Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons

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Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons
Born(1901-02-07)February 7, 1901
DiedAugust 1, 1975(1975-08-01) (aged 74)
Alma materRhodes University
Scientific career
FieldsHerpetology, Plant collector
InstitutionsTransvaal Museum, Namib Desert Research Station
Notes
[1]

Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, born in Pietermaritzburg, was a notable herpetologist in South Africa. Also, he contributed to the collection of spermatophyte samples for the National Herbarium which has become part of the South African National Biodiversity Institute at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. [2] In 1937, together with Anna Amelia Obermeyer, he collected some of the earliest plant specimens from the Eastern Highlands of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Contents

Later, as director of the Transvaal Museum, he together with Charles Koch [3] helped to establish the Namib Desert Research Institute in Gobabeb [2]

Family

Vivian FitzSimons came from a family of naturalists. His father, Frederick William FitzSimons, and his mother Patricia Henrietta (née Russell), both immigrated to South Africa from Ireland. [4]

His brother was Desmond Charles Fitzsimons, who in 1939 founded the Fitzsimons Snake Park (Durban) and was a leading distributor of snake antivenoms in South Africa.

Vivian FitzSimons attended the prestigious Grey High School in Port Elizabeth.

List of written works

Some of his writings include:

Notable posts

Species described

As a leading herpetologist at the Transvaal Museum, Vivian was involved in the original description of as many as 41 South African reptiles, including the following species. [5]

Eponyms

Vivian FitzSimons is commemorated in the scientific names of four reptiles. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Afroedura</i> Genus of lizards

Afroedura is a genus of African geckos, lizards in the family Gekkonidae. Member species are collectively known as rock geckos or flat geckos.

<i>Pachydactylus</i> Genus of lizards

Pachydactylus is a genus of insectivorous geckos, lizards in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is endemic to Africa, and member species are commonly known as thick-toed geckos. The genus also displays rich speciation, having 58 distinct species identified when compared to other closely related gecko genera like Rhoptropus, most of which have emerged since 35Ma. It has been suggested that the reason for this rich speciation not from adaptive radiation nor nonadaptive radiation, but that the genus represents a clade somewhere between the two drivers of speciation. P. bibronii geckos have been used by NASA as animal models for experimentation.

<i>Cordylus</i> Genus of lizards

The genus Cordylus includes a wide variety of species of small to medium spiny lizards from Africa, collectively called girdle-tailed lizards or girdled lizards. All are diurnal and ovoviviparous. Most species are rupicolous (rock-dwelling), while a few species are arboreal or live in burrows. They defend themselves with osteoderms and by quickly retreating into rock crevices or burrows. Many species live in groups, and males defend territories.

<i>Scelotes</i> Genus of lizards

Scelotes is a genus of small African skinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekukhune flat lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Sekukhune flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. It has two subspecies.

Richard Sternfeld was a German-Jewish herpetologist, who was responsible for describing over forty species of amphibians and reptiles, particularly from Germany's African and Pacific colonies.

<i>Pachydactylus labialis</i> Species of lizard

Pachydactylus labialis, commonly known as the Calvinia thick-toed gecko, Western Cape gecko, or Western Cape thick-toed gecko, is a gecko species endemic to the Western and Northern Cape in South Africa, often found taking shelter under stones.

Pachydactylus robertsi, commonly known as the large-scaled gecko, shielded thick-toed gecko, or Rauhschuppen-Dickfingergecko in German, is an African species of gecko.

Goggia rupicola, also known as the Namaqua dwarf leaf-toed gecko or the Namaqua pygmy gecko, is a southern African leaf-toed gecko first described by Vivian FitzSimons from a specimen collected on the 23 August 1937 where it was found in cracks of rocks of small outcrops in the arid Namakwaland in South Africa and Namibia.

<i>Pachydactylus vansoni</i> Species of lizard

Pachydactylus vansoni, commonly known as Van Son's gecko or Van Son's thick-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Dam's girdled lizard</span> Species of lizard

Van Dam's girdled lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.

Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi, also known commonly as the button-scaled gecko, FitzSimons' thick-toed gecko, Fitzsimons's thick-toed gecko, and FitzSimons' tubercled gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southwestern Africa.

The Cape Cross thick-toed gecko, also known commonly as Koch's gecko and Koch's thick-toed gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Pachydactylus barnardi, also known commonly as Barnard's rough gecko or Barnard's thick-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to Southern Africa.

<i>Scelotes fitzsimonsi</i> Species of reptile

Scelotes fitzsimonsi, commonly known as Fitzsimons' dwarf burrowing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is indigenous to southern Africa.

References

  1. Adler, Kraig (editor) (1989). Contributions to the History of Herpetology. St. Louis, Missouri: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. p. 121.
  2. 1 2 3 "FitzSimons, Vivian Frederick Maynard (1901-1975)" . Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  3. "Vivian Fitzsimons". South African History Online (SAHO). Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  4. "South African History Online: Vivian Fitzsimons" . Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  5. "The Reptile Database" . Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. FitzSimons VF (1930). "Descriptions of new South African Reptilia and Batrachia, with distribution records of allied species in the Transvaal Museum collection". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 14: 20–48.
  7. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. ("FitzSimons, V.", p. 91).

External Articles