David G. Barker (born January 6, 1952) is an American herpetologist specialized in pythons and rattlesnakes. Barker graduated in biology at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he additionally served as an instructor in the Department of Biology, and as a preparator in the Museum of Herpetology. From 1975 to 1984 he worked at the Dallas Zoo as its public lecturer and as supervisor in the Reptile House and Children's Zoo. In 1988 he became Curator of Education at the

Gladys Porter Zoo Gladys Porter Zoo is a zoological and botanical park located in Brownsville, Texas, United States. The zoo officially opened on September 3, 1971, and currently averages over 424,000 visitors annually. Situated on , the zoo houses about 400 anima ...

.D.G. Barker’s CV and list of selected publications, attached to: Statement of David G. Barker Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform September 14, 2011. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/9-14-2011_Barker_FlawedRegs_Testimony.pdf In 1990 he and his wife, biologist Tracy M. Barker, founded Vida Preciosa International, Inc PI an enterprise dedicated to the research necessary to establish self-sustaining captive populations of pythons and boas. This facility became one of the largest and most diverse collection of pythons in the world; in 1997, the Barkers and their work at VPI were featured in a

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

Television documentary titled “Passion for Pythons”. They managed to reproduce 32 of the 52 recognized taxa of pythons. Among them, the first ever reproduction of 12 taxa. Next to extensive studies on reptiles in captivity, Barker did field work in the United States,D.G. Barker: Variation, Infraspecific Relationships and Biogeography of the Ridgenose Rattlesnake, Crotalus willardi. (MS thesis) In: Campbell, Jonathan A., and Edmund D. Brodie, Jr. (eds.), The Biology of the Pitvipers. Selva, Tyler, Texas. pp 89-106 Mexico, Indonesia and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. His main areas of research are systematics, taxonomy, natural history, animal behavior, morphology, reproductive physiology, captive breeding and animal and plant conservation. In 1998 he co-authored the description of a new species of monitor lizard: ''

Varanus yuwonoi The Yuwono monitor or tricolor monitor (''Varanus yuwonoi''), also commonly known as the black-backed mangrove monitor or the black-backed monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the blue-tailed monitor species complex. (''Varanus yuwonoi'' ...

'' and in 2000 the description of three new species of pythons: ''

Morelia clastolepis ''Simalia clastolepis'', also known as the Moluccan python or yellow python, is a species of python found in Indonesia. They can grow to be 8–9 feet in length. Description As hatchlings they have a red in color, which then turns from brown to ...

'', ''

Morelia nauta ''Simalia nauta'', commonly known as the Tanimbar python, is a species of snake of the family Pythonidae. Geographic range The species is found in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia a ...

'' and ''

Morelia tracyae ''Simalia tracyae'', the Halmahera python, is a species of python found only on the Indonesian island of Halmahera. It belongs to the family Pythonidae and the genus ''Simalia''. This snake was previously believed to have belonged to the '' Simal ...

''. The later is named in honor of his wife Tracy. Through 2011, Barker has written several dozen scientific publications, seven books, over 70 popular articles and has published more than 500 images of reptiles in books, journals and periodicals. From 1990 through 1993 he additionally served on the editorial board of the magazine ''Zoo Life''. In 1989, Barker was awarded Grand Prize in

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

's 10th Annual Photo Contest. One of his books, ''Pythons of the World, Volume 2: Ball Pythons'', was certified as “The Best Animal Book of 2006” by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. He also gave hundreds of educational reptile demonstrations and appeared in 1988 on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.R. Wiseman. Borene resident shared the stage with Carson. Boerne Star & Recorder. Tuesday, February 1, 2005. P 1-2. In 2011, Barker testified to the United States congressional committee on Government Oversight and Reform on the issues of restrictive regulations and governmental interference imposed on small business. Barker is a member of the Boa and Python Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature UCN

Books

*''An Introduction to Moths and Mothing, Featuring The Moths of the Devils River''. VPI Library, Boerne, Texas, 2023. 244 pp. *''Pythons of the World, Volume 3: The Pythons of Asia and the Malay Archipelago''. with Tracy M. Barker and Mark Auliya. VPI Library, Boerne, Texas, 2018. 371 pp. *''The Invisible Ark – In Defense of Captivity''. with Tracy M. Barker. VPI Library, Boerne, Texas, 2014. 169 pp. *''Pythons of the World, Volume 2: Ball Pythons: The History, Natural History, Care and Breeding''. with Tracy M. Barker. VPI Library, Boerne, Texas, 2006. 321pp. *''Pythons of the World, Volume 1, Australia''. with Tracy M. Barker. The Herpetocultural Library, Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside, California, 1994. 171 pp. *''The Ball Python Manual.'' with Philippe de Vosjoli, Roger Klingenberg and Tracy M. Barker. The Herpetocultural Library, Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside, California, 1994. 76 pp. *''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas''. with Judith Garrett, Texas Monthly Press, Austin, Texas, 1987. 225 pp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, David 1952 births Living people American herpetologists University of Texas at Arlington alumni University of Texas at Arlington faculty