Yehudah L. Werner
Yehudah Leopold Werner (born 1931 in Munich) is an Israeli herpetologist and Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology).
He and his parents were forced to flee from Nazi Germany in 1933, and reached Palestine via France and England in 1935. Georg Haas (1905–1981), an emigrant from Austria who was Professor in Jerusalem,[1] guided his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During his long scientific career, Werner published more than 400 titles. Among other things, the biology of the geckos, including their vocal communication, as well as the zoogeography and conservation of the reptiles and amphibians in the Middle East are his main themes. Werner was a co-founder of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and served as chairperson of the Zoological Society of Israel.
Taxa described by Yehudah Werner
Yehudah Werner described or redescribed (alone or with co-authors) a number of amphibian and reptile taxa:
- Hyla heinzsteinitzi Grach, Plesser & Werner, 2007[2] (this species is a synonym of H. japonica that has been apparently introduced into Israel, see Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 1019–1024.)
- Acanthodactylus ahmaddisii Werner, 2004[3]
- Acanthodactylus beershebensis Moravec, Baha El Din, Seligmann, Sivan & Werner, 1999[4]
- Acanthodactylus pardalis (Lichtenstein, 1823) Moravec, Baha El Din, Seligmann, Sivan & Werner, 1999[4]
- Asaccus nasrullahi Werner, 2006[5]
- Cerastes cerastes Werner, Sivan, Kushnir & Motro 1999[6]
- Cerastes cerastes hoofieni Werner & Sivan, 1999[6]
- Cerastes gasperettii Werner, 1987
- Cerastes gasperettii Werner, Le Verdier, Rosenman & Sivan, 1991[7]
- Cerastes gasperettii mendelssohni Werner & Sivan, 1999[6]
- Eirenis coronella ibrahimi Sivan & Werner, 2003[8]
- Eirenis coronelloides Sivan & Werner, 2003[8]
- Laudakia stellio salehi Werner, 2006[9]
- Mesalina bahaeldini Segoli, Cohen & Werner, 2002[10]
- Micrelaps tchernovi Werner, Babocsay, Carmely & Thuna, 2006[11]
- Ptyodactylus hasselquistii krameri Werner, 1995[12]
Note: Amphibian and reptile taxa with the author's name "Werner" described between 1893 and 1938 are by the Austrian zoologist Franz Werner.
Taxa named in honor of Yehudah Werner
Yehudah Werner is commemorated in the scientific names of two reptiles:[13]
- Testudo werneri Perälä, 2001
- Pseudotrapelus sinaitus werneri Moravec, 2002
References
- Adler, K. (1989): Contributions to the History of Herpetology. - Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles: 202 p. ISBN 0-916984-19-2
- Grach, C., Plesser, Y. & Y. L. Werner (2007): "A new, sibling, tree frog from Jerusalem (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae)". - Journal of Natural History 41 (9–12): p. 709–728.
- Werner, Y. L. (2004): "A new species of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Jordan". - Zoology in the Middle East 32: p. 39–46.
- Moravec, J., Baha El Din, S., Seligmann, H., Sivan, N. & Y. L. Werner (1999): "Systematics and distribution of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group (Lacertidae) in Egypt and Israel". - Zoology in the Middle East 17: p. 21–50.
- Werner, Y. L. (2006): "Retraction of Ptyodactylus Goldfuss from the fauna of Iran and its replacement by a new species of Asaccus Dixon & Anderson (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae). - Hamadryad 30: p. 135–140.
- Werner, Y. L., Sivan, N., Kushnir, V. & U. Motro (1999): "A statistical approach to variation in Cerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) with the description of two endemic subspecies". - In: Joger, U. [ed.]: Phylogeny and Systematics of the Viperidae. Kaupia 8: p. 83–97.
- Werner, Y. L., Le Verdier, A., Rosenman, D. & N. Sivan (1991): "Systematics and zoogeography of Cerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) in the Levant: I. Distinguishing Arabian from African Cerastes cerastes". - The Snake 23: p. 90–100.
- Sivan, N. & Y. L. Werner (2003): "Revision of the Middle-Eastern dwarf-snakes commonly assigned to Eirenis coronella (Colubridae)". - Zoology in the Middle East 28: p. 39–59.
- Lachmann, E., Carmely, H. & Y. L. Werner (2006): "Subspeciation befogged by the 'Seligmann effect': the case of Laudakia stellio (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae) in southern Sinai, Egypt. - Journal of Natural History 40 (19–20): p. 1259–1284.
- Segoli, M., Cohen, T. & Y. L. Werner (2002): A new lizard of the genus Mesalina from Mt. Sinai, Egypt (Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae). - Faunistische Abhandlungen 23 (1): p. 157–176.
- Werner, Y. L., Babocsay, G., Carmely, H. & M. Thuna (2006): "Micrelaps in the southern Levant: variation, sexual dimorphism, and a new species (Serpentes: Atractaspididae)". - Zoology in the Middle East 38: p. 29–48.
- Werner, Y. L. (1995): "Some unusual accidental herpetological finds from Cyprus and Lebanon, including a new Ptyodactylus (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Gekkonidae)". - Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 22 ("1994"): p. 67–76.
- 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. ("Werner, Y.L.", p. 282).
External links
- Yehudah Leopold Werner: General Information, Curriculum Vitae, Publications
- Ofri Ilani (19 August 2007). מבריכת ממילא לשולחן המזכירה: כך נעלמה האילנית החדשה. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 August 2014. Article with photos of Hyla heinzsteinitzi and Yehudah L. Werner