Michael J. Tyler

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Michael James Tyler (born March 27, 1937 in Surbiton , Surrey , England , † March 26, 2020 in Adelaide , South Australia ), also known as Mike Tyler , was an Australian herpetologist of British origin. He was considered one of the leading experts on the Australian frog fauna and was therefore nicknamed The Frogman .

Life

Tyler developed an interest in herpetology early on . While volunteering at the British Museum of Natural History , he was advised to go to Australia and Papua New Guinea if he wanted to do basic research on amphibians . From 1958 to 1959 he hitchhiked to Australia.

In 1961 he joined the University of Adelaide as a laboratory technician , where he studied and researched part-time, and in 1971 was promoted to laboratory director for the Department of Human Physiology and Pharmacology. In 1974 he completed his studies with a Master of Science degree and in 1975 was given a lectureship in the Department of Zoology. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1979 and appointed Associate Professor of Zoology in 1984. In 2002 he was awarded a doctorate degree (DSc) and received a visiting research fellowship.

Tyler's research on amphibians both in Australia and overseas was continuous and extensive. He has received support from a number of organizations, including the South Australian Museum (where he received his first foreign scholarship in 1965), the Mark Mitchell Foundation, Rotary International , Australian Geographic magazine , Hamilton Laboratories , Australian National University , Mount Isa Mines, and the WWF . Aside from work on habitats, behavior, identification and taxonomy, which included the initial description of new species, he researched novel chemicals and pharmaceutical and industrial applications such as: B. Fluid balance medications, sunscreens, and adhesives. He has studied frog populations as an indicator of the environmental health of aquatic systems and frog mutations as an indicator of pollution. He is one of many who have dealt with the European toad (formerly Bufo marinus , now Rhinella marina ) pest problem in Australia.

Tyler was a leader in research into the worldwide phenomenon of frog disappearance, even whole species, particularly in Australia of the two species of gastric breeder frogs ( Rheobatrachus vitellinus and Rheobatrachus silus ), which were declared extinct shortly after their discovery. He was a leader in research into the fossil frog records of Australia.

Tyler has publicly advocated frogs as pets, a source of potentially useful substances and an indicator of environmental quality, arguing that a species useful to humans must necessarily be protected. He has been involved in a variety of nature documentaries, notably Nature of Australia (1988), the ABC Natural History Unit in collaboration with the BBC and WNET, which was broadcast as part of their series Nature , and the series Life on Our Earth by David Attenborough (1979).

He was a long-time board member of the South Australian Museum and its chairman from 1982 to 1992. He was President of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and was President of the Royal Society of South Australia from 1985 to 1986 .

Memberships, awards and dedication names

In 1980 Tyler was awarded the Verco Medal of the Royal Society of South Australia. In the same year he received the Australian Medal for Natural History from the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria . In 1988 he was elected a member of the Australian Institute of Biology . In 1993 the City of Adelaide was elected Citizen of the Year. In 1995 he received the Order of Australia for his zoological services, particularly in the field of research and conservation of Australian amphibians. In 1997 he won the Michael Daley Eureka Prize for Scientific Communication. In 1998 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science . In the same year he received the Riversleigh Medal from the Riversleigh Society for his contributions to Australian paleontology. In 2005 he won the Ig Nobel Prize for studying the smells of 131 different frog species under stress.

The frog genus Tylerana (now a synonym for Hylarana ) and the species Litoria tyleri , Uperoleia tyleri , Capiula tyleri and Litoria michaeltyleri are named after Tyler .

Fonts (selection)

Tyler published about 420 scientific works. His books include:

