Boonsong Lekagul (15 December 1907 – 9 February 1992) was a Thai

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

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 ...

,Boelens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Boonsong", p. 31). and conservationist. He was born at

Songkhla Songkhla (, ), also known as Singgora or Singora (Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ, Singoro), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies ...

in southern Thailand and received a medical degree from

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

in 1933. In 1935 he established Thailand's first

polyclinic A polyclinic (where ''poly'' means "many"; not to be confused with the homonym policlinic, where ''poli'' means "city" and which is sometimes used for a hospital's outpatient department) is a clinic or health care facility that provides both g ...

in Bangkok. At first a keen

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

, he became a strong conservationist as he saw Thailand's forests and wildlife becoming fragmented and destroyed. In 1952 he founded the Association for the Conservation of Wildlife. In the mid-1950s, he and the ACW lobbied for a bird sanctuary on the banks of the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

to protect the only known nesting site in Thailand of the

openbill stork The openbill storks or openbills are two species of stork (family Ciconiidae) in the genus ''Anastomus''. They are large wading birds characterized by large bills, the mandibles of which do not meet except at the tip. This feature develops only i ...

. In 1962 he founded the Bangkok Bird Club (the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand since 1993) and worked actively with the

International Council for Bird Preservation BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

Eponymous species

Several

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), ...

and

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are named after Boonsong Lekagul in honour of his work as

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and conservationist: *Boonsong's roundleaf bat, '' Hipposideros lekaguli'' *Boonsong's variable squirrel, ''Callosciurus finlaysonii boonsongi'' *

Hill blue flycatcher The hill blue flycatcher (''Cyornis whitei'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in southern China, northeastern India and Southeast Asia. It was treated as a subspecies of ''Cyornis banyumas'' before molecular phyloge ...

, ''Cyornis whitei lekhakuni'' *

Grey-eyed bulbul The grey-eyed bulbul (''Iole propinqua'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in Southeast Asia in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Taxonomy and systematics The grey-eyed ...

, ''Iole propinqua lekhakuni'' *Boonsong's stream snake, '' Opisthotropis boonsongi'' – a

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

*Tuk-kai Boonsong, '' Cyrtodactylus lekaguli'' – a species of bent-toed

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. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

endemic to Thailand"''Cyrtodactylus lekaguli'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *Lekagul's horned frog, ''

Xenophrys ''Xenophrys'' is a genus of amphibians in the family Megophryidae. They are found in southeastern Asia (including China and northeastern India) to Borneo. Their common name is strange-horned toads. Conservation Of the 36 ''Xenophrys'' species ...

(

Megophrys ''Megophrys'' is a genus of frogs in the family Megophryidae. They are endemic to Indonesia, where they are found on the islands of Java and Sumatra. They commonly have elongated upper "eyebrows" and are thus known as Indonesian horned toads. Th ...

) lekaguli'' – a megophryid

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

from Eastern

Awards

*Honorary member of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

, 1971 *Commander (Third Class) of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

, 1974 *Corresponding

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

American Ornithologists Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

, 1974 *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in Forestry,

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University (; ; commonly Kaset or KU) is a public university, public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. It was Thailand's first agriculture, agricultural university and Thailand's third ...

, 1976 *Honorary member of the

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, 1978 *

J. Paul Getty Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of pion ...

Wildlife Conservation Prize from the World Wildlife Fund US, 1979 *

in sciences, Chulalongkorn University, 1979 *

Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark () is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation. Although not awarded by the government o ...

from Prince Bernard of the Netherlands, 1980 *Knight Commander (Second Class) of the Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

, 1985

Publications

Works authored or coauthored by him include: *Lekagul, Boonsong (1968). ''Bird Guide of Thailand''. (Illustrated by the author). *Lekagul, Boonsong (1969). Monitors (''Varanus'') of Thailand. ''Conservation News of S.E. Asia'' 8: 31–32. *Lekagul, Boonsong; Cronin, Paul (1974). ''Bird Guide of Thailand''. (2nd edition). (Illustrated by the senior author). Bangkok: Association for the Conservation of Wildlife. *Lekagul, Boonsong; Askins, Karen; Nabhitabhata, Jarujinta; Samruadit, Aroon (1977). ''Fieldguide to the Butterflies of Thailand''. Bangkok: Association for the Conservation of Wildlife. *Lekagul, Boonsong; McNeely, Jeffrey A. (1977). ''Mammals of Thailand''. *Lekagul, Boonsong; Round, Philip D. (1991). ''A Guide to the Birds of Thailand''. (Illustrated by Mongkol Wongkalasin and Kamol Komolphalin). Thailand: Saha Karn Bhaet Co.

References

External links

Bird Conservation Society of ThailandOfficial Dr Boonsong Lekagul Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekagul, Boonsong Lekagul, Boonsong Lekagul, Boonsong Lekagul, Boonsong

Boonsong Lekagul Boonsong Lekagul (15 December 1907 – 9 February 1992) was a Thai medical doctor, biologist, ornithologist, herpetologist,Boelens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Unive ...

Lekagul, Boonsong

Eponymous species

Awards

Publications

References

Further reading

External links