Edwin Nicholas "Nick" Arnold (b. 1940), is a British herpetologist and former Curator of
Herpetology
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 rept ...
at the
Natural History Museum, London. 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 throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
s and lizards of the family
Lacertidae
The Lacertidae are the family (biology), family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group o ...
. 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.
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).]
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Hemidactylus arnoldi
Arnold's leaf-toed gecko (''Hemidactylus arnoldi)'' is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Gekkonidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to Somalia.
Etymology
The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''arnoldi'', is in honor of ...
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Asaccus arnoldi
''Asaccus arnoldi'' is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. It, along with all other species in the genus ''Asaccus'', is endemic to the Hajar Mountains of northern Oman.
Taxonomy
''Asaccas arnoldi'' was first formally named in 2 ...
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Mesalina arnoldi
''Mesalina arnoldi'' is a species of sand-dwelling lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Yemen.
Etymology
The specific name, ''arnoldi'', is in honor of British herpetologist E. Nicholas "Nick" Arnold.
Habitat
The preferre ...
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Dipsochelys arnoldi'' (sometimes considered a subspecies of ''
Aldabrachelys gigantea'')
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 decriptions 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
British herpetologists
1940 births
Living people
British curators
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