Repatriation Milestone: Specimen of 170-Year-Old Jamaican Giant Galliwasp returns home

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Friday, May 10, 2024—A rare Jamaican Giant Galliwasp (Celestus occiduus) specimen kept in The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow in Scotland since the 1800s has finally returned to its homeland. Its return to Jamaica marks the successful joint repatriation operation between The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and the University of Glasgow (UofG). To ensure the safe journey of the specimen, a team of experts from The UWI and the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) travelled to Scotland from April 18 to 24.

For nineteen months, The UWI and UofG, partners through a 2019 MOU, have been meticulously coordinating the repatriation of this unique creature. The young adult female, wet preserved lizard, (nicknamed Celeste) is believed to be over 170 years old and resided at The Hunterian Museum at UofG since 1888. With the support of the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research (GCCDR) established by the two universities, as well as the IOJ, the specimen made its way by air travel from Scotland to Jamaica.

The Jamaican Giant Galliwasp, the largest of galliwasp in Jamaica (15 to 20 inches long), was endemic to Jamaica, but vanished sometime in the late 1800s, and is now presumed extinct. Before they became extinct, galliwasp specimens were collected and sent to various museums in Europe and the USA. Some were held by the Institute of Jamaica but are thought to have been lost during the 1907 Kingston earthquake.

Dr Shani Roper, Curator, The UWI Museum who served as the University’s lead coordinator, commented on the expedition, saying, “The trip allowed us to achieve the end goal of repatriation and also provided an opportunity for team members to explore Caribbean fauna collections in Scotland, facilitating knowledge sharing and further collaborations. This programme not only built bridges between the institutions but also established best practice for Caribbean museums contemplating repatriation and supports regional reparative justice agendas.

Now that it’s in Jamaica, the Galliwasp specimen’s permanent home is the country’s National History Museum. An official handover will be held on May 22, formalising its entry into the national museum to facilitate public viewing, scientific study, and research about this lost species and its role in the Jamaican ecosystem.

The return of the Galliwasp signifies more than the homecoming of a specimen; it symbolizes an important milestone for scientific research, cultural heritage preservation in the region, and repatriation as part of the reparatory justice for the Caribbean. The UWI remains steadfast in its commitment to greater advocacy and consciousness-raising of the reparatory justice movement which deals with various issues of different scales.

UWI x IOJ Repatriation Team

Dionne Newell, Senior Research Officer in Entomology at IOJ, Desireina Delancy, Graduate Student, The UWI, Mona, Dr Tannice Hall, Entomologist and Lecturer, Life Sciences, The UWI Mona, Elizabeth Morrison, Zoologist Curator at IOJ, Museum and Dr Shani Roper, Curator at The UWI Museum.

UWI x UofG in Scotland

Back row: L-R: Mike Rutherford (Curator of Zoology & Anatomy), Ellen Fenton (Head of Audience Experience and Engagement), Giovanna Vitelli (Head of Collections and Curatorial), Malcolm Chapman (Head of Collections Management), Neil Clark (Curator of Palaeontology), Lee Scott (Audience Experience Manager), Rachel Hughes (Audience Engagement Manager), Harriet Gaston (Communications Manager)

Second Row L - R: Elizabeth Morrison, Desireina Delancy, Dionne Newell, Ruth Fletcher (Education Manager), Tannice Hall, Jeanne Robinson (Curator of Entomology)

Front Row L-R: Steph Scholten (Director), Shani Roper

Dr Shani Roper, Curator, The UWI Museum and Mike G. Rutherford, Curator of Zoology & Anatomy, The Hunterian with Celeste, the Jamaican Giant Galliwasp specimen

Steph Scholten, Director, The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow and Dr Shani Roper, Curator, The UWI Museum

Dr Shani Roper, Curator, The UWI Museum shares how the repatriation of the Jamaican Giant Galliwasp specimen began and what it means for the Caribbean region - https://youtu.be/nuDrnsTqpPg?si=TV4i8djdbLIACUO1

Steph Scholten, Director, The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow talks about the significance of the repatriation of the Jamaican Giant Galliwasp specimen - https://youtu.be/Cp6oUwKaeyw?si=Rfq3rc5nLwuuvbwG

About The University of the West Indies

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development, residing at the center of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for over 75 years. From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with nearly 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Global Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The UWI offers over 1000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and the wider world.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the best in the world by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). Since The UWI’s 2018 debut in THE’s rankings, it has performed well in multiple schemes—among them including World University Rankings, Golden Age University Rankings (between 50 and 80 years old), Latin America Rankings, and the Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Well-being; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

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