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TABLE OF CONTENTS
IRCF REPTILES
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
• VOL15, &
NOAMPHIBIANS • 20(2):95–96 • JUN
4 • DEC 2008 189
2013
IRCF
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
C O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y
T A B L E
FEATURE ARTICLES
O F
BOOK
C O N T E N T S
REVIEWS
Eponyms?
 Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin:
On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer
190
 The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada:
A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson
198
The Eponym Dictionary
ofH Reptiles.
Bo Beolens,
is minimized by frequent cross-listings. Very short bibliograRESEARC
A R T I C L E2011.
S
Texas Horned
Lizard in Central
WesternHopkins
Texas .......................phies
Emily Henry,
Jason Brewer,
Kristavolume.
Mougey, and Gad Perry 204
Michael Watkins, and The
Michael
Grayson.
Theand
Johns
complete
each

The
Knight
Anole
(Anolis
equestris)
in
Florida
University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. xiii + 296 pp.
The authors reasonably avoid fossil species by not
............................................. Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
Hardback — ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-0135-5. ISBN-10:
including any forms that became extinct before Columbus
CONSERVATION ALERT
1-4214-0135-5. $100.00.
“discovered” America. Nevertheless, they list 2,668 names
 World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220
of amphibians and 4,130 names of reptiles honoring 1,609
 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223
The Eponym Dictionary
of Amphibians.
2013............................................................................................................................................
Bo Beolens,
and 2,330 individual people, respectively
— but the process
 The “Dow
Jones Index” of Biodiversity
225
Michael Watkins, H
and
Michael
Grayson.
Pelagic
Publishing,
proved
to
be
“fraught
with
difficulties.”
Despite avoiding
USBANDRY
Exeter, UK. xiii + 244
pp.
Hardback
—
ISBN-13:
978-1dubious
names
(impossible
to
identify
or
simply
incorrect),
 Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
907807-41-1 (also available as an ePub, pdf, and for the
problems abounded. A few species are named for more than
PROFILE
Mobi reader). $49.99.
one person, other names sound like those of people but are
 Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
not, referring instead to places (often named for people, thereC O M MDictionary
E N T A R Y of Mammals, George A.
Speaking of the Eponym
fore the confusion), indigenous peoples, fictional characters,
 The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
Feldhamer, writing for
the Quarterly Review of Biology, said:
conservation groups, guerrilla armies, chartered accountants,
“I suspect that there
B Oare
O Kfew
R Epeople
V I E W interested in picking up a
 ThreatenedI Amphibians
of the
World
edited However,
by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox,
dictionary for ‘fun’ reading.”
suspect he
was
right.
R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
the eponym dictionaries
are enjoyable — and sometimes
downright fun. Although
professionals will use them to solicit
 CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245
RESEARCHplaces
REPORTS:
information about 
theNATURAL
people HISTORY
(and sometimes
and Summaries
mis- of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247
NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248
cellaneous groups)
for
whom
animals
are
named,
these
dic EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251
tionaries are not so highly
technical
or full ofA Project
jargon
a ............................................................................................... 252
FOCUS ON
CONSERVATION:
Youthat
Can Support
curious naturalist or anyone interested in animals won’t enjoy
them, if only for trivial pursuits.
Eponyms are the proper names incorporated into many
Back Cover. Michael Kern
Front Cover.
Shannon Plummer.
vernacular and scientific names, typically
honoring
a person
Totat et velleseque audant mo
Totat et velleseque audant mo
for their contributions to science, often
for a body of work of
estibus inveliquo velique rerchil
estibus inveliquo velique rerchil
erspienimus,
quos
accullabo. Ilibusfor
erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus
great importance (e.g., Charles Darwin)
but
sometimes
aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum
aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum
financial support of a particular expedition,
the provision of
fugiatis maionsequat eumque
fugiatis maionsequat eumque
a permit, for collecting the specimen
that
type
moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiamoditia
ererebecame
nonsedis mathe
sectiatur
ma derrovitae
voluptam,
quos
tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as
for the species (or genus or subspecies),
or simply
foras being
a
accullabo.
friend of the describer.
