








































Iguana 12.4 b&w text


Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta): A Lithograph by Joseph Smit from Lydekker’s The Royal Natural History (1893–1986). Richard Lydekker
(England, 1849–1915) is not one of the great names in the history of zoogeographical inquiry, but he did explore the subject frequently, often as
a function of his studies in vertebrate paleontology. As a young man, he joined the Geological Survey of India, and there he was able to carry out
extensive investigations that prepared him for his later position with the British Museum of Natural History. On returning from India, he was
charged by the Museum to prepare catalogues of their fossil vertebrate collections; this was accomplished in less than ten years. In his later years,
Lydekker took an increasing interest in public venues, contributing to changes in exhibit design at the Museum and preparing many writings of a
more popular orientation.

Joseph Smit (1836–1929) was a very skilled lithographer and excellent artist who illustrated numerous 19th Century natural history publications.
A native of Holland, he moved to England in the 1860s, at first specializing in bird illustrations, but later painting mammals as well. By the end
of the century, he was considered to be the best animal painter in the country.



T
he U

tila A
nole (N

orops[Anolis] utilensis) m
ay be the w

orld’s m
ost endangered anole (see article on p. 240).

JOE BURGESS




