Hobart Muir Smith

Hobart Muir Smith,bornFrederick William Stouffer(September 26, 1912 – March 4, 2013),^[1]was anAmerican herpetologist.He is credited with describing more than 100 new species of Americanreptiles^[2]andamphibians.In addition, he has been honored by having at least sixspeciesnamed after him, including the southwestern blackhead snake (Tantilla hobartsmithi),Smith's earth snake(Uropeltis grandis), Smith's arboreal alligator lizard (Abronia smithi),Hobart's anadia (Anadia hobarti),Hobart Smith's anole (Anolis hobartsmithi),and Smith's rose-bellied lizard (Sceloporus smithi).^[3]At 100 years of age, Smith continued to be an active and productive herpetologist.^[4]Although he published on a wide range of herpetological subjects, his main focus throughout his career was on the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico, including taxonomy, bibliographies, and history. Having published more than 1,600 manuscripts, he surpassed all contemporaries and remains the most published herpetologist of all time.^[5]^[6]

Early life and education

Smith was born inStanwood, Iowaon September 26, 1912. Smith attained his Bachelor of Science in 1932 fromKansas State University,underHoward K. Gloyd,and attained his masters (in 1933) and doctorate (in 1936) at theUniversity of Kansasunder Dr.Edward Harrison Taylor,where his thesis was a revision of the lizard genusSceloporus.He also participated in several specimen collecting trips to Mexico.

Career

In 1936-37 Smith was awarded aNational Research CouncilFellowship at theUniversity of Michigan,where he wroteThe Mexican and Central American Lizards of the Genus Sceloporus(1939). In 1937 he worked for both the Chicago Academy of Sciences and theField Museum of Natural History.He was given a fellowship by theSmithsonian Institutionto collect specimens in Mexico, and collected over 20,000. From 1941 until 1945 he was azoologyprofessor at theUniversity of Rochester,inNew York.In 1945 he returned to theUniversity of Kansasas an associate professor and wrote theHandbook of Lizards, Lizards of the US and of Canada.In 1946 he moved toTexasand became an associate professor of wildlife management atTexas A&M Universityand wroteChecklist and key to snakes of MexicoandChecklist and key to amphibians of Mexicowith Taylor. From 1947 until 1968 he was a professor of zoology at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.He retired in 1968 and moved toBoulder, Colorado,where he became a professor of biology at theUniversity of Colorado.In 1972 he became chairman of, what is now, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. In 1983 he retired, becoming a professor emeritus and continued his personal research with over 1,600 publications, including 29 books.

Personal life

Born Frederick William Stouffer in 1912, he was adopted in 1916 by Charles and Frances Smith, farmers. In 1938 he married Rozella Pearl Beverly Blood (who becameRozella Pearl Beverly Blood Smith,1911–1987), who helped him publish his extensive collection of herpetological notes. In 1942 he named a species of lizard in honor of her,Celestus rozellae.^[7]A subspecies of snake,Tantillita lintoni rozellae,is also named in honor of her.^[7]

