herpetology

noun her·pe·tol·o·gy \ ˌhər-pə-ˈtä-lə-jē \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Definition of herpetology

: a branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians

—

herpetological

play \ˌhər-pə-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl\ adjective

—

herpetologist

play \ˌhər-pə-ˈtä-lə-jist\ noun

See herpetology defined for kids

Recent Examples of herpetology from the Web

Jonathan Losos, biology professor at Harvard and curator of herpetology at the university’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, talks about his latest book, Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance and the Future of Evolution.

— jonathan b. losos, Scientific American, "Does Evolution Repeat Itself?," 27 Sep. 2017
Kocak, a herpetology enthusiast and illustrator of the Black Mudpuppy webcomic (named after a type of salamander), has drawn hundreds of scientists’ avatars on Twitter — including Rabaiotti’s and Caruso’s.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Birds don’t fart, neither do sloths, and other secrets of #DoesItFart," 31 Mar. 2018
In the field of herpetology, that's not always a given.

— ellen airhart, WIRED, "These Conservationists Are Desperate to Defrost Snake Sperm," 13 Mar. 2018
Reptile and Amphibian Encounter Slither into the world of herpetology with an exclusive look into the Reptile and Amphibian House.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Houston Zoo celebrates "Froguary"," 13 Feb. 2018
Glaudas, a herpetology postdoctoral student at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand, knew this was unusual—no land snake is known to use such a technique to lure prey.

— carrie arnold, National Geographic, "Deadly Snake Wags Tongue to Lure Its Prey—A First," 3 Feb. 2017
Glaudas, a herpetology postdoctoral student at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand, knew this was unusual—no land snake is known to use such a technique to lure prey.

— carrie arnold, National Geographic, "Deadly Snake Wags Tongue to Lure Its Prey—A First," 3 Feb. 2017
An Arizona resident spoke about her work at a herpetology center.

— andrea sachs, chicagotribune.com, "Want to be an adventure tour leader? You have a better chance of getting into Dartmouth.," 28 Apr. 2017
Suriname toads develop in eggs embedded in the mom’s back and eventually erupt out of the honeycombed holes, according to Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

— liz langley, National Geographic, "A Frog Whose Babies Pop out of Its Back and More Freaky Animals," 29 Oct. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'herpetology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.