User:Papblak

I am a British herpetologist with five decades of experience working with reptiles in captivity and in the wild. I prefer the latter scenario which is why I have conducted fieldwork in approximately 40 countries. I have a broad zoological knowledge, because no taxon lives in isolation, but I have a particular interest in tropical herpetofaunas, especially those of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I am primarily involved with snakes, especially venomous snakes, but am interested in geckos, skinks and other lizard families. Secretive, burrowing species, and island endemics also intrigue me. I am also fascinated by the history of herpetological exploration and discovery, particularly in New Guinea during the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

I live in beautiful Shropshire, England's largest county without a coastline, about 10 miles from the birthplace of Charles Darwin and a little over 100 miles from the birthplace of Alfred Russel Wallace. I often feel I was born 100 years out of time.