Edwin Nicholas Arnold (16 October 1940 – 23 September 2023) was a British herpetologist and the Curator of

Herpetology 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 ...

at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

. Arnold made seminal contributions to the herpetology of Europe and North Africa, especially on

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 ...

s and lizards of the family

Lacertidae The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found ...

. He discovered and described 36 species and 4 subspecies of reptiles, and wrote ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe'', which appeared over multiple editions. Arnold died of heart failure on 23 September 2023, at the age of 82.

Honors

At least four species of reptiles have been named in Arnold's honor: Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Arnold, E. N.", p. 11). *Arnold's leaf-toed gecko '' Hemidactylus arnoldi'' is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Somalia. *'' Asaccus arnoldi'' *'' Mesalina arnoldi'' *'' Dipsochelys arnoldi'' (sometimes considered a subspecies of ''

Aldabrachelys gigantea ''Aldabrachelys'' is genus of giant tortoises, including the Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') native to the Seychelles, as well as two extinct species, '' Aldabrachelys abrupta'' and '' Aldabrachelys grandidieri'' known from M ...

'') *'' Calotriton arnoldi''

Publications

*Arnold EN (1973). "Relationships of the Palearctic lizards assigned to the genera ''Lacerta'', ''Algyroides'' and ''Psammodromus'' (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology'' 25: 289-366. *Arnold EN (2009). "Relationships, evolution and biogeography of Semaphore geckos, ''Pristurus'' (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) based on morphology". ''Zootaxa'' 2060: 1-21. *Arnold EN, Arribas O, Carranza S (2007). "Systematics of the Palearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with descriptions of eight new genera". ''Zootaxa'' 1430: 1-86. *Arnold EN, Burton JA (1978). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe''. (Illustrated by D. W. Ovenden). London: Collins. 272 pp. + Plates 1-40. .

References

1940 births 2023 deaths British herpetologists British curators Employees of the Natural History Museum, London {{zoologist-stub