Although printed by different publishers, both books are
organized in the same fashion. After short introductions in
which the authors discuss the format of each book, names
of the persons honored are listed alphabetically (it is a “dictionary,” after all), followed by lists of taxa named for that
person, with common (or vernacular) English name(s), scientific name(s), name(s) of the person(s) who first described
the taxon, and the date of the original description. Alternative
common names and scientific synonyms (different names
assigned to the same taxon) are included when necessary. A
short biographical sketch of the honoree is then followed in
the amphibian book, when applicable, by a list of other nonamphibian taxa named for the person in question. Confusion
95
BOOK REVIEWS
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):95–96 • JUN 2013
gist specializing in the Ecuadorian herpetofauna) and 39 reptiles (plus 23 mammals and two birds). German-born British
zoologist Albert Günther is honored with 26 amphibians
and 67 reptiles (plus three mammals and two birds), possibly
the most for any one person, although I did not count the
entries for every person listed. E.H. Taylor, of the University
of Kansas and known mostly for his work in the Philippines
and later in Mexico (using “marginally reliable vehicles”), is
honored with 20 amphibians and 29 reptiles (plus a mammal).
Examples of oddities include Hyla andersonii (Anderson’s
Treefrog), which is not named after a person at all, but
instead for the type locality of Anderson, South Carolina;
Dendropsophus amicorum is the name of a treefrog collectively
thanking all of the describer’s friends (amicorum means “of
the friends”); and Pristimantis uisae is a “robber frog” named
for the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Bucaramanga,
Colombia. The Bushmaster genus (Lachesis) is named for one
of the three Fates in Greek mythology, and Stewart’s Stickytoed Gecko (Hoplodactylus rakiurae) honors Rakiura National
Park on Stewart Island, New Zealand.
Although an impossible task to include every possible namesake (and more are being added all the time),
two omissions are notable. In 1988, Richard Thomas and
S. Blair Hedges named the Martin Garcia Least Gecko
(Sphaerodactylus ladae) after their rental car (a Russian-built
Lada), and in 1972, James (“Skip”) Lazell described the
Anguilla Bank Bush Anole (Anolis pogus). Assuming that the
specific epithet was derived from the Greek pogus (= beard),
many authorities (obviously including the authors) have used
“Bearded Anole” as the vernacular name, although no evident
character is suggestive of a beard. In fact, Lazell named the
lizard for Pogo, Walt Kelly’s cartoon character of the longrunning American comic strip and probably best known for
saying: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Production quality is high for both books, but the
list prices are substantial (especially for the reptile book).
Fortunately, steep discounts available from volume sellers render them affordable — and worth the price. Do not fall prey
to the inclination to set these volumes aside as dry and of use
only to hardened academics. In unique fashion, they provide
an overview of distinguished herpetologists and a multitude
of other people who have impacted our field. So, while scholars will exploit these books, readers can simply enjoy them.
and biblical or mythological references, not to mention a few
that the authors were unable to identify.
Famous names abound. Charles Darwin is honored with
the names of three amphibians (plus one that also honors
Alfred Wallace) and seven reptiles — plus two additional reptiles named for the port of Darwin in the Northern Territory
of Australia and four mammals and 23 birds. Edward Drinker
Cope, for whom the journal Copeia is named and who might
be better known for his role in the 19th-century “dinosaur
wars” with rival Othneil C. Marsh, is honored with the
names of 19 amphibians and 59 reptiles. Most are vernacular names acknowledging him as the describer of those taxa.
Doris Cochran, long-time curator of amphibians and reptiles
at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian
Institution) is honored with the names of 11 amphibians
(including one genus) and nine reptiles. German naturalist
Wilhelm K. H. Peters is honored with 18 amphibians (and
one honoring both him and James Peters, an American zoolo-
Robert Powell
Avila University
Kansas City, Missouri
96