Keri: Two herpetologists have traced the origins of the scientific names of 1,047 reptile taxa from the Indian subcontinent in a study published in the 2026 issue of Zootaxa. The authors, Peter Uetz of Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, and Dikansh Parmar of the Leibniz Institute for the Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, Germany, compiled etymological details for all currently recognised genera, species and subspecies described up to the end of 2025.The dataset covers 178 genera, 839 species and 30 subspecies. The study reports that most names are drawn from Latin and classical Greek, with clear differences across taxonomic levels. Among genera, 121 names were derived from Greek stems and 37 from Latin. For species epithets, the trend was reversed: 304 were derived from Latin and 85 from Greek.The paper also highlights the Goan slender gecko, Hemiphylladactylus goaensis, recorded in 2020 and endemic to Goa, described as the second smallest gecko species.Parmar told TOI that the work aims to make scientific naming understandable beyond academia, noting that each name carries a specific meaning and backstory. He said the paper is written for both researchers and the public to make taxonomy more accessible. The study also includes a consolidated checklist of Indian reptile taxa described from 1758 to Dec 2025, along with updates on species described up to July 2026.
