Roger Conant (herpetologist)
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Roger Conant (May 6, 1909 – December 19, 2003) 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 rep ...
, author, educator and conservationist. He was Director
Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of the
Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, is the first true zoo in the United States. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, but its openin ...
and adjunct professor at the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
. He wrote one of the first comprehensive field guides for
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n
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 in 1958 entitled: ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America'', in the
Peterson Field Guide 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 ornith ...
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 Village of M ...
, 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 The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
, began his lifelong passion for reptiles. He was the first
Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
in Monmouth County Council,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1924. He moved to
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
in 1929 and worked as Curator of Reptiles, and later General Curator at the
Toledo Zoo The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio, is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), through the year 2022. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium houses over ...
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 The Philadelphia Herpetological Society (PHS) is the oldest, continually operated reptile group in North America. It was founded by Roger Conant (herpetologist) and a group of like-minded herpetologists in 1952. PHS is a US 501(c)3 non-profit edu ...
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 the ...
, 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
Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, is the first true zoo in the United States. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, but its openin ...
in 1967. He retired from the zoo in 1973 and moved to
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
where he became a professor at the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
. 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 abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in Albuquerque on December 19, 2003. A significant bequest from his estate helped put the
Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute or CDRI, incorporated in December 1973, is an independent non-profit, scientific and educational organization conducting its operations as a multi-featured Nature Center and Botanical Gardens located on a tr ...
on a solid financial footing. Roger Conant is credited with describing numerous new
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 ...
of
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s, including several species of water snakes (of the
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 ...
''
Nerodia ''Nerodia'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as water snakes due to their aquatic behavior. The genus includes nine species, all native to North America. Description ''Nerodia'' species vary greatly, but all are ...
'') as well as several species of garter snakes (of the genus '' Thamnophis''). He collaborated with
Howard K. Gloyd Howard Kay Gloyd (February 12, 1902 – August 7, 1978) was an American herpetologist who is credited with describing several new species and subspecies of reptiles, such as the Florida cottonmouth, '' Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti''. Also, he ...
, and finished Gloyd's monograph on snakes of the genus ''
Agkistrodon ''Agkistrodon'' is a genus of venomous pit vipers commonly known as American moccasins.Crother, B. I. (ed.). 2017. ''Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Conf ...
'' 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, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
village (and later
Massachusetts Bay Company Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
).


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 The Florida cottonmouth (''Agkistrodon conanti'') is a species of venomous snake, a pitviper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the United States, where it occurs in southern Georgia and the Florida pe ...
'', 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 William or Bill Bridges may refer to: * William Bridges (author) (1933–2013), American writer and organizational consultant * William Bridges (general) (1861–1915), commander of the Australian Army's First Australian Imperial Force in 1 ...
, and illustrator:
Edmond Malnate Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politici ...
; 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 United States, 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 ...
); Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...
**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 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) and its ...
, *''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)