Richard Vogt (herpetologist)
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Richard Vogt | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 6, 1949 |
| Died | January 17, 2021 (aged 71)[1] Manaus, Brazil |
| Known for | Herpetology |
Richard Carl Vogt (August 6, 1949 – January 17, 2021) was an American herpetologist based in Brazil. He was the director of the Centro de Estudos de Quelônios da Amazônia (Center for the Study of Amazonian Turtles) at the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA).[2]
Vogt received his PhD in 1978 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his dissertation focused on the systematics and ecology of the false map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica).[3] The same year, he became a Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.[4]
In March 2000, Wildlife Conservation magazine wrote about Vogt's work in his role as Curator of reptiles and amphibians for the Museum of INPA in Manaus. At the time, his research was focused on working with communities in Mamirauá to monitor and safeguard the population levels of both the six-tubercled Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis sextuberculata) and the yellow-headed sideneck turtle (Podocnemis unifilis).[5]
In 2013, Vogt was part of a group of authors who published a paper[6] in the Journal of Comparative Psychology that described findings which they considered to be the "...first evidence of acoustic communication mediating posthatching parental care in chelonians." The vocalization study focused on recordings of the acoustic behavior of the Arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa) as both hatchlings and adult turtles, with the theory that these sounds assist in synchronised hatching and emergence, and in the hatchlings' seeking of female turtle attention to accompany them during migration. In 2017, this research was expanded to show that the pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) also emits underwater sounds.[7]
In 2006, Vogt was part of the assessment panel which determined the critically endangered status of the Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii).[8] Similarly in 2016, he assisted in assessing the critically endangered status of Hoge's side-necked turtle (Messoclemmys hogei).[9]
