In Memory of Academician Er-Mi Zhao (1930-2016)

Academician Er-Mi Zhao, Professor of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Sichuan University, passed away on 24 December, 2016, to the great loss of both Chinese and world herpetology. As one of the most internationally renowned Chinese herpetologists, Academician Zhao represented a remarkable era of Chinese herpetology and made a significant contribution to global research, both academically and spiritually. He played a significant role in our understanding of the amphibians and reptiles of Tibet, herpetofauna of the Hengduan Mountains, taxonomy of Chinese snakes, and biogeography of the East Asian islands. His distinguished studies laid a solid and substantial foundation for research by future generations of young herpetologists, and had an extensive and profound impact on the development of the field. As a prestigious scientist, Academician Zhao won the recognition and respect of his international peers and assured his place on the worldwide stage based on his remarkable academic achievements. “China should be so proud to have you representing her in herpetology research”, Roger Conant, a senior American scientist and Agkistrodon expert, wrote to Academician Zhao in 1989. In 1993, Herpetology of China (Zhao & Adler, 1993), the first book on the herpetofauna of China, which systematically described the 661 known species at the time, was co-authored by Academician Zhao and American scholar Prof. Kraig Adler. This great work took nearly half a century of meticulous investigation and ten years of compilation to achieve. The book was highly praised by Academician Ilya Darevsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Academician David Wake of the American Academy of Sciences, who claimed it to be “a milestone of herpetology literature” and “an epoch-making book, [which] inaugurates a new era in exploring the fauna of amphibians and reptiles of this vast land”. As a diligent researcher, Academician Zhao devoted himself to herpetology research for 60 years. During his academic career, he published more than 140 articles, 43 books, including Fauna Sinica (Zhao et al., 1998), Snakes of China (Zhao, 2006), Atlas of Chinese Snakes (Hu et al., 1980), Amphibian Zoogeographic Division of China (Zhao, 1995), and Herpetology of China (Zhao & Adler, 1993) in five translations, and established four periodicals. Many of his works were compulsory study for herpetologists and students in China, America, England, and various other countries. 1 For herpetological classification and zoogeographic regionalization, Academician Zhao discovered a new record family of snake, Cylindrophis ruffus (Zhao & Adler, 1989), and 17 new record species of amphibians and reptiles in China. In addition, two new genera of amphibians, Satobius (Hynobius retardatus) (Adler & Zhao 1990) and Liua (Liua shihi) (Zhao & Hu, 1983), and 41 new species (or subspecies) were described and named by him, including Japalura szechwanensis (Hu & Zhao 1966), Achalinus meiguensis (Hu & Zhao, 1966), Natrix optata (Hu & Zhao, 1966). Ranodon tsinpaensis (Hu et al., 1966), Megophrys nankiangensis (Hu et al., 1966), Hyla tsinlingensis (Hu et al., 1966), Rana kuangwuensis (Hu et al., 1966), Microhyla mixtura (Hu et al., 1966), Leiolopisma tsinlingensis (Hu et al., 1966), Xenopeltis hainanensis (Hu et al., 1975), Dinodon rosozonatum (Hu et al., 1975), Achalinus hainanus (Hu et al., 1975), Trimeresurus medoensis (Zhao & Jiang, 1977), Ovophis monticola zayuensis (Zhao & Jiang,