Emmett Reid Dunn (November 21, 1894 in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
– February 13, 1956) was an American
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...
noted for his work in Panama and for studies of
salamanders
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
in the Eastern United States.
Biography
He attended
Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...
as an undergraduate and received his PhD from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. After receiving his PhD, he taught at
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
. He left Smith to study on a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
, following which he became a professor of biology at Haverford College. He was also curator of
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s and
amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s at the
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...
, Philadelphia. He served as editor of ''
Copeia
''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' (formerly ''Copeia'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in ichthyology and herpetology that was originally named after Edward Drinker Cope, a prominent American researcher in these fiel ...
'' from 1924 to 1929.
Eponyms
A number of reptiles were named in honor of Dunn, both
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
(binomials)
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Dunn", pp. 77-78).] and
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
(trinomials), including the following.
Species:
*''
Anolis dunni''
H.M. Smith, 1936 – Dunn's anole
*''
Atractus dunni
''Atractus dunni'', Dunn's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, ...
''
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
, 1955 – Dunn's ground snake
*''
Geophis dunni''
K.P. Schmidt, 1932 – Dunn's earth snake
*''
Hydromorphus dunni
''Hydromorphus'' is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae..
Geographic range
The genus ''Hydromorphus'' is endemic to Central America.
Species
Two species are recognized as being valid.
*'' Hydromorphus concolor''
*'' Hydromorphus dunn ...
''
Slevin, 1942 – Dunn's water snake
*''
Kinosternon dunni
Dunn's mud turtle (''Kinosternon dunni''), also known commonly as the Colombian mud turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae.
Etymology
The epithet or specific name, ''dunni'', honors Emmett Reid Dunn, an American herpetologi ...
''
K.P. Schmidt, 1947 – Colombian mud turtle
*''
Micrablepharus dunni
''Micrablepharus'' is a small genus of lizards endemic to South America.
Species
There are two species:
*''Micrablepharus atticolus''
*''Micrablepharus maximiliani''
''Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the specie ...
'' – Dunn's tinyfoot teiid, a synonym of ''
Micrablepharus maximiliani
'' Micrablepharus maximiliani'' is a species of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg ...
''
*''
Porthidium dunni
:''Common names: Dunn's hognosed pitviper.Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. 2 volumes. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp. 1,500 plates. .''
''Porthidium dunni'' is a speci ...
''
( Hartweg & J.A. Oliver, 1938) – Dunn's hognose pitviper
*''
Sibon dunni''
J.A. Peters, 1957 – Dunn's snail sucker
*''
Sinonatrix dunni'' , a synonym of ''
Natrix tessellata
''Natrix'' is a genus of Old World snakes found across Eurasia (although the range of '' Natrix tessellata'' extends into Egypt and those of '' N. astreptophora'' and '' N. maura'' into north-west Africa) in the subfamily Natricinae of the fa ...
''
*''
Sphaerodactylus dunni''
K.P. Schmidt, 1936 – Dunn's least gecko
Subspecies:
*''
Liasis mackloti dunni''
Stull, 1932 –
Wetar
Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku and is the largest island of the Maluku Barat Daya Islands (literally ''Southwest Islands'') of the Maluku Islands. It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which in ...
python
*''
Mastigodryas boddaerti dunni''
( L.C. Stuart, 1933) – Dunn's tropical racer
*''
Micrurus dissoleucus dunni
''Micrurus'' is a genus of Venomous snake, venomous coral snakes of the Family (biology), family Elapidae.
Geographic range
Species in the genus ''Micrurus'' are Endemism, endemic to the Americas.
Species
The following 83 species are recognized ...
''
Barbour, 1923 – Dunn's pygmy coral snake
This author abbreviation is not to be confused with Dunn in botany, where it refers to
Stephen Troyte Dunn
Stephen Troyte Dunn (26 August 1868, Bristol - 18 April, 1938, Sheen, Surrey, England) was a British botanist. He described and systematized a significant number of plants around the world, his input most noticeable in the taxonomy of the flora ...
.
See also
*
:Taxa named by Emmett Reid Dunn
References
External links
*
*
*.
1894 births
1956 deaths
American herpetologists
American taxonomists
20th-century American zoologists
Haverford College alumni
Harvard University alumni
Smith College faculty
People from Alexandria, Virginia
Scientists from Virginia
{{US-zoologist-stub