John Edwards Holbrook American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 zoologist, herpetologist, physician, and naturalist, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina

Beaufort, South Carolina

Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...

, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards.

He provided the first comprehensive illustrated account of North American Amphibians & Reptiles in the two editions of his North American Herpetology: or a Description of the Reptiles inhabiting the United States. The first edition in four volumes (1836-1840) is very rare because Holbrook attempted to destroy all copies in a bonfire in his backyard over unfavorable criticism of the colored plates. The second edition in five volumes (1842) was better received and is still an important benchmark reference work. Among the new species which he described in these works are the Brown Water Snake

Brown Water Snake

The brown water snake is a large species of Natricine snake found in the southeast United States.Lycodonomorphus rufulus is sometimes also called the brown water snake, but L...

 (Nerodia taxispilota), the Brown Snake

Brown snake

Brown snake is the common name given to a number of very different species of snakes:*The genus Pseudonaja, Australian brown snakes*The genus Storeria, North American brown snakes...

 (Storeria dekayi

Storeria dekayi

Storeria dekayi, commonly known as the brown snake or De Kay's snake, is a small species of colubrid snake.-Geographic range:...

) and the Ornate Chorus Frog

Ornate Chorus Frog

The Ornate Chorus Frog Description: 1-1.5 inches; Color varies depending on locale, some are green, red, or brown. It typically has a defined but broken stripe or spots leading from the nose down the side. Has a pure white belly. Commonly has yellow spots located in front of hind legs.Habitat: ...

 (Pseudacris ornata).

The Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii

Scaphiopus holbrookii

The Eastern Spadefoot is a species of spadefoot found in North America. It has one spur on each of its back feet for burrowing. It spends almost all of its life deep underground; coming out only to breed, and sometimes eat. It remains in a type of hibernation almost all its life...

), the earless lizard

Earless lizard

Earless lizards are two genera of small lizards native to the semi-arid and grassland habitats of the southwestern United States and Mexico. The genus Cophosaurus and the genus Holbrookia are both characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent sand from entering the body as...

 genus Holbrookia

Holbrookia

Holbrookia is a genus of earless lizards, known commonly as the lesser earless lizards, which contains three recognized species that are found throughout the southwestern and central United States, and northern Mexico. They are characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent...

, the Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki

Lampropeltis getula holbrooki

Lampropeltis getula holbrooki is a nonvenomous subspecies of kingsnake.-Geographic range:It is found in the central to southern United States from southern Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico...

) and the Spottail Pinfish

Spottail pinfish

The Spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrookii, is an ocean-going species of fish in the family Sparidae. It is also known as the Spottail seabream...

 (Diplodus holbrookii) were named in his honor.