Figure 1 - uploaded by William R Branch
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Yearly output of new taxa described by Donald G. Broadley.
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Donald G. Broadley was one of Africa’s most prolific recent authors. He produced over 410 articles, including numerous comprehensive and detailed taxonomic reviews of lizard and snake genera. A review of his scientific publications spanning over 50 years of herpetological research reveals three phases. The first (1958–1981) saw Don describe his fir...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... first paper appeared in the magazine African Wildlife, the first of a 13-part series entitled 'Snakes of Southern Rhodesia (1956)(1957)(1958)(1959)(1960)(1961)(1962)(1963) '. He described his first new taxon, Duberria lutrix rhodesiana, in 1958 and continued to describe new taxa (including two fossil tortoises) in almost every subsequent year ( Figure 1). His most recent descriptions were of the night adder Causus rasmusseni from Zambia (2014), the thread snake Myriopholis lanzai from Libya (2014), and, posthumously, the amphisbaenid Zygaspis maraisi from Mozambique (2016). ...
Context 2
... George Broadley was perhaps the most productive African herpetologist of his generation. Deservedly, in 1991, he was awarded the Exceptional Contribution to African Herpetology award by the Herpetological Association of Africa of which he was a founder member (see Branch 1991). He produced at least 410 articles, including numer- ous comprehensive and detailed taxonomic reviews of lizard and snake genera. A bibli- ography of his work is presented in Appendix 1. Although every effort was made to track down all of his written works, particularly those of scientific importance, we acknowl- edge that some of his popular and local articles, and online-only publications, may have been overlooked. Don's first paper appeared in the magazine African Wildlife, the first of a 13-part series entitled 'Snakes of Southern Rhodesia (1956)(1957)(1958)(1959)(1960)(1961)(1962)(1963) '. He described his first new taxon, Duberria lutrix rhodesiana, in 1958 and continued to describe new taxa (including two fossil tortoises) in almost every subsequent year ( Figure 1). His most recent descriptions were of the night adder Causus rasmusseni from Zambia (2014), the thread snake Myriopholis lanzai from Libya (2014), and, posthumously, the amphisbaenid Zygaspis maraisi from Mozambique (2016). Additional descriptions, in collaboration with various colleagues, appear elsewhere in this volume, while others await posthumous ...
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Citations
... Years ago, on a trip to Southern Africa, I visited the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo with Patrick Lewis, one of the authors of the two amphisbaenian papers in this issue Meza et al., 2024), to examine their herpetology collection and meet with the legendary Don Broadley (1932Broadley ( -2016)-a herpetologist so renowned that there are nine species of reptiles named in his honor (Branch & Bates, 2018). After regaling us with tales of some of his harrowing encounters with all manner of scaly things and pointing out many impressive creatures in murky jars, he made his way over to one small container and fished out something rather unimposing for us to see. ...
... The animal he proudly held out for us was the only specimen of its species in any collection anywhere in the world-the type specimen of Zygaspis maraisi (Broadley & Measey, 2016), one of the 123(!) taxa that he named over his decades' long career (Branch & Bates, 2018). (He named the species after another outstanding herpetologist who had caught it, Johan Marais, who also kindly supplied the photograph of the live specimen on the cover of this issue.) ...
... Herp. Fr. (2019) de Donald G. Broadley (1932-2016, puis par celui de Bill Branch (1946-2018, deux herpétologistes spécialistes du sud du continent. Le présent ouvrage traite de l'herpétologie africaine à travers la vie et l'oeuvre de Broadley à qui je souhaite rendre hommage au travers de cette analyse. ...
Book review - Donald G. Broadley - South Africa herpetology
During the past ten years, the African Journal of Herpetology has published various papers regarding African Herpetology from all corners of the African continent. The journal is published twice per annum with an average of six articles per issue. Below is listed all publications, as well as taxonomic discoveries that appeared in the journal over the past decade.
William Roy Branch (1946–2018) was the most prolific Africa-based herpetologist of his era. His 659 herpetological contributions, spanning 47 years, include field and photographic guides, taxonomic revisions, phylogenies, ecological studies, annotated checklists, conservation assessments, type catalogues, notes on natural history, geographical distribution and snakebite, book reviews, editorials, obituaries, tributes and prefaces. Bill authored eight book titles, including his monumental Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa (1988, revised in 1998), The Dangerous Snakes of Africa with Steve Spawls (1995, revised in 2020) and Tortoises, Terrapins and Turtles of Africa (2008). He edited the Red Data Book–Reptiles and Amphibians (1988) and was a co-editor of its successor, the Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (2014). In addition to a corpus of faunal and systematic works, the topics of his publications also include reptile husbandry, karyology, snake hemipenes, snake venom, reptile diets and reproduction. Appendices presented here include a detailed bibliography of his herpetological publications; a chronological list of all the reptile and amphibian taxa he described; and details of patronyms named in his honour. Bill described 68 new taxa comprising 51 species (37 lizards [18 geckos], 7 chelonians, 4 snakes, 3 frogs), 15 genera (14 lizards, 1 snake), one subfamily (Platysaurinae) and one family (Xenodactylidae). Additional species bearing his name are expected to be published within the next few years. He was the most productive South Africa-based author of reptile names (65) in the modern era. As of 2020, he had been honoured by seven patronyms (one lizard, three snakes and one frog species, and a lizard and snake genus).
English-born Donald George Broadley spent most of his adult life working as a herpetologist at two museums in Zimbabwe. His many taxonomic reviews and other publications made him one of the most respected experts on African reptiles and amphibians worldwide. Don passed away at home in Bulawayo on 10 March 2016. This obituary summarises, emphasises and honours his many achievements as a herpetologist, and notes the many honours bestowed on him by the scientific community. His numerous collecting expeditions to south-central and eastern Africa resulted in the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe (Bulawayo) having the second largest collection (more than 52 000 specimens) of reptiles and amphibians in Africa. Included is a brief history of his involvement with the Herpetological Association of Africa, of which he was a founder member. The authors mention a few personal recollections of their associations and collaborations with him since the 1970s.
