The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles

About this book

Who was Richard Kemp, after whom the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is named? Is Wake's Gecko named after Berkeley's Marvalee Wake? Or perhaps her husband, David? Why do so many snakes and lizards have Werner in their name? This reference book answers these and thousands of other questions about the origins of the vernacular and scientific names of reptiles across the globe.

From Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti, the Florida copperhead subspecies named for Roger Conant, to Xantusia, the night lizard genera namesake of John Xantus, this dictionary covers everyone after whom an extant or recently extinct reptile has been named. The entries include a brief bio-sketch, a list of the reptiles that bear the individual's name, the names of reptiles erroneously thought to be associated with the person, and a summary of major - and sometimes obscure or even incidental - contributions made by the person to herpetology and zoology. An introductory chapter explains how to use the book and describes the process of naming taxa.

Easy to use and filled with addictive - and highly useful - information about the people whose names will be carried into the future on the backs of the world's reptiles, "The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles" is a handy and fun book for professional and amateur herpetologists alike.

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Biography

Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson are the coauthors of "The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals", also published by Johns Hopkins. Bo Beolens & Michael Watkins are the co-authors of `Whose Bird' published by Helm. Bo Beolens is also better known as Fatbirder for his comprehensive Birding website www.fatbirder.com and as `The Grumpy Old Birder' in his magazine column in Bird Art & Photography. He is also the founder of `Birding For All' an organisation for birders with mobility problems.