The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians

Carolus Linnaeus, the scientist who laid the foundations for the modern biological naming scheme passed away over 200 years ago but still new species are discovered every day and even amphibians, a rather small group of animals, had over 160 new species described last year (2012). Describing new species is funny because it is one of the few instances in science where you can leave a permanent record and, at the same time, express yourself without too many constraints. Zoologists, explorers, collectors and sometimes relatives, lovers, and friends of the taxonomist often had the honour to have their name Latinised and used to name a previously unknown species. This is considered a great privilege as the scientific names can perpetuate the memory of a person for hundreds of years.

The book “The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians” deals exactly with this subject: it provides information about scientific and common names that contain a person’s name. So if you consider an amphibian species as Hydromantes strinatii  (Aellen, 1958) you will find a biography of the Swiss biospeleologist Pierre Strinati to whom the species is dedicated (but not of Villy Aellen who described it because the describer is not considered an eponym).

For each entry there is a list of amphibians named after the person, a short biography that ranges from a few words for persons that contributed only marginally (or not at all!) to science and culture in general, to over 25 lines for famous zoologists. Since this book is organized as a dictionary it is not illustrated except for the nice front cover; the references are limited to a general list of books and journals, this latter could not be a problem in the internet age as a quick web search with carefully selected word usually delivers a wealth of information.

Names are arranged alphabetically and so, when needed, it is easy to check for a surname and obtain the information you are looking for. I tried to look for the Societas Herpetologica Italica  members and I found few people listed: Franco Andreone, Emilio Balletto, Benedetto Lanza for whom there are complete and correct data.

I then tried to check if all the eponyms of Italian amphibians were included and again I was amazed by completeness and the accuracy of the biography presented. I was a little surprised by the absence of Paolo Savi that is related to the Italian common name of Salamandrina perspicillata  but then I realized that the most used English common name for this species is Northern spectacled salamander, thus it does not include the word “Savi”. This poses some questions about the choice of common names that, especially for amphibians and reptiles, are often controversial so that for some species a plethora of names is available. Is this book really complete and up to date? I had the opportunity to keep it at  and on my desk for nearly three months, I checked it often and I am quite sure that the book is the result of a long and careful work; with 2668 eponyms listed to honour 1609 names I am fairly sure that is almost complete. Even species recently described as Lyciasalamandra yehudahi  2012 dedicated to the father of middle east herpetology Yehudah Werner were included. This book will unfortunately not going to be a bestseller as there are not so many people that are eager to know that Uraeotyphlus oommeni  is dedicated to the Indian zoologist Oommen V. Oommen, but anyway I found it a very useful tool, especially when the eponym you are looking for is not so famous or when the name honoured is a living zoologist.

As a final note, I would like to add that the tireless authors of this book already published few other eponym dictionaries dedicated to Reptiles and Mammals that you’ll find listed among the references (while the ones dedicated to Shark and Rays, and to Birds are in press). There are still many species on the Planet that are waiting to be described and named, this is the reason why I sincerely hope that all these books will be updated on a regular basis, maybe taking in account also fossil species so that Eobarbourula delfinoi  the eponym of the president of our Societas Herpetologica Italica  could be listed.

-- Edoardo Razzetti * Acta Herpetologica *

This book is a follow-up to the “Eponym Dictionary of Mammals” (2009) and “The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles” (2011), both by the same authors. This series of books lists those species that were named for people, or in some cases for “a place that was itself named after a person”.

The book contains 2,668 amphibian names: 1,609 honour known individuals, while 83 relate to “indigenous peoples, conservation groups, guerrilla armies, chartered accountants and biblical and mythological references.” A further 128 names “sound like people’s names but in fact are not”. Lastly, 11 of the entries are for people whom the authors have been unable to identify.

The book begins with a three-page Introduction, in which the authors detail the underlying premises of the book. I find it interesting to read about the unforeseen decisions that authors must make when compiling books such as this. The authors state that “tracking down the provenance of eponymous names, and finding out about the individuals responsible for them, proved to be fraught with difficulties.” The remainder of the book consists of the entries of eponymous amphibian names. Only extant species are treated; no fossil names are included.

The book is organized alphabetically by the names of persons for whom amphibians have been named. Each name is followed by a chronological list of the genera or species named for the person. English common name, scientific name, authority and year are provided for each species. Describers who appear more than once are in boldface. Each entry concludes with a biographical sketch of the person for whom the species is named.

Sometimes a new species will be described more than once, under different names, by different authors. In these cases, there are entries for both names, with the synonymy noted. Taxonomy is based on AmphibiaWeb, and is quite up-to-date, although given the recent rate of amphibian taxonomic change, many names will soon be superseded. In cases where location names have changed, both the current name and the original name are provided.

The authors point out in the Introduction that published descriptions in the literature often do not include a common vernacular name, and that these names are often added later, by persons other than the describer. Only the names of describer(s) are provided in the entries. I was surprised by the number of species for which common names do not reflect the specific epithet; for example, Ahl’s Toad is Duttaphrynus himalayanus; Ford’s Robber Frog is Craugastor daryi. This illustrates the often capricious origin and use of common names. In some cases the species was named in honour of a person, but the person’s name is not part of the species’ scientific name (eg. Pristimantis librarius).

Some biographies are quite brief, the only source a short Etymology section in the original description. Others are longer, over 200 words. The latter deal mostly with the professional (usually herpetological) accomplishments of the namesake, including appearances in the authors’ previous eponym dictionaries. Some biographies, however, catalogue the varied and interesting lives of their subjects, and in some cases invite a reader to investigate further (eg. Denhardt, Eyre, Humboldt, Lemaire).

