Etymologies of 2,402 African Reptile Taxa, Resolved to 2025

2,402 taxon names for African reptiles, including 263 genera, 1,893 species, and 246 subspecies, have their etymologies resolved. The dataset was compiled by Peter H Uetz and published on figshare in May 2026. It covers names described until the end of 2025, including those from mainland Africa and some offshore islands.

Use Cases

• [Linguistic analysis] based on the language origins of taxon names (Greek, Latin, eponyms, toponyms) mentioned in the description
• [Taxonomic reference] based on the complete list of species with etymologies and authors
• [Biogeographic study] based on the 465 toponyms (place names) associated with taxa
• [Historical research] based on the list of 86 authors who coined more than 10 taxon names each

Strengths

• Covers 2,402 taxon names, providing a specific scope for African reptiles
• Resolves etymologies for names described until the end of 2025, offering a defined temporal endpoint
• Classifies name origins into specific categories (e.g., 198 genera from Greek, 688 species from Latin)

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• The 300.4 KB file size indicates a very limited data scope, likely containing only metadata and classifications

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Compilation and resolution of etymologies from published taxonomic literature.

Time Range

Names described until the end of 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-26 11:20:09; freshness should be verified

Geography

Mainland Africa and offshore islands including Cape Verde, São Tomé, and Príncipe.