John Douglas Lynch

John Douglas Lynch
Born	(1942-07-30)July 30, 1942 Iowa, United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Illinois; University of Kansas
Known for	Research on neotropical frogs, taxonomy of Pristimantis, Eleutherodactylus, and Strabomantis
Scientific career
Fields	Herpetology
Institutions	University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Doctoral advisor	William Edward Duellman
Author abbrev. (zoology)	Lynch

John Douglas Lynch (born July 30, 1942) is an American herpetologist. His research focuses on the neotropical herpetofauna.

Biography

In 1964, Lynch conducted research in Mexico as part of his master's degree at the University of Illinois, studying the frog genus Eleutherodactylus . After receiving his Master of Science, he enrolled at the University of Kansas, where he studied zoology under William Edward Duellman. In 1967, he went on his first expedition to Ecuador, where he collected frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus and members of the family Centrolenidae (glass frogs). He earned his Ph.D. in 1969 with the dissertation Evolutionary relationships and osteology of the frog family Leptodactylidae. ^{[1] [2]}

During an expedition in 1980 with María Cristina Ardila Robayo and Pedro Ruiz in the highlands of the Colombian departments of Cauca and Huila, he discovered more than 20 new frog species. From 1969 to 1997, Lynch was a professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 1997, he became an associate professor and curator of herpetology at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Since 1999, he has lived in Colombia. ^[1]

In the summer of 2000, he was among a group of scientists briefly kidnapped by the Colombian guerrilla organization ELN. ^{[2] [3]}

Lynch has participated in the scientific descriptions of more than 200 frog species, including many taxa in the genera Eleutherodactylus, Pristimantis and Strabomantis . ^[1]

Lynch has a son and a daughter. ^[2]

Eponyms

Several taxa have been named in honor of John Douglas Lynch, including Atelopus lynchi , Rhaebo lynchi , Centrolene lynchi , Colostethus lynchi , Hyloscirtus lynchi , Noblella lynchi , and Pristimantis lynchi , as well as the genera Lynchophrys and Lynchius . The specific epithet of the salamander Pseudoeurycea lynchi refers to the zoologist James Francis Lynch.

References

1. "John Lynch". accefyn.org.
2. McCombs, Brady (13 August 2000). "Release cheers friends of kidnapped scientist". Lawrence Journal World. Friends of former Kansas University student John Douglas Lynch were elated to hear about his release Saturday from Colombian rebels.… … Lynch, an Iowa native, is curator of herpetology at the Natural Science Institute, National University of Colombia in Bogota. He also is a research associate at KU, an honorary title that allows him access to research materials at the Natural History Museum. Lynch earned a doctorate in zoology from KU in 1969, school officials said. According to Duellman, Lynch has a son in Lincoln, Neb., and a daughter in the Chicago area.
3. "John D. Lynch". LJWorld.com. 12 August 2000. John D. Lynch, left, a KU graduate and research associate… …Lynch, now a curator for the National University of Colombia, is among a group of 20 biologists reportedly kidnapped by Colombian rebels on Thursday.