The book ends with a Bibliography of 1.5 pages. Most entries here are journals from which descriptions were obtained. The list of journals is not exhaustive; although not explicitly stated, presumably the authors relied on AmphibiaWeb as a source for species described in journals that may not have been accessible. Phyllomedusa is not included in the bibliography; some species described in Phyllomedusa (Allobates granti, Pristimantis woranii and Litoria kuduki) are in the book, whereas others (Allobates algorei and Mannophryne orellana) are not.

I searched for some eponymous amphibian names that I described. Stefania coxi is included, but Stefania ackawaio (named for an indigenous people) is not, even though it was described in the same paper as S. coxi (Herpetologica, 2002). Adelophryne patamona, another species described for an indigenous people (Zootaxa, 2008), was also excluded, whereas Anomaloglossus kaiei (named for a Patamona chieftan) was included. I was surprised by the inclusion of Stefania ayangannae, which was named for the type locality, Mount Ayanganna in Guyana, not for a person.

I would have liked to see the type locality for each species included, but this is a minor quibble. I found no typos.

I found the book captivating. I enjoyed reading the short capsule biographies, many of which contained details that I found fascinating, and encourage further reading. I would also have liked to read more details about the “difficulties” alluded to in the Introduction. I realize, however, that space is limited.

The book is available in print, ePub, PDF and Mobi formats. My review copy was in PDF format, so I was unable to evaluate the paper, printing and binding.

-- Ross D. MacCulloch * Phyllomedusa - 12(1) *

The introduction of The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians states that, “this book is for the amateur herpetologist, the student of zoology or anyone else interested in taxonomy, nomenclature or amphibians”. That does concisely sum up the audience for this work. The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians is best suited for libraries with large zoology or history of science collections and/or those supporting researchers working with amphibians. Clearly eponyms are a passion for the authors who have previously collaborated on The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles (Beolenset al., 2011) and Eponym Dictionary of Mammals (Beolenset al., 2009) (RR 2010/330). Beolens and Watkins also wrote Whose Bird?: Common Bird Names and the People they Commemorate (Beolens and Watkins, 2003).

Following the same format as their earlier works, The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians is arranged alphabetically by who or what the animal(s) was named after. Entries are brief, most consisting of only a few sentences. The common, scientific and alternate (if appropriate) names are given as well as the person who wrote the original description of the amphibian and the date of that description (if the original describer also has an amphibian named after them, his or her name appears in bold). This is followed by a short biography which often includes birth and death dates, profession or training (e.g. geologist, surgeon, etc.) and other personal titbits. The entries note if other birds, mammals, and/or amphibians have been named after them. Unfortunately it only gives the number of other animals not their names.

Many of the entries are quite fascinating. One entry notes that the person, Paul Brien, was a zoologist from Brussels who ran afoul of the Gestapo in 1942 and was arrested and interrogated. A few famous folks also have amphibians named after them, including the singer Sting, A.K.A. Gordon Sumner – Sting’s Treefrog, Dendropsophus stingi, and Charles Darwin, who has three frogs named after him – Darwin’s Frog, Rhinoderma darwinii; Chile Darwin’s Frog, Rhinoderma rufum and Charles Darwin’s Frog, Ingerana charlesdarwini. More than one entry notes the unfortunate demise of the honoree in the course of doing their work. Hubert Huntingdon Smith, a deaf naturalist, was killed when he was hit by a train. Karl Patterson Schmidt was killed by a boomslang, a venomous snake. He did not think the snake capable of a fatal blow and declined to seek medical treatment. He did however keep meticulous notes of his symptoms.

Some entries are named after native peoples, geographical features, mythical and fictional characters. Others are named after wives, mothers, grandmothers, etc. One eponym was even given as a birthday present.

This is not a field guide and will not help in identifying amphibians or learning about their biology or behaviour. The only pictures are located on the cover. Additional images would have been nice to both give a visual reference for an animal and to break up the text to some extent.

Unfortunately, there is not an index of common names or an index of scientific names that would have made this a more useable resource. Entries are listed alphabetically by person the amphibian is named after and for many the source of the eponym is in the common name, but not always. For Kaplan’s Garagoa Treefrog, named after Melissa Kaplan, this is the case. Sometimes the eponym is only seen in the scientific name. For example, Pehr Kalm, who has the New Jersey Chorus Frog, Pseudacris kalmi, named after him. For some the eponym is seen in both the common and scientific names (e.g. Grey’s Robber Frog, Eleutherodactylus greyi, named for Robert M. Grey). In any case, scientific and common name indexes would have been useful for locating specific amphibians within the book. A bibliography appears at the end.

The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians is clearly a labour of love and a fascinating work. The entries are concise and informative and often entertaining. While it could have been improved with the addition of an index or two, it will still be a valuable resource for professional and amateur herpetologist alike.

-- Alisa Mizikar * Reference Reviews *

What links Sting, Thomas Jefferson, Mozart, Montezuma, the inventor of the OXO stock cube, and Bilbo Baggins? Well, it turns out that they’ve all had frogs named after them, and by dint of that fact, they all appear in this surprisingly entertaining book. The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians collects 1,609 “honoured individuals” after whom 2,668 amphibians are named. Each gets a concise biography of varying length. The authors have deliberately chosen to give shorter entries to those, such as Charles Darwin, who are already well known.

How do you go about having a frog or salamander named after you? Finding a new species helps, but generally only if you give it to someone else to name (naming something after yourself is considered poor form, although it
does occasionally happen – apparently Dr Vincent A. Wager somehow managed to name a species of Stream Frog, Strongylopus wageri, after himself “by mistake”). Going by the evidence contained in this book, the best option is to be a biologist of one species or another. Being a herpetologist (someone who studies reptiles and amphibians) helps, but you could be an earwig specialist and still be chosen. 

Being related to a herpetologist is also a good option �