Arthur Callaghan obituary

My father, Arthur Callaghan, who has died aged 93, was a biology lecturer at Staffordshire University and passionately committed to blue sky" research: scientific endeavour for its own sake. His investigation of the natural world, in particular the study of fungi and their interactions with microscopic organisms, sustained a deep fascination that lasted throughout his life.

Part of his research involved the study of the fungi Conidiobolus and Basidiobolus, and their saprotrophic and pathogenic qualities (ie species' ability to colonise and obtain nutrients from dead microscopic animals such as mites and springtails, or infect and kill them). In 1989, he co-discovered and named, with Steve Waters, a new species, Conidiobolus iuxtagenitus.