Louise H. Emmons is an American
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
who studies tropical rainforest mammals, especially rodents. She has conducted fieldwork in
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
,
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
(Borneo),
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, and
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. Her best known work is the field guide, ''Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide'', first published in 1990, with a second edition in 1997.
Education
Louise Hickok Emmons earned her PhD from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1975 and wrote a thesis entitled, "Ecology and Behavior of African Rainforest Squirrels." She received a B.A. from
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
in 1965.
Description of new taxa
Louise H. Emmons described several new taxa of mammals:
* three genera of
spiny rats, ''
Callistomys
The painted tree-rat (''Callistomys pictus'') is a species of spiny rat from Brazil, restricted to north-eastern Bahia in eastern Brazil. It is the only species in the genus ''Callistomys''.
Identification
With a total length of ca. 30 cm ...
'', in 1998, and ''
Pattonomys
''Pattonomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Echimyidae, named after American mammalogist James L. Patton.
It contains the following species:
* Bare-tailed armored tree-rat (''Pattonomys occasius'')
* Speckled spiny tree-rat (''Pattonomys s ...
'' and ''
Santamartamys
The red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro (''Santamartamys rufodorsalis'') is a species of tree-rat found in the monotypic genus ''Santamartamys'' in the family Echimyidae. It is nocturnal and is believed to feed on plant matter, and is mainly ...
'', in 2005.
* one genus and one species of
abrocomid, ''
Cuscomys ashaninka'', in 1999.
* one species of spiny rat, ''
Phyllomys pattoni
The rusty-sided Atlantic tree-rat (''Phyllomys pattoni''), is a spiny rat species found in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Lati ...
'', in 2002.
* two species of
oryzomyine
Oryzomyini is a tribe (taxonomy), tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera,Weksler et al., 2006, table 1 distributed from the eastern List of mammals of the Uni ...
rodents, ''
Oryzomys acritus'', in 2005, and ''
Oecomys sydandersoni
''Oecomys sydandersoni'' is an arboreal species of rodent in the genus ''Oecomys''. It lives in forest patches in a small area in eastern Bolivia. It is a medium-sized species, weighing about , with mostly grayish and brownish fur and short and ...
'', in 2009.
* one species of rat, ''
Pithecheirops otion'', in 1993.
* one species of
didelphid marsupial, ''
Monodelphis gardneri
Gardner's short-tailed opossum (''Monodelphis gardneri'') is a marsupial mammal from South America. It was named in 2012 by Sergio Solari, Víctor Pacheco, Elena Vivar and Louise H. Emmons. They named it after Dr. Alfred L. Gardner who took the ...
'', in 2012.
She also introduced the new taxon name ''
Olallamys
''Olallamys'' is a genus of Andean soft-furred spiny rat that range from Panama through Colombia and Venezuela to northern Ecuador. These species are typically found at elevations above .
Systematics
''Olallamys'' is a taxonomic patronym hono ...
'' for a genus of
spiny rats.
Taxonomic patronym
In honor of Louise H. Emmons, one
taxonomic patronym was given for a rodent with the species name ''emmonsae'':
* ''
Euryoryzomys emmonsae'', the Emmons's
rice rat
Oryzomyini is a tribe of rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae of the family Cricetidae. It includes about 120 species in about thirty genera,Weksler et al., 2006, table 1 distributed from the eastern United States to the southernmost parts of S ...
.
* ''Pampamys emmonsae'', the Emmons's extinct
spiny rat[Verzi, Diego H.; Vucetich, M. G.; Montalvo, C. I. (1995). Un nuevo Eumysopinae (Rodentia, Echimyidae) del Mioceno tardío de la Provincia de La Pampa y consideraciones sobre la historia de la subfamilia. ''Ameghiniana'' 32: 191–95.]
Books
* 2002. ''Tupai: A field study of treeshrews in Borneo''. Berkeley: University of California Press.
* 2000
''Tupai: A field study of Bornean Treeshrews''.Berkeley: University of California Press.
* Emmons, Louise H. and Feer, François. 1999. ''Mamíferos de los bosques húmedos de América tropical: Una guía de campo''. Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Editorial F.A.N.
* Emmons, Louise H., Whitney, B., and Ross, D. 1998.
Sounds of Neotropical rainforest mammals: An audio field guide'. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Natural Sounds.
* Emmons, Louise H. and Feer, François. 1997
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
* Emmons, Louise H. and Feer, François. 1990. ''Neotropical rainforest mammals: A field guide''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
References
External links
Biography of Louise H. Emmons*
Biography of Louise H. Emmons from the National Museum of Natural History.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, Louise H.
1943 births
Living people
American mammalogists
American taxonomists
Women taxonomists
Smithsonian Institution people
Women zoologists
21st-century American zoologists
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
Conservation biologists
21st-century American women