., Dubuque, IA, USA [out of print] *

Harman, W.J. 1964. Zoogeography of freshwater Oligochaeta. [abstract] American Zoologist 4(4): 437.

Harman, W.J. 1965. A key to the genus Slavina (Oligochaeta: Naididae) with description of a new species from Costa Rica. Annals & Magazine of Natural History, Series 13 - 8(93 & 94): 565-568. {Slavina truncata sp.nov.}

Harman, W.J. 1965. A new species of the genus Pristina (Oligochaeta: Naididae) from Louisiana. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 28: 28-31. {Pristina longidentata sp.nov.}

Harman, W.J. 1965. Life history studies of the earthworm Sparganophilus eiseni in Louisiana. The Southwestern Naturalist 10(1): 22-24.

Roberts, J.H., H.B. Boudreaux, W.J. Harman, and N.B. Causey. 1965. Laboratory manual for general zoology. Directions for use in a two-semester course in introductory zoology. Second edition. Part 2: Second Semester Ð The Invertebrates. Wm. C. Brown Book Co., Dubuque, IA USA. vi + 79 pp. [out of print]*

Harman, W.J. 1966. Some aquatic oligochaetes from Mississippi. American Midland Naturalist 76(1): 239-242.

Harman, W.J. 1969. Revision of the family Opistocystidae (Oligochaeta). Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 88(4): 472-478. {Opistocysta serrata sp.nov., Opistocysta corderoi sp.nov., and Opistocysta tribranchiata sp.nov.}

Harman, W.J. 1971. A review of the subgenus Allodero (Oligochaeta: Naididae: Dero) with a description of D. (A.) floridana n. sp. from Bufo terrestris. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 90(2): 225-228. {Dero (Aulophorus) floridana sp.nov.}

Harman, W.J. 1973. Dero (Allodero) hylae (Oligochaeta: Naididae) in Louisiana anurans. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 36: 71-76.

Harman, W.J. 1973. New species of Oligochaeta (Naididae) with additional distributional records from Oklahoma and Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist 18(2): 151-164. {Nais magnaseta sp.nov. and Pristina unidentata sp.nov. [now Bratislavia unidentata]}

Harman, W.J. 1974. The Naididae (Oligochaeta) of Surinam. Zoologische Verhandelingen Uitgegeven Door Het Rijksmuseum Van Natuurlijke Historie Te Leiden 133: 1-36.

Harman, W.J. 1975. A new species of Stephensoniana (Oligochaeta: Naididae) from North America. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 88(1): 1-4. {Stephensoniana tandyi sp.nov.}

Harman, W.J., and R.C. Harrel. 1975. Haemonais waldvogeli (Naididae: Oligochaeta) now established in North America. Texas Journal of Science 26(3+4): 621-623.

Harman, W.J., and A.R. Lawler. 1975. Dero (Allodero) hylae, an oligochaete symbiont in hylid frogs in Mississippi. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 94(1): 38-42.

Harman, W.J., and M.L. McMahan. 1975. A reevaluation of Pristina longiseta (Oligochaeta: Naididae) in North America. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 88(17): 167-178.

Harman, W.J., and M.L. McMahan. 1975. Scanning electron microscopy as a tool in the study of oligochaetes. [abstract of paper presented at meeting of the Louisiana and Texas Societies for Electron Microscopy, 22-25 February 1975 in New Orleans, Louisiana]. Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine 33(2): 350.

Harman, W.J. 1976. An oligochaete that belongs to two genera. [abstract of contributed paper presented at the 91st annual meeting of the American Microscopical Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, 10-14 November 1975] Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 95(2): 274.

Harman, W.J. 1977. Three new species of Oligochaeta (Naididae) from the southeastern U.S. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 90(3): 483-490. {Wapsa grandis sp.nov. [now = Paranais grandis], Pristina longisoma sp.nov., and Dero (Dero) abranchiata sp.nov.} [now = Bratislavia unidentata]}

Harman, W.J., and M.S. Loden. 1978. A re-evaluation of the Opistocystidae (Oligochaeta) with descriptions of two new genera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 91(2): 453-462. {Trieminentia gen.nov. [Typ: Opistocysta corderi Harman, 1969] and Crustipellis gen.nov. [Typ: Opistocysta tribranchiata Harman, 1969, emmend. Brinkhurst, 1971]}.

Harman, W.J., and M.S. Loden. 1978. Bratislavia unidentata (Oligochaeta: Naididae), a re-description. The Southwestern Naturalist 23(4): 541-544.

Harman, W.J., and M.S. Loden. 1979. A rediscovery of Bratislavia bilongata (Chen, 1944) (Oligochaeta: Naididae) in Florida. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 98(4): 581-583.

Harman, W.J., M.S. Loden, and J.R. Davis. 1979. Aquatic Oligochaeta new to North America with some further records of species from Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist 24(3): 509-525.

Harman, W.J. 1980. Specific and generic criteria in freshwater Oligochaeta, with special emphasis on the Naididae. Pages 1-8, In: R.O. Brinkhurst and D.G. Cook, eds. Aquatic oligochaete biology. Plenum Press, New York. ix + 529 pp. [Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaete Biology, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, 1-4 May 1979]

Loden, M.S., and W.J. Harman. 1980. Ecophenotypic variation in setae of Naididae (Oligochaeta). Pages 33-39, In: R.O. Brinkhurst and D.G. Cook, eds. Aquatic oligochaete biology. Plenum Press, New York. ix + 529 pp. [Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaete Biology, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, 1-4 May 1979]

Harman, W.J. 1982. Oligochaeta, Pp. 162-165, In: S.H. Hurlbert and A. Villalobos-Figueroa (eds.). Aquatic biota of Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. SDSU Foundation, San Diego State University Press, San Diego, California, USA 92182. Harman, W.J. 1982. The aquatic Oligochaeta (Aeolosomatidae, Opistocystidae, Naididae) of Central America. The Southwestern Naturalist 27(3): 287-298.

Loden, M.S., and W.J. Harman. 1982. Dero (Aulophorus) intermedia Nomen Novum for Aulophorus pectinatus Stephenson, 1931 (Oligochaeta: Naididae). Freshwater Invertebrate Biology 1(1): 53-54. {however, since this 'new' name was also unavailable, the species was renamed Dero (Aulophorus) lodeni by Brinkhurst in 1986}

Harman, W.J. 1984. An analysis of the inorganic composition of the setae of Eisenia foetida (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae). Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 47: 19-22.

Harman, W.J. 1984. Segment numbers in the earthworm, Bimastos zeteki (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae), as a function of age. Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences 47: 34-41.

Harman, W.J., and M.S. Loden. 1984. Capilloventer atlanticus gen. et sp.n., a member of a new family of marine Oligochaeta from Brazil. Hydrobiologia 115: 51-54.

Harman, W.J., R.O. Brinkhurst, and M. Marchese. 1988. A contribution to the taxonomy of the aquatic Oligochaeta (Naididae) of South America. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66(10): 2233-2242.