Rafe M. Brown

Rafe Marion Brown (born October 1, 1968) is an American herpetologist and conservationist. His research focuses on the herpetofauna of the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

Biography Brown is the son of Walter and Lucia Brown (née Hopple). After graduating from the Putney School in Putney, Vermont, he enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. In 1991 he transferred to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in May 1994 and a Master of Science in May 1997. In September 1997, Brown entered the University of Texas at Austin, where he completed his Ph.D. in May 2004 under the supervision of David C. Cannatella. His dissertation, titled Evolution of Ecomorphological Variation and Acoustic Diversity in Mate-Recognition Signals of Southeast Asian Forest Frogs (subfamily Platymantinae), examined the diversification of mate-recognition signals among forest frogs of Southeast Asia.

Brown uses molecular markers combined with statistical methods to test hypotheses regarding species boundaries, distribution, dispersal, isolation, and diversity. His empirical research emphasizes patterns of lineage diversification and species-level responses to biogeographic processes across island archipelagos. He conducts most of his fieldwork in the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands, applying a comparative, multi-taxon approach to the biogeography of terrestrial vertebrates. Brown is also active in biodiversity and taxonomy studies and works toward the conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Southeast Asia.

Brown has co-described approximately 70 species of reptiles, including species from the genera Brachymeles, Calliophis, Cyrtodactylus, Draco, Gekko, Hemiphyllodactylus, Luperosaurus, Malayotyphlops, Parvoscincus, Pseudogekko, and Varanus.

Eponyms In 2007, the frog species Platymantis paengi was named in honor of Rafe M. Brown. The species epithet paengi derives from “Paeng,” a common Tagalog nickname for persons named Rafael.

Taxa described