Roy Wallace McDiarmid

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Biological Survey Project – Herpetology
National Museum of Natural History
10^th and Constitution Avenues NW
Washington, D.C. 20560-0111, USA

Telephone: 202-633-0731

Fax: 202-357-1932

Email: rmcdiarmid@usgs.gov  

Research Zoologist

Primary Responsibilities: 
McDiarmid conducts research on the systematics, ecology, behavior, and population biology of amphibians and reptiles, especially within the Western Hemisphere. Current projects include research on the systematics and zoogeography of herpetofaunas of specific areas in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru; development of world checklists for amphibians and reptiles, especially snakes; coordination of a team of herpetologists to prepare a book on methodologies, techniques, and standards for measuring the biodiversity of reptiles; and review of the biology of North American larval amphibians with Ron Altig. He also is curator of Herpetology at the National Museum of Natural History and specifically is responsible for curation of the North American part of the 560,000 specimens in the National Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles, Smithsonian Institution. In these various roles, McDiarmid often cooperates on research and development efforts with colleagues in US Geological Survey, Smithsonian Institution, other museums and universities, and cooperating State, Federal, and foreign agencies. He sometimes serves as adjunct professor and member of committees for graduate students at US and foreign universities, as appropriate.  

Education/Training: 
B.A., University of Southern California, 1961, Zoology

M.S., University of Southern California, 1966, Biology

Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1969, Biological Sciences

Active Projects: 
Systematics and zoogeography of tropical amphibian and reptile species

A review and synthesis of the biology of North American amphibian larvae and biology of tadpoles

Snake species of the world - a taxonomic and geographical reference Integrated Taxonomic Information System Partnership (ITIS)

Selected Publications/Products: 
Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. and R.W. McDiarmid. 2006. Review of the taxonomy and conservation status of the Ecuadorian Glassfrog Centrolenella puyoensis Flores and McDiarmid (Amphibia: Anura: Centrolenidae). Zootaxa 1361:21-31.

Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. and R.W. McDiarmid. 2006. A new species of the genus Centrolene (Amphibia: Anura: Centrolenidae) from Ecuador with comments on the taxonomy and biogeography of glassfrogs. Zootaxa 1244:1-32.

Padial, J.M., S. Riechle, R. McDiarmid, and I. De la Riva. 2006. A new species of arboreal toad (Anura: Bufonidae: Chaunus) from Madidi National Park, Bolivia. Zootaxa 1278:57-68.

Altig, R. and R.W. McDiarmid. 2006. Descriptions and biological notes on three unusual mantellid tadpoles (Amphibia: Anura: Mantellidae) from southeastern Madagascar. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 119(3):418-425.

Greene, H.W. and R.W. McDiarmid. 2005. Wallace and Savage: heroes, theories, and venomous snake mimicry, Chapter 9, Pp. 190-208. In M.A. Donnelly, B.I. Crother, C. Guyer, M.H. Wake, and M.E. White (Eds.), Ecology and Evolution in the Tropics: A Herpetological Perspective. University of Chicago Press.

McDiarmid, R.W. and J.M. Savage. 2005. The herpetofauna of the Rincón area, Peninsula de Osa, Costa Rica, a Central American lowland evergreen forest site, Chapter 16, Pp. 366-427. In M.A. Donnelly, B.I. Crother, C. Guyer, M.H. Wake, and M.E. White (Eds.), Ecology and Evolution in the Tropics: A Herpetological Perspective. University of Chicago Press.

McDiarmid, R.W. and M.A. Donnelly. 2005. The herpetofauna of the Guayana Highlands: amphibians and reptiles of the Lost World. Chapter 18, Pp. 461-560. In M.A. Donnelly, B.I. Crother, C. Guyer, M.H. Wake, and M.E. White (Eds.), Ecology and Evolution in the Tropics: A Herpetological Perspective. University of Chicago Press.

Cocroft, R., V.R. Morales, and R.W. McDiarmid. 2001. Frogs of Tambopata, Peru. [CD of vocalizations and 28 page booklet with colored photos of 70 species]. Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.
McDiarmid, R.W. and R.Altig (editors). 1999. Tadpoles. The Biology of Anuran Larvae. University of Chicago Press. xvi + 444 pp.

McDiarmid, R. W., J. A. Campbell, and T. A. Touré. 1999. Snake Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Vol. 1. xi + 511 pp. Herpetologists’ League, Washington, DC.