Zhao Ermi (; 1930 – 24 December 2016) was a Chinese

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 ...

, born in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. His ancestors were

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

Bannerman of

Irgen Gioro Irgen Gioro (; ) is a Manchu clan and family name, which was officially categorized as a "notable clan", and member of the eight great houses of the Manchu nobility in Qing dynasty. Sibe and Nanai people also has Irgen Gioro as their family na ...

clan who were stationed in Chengdu during

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. He was elected a member of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

in 2001. He died at West China Medical Center of Sichuan University on 24 December 2016.

Taxa named after him

Zhao is commemorated in the

scientific names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of four

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

of reptiles. *'' Zhaoermia'' , a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

pitviper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...

(

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Protobothrops'') *''

Cyrtodactylus zhaoermii ''Cyrtodactylus zhaoermii'' is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Etymology The specific name, ''zhaoermii'', is in honor of Chinese herpetologist Zhao Er-M ...

'' , a

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 ...

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

*''

Diploderma zhaoermii ''Diploderma zhaoermii'' is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Sichuan, China. Etymology The specific name, ''zhaoermii'', is in honor of Chinese herpetologist Zhao Er-mi. Geographic range ''D. zhaoermii' ...

'' , a species of lizard *'' Thermophis zhaoermii'' , a species of snake Also, two amphibian species have been named after him. ("Ermi Zhao", p. 65, ). *''Paramesotriton ermizhaoi'' , a species of

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

(synonym of ''

Paramesotriton labiatus ''Paramesotriton labiatus'' is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to Guangxi, China. In literature prior to 2011, this species may have been confused with '' Paramesotriton chinensis'', '' Pachytriton granulosus'', or ...

'') *'' Onychodactylus zhaoermii'' , a species of

salamander 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 ...

Described taxa

*'' Achalinus meiguensis'' *'' Amolops liangshanensis'' *'' Amphiesma optatum'' *'' Calotes medogensis'' *'' Cuora zhoui'' *'' Cyrtopodion medogense'' *'' Dinodon rosozonatum'' *''

Gloydius shedaoensis :''Common names: Shedao island pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . Shedao pit-viper.Shine R, Sun L, Kearney M, Fitzgerald M. 2002. Why do Juvenile ...

'' *'' Hebius metusia'' *''

Ingerana reticulata ''Ingerana reticulata'' is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. As presently known, it is endemic to Mêdog County in southeastern Tibet, China, but its range might extend to northeast India, given the proximity of the border. Common n ...

'' *''Kurixalus hainanus'' (

of '' Kurixalus bisacculus'') *''

Laudakia papenfussi ''Laudakia papenfussi'', also known as Papenfuss's rock agama, is a species of agamid lizard. It is found in Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the tradi ...

'' *'' Laudakia wui'' *''

Liua ''Liua'' is a genus of salamanders (common name: Sichuan salamanders) in the family Hynobiidae, endemic to China. Species The genus contains only two species: * ''Liua shihi'' (Liu, 1950) — Wushan salamander (synonym: ''Ranodon shihi'') * ''Li ...

'' *''

Liuixalus ''Romerus'' is a small genus of rhacophorid frogs that are distributed in southern China (Hong Kong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong). Some species now in ''Romerus'' were originally placed in ''Philautus''. It is thought to be the most basal genus ...

'' *'' Oligodon multizonatus'' *'' Opisthotropis cheni'' *'' Opisthotropis guangxiensis'' *''

Oreolalax multipunctatus ''Oreolalax multipunctatus'' (dotted lazy toad or spotted toothed toad) is a species of amphibian in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to the Mount Emei region in Emeishan and Hongya counties of Sichuan, China. Its natural habitats are s ...

'' *'' Pelophylax tenggerensis'' *'' Phrynocephalus albolineatus'' *'' Plagiopholis unipostocularis'' *'' Plestiodon liui'' *'' Protobothrops xiangchengensis'' *'' Rana zhengi'' *'' Rhabdophis adleri'' *''

Scincella huanrenensis ''Scincella huanrenensis'' is a species of skink found in Liaoning in Northeast China and in Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with Nor ...

'' *''

Scincella tsinlingensis ''Scincella tsinlingensis'' is a species of skink found in China. References Scincella Reptiles of Vietnam Reptiles described in 1966 {{skink-stub ...

'' *'' Viridovipera medoensis'' *'' Xenopeltis hainanensis'' *''

Protobothrops mangshanensis ''Protobothrops mangshanensis'', commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mangshan pitviper, Mt. Mang pitviper, or Mang Mountain pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. ...

References

1930 births 2016 deaths Biologists from Sichuan Chinese zoologists Irgen Gioro Manchu people Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences People from Chengdu People of the Republic of China {{zoologist-stub