Sergey Alexandrovich Chernov (1903–1964): biography of herpetologist

Abstract

The scientific biography of the outstanding herpetologist and specialist in zoogeography Sergei Alexandrovich Chernov (1903–1964) was reconstructed on the base the study of archival materials and literature sources. The text is divided into four parts, reflecting the main stages of his biography: 1903–1930 – Kharkiv, the beginning of the scientific career; 1930–1941 – relocation to Leningrad, Tajik-Pamir expedition; 1941–1945 – Great Patriotic War and evacuation; 1945–1964 – period after the Great Patriotic War. In the paper, we emphasize the line of teacher–student continuity begun by A.M. Nikolsky and S.A. Chernov in the herpetology department of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The appendix contains a list of his publications (52 titles), taxa, described by him (11) and named in his honor (6). In majority of his publications, Chernov was the sole author; most of them were published in Russian; only one paper was written in a foreign (German) language. One of the main achievements of Chernov should be recognized a publication of the Guide of amphibians and reptiles of the USSR together with P.V. Terentyev. He made the greatest contribution to the study of the systematics of lizards and snakes, composition, zoogeography, and the history of the formation of the herpetofauna of Central Asia. According to his studies, the fauna of Central and Central Asia are subsidiaries of the once united region, what contradicted the views of his teacher Nikolsky, who developed the concept of M.A. Menzbir about the young postglacial origin of the Aral-Caspian deserts and the ancient, Eocene origin of the deserts of Central Asia.