Edward Harrison Taylor

Edward Harrison Taylor (April 23, 1889 – June 16, 1978) was an American herpetologist from Kansas.

He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a B.A. in 1912. Subsequently, he went to the Philippines, where at first he held a teacher's post in a village in central Mindanao. He collected and studied the local herpetofauna extensively and published many papers. Between 1916 and 1920 he returned briefly to Kansas to finish his M.A. Back in the Philippines, he was appointed Chief of Fisheries in Manila. On his many survey trips he continued collecting and studying fishes and reptiles of the islands.

In 1927, back in the U.S., he became the head of the zoology department of the University of Kansas at Lawrence. From 1929 to 1936, he studied the taxonomy of the genus Eumeces (some common skinks). Subsequently, he focused on Mexican herpetofauna, which he explored on many field trips from 1937 to 1948. In the following years, his explorations took him to Costa Rica, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and he published extensively on all these countries. In 1965, he turned his attention onto Caecilians after having discovered a new species on an island in the Sea of Celebes.

Sixteen reptile species named in E.H.Taylor’s honor are still recognized as valid: Turtles: Trachemys taylori (Cuatrociénegas Slider, from Coahuila, Mexico); Lizards: Anolis taylori (Taylor’s Anole, from Guerrero, Mexico), Cyrtodactylus edwardtaylori (Badulla Bow-fingered Gecko, from Sri Lanka), Dibamus taylori (Lesser Sunda Blind Lizard, from Lombok to Wetar), Gekko taylori (Taylor’s Gecko, from Thailand), Hemidactylus taylori (Taylor’s Somali Half-toed Gecko, from Somalia) Hemitheconyx taylori (East African Fat-tail Gecko, from Somalia, Ethiopia & Kenya), Lankascincus taylori (Taylor’s Tree Skink, from Sri Lanka), Latastia taylori (Taylor’s Long-tail Lizard, from Somalia), Sceloporus edwardtaylori (Taylor’s Spiny Lizard, from Oaxaca, Mexico), Sphenomorphus taylori (Taylor’s Wedge Skink, from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea), Xenagama taylori (Taylor’s Strange Agama, from Ethiopia & Somalia); Snakes: Agkistrodon taylori (Ornate Cantil, from Tamaulipas, Mexico), Coluber taylori (Taylor’s Racer, from Somalia, Ethiopia & Eritrea), Lycophidion taylori (Taylor’s Wolfsnake, from Cen. & E. Africa), Pseudorabdion taylori (Taylor’s Reedsnake, from Mindanao, Philippines).

Eleven reptile subspecies named in E.H.Taylor’s honor are still recognized as valid: Lizards: Brachymeles boulengeri taylori (Negros Short-legged Skink, from Philippines), Gerrhonotus liocephalus taylori (Taylor’s Alligator Lizard, from Chihuahua, Mexico), Lipinia pulchella taylori (Negros Beautiful Lipinia, a skink from the Philippines), Sceloporus occidentalis taylori (Sierra Fence Lizard, from California), Sphenomorphus assatus taylori (Taylor’s Forest Skink, from southern Mexico), Uta stansburiana taylori (Taylor’s Side-blotched Lizard, from Mexico); Snakes: Coniophanes picevittis taylori (Taylor’s Black-striped Snake, from Mexico), Cyclocorus nuchalis taylori (Taylor’s Southern Triangle-spotted Snake, from southern Philippines), Ficimia publia taylori* (Taylor’s Blotched Hooknose Snake, from Yucatán, Mexico), Lampropeltis triangulum taylori (Utah Milksnake, from USA), Micrurus browni taylori (Acapulco Coralsnake, from Guerrero, Mexico). *This subspecies is not widely recognised.

Eight amphibian species named in E.H.Taylor’s honor are still recognized as valid: Frogs: Hyalinobatrachium taylori (Taylor’s Glass Frog, from the Guianas), Platymantis taylori Taylor’s Direct-breeding Frog, Sierra Madre, Luzon, Philippines), Craugaster taylori (Taylor’s robber Frog, from Chaipas, Mexico), Lithobates taylori (Peralta Frog, from eastern Nicaragua & Costa Rica); Salamanders: Ambystoma taylori (Taylor’s Salamander, a neotenic salamander from Puebla, Mexico), Bolitoglossa taylori (Cerro Cituro Salamander, from Darien, Panama), Oedipina taylori (Taylor’s Worm Salamander, from Guatemala, El Salvador & Honduras); Caecilians: Microcaecilia taylori (Taylor’s Caecilian, from Suriname).

Edward Harrison Taylor's autobiographical memoir Edward H. Taylor: Recollection of an Herpetologist was published by the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History in 1975 with contributions from A. Byron Leonard, Hobart M. Smith and George R. Pisani.