Colonel Richard Henry Beddome (11 May 1830 – 23 February 1911) was a British military officer and

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several remote and then-unexplored hill ranges in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

south India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, including those in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

such as Yelandur,

Kollegal Kollegal (or Kollegala) is the Major taluk in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. Kollegala is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the state. History Until 1956, Kollegala ...

, Shevaroy Hills, Yelagiri, Nallamala Hills,

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

hills, and the Western Ghats such as Nilgiri hills,

Anaimalai hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wester ...

, Agasthyamalai Hills and

Kudremukh Kudremukha is the name of a mountain range and an individual mountain peak located in Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station and iron ore-mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilomet ...

. He described many

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), ...

of plants,

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

, and

reptiles 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 ...

from southern India and Sri Lanka, and several species from this region described by others bear his name.

Early life

Richard was the eldest son of Richard Boswell Brandon Beddome, solicitor, of

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

, S.W. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and trained for the legal profession, but preferred to join the East India Company at the age of 18 and joined the 42nd Madras Native Infantry as a cadet at Jabalpur.

Military career

He entered the Army, obtaining a direct cadetship in 1848 in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

's service, and sent to India was posted to the 42nd Madras Native Infantry He was with that regiment at

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

in 1856, serving as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

and

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

of the regiment, and from there he went to

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

. Soon after his arrival at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, at the end of 1856, he was appointed to the Madras Forest Department, and never rejoined his regiment. These are dates of his commissions: ensign, 20 January 1848; lieutenant, 10 November 1853; captain, 18 February 1861; major, 20 January 1868; lieutenant colonel, 20 January 1874; colonel, 20 January 1879.

Madras Forest Department

In 1857, he was selected on account of his devotion to

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

natural history 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 ...

as an assistant to Dr. Hugh Cleghorn, the first conservator of the newly formed Forest Department of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. He succeeded Cleghorn in 1859 and remained Chief Conservator until 1882.

Botanist, herpetologist, malacologist

He became a member of the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

in 1880. He made many floral studies in India and

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, including ''Trees of the Madras Presidency'' in 1863 and ''Handbook of the Ferns of British India, Ceylon and Malaya Peninsula'' in 1892. He also studied reptiles, amphibians, and

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

s. Colonel Beddome was essentially a botanist. In the study of the flora of

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, he devoted the best days of his life. The result was the publication of a series of valuable works containing figures of many species. The drawings were executed with great accuracy by the native draughtsmen he had trained to draw. His botanical publications included ''The Flora Sylvatica for Southern India'', 1869–73; ''Ferns of Southern India'', 1873; ''Ferns of British India'', 1876; ''Forester's Manual of Botany for Southern India'', 1869–74; ''Icones Plantarum Indies Orientalis'', 1874. On

Reptilia Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living spe ...

and

Batrachia The Batrachia are a clade of amphibians that includes frogs and salamanders, but not caecilians nor the extinct allocaudates. The name Batrachia was first used by French zoologist Pierre André Latreille in 1800 to refer to frogs, but has more ...

, he wrote at least 15 papers, and described over 40 new species of reptiles and amphibians. This is a complete list of his papers on

Mollusca Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

: ''Descriptions of some new Operculated Land-shells from Southern India and Ceylon'', 1S75. ''Descriptions of Land-shells from the Island of Koror, Pelew Group'', 1889. ''Descriptions of some new Land-shells from the Indian Region'', 1891. ''Notes on Indian and Ceylonese species of Glessula'', 1906. ''Descriptions of Labyrinthus cuclausus and Neocyclotus Belli, n.spp., from Colombia'', 1908 and in conjunction with H. H. Godwin-Austen: ''New species of Cyclophorus and a Spiraculum from the Khasi and Naga Hills, Assam''. Beddome described over 1,000 species of animals and plants. Beddome formed a fine collection of land shells from India and other parts of the world, among which the minute forms were his favourites. His collection of specimens was presented to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

at difficult times, and some specimens were also left with the

Indian Museum Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta) is a grand museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest, as well as the largest museum in Asia, by size of collection. It ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. Further specimens are also in th
National Museums Scotland
He married Mary Sophia Fullerton in 1862 in London. They had seven children, all christened in the

. He retired in 1892 and lived at "Sispara", West Hill,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

until his death.

Eponymous species

Some of the species named in his honor are: *'' Rhinolophus beddomei'', lesser woolly horseshoe bat, a species of bat 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 ...

Rhinolophidae *'' Eutropis beddomei'',Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Beddome", p. 21). Beddome's skink, a species of lizard in the family Scincidae *'' Otocryptis beddomii'', Beddome's kangaroo lizard, a species of lizard in the family

Agamidae Agamidae is a family containing 582 species in 64 genera of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few locations in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview Phylogenetically ...

*'' Ristella beddomii'', Beddome's cat

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

, a species of lizard endemic to India *''Cnemaspis beddomei'', Beddome's day gecko, a species of

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 ...

found in the Western Ghats *''

Kaestlea beddomii ''Kaestlea beddomii'', also known as Beddome's ground skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Etymology ''K. beddomii'' is named after Richard Henry Beddome, a British arm ...

'', a species of skink found in the Western Ghats *'' Ophisops beddomei'', Beddome's snake-eye, a species of lizard in 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 ...

*'' Gerrhopilus beddomii'', Beddome's worm snake, a species of blind snake found in southern India *'' Uropeltis beddomii'', Beddome's shield-tail snake, a species of snake in the family

Uropeltidae The Uropeltidae, also Common name, commonly known as shield-tail snakes, shield-tailed snakes or earth snakes, are a Family (biology), family of primitive, nonvenomous, burrowing snakes native to Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The name is derive ...

, endemic to India *'' Boiga beddomei'', Beddome's cat snake, a species of snake found in Sri Lanka and India (Western Ghats) *'' Hebius beddomei'', Beddome's keelback, a species of snake found in the Western Ghats *'' Calliophis beddomei'', Beddome's coral snake, a species of venomous snake in the family

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...

*'' Ichthyophis beddomei'', Beddome's caecilian, a species of

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians ...

in the family

Ichthyophiidae The Ichthyophiidae are the family of Asiatic tailed caecilians or fish caecilians found in South and Southeast Asia as well as southernmost China. They are primitive caecilians, lacking many of the derived characters found in the other families ...

*'' Duttaphrynus beddomii'', Beddome's toad, a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats *'' Raorchestes beddomii'', Beddome's bush frog, a species of frog in the family

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as ...

*''

Nyctibatrachus beddomii ''Nyctibatrachus beddomii'' (common names: Beddome's night frog, pigmy wrinkled frog, Beddome's dwarf wrinkled frog, and Tirunelveli's hill frog) is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae. Taxonomy The epithet or specific name, ''b ...

'', Beddome's night frog, a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae *'' Indirana beddomii'', Beddome's litter frog, a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae *'' Mariaella beddomei'', a species of

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

*'' Hemiplecta beddomii'', a species of gastropod *'' Cycas beddomei'', a species of

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

from India *'' Syzygium beddomei'', a species of plant in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

endemic to India *'' Cynometra beddomei'', a species of plant in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

endemic to India *'' Psychotria beddomei'', a species of plant in the family

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

endemic to India *'' Litsea beddomei'', a species of plant in the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

endemic to India *'' Beddomixalus bijui'', a species of tree frog in the family

References

External links

* *
Handbook to the ferns of British India (1892)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beddome 1830 births 1911 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School British Indian Army officers British botanists Botanists with author abbreviations British zoologists Naturalists from British India People from British Ceylon British malacologists