Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.
Bothrochilus is a genus of nonvenomous pythonid snakes, which currently comprises seven species.
The eastern brown snake, often referred to as the common brown snake, is a highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae, native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. It was first described by André Marie Constant Duméril in 1854. The adult eastern brown snake is up to 2 m (7 ft) long with a slender build. Its variable upper parts can be several shades of brown, ranging from pale brown to almost black, while its underside is pale cream-yellow, often with orange or grey splotches. The eastern brown snake is found in most habitats except dense forests. It has become more common in farmland and on the outskirts of urban areas, benefiting from agriculture due to the increased numbers of its main prey, the introduced house mouse. The species is oviparous. The snake is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though its status in New Guinea is not well known.
The spotted python, eastern small-blotched python, or eastern children's python is a python species found in northern Australia and New Guinea. It is a popular pet among Australian reptile enthusiasts due to its small size and even temperament. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Indotyphlops braminus, commonly known as the brahminy blind snake and other names, is a nonvenomous blind snake species found mostly in Africa and Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. They are completely fossorial animals, with habits and appearance similar to earthworms, for which they are often mistaken, although close examination reveals tiny scales rather than the annular segments characteristic of true earthworms. The specific name is a Latinized form of the word Brahmin. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Bothrops asper is a highly venomous pit viper species, ranging in distribution from southern Mexico to northern South America. It is found in a wide range of lowland habitats, often near human habitations. Because of its proximity to human habitations and its defensive temperament, it is more dangerous to people than many other snakes. This species is the main cause of snakebite incidents within its range. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Joseph Bruno Slowinski was an American herpetologist who worked extensively with elapid snakes.
Karl Patterson Schmidt was an American herpetologist.
Hobart Muir Smith, born Frederick William Stouffer, was an American herpetologist. He is credited with describing more than 100 new species of American reptiles and amphibians. In addition, he has been honored by having at least six species named after him, including the southwestern blackhead snake, Smith's earth snake, Smith's arboreal alligator lizard, Hobart's anadia, Hobart Smith's anole, and Smith's rose-bellied lizard. At 100 years of age, Smith continued to be an active and productive herpetologist. Having published more than 1,600 manuscripts, he surpassed all contemporaries and remains the most published herpetologist of all time.
The king brown snake is a species of highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae, native to northern, western, and Central Australia. Despite its common name, it is a member of the genus Pseudechis and only distantly related to true brown snakes. Its alternative common name is the mulga snake, although it lives in many habitats apart from mulga. First described by the English zoologist John Edward Gray in 1842, it is a robust snake up to 3.3 m (11 ft) long. It is variable in appearance, with individuals from northern Australia having tan upper-parts, while those from southern Australia are dark brown to blackish. Sometimes it is seen in a reddish-green texture. The dorsal scales are two-toned, sometimes giving the snake a patterned appearance. Its underside is cream or white, often with orange splotches. The species is oviparous. The snake is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though may have declined with the spread of the cane toad.
Raymond Terrence Hoser, who describes himself as a herpetologist, is an Australian snake-catcher and author. Since 1976, he has written books and articles about official corruption in Australia. He has also written works on Australian frogs and reptiles and operates a business called reptile parties, in Melbourne. He is also a government licensed snake catcher doing snake removal work with venomous snakes. Some of Hoser's work is controversial, including his advocacy of the surgical alteration of captive snakes to remove their venom glands and his self-published herpetological taxonomy.
Fred Parker's blindsnake is a species of snake in the family Gerrhopilidae.
The coastal taipan, or common taipan, is a species of large, extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia and the island of New Guinea. According to most toxicological studies, this species is the third-most venomous land snake in the world after the Inland taipan and Eastern brown snake based on its murine LD50.
The Papuan black snake is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae native to New Guinea. Reaching around 2 m (7 ft) in length, it is a predominantly black snake coloured grey underneath.
Micropechis ikaheca, commonly known as the New Guinea small-eyed snake or Ikaheka snake, is a highly venomous elapid, the only species in the genus Micropechis. The holotype was collected at Doré on the Vogelkop of Netherlands New Guinea, and described in 1829, by the naturalist on board the French Navy vessel La Coquille, ship's surgeon René Primevère Lesson, in a volume of the three-year circumnavigation (1922-1925) by Louis Isidore Duperrey, captain of La Coquille. Lesson's holotype is housed in the collection of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, with the museum accession no. MNHN 7669.
Most snakebites are caused by non-venomous snakes. Of the roughly 3,700 known species of snake found worldwide, only 15% are considered dangerous to humans. Snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica. There are two major families of venomous snakes, Elapidae and Viperidae. Three hundred twenty five species in 61 genera are recognized in the family Elapidae and 224 species in 22 genera are recognized in the family Viperidae, In addition, the most diverse and widely distributed snake family, the colubrids, has approximately 700 venomous species, but only five genera—boomslangs, twig snakes, keelback snakes, green snakes, and slender snakes—have caused human fatalities.
Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach is an American herpetologist and an expert on blindsnakes and on the systematics, internal anatomy, and taxonomy of snakes. He has contributed to the descriptions of at least 46 species of snakes and has conducted fieldwork on tropical snakes in the Philippines, Nicaragua, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Joseph Thomas Collins, Jr. was an American herpetologist. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Collins authored 27 books and over 300 articles on wildlife, of which about 250 were on amphibians and reptiles. He was the founder of the Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH). He died while studying amphibians and reptiles on St. George Island, Florida on 14 January 2012. "For 60 years I was obsessed with herpetology," claimed Joe Collins
D'Albertis' python, also known commonly as D'Albert's water python or the northern white-lipped python, is a species of python, a non-venomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea. There are no subspecies that are currently recognized as being valid.
The Australian Journal of Herpetology was a scientific journal specialising in the study of amphibians and reptiles (herpetology) published from 1981 until 1983 with an additional supplemental series released in 1985. The Australian Herpetologists' League established the journal as a peer-reviewed periodical and published its first two issues in 1981. Richard W. Wells, a first-year biology student, served as the journal's editor-in-chief, supporting an editorial board of three Australian researchers.
