R. Dennis King

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Richard Dennis King (born May 20, 1942 in Calgary , Canada ; † January 29, 2002 ), usually R. Dennis King or Dennis King , more rarely Dennis R. King , was an Australian herpetologist of Canadian origin. His research focus was the biologist of the lizards .

Life

King was born in Calgary and moved to Vancouver at an early age , where he graduated from Magee High School. He then studied zoology at the University of British Columbia , where he obtained a master’s degree in 1968 . He then received a grant from the Australian Wool Board , which resulted in a move to Australia. After an initial study of ornithology , during which he dealt with the genus of the rock mountain fowl ( Dendragapus ), he soon discovered his interest in monitor lizards. In 1978 he was with the dissertation Temperature regulation in the sand goanna Varanus gouldii (Gray) at the University of Adelaide for Ph.D. PhD.

After completing his formal qualifications, King worked with the Western Australian Agricultural Protection Board . Much of his work has focused on the biology and control of rabbits and other introduced animals such as goats. He played an important role in researching sodium monofluoroacetate (also known as Compound 1080), a substance that occurs naturally in various Australian plant species of the genus Gastrolobium . Due to the resulting tolerance of some endemic animal species to the toxin in the vegetation, it was possible to use sodium monofluoroacetate to control introduced vertebrate pests without endangering native animals. In particular, the use of sodium monofluoroacetate to control foxes resulted in an increase in the number of endemic small animal species in some areas and allowed some of them to be removed from the list of endangered species.

King's bibliography includes nearly 160 writings that reflect his two main scientific interests, the one on vertebrate pest control and on the other, research on monitor lizards. In collaboration with Brian Green, he published Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards in 1993 (reprinted in the United States as Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards in 1999) and in 2004, in collaboration with Eric Pianka, Varanoids of the World . For the publication Komodo Dragons: Biology and Conservation of the Smithsonian Institution wrote Pianka, King and Green in 2002, the chapter Biology, Ecology, and Evolution .

After retiring in 1996, King became a volunteer at the Western Australian Museum .

Dedication names

1980 Glen Milton Storr named the Kings monitor lizard ( Varanus kingorum ) in honor of R. Dennis King and Max King , who are not related to each other. In 2007, Lawrence A. Smith and Mark Adams honored King in the specific epithet of the gecko species Lerista kingi .

literature

  • Graham G. Thompson: Obituary: R Dennis King May 1942 - January 2002. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia No. 85, 2002, p. 183
  • About the Authors In: Eric R. Pianka & Dennis King (Eds.): Varanoid Lizards of the World 1st edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2004, ISBN 0-253-34366-6 , pp. 587-588
  • Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5 , pp. 141

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Correct name order according to Kraig Adler (Ed.): Contributions to the History of Herpetology, Volume 3, Contributions to Herpetology Volume 29, Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles, 2012. ISBN 978-0-916984-82-3 . P. 426
personal data
SURNAME King, R. Dennis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES King, Richard Dennis; King, Dennis; King, Dennis R.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian herpetologist of Canadian origin
DATE OF BIRTH May 20, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Calgary , Canada
DATE OF DEATH January 29, 2002