Selected bibliography

Smith, H. M. (1939).The Mexican and Central American Lizards of the Genus Sceloporus.Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History Vol. 26, No.1: 429 pp.
Smith, H. M., andE. H. Taylor(1945).An Annotated Checklist and Key to the Snakes of Mexico.United States National Museum, Bulletin 187: 1–239.
Smith, H. M. (1946).Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada.Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press. Ithaca, New York. xxi, 557 pp.^[8]1995 pbk.)
Smith, H. M., and E. H. Taylor (1948).An Annotated Checklist and Key to the Amphibia of Mexico.United States National Museum, Bulletin 194: 1–118.
Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas(1950).^[9]
Smith, H. M., and E. H. Taylor (1950).An Annotated Checklist and Key to the Reptiles of Mexico Exclusive of Snakes.United States National Museum, Bulletin 199: 1–253.
Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American SpecieswithHerbert S. Zim(1953, 1956).
Reptiles and Amphibians - A Guide to Familiar American Species(1958).
Poisonous Amphibians and Reptiles(1959).
Smith, H. M. (1961).Evolution of Chordate Structure.Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 529 pp.
Snakes as Pets(1965).
Smith, H. M., andRozella B. Smith(1969).Early Foundations of Mexican Herpetology: An annotated and indexed bibliography of the herpetological publications of Alfredo Dugés, 1826-1910.University of Illinois Press. Urbana, Illinois. 85 pp.
Smith, H. M. and Rozella B. Smith (1971).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. I. Analysis of the Literature on the Mexican Axolotl.Eric Lundburg. Augusta, West Virginia. xxvii, 245 pp.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1973).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. II. Analysis of the Literature Exclusive of the Mexican Axolotl.Eric Lundburg. Augusta, West Virginia. xxxiii, 367 pp.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1976).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. III, Source Analysis and Index for Mexican Reptiles.John Johnson, North Bennington, Vermont. 997 pp.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1976).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. IV. Source Analysis and Index for Mexican Amphibians.John Johnson. North Bennington, Vermont. 254 pp.ISBN 0-910914-09-5.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1977).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. V. Guide to Mexican Amphisbaenians and Crocodilians, Bibliographic Addenda II.John Johnson. North Bennington, Vermont. 187 pp.ISBN 0-910914-09-5.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1979).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. VI, Guide to Mexican Turtles, Bibliographic Addendum III.John Johnson, North Bennington, Vermont. xviii, 1044 pp.ISBN 0-910914-11-7.
Smith, H. M., and Rozella B. Smith (1993).Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico, Vol. VII, Bibliographic Addendum IV and Index to Bibliographic Addenda II-IV 1979-1991.University Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado. ix, 1082 pp.ISBN 0-87081-284-X.
Smith, H. M., andEdmund D. Brodie Jr.(1978).Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification.Golden Press. Western Publishing Co. Inc. Racine, Wisconsin. 240 pp.ISBN 0-307-47009-1.
Smith, Hobart M., andDavid Chiszar(1996).Species-Group Taxa of the False Coral Snake GenusPliocercus.Ramus Publishing. 112 pp.ISBN 0965253503.
Lemos Espinal, Julio A.,and Hobart M. Smith (2007).Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. México, D.F. xiii + 613 pp.ISBN 970-9000-41-1.

References

^"Hobart Muir Smith".The Guardian.10 Mar 2013.
^Uetz, P(2010)."The original descriptions of reptiles"(PDF).Zootaxa.2334:59–68.doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2334.1.3.
^Beolens, Bo;Watkins, Michael;Grayson, Michael(2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.(Hobart, p. 124; Smith, H.M., p. 247).
^Smith, Hobart M. (2012)."Some notes on the last hundred years and the next stages in the evolution of herpetology"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): xi–xiv.
^Bury, R. Bruce;Trauth, Stanley E.(2012)."Pioneer of herpetology at his century mark: Hobart M. Smith"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): vii–viii.
^Chiszar, David(2012)."Hobart M. Smith turns 100"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): ix–x.
^^a ^bBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.(Rozella, p. 228).
^Klauber, L. M.(1946). "Review ofHandbook of Lizardsby Hobart M. Smith ".The American Naturalist.80(795): 651–653.doi:10.1086/281486.
^Mansueti, Romeo (1951). "Review ofHandbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansasby Hobart Muir Smith ".The Scientific Monthly.72:406.JSTOR 20294.

External links

[1] "Hobart Muir Smith".The Guardian.10 Mar 2013.

[fields-2] Uetz, P(2010)."The original descriptions of reptiles"(PDF).Zootaxa.2334:59–68.doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2334.1.3.

[3] Beolens, Bo;Watkins, Michael;Grayson, Michael(2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.(Hobart, p. 124; Smith, H.M., p. 247).

[4] Smith, Hobart M. (2012)."Some notes on the last hundred years and the next stages in the evolution of herpetology"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): xi–xiv.

[5] Bury, R. Bruce;Trauth, Stanley E.(2012)."Pioneer of herpetology at his century mark: Hobart M. Smith"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): vii–viii.

[6] Chiszar, David(2012)."Hobart M. Smith turns 100"(PDF).Herpetological Conservation and Biology.7(2): ix–x.

[EDR-7] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.(Rozella, p. 228).

[8] Klauber, L. M.(1946). "Review ofHandbook of Lizardsby Hobart M. Smith ".The American Naturalist.80(795): 651–653.doi:10.1086/281486.

[9] Mansueti, Romeo (1951). "Review ofHandbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansasby Hobart Muir Smith ".The Scientific Monthly.72:406.JSTOR 20294.

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