Introduction to Snake Taxonomy

Harshil Patel

Harshil Patel is an Indian herpetologist specializing in the taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, and conservation of reptiles. He is a Scientist at Thackeray Wildlife Foundation, Mumbai. His research focuses on documenting reptilian diversity, understanding species distributions, and investigating taxonomic relationships, particularly among the squamate reptiles of the Indian subcontinent. With extensive interests in field-based herpetology and biodiversity documentation, he has contributed to scientific studies on reptilian fauna, including taxonomic research and species descriptions. His work aims to advance knowledge of India's rich reptilian diversity and promote its scientific understanding and long-term conservation. He is interested mainly in systematics & taxonomy of reptiles and amphibians but also interested in diversity of other faunal & floral groups and their conservation. In his short research career, he has discovered and named four new Genera and 19 new species of reptiles and one new species of plants of which seven have been described from Gujarat. Till date, Harshil has published 72 peer reviewed research articles & a book chapters and a couple of popular articles on Indian amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, fishes, arachnids and plants. For public outreach, he has been associated with many NGOs working in the field of environment protection and wildlife conservation from my school days and he is actively participating in their awareness activities and conservation programs as a volunteer or as a resource person. He also train many young naturalists and students interested in animal systematics and wildlife biology. Currently, he is serving as an Associate Editor for the journals Hamadryad and Herpetology Notes; he regularly review papers for many national and international journals. He is also a member of the IUCN Snake Specialist Group (IUCN SSG).