{{Short description|American professor and herpetologist}} {{Infobox scientist | name = John Douglas Lynch | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|7|30}} | birth_place = Iowa, United States | fields = Herpetology | workplaces = University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Universidad Nacional de Colombia | alma_mater = University of Illinois; University of Kansas | doctoral_advisor = William Edward Duellman | known_for = Research on neotropical frogs, taxonomy of Pristimantis, Eleutherodactylus, and Strabomantis | author_abbrev_zoo = Lynch }}
'''John Douglas Lynch''' (born July 30, 1942) is an American herpetologist. His research focuses on the neotropical herpetofauna.
== Biography == In 1964, Lynch conducted research in Mexico as part of his master's degree at the University of Illinois, studying the frog genus ''Eleutherodactylus''. After receiving his Master of Science, he enrolled at the University of Kansas, where he studied zoology under William Edward Duellman. In 1967, he went on his first expedition to Ecuador, where he collected frogs of the genus ''Eleutherodactylus'' and members of the family Centrolenidae (glass frogs). He earned his Ph.D. in 1969 with the dissertation ''Evolutionary relationships and osteology of the frog family Leptodactylidae''.<ref name=bio2>{{cite web|url=http://www.accefyn.org.co/ranas/frogs/about_jdl.htm |title=John Lynch|work= accefyn.org}}</ref><ref name=bio1 />
During an expedition in 1980 with María Cristina Ardila Robayo and Pedro Ruiz in the highlands of the Colombian departments of Cauca and Huila, he discovered more than 20 new frog species. From 1969 to 1997, Lynch was a professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 1997, he became an associate professor and curator of herpetology at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Since 1999, he has lived in Colombia.<ref name=bio2 />
In the summer of 2000, he was among a group of scientists briefly kidnapped by the Colombian guerrilla organization ELN.<ref name=bio1>{{cite news|first= Brady |last=McCombs |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150614102044/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2000/aug/13/release_cheers_friends/ |title=Release cheers friends of kidnapped scientist|work= Lawrence Journal World |date=13 August 2000|quote= Friends of former Kansas University student John Douglas Lynch were elated to hear about his release Saturday from Colombian rebels.… … Lynch, an Iowa native, is curator of herpetology at the Natural Science Institute, National University of Colombia in Bogota. He also is a research associate at KU, an honorary title that allows him access to research materials at the Natural History Museum. Lynch earned a doctorate in zoology from KU in 1969, school officials said. According to Duellman, Lynch has a son in Lincoln, Neb., and a daughter in the Chicago area.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150614063109/http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2000/aug/12/13849/ |title= John D. Lynch |date=12 August 2000|work=LJWorld.com|quote= John D. Lynch, left, a KU graduate and research associate… …Lynch, now a curator for the National University of Colombia, is among a group of 20 biologists reportedly kidnapped by Colombian rebels on Thursday.}}</ref>
Lynch has participated in the scientific descriptions of more than 200 frog species, including many taxa in the genera ''Eleutherodactylus'', ''Pristimantis'' and ''Strabomantis''.<ref name=bio2 />
Lynch has a son and a daughter.<ref name=bio1 />
== Eponyms == Several taxa have been named in honor of John Douglas Lynch, including ''Atelopus lynchi'', ''Rhaebo lynchi'', ''Centrolene lynchi'', ''Colostethus lynchi'', ''Hyloscirtus lynchi'', ''Noblella lynchi'', and ''Pristimantis lynchi'', as well as the genera ''Lynchophrys'' and ''Lynchius''. The specific epithet of the salamander ''Pseudoeurycea lynchi'' refers to the zoologist James Francis Lynch.
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American herpetologists Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty Category:Academic staff of the National University of Colombia Category:20th-century American zoologists Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Biologists from Iowa Category:University of Illinois System alumni Category:University of Kansas alumni Category:American expatriates in Colombia