Roger Conant (May 6, 1909 – December 19, 2003) was an American

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

, author, educator and conservationist. He was Director

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...

and adjunct professor at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. He wrote one of the first comprehensive field guides for

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s in 1958 entitled: ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America'', in the Peterson Field Guide series.

Biography

Born in

Mamaroneck Mamaroneck ( ), is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Villag ...

, New York, Conant lost his father when he was young. When he was a teenager he took a job at a local zoo to help his mother make ends meet, which, along with participating in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, began his lifelong passion for reptiles. He was the first Eagle Scout in Monmouth County Council,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1924. He moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

in 1929 and worked as Curator of Reptiles, and later General Curator at the Toledo Zoo from 1929 to 1935. In 1935 he returned to Philadelphia and became the Curator of Reptiles at the Philadelphia Zoo. He was president of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums from 1946 to 1947 and helped found the Philadelphia Herpetological Society in 1952. He held many positions in the

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international learned society devoted to the scientific studies of ichthyology (study of fish) and herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). The primary emphases of th ...

, including president in 1962; he advocated keeping the organization unified rather than splitting into separate organizations for herpetology and ichthyology. He was promoted to Director of the

in 1967. He retired from the zoo in 1973 and moved to

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

where he became a professor at the

. He continued to do research and writing. Over his career he wrote some 240 scientific papers, and 12 books. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in Albuquerque on December 19, 2003. A significant bequest from his estate helped put the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute on a solid financial footing. Roger Conant is credited with describing numerous new

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s, including several species of water snakes (of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Nerodia'') as well as several species of garter snakes (of the genus '' Thamnophis''). He collaborated with Howard K. Gloyd, and finished Gloyd's monograph on snakes of the genus '' Agkistrodon'' after Gloyd's death in 1978. Roger Conant was a descendant of Roger Conant, leader of the

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

village (and later Massachusetts Bay Company).

Taxa named in honor of Conant

The moth '' Neurophyseta conantia'' is named after Conant. Conant is commemorated in the scientific names of two snakes: '' Thamnophis conanti'', a species of garter snake; and '' Agkistrodon conanti'', a species of venomous pit viper. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Conant", p. 57).

Selected bibliography

*''What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains'' (1939); additional author: William Bridges, and illustrator: Edmond Malnate; New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company *''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America'' (1958); Illustrated by Isabelle Hunt Conant (Series:

Peterson Field Guides The Peterson Field Guides (PFG) are a popular and influential series of American field guides intended to assist the layman in identification of birds, plants, insects and other natural phenomena. The series was created and edited by renowned orn ...

); Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Boston Financial District. It was formerly known as the Houghto ...

**Second edition (1975), (hardcover), (paperback) **Third edition (1991), additional author: Joseph T. Collins, and illustrator: Tom R. Johnson **Third edition, expanded (1998); **Fourth edition (2016), additional author:

Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...

, *''Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review'' (with Howard K. Gloyd) (1990), SSAR Publications, *Autobiography: ''A Field Guide to the Life and Times of Roger Conant'', (1997), Canyonlands Publishing Group, *''The Reptiles of Virginia'' (1997), Smithsonian Books, *''Reptiles and Amphibians (Peterson First Guides)'' (1999), Houghton Mifflin Company, (1999): *''North American Watersnakes: A Natural History'' (2004), University of Oklahoma Press, *''Reptile Study'' (1944); Merit Badge Series No. 3813, Boy Scouts of America, Brunswick, New Jersey, 62 pp.; photographs by Mark Mooney, Jr. and Isabelle Hunt Conant

References

External links

"In memoriam" by friends and familyshort biography (with photo)short biography
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150528053246/http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/RdJ.2ACIB/258 RootsWeb Obit: Roger Conant {{DEFAULTSORT:Conant, Roger American herpetologists American taxonomists 1909 births 2003 deaths Zoo directors People from Mamaroneck, New York Deaths from cancer in New Mexico 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from New York (state)