Joseph T. Collins

Early life Collins recounted his early life in a 1997 interview: He was born to Luvadelle Bernice Collins of Crooksville, Ohio (homemaker), and a podiatrist, Joseph T. Collins (Cleveland College of Podiatry). He had two brothers, Jerry (US Navy) and Jeffery (US.Navy) who were three and 16 years younger than he, respectively. He and his brother were excluded from Boy Scouts for being "too rowdy". (Despite this, in his adult life he was a supporter of the Scouts and served on the Friends of Hidden Valley Girl Scout Board of Directors in Lawrence). He caught his first snake, a queen snake, in a tin can around the age of 10-13. He had an avid interest in animals and collected so many animals, which he and his brothers housed in their backyard, that the City of Cincinnati shut them down for operating a zoo without a license. "You could get anything you wanted in those days," said Collins in regard to kinds of animals. At the time he had saved up $40 to buy an African Lion (price = $50). He earned his Associates from the University of Cincinnati, but had no further formal education.

He was among the group of young herpetologists and hobbyists including Kraig Adler (Cornell University) who founded the Ohio Herpetological Society in 1958, which later developed into the largest herpetological society, the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles under Collins' leadership.

Controversy

Collins had chaired the committee that produced the SSAR Common and Scientific Names List from 1978 through 1982 with the consensus of the committee. In 1991, Collins released a new third edition to the names list in which he "...unilaterally changed from committee chairperson to author." Then, he published a recommendation for mass changes by elevating 55 allopatric distinctive subspecies to species rank in line with the developing evolutionary species concept. This created widespread controversy and debate among herpetologists, and he was removed as chair after production of the fourth edition in 1997. He continued to publish names lists following this philosophy through the Center for North American Herpetology; whereas, the SSAR continued to publish a list under their appointed committee structure. Despite the controversy and debate, the vast majority of changes recommended by Collins were ultimately supported by the molecular evidence.

Honors and awards Collins received several awards and honors, including: The Wildlife Author Laureate of Kansas (1996) Kansas Wildlife Federation's Conservationist of the Year (1986) Kansas Herpetological Society's Bronze Salamander Award (1989) Kansas Wildlife Federation Presidential Award (1997)

A species of chorus frog from the southeastern United States, the Collinses' mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris collinsorum), is named in honor of Collins and his wife. Collins had previously contributed specimens for the paper.

Selected bibliography Conant R and JT Collins. 1998. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. (The Peterson Field Guide Series). Powell R and JT Collins. 2012. Key to the herpetofauna of the continental United States and Canada: 2nd ed. Revised and Updates. Seigel RA and JT Collins. Snakes: Ecology and Behavior. Collins JT and SL Collins. 1995. An illustrated guide to endangered or threatened species in Kansas. Collins JT and SL Collins. 1991. Kansas Wildlife. Collins JT, SL Collins, and TW Taggart. 2010. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles in Kansas.