  • 1966: Frogs of South Australia . Adelaide: South Australian Museum.
  • 1976: with CR Twidale, BP Webb (eds.): Natural History of the Adelaide Region . Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia.
  • 1976: Frogs . Sydney: William Collins.
  • 1977: Frogs of South Australia (Revised Edition). Adelaide: South Australian Museum.
  • 1978: Amphibians of South Australia . 2nd Edition. Adelaide: Government Printer.
  • 1979: The status of Endangered Australasian Wildlife . Adelaide: Royal Zoological Society of South Australia.
  • 1982: Frogs. 2nd Edition. Sydney: Collins.
  • 1983: with CR Twidale, JK Ling, JW Holmes (eds.): Natural History of the South East. Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia.
  • 1983: The Gastric Brooding Frog . London: Croom Helmet.
  • 1996: Frogs as Pets. A Guide to Keeping the Australian Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea) . Adelaide: Graphic Print Group.
  • 1984: There's a frog in my throat stomach . Sydney: Collins.
  • 1984: with LA Smith, R. Johnston: Frogs of Western Australia . Perth: Western Australian Museum.
  • 1985: with CR Twidale, M. Davies, M. (Eds.): Natural History of Eyre Peninsula . Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia.
  • 1985: Frog Index . National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. 2nd Edition. Sydney: Australian Museum.
  • 1986: with M. Davies: Frogs of the Northern Territory . Alice Springs: Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory.
  • 1987: An introduction to frogs . Melbourne: Bookshelf.
  • 1989: Australian Frogs . Melbourne: Viking O'Neil.
  • 1990: with CR Twidale, M. Davies, CB Wells (eds.): Natural History of the North East Deserts . Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia.
  • 1991: Australian Frog List . 3. Edition. Sydney: National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife.
  • 1991: Australian frogs . Canberra: Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service.
  • 1992: A natural history museum. Behind the scenes . Sydney: Ashton Scholastic.
  • 1992: Earthworms . Sydney: Ashton Scholastic.
  • 1992: Environmental legislation: an impediment to documentation of environmental components . Proceedings of Ecopolitics V., Sydney.
  • 1992: Vol. 1: Frogs. Encyclopedia of Australian Animals (pp. 1-109). Sydney: Collins, Angus and Robertson.
  • 1993: Australian frogs . Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency
  • 1993: with ML Hutchinson: Edgar R. Waite and The Reptiles and Amphibians of South Australia . Introduction to facsimile reprint. Ohio, USA: Society for the Study of Amphibia and Reptilia.
  • 1994: Australian Frogs. A natural history . Revised edition. Sydney: Reed.
  • 1994: with L. A Smith, RJ Johnstone: Frogs of Western Australia . 2nd Edition. Perth: Western Australian Museum.
  • 2000: with L. A Smith, RJ Johnstone: Frogs of Western Australia . 3rd revised edition. Perth: Western Australian Museum.
  • 2002: with M. Davies, CR Twidale: (ed.) (2002). Natural History of Kangaroo Island . 2nd Edition. Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia.
  • 2004: Yes It's True! Frogs Are Cannibals . Melbourne: Allen and Unwin.
  • 2004: with Y. Peng, V. Glattauer, LD Graham, PR Vaughan, JF White, JA Werkmeister, JAM Ramshaw: An adhesive and elastic biomaterial from Australian frogs. Transactions of the 7th. World Materials Congress
  • 2009: with Frank Knight (Illustrator): Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia . Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing.
  • 2009: with P. Doughty: Field Guide to Frogs of Western Australia . 4th revised edition, Perth: Western Australian Museum.
  • 2009: Frogs and Toads as Experimental Animals . ANZCCART Fact Sheet A13. Revised edition.
  • 2011: with Frank Knight (Illustrator): Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia . Revised edition. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing.
  • 2011: with SG Wilson, A. Emmott: Frogs of the Lake Eyre Basin. Desert Channels Queensland , Longreach, Queensland.
  • 2011: with SJ Walker: Frogs of South Australia . Adelaide: Michael J. Tyler and Associates.
  • 2020: with Frank Knight (Illustrator): Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia. 2nd Edition. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing.

literature

  • Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians . Pelagic Publishing, Exeter, 2013. ISBN 978-1-907807-41-1 , p. 218
  • Margaret Davies: Obituary: Michael James Tyler AO, MSc, DSc, 1937-2020 , Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 2020. doi : 10.1080 / 03721426.2020.1781026
  • Leo J. Borkin, Kraig Adler: Michael James Tyler, AO (1937-2020): Specialist on the Frogs of Australia and New Guinea Amphibia-Reptilia, 2020. doi : 10.1163 / 15685381-2020OB01

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary for Michael J. Tyler
personal data
SURNAME Tyler, Michael J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tyler, Michael James (full name); Tyler, Mike; Frogman, The
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian herpetologist of British descent
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Surbiton , Surrey , England
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 2020
Place of death Adelaide , South Australia