Gaston-François de Witte

Gaston-François de Witte (12 June 1897, Antwerp – 1 June 1980, Brussels) was a Belgian herpetologist who discovered and described at least 24 different species of reptiles.[1]

During his career, he was associated with the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren (from 1920) and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels (from 1937). He is best known for his research of amphibians and reptiles found in the Belgian Congo, from where he collected thousands of specimens. While in central Africa, he also collected botanical specimens.[2]

Honorifics
  • Médaille de la Victoire 1914-1918 (28 septembre 1919)
  • Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914-1918 (28 septembre 1919)
  • Chevalier de l’Ordre de Léopold II (25 décembre 1926)
  • Chevalier de l’Ordre royal du Lion (8 avril 1938)
  • Chevalier de l’Ordre de Léopold (8 avril 1946)
  • Médaille civique de Première Classe (6 juin 1946)
  • Commandeur de l’Ordre de Léopold II (5 mars 1952)
  • Commandeur de l’Ordre royal du Lion (18 octobre 1958)
  • Grand Officier de l’Ordre de Léopold (8 avril 1965)

He has also been welcomed by foreign societies.

He has also been awarded the Prix Selys Longchamps (septième période: 1936-1941) from the Classe des Sciences de l’Académie royale de Belgique.

Eponymy
  • "Witte's beaked snake", Letheobia wittei, described by Mme. Rolande Roux-Estève in 1974.[3]
  • "Witte's five-toed skink", Leptosiaphos dewittei, circumscribed by Arthur Loveridge in 1934.[3]
  • "Witte's spider gecko", Agamura misonnei, synonymous with Rhinogecko misonnei (Misonne's spider gecko), described by de Witte in 1973.[3][4]

Selected works
  • Batraciens et reptiles, 1930.
  • Revision d'un groupe de Colubridae africains. Genres Calamelaps, Miodon, Aparallactus et formes affines, 1947.
  • Amphibiens et reptiles, 1948.
  • Genera des serpents du Congo et du Ruanda-Urundi, 1962 – Genera of snakes of the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi.
  • Les caméléons de l'Afrique centrale : république démocratique du Congo, République du Rwanda et Royaume du Burundi. 1965 – Chameleons of central Africa; the Democratic Republic of the Congo. the Republic of Rwanda and the Kingdom of Burundi.[5]

References
  1. De Witte at the Reptile Database.
  2. Gaston François de Witte Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine Zürich Herbaria, University of Zurich.
  3. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. ("De Witte", p. 71; "Witte", p. 288).
  4. IUCN Redlist Rhinogecko misonnei.
  5. OCLC Classify (published works).


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