John Romer (1920-1982): A List of Publications from before and during his life in Hong Kong on reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fleas and bird strikes

I have written several times (here and here) on JOHN DUDLEY ROMER (1920-1982) the doyen of herpetology in Hong Kong. Romer’s full-time job was head of pest control for the Hong Kong government. After his death his papers were deposited in the library of the Zoological Society of London. The last time I was there I did not have time to see what that Romer archive held. Then Jack Greatrex of the Department of History in the University of Hong Kong contacted me. As part of his research on the history of pest control he was going to be in London and offered to send me his gleanings from the ZSL library. I of course accepted gratefully and Jack, now at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, sent me copies of a wealth of material, including a curriculum vitae from around 1979, the time of Romer’s retirement from Hong Kong, and his earlier notebook which included a list of his popular and scientific publications. The list of publications in his CV specifically excludes popular publications. I have used these two sources as the basis of a complete list of John Romer’s publications across all spheres of his activities from 1938 until a posthumous new edition in 1983. A few more publications came to light in searches online but it is possible that further popular publications in newspapers and magazines remain to be found. Some of the detail, like page numbers, is incomplete. A further visit to the ZSL library is needed in order to fill in nearly all of that missing information (marked in red below) but if anybody can help in the meantime I would be most grateful. I do appreciate that not many people are likely to have the Indian Army Ordnance Corps Gazette on their bookshelf.

John Dudley Romer I.S.O. M.B.E. F.I.Biol. C.M.Z.S.

9 September 1920 - 15 March 1982

List of Publications 1938-1983

Compiled March 2023

1938

Romer JD. 1938. Fire-bellied and Yellow-bellied toads. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (June 1938).  volume page numbers

1939

Romer JD. 1939. The newts of the British Isles. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (May 1939). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1939. Breeding the Spotted Salamander. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (June 1939).  volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1939. Amphibia collecting. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (August 1939). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1939. Breeding the Spotted Salamander. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (September 1939). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1939. The hibernation of European batrachians. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (October 1939). volume page numbers

1940

Romer JD. 1940. The habits of the Edible Frog. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (April 1940). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1940. The Midwife or Bell Toad. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (August 1940). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1940. Newts. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (October 1940). volume page numbers

Romer JD. 1940. The grotesque Axolotl. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (December 1940). volume page numbers

1941

Romer JD. 1941. Adaptation to environment in amphibia. Aquarist and Pondkeeper (January 1941). volume page numbers

1942

Romer JD. 1942. A plea for amphibia.[Letter] Country Life 91 (No 2362), 815.

1943

Romer JD. 1943. Should you kill that snake? Illustrated Weekly of India 64 (8) (21 February 1943). volume page numbers

1944

Romer JD. 1944. Serpents of the sea [Sea snake from Bombay, Letter]. Country Life 95 (18 February 1944), 296.

Romer JD. 1944. Memorandum for the treatment of snake bite. Indian Army Ordnance Corps Gazette 22 (4) (April 1944). page numbers

Romer JD. 1944. Egg-laying period of the Common Indian Monitor. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 44, 600.

1945

Romer JD. 1945. The hatching of lizard eggs. [Letter] Country Life 97 (No 2511) (2 March 1945), 386.

Romer JD.1945  A new record of a rare snake (Natrix xenura) from Assam. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 45, 540-431.

1946

Romer JD. 1946. Aquatic snakes from India. Water Life 1 (1) (New issue) (April 1946). volume page numbers

1947

Romer JD. 1947. Notes on the monitors. Aquarist and Pondkeeper 12 (3) (June 1947) 70-71.

Romer JD. 1947. Longevity of Natterjack Toads. Aquarist and Pondkeeper 12 (August 1947). page numbers

Romer JD.1947 An uncommon habit observed in the frog Rana erythraea Schleg. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 47, 173-174.

1948

Romer JD. 1948. Notes on the geckoes. Aquarist and Pondkeeper 13 (3) (June 1948), 86-87.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 18 July 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong (2) - What to do in emergency. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 25 July 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong (3) - The geckoes. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 1 August 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong (4) - Sea snakes. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 8 August 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong (5) - Our dangerous land snakes. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 15 August 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. Reptile life in Hong Kong (6) - Indian python. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. 29 August 1948.

Romer JD. 1948. An extension of the known range of Bandicota nemorivaga (Hodgson) in China. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 47, 546.

1949

Romer JD. 1949. Unusual coloration of Rana limnocharis (Boie) Wiegm. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 19, 45-46.

Romer JD. 1949. Notes on the frog, Kaloula pulchra Gray. Lacerta 7 (4) (January 1949). [In Dutch] page numbers

Romer JD. 1949 Herpetological observations in Assam and Bengal (1944). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society

48, 374-376.

Romer JD. 1949. Naturally occurring albinism in a specimen of Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 48, 579-580.

1950

Romer JD. 1950. List of geckoes known to occur in the Colony of Hong Kong. Copeia, 1950, 54-55.

1951

Romer JD. 1951. The occurrence of the lizard Gekko gecko in the Colony of Hong Kong. Copeia. 1951, 80.

Romer JD. 1951. Introducing the geckoes. Zoo Life 6 (1) (Spring 1951), 26-28.

Romer JD. 1951 Observations on the habits and life-history of the Chinese Newt, Cynops chinensis Gray. Copeia, 1951, 213-219.

Pope CH, Romer, JD. 1951 A new ranid frog (Staurois) from the Colony of Hongkong. Fieldiana—Zoology 31, 609-6l2.

Romer JD. 1951. A temple of snakes. Aquarist and Pondkeeper 16 (7) (October 1951), 150.

Romer JD. 1951. Surface-locomotion of certain frogs (Rana), and the occurrence of R. taipehensis Van Denburgh in India.  Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 50, 414-415.

Romer JD. 1951. Survey of fleas from 'domestic' rats in the Colony of Hong Kong. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 34, 33-36.

1952

Romer JD. 1952. A new record of a little-known Snake, Opisthotropis andersoni (Boulenger), from Hong Kong. Copeia 1952, 46-47.

Romer JD. 1952. Racial variation in Common African Toads. Nigerian Field 17, 82?-? page numbers

Romer JD. 1952. White-lipped Pit Viper. Zoo Life 7 (4) (Winter 1952). page numbers

1953

Romer JD. 1953. Introducing some common Nigerian reptiles. Nigerian Field 18, 70-75.

Romer JD. 1953. Reptiles and amphibians collected in the Port Harcourt area of Nigeria. Copeia 1953, 121-123.

Romer JD. 1953. Coloration of the snake Elaphe moellendorffi  Copeia 1953, 123-124.

1954

Romer JD. 1954. Notes on sea snakes (Hydrophiidae) occurring in or near Hong Kong Territorial Waters. Hong Kong University Fisheries Journal  1954(1), 35-37.

1955

Romer JD. 1955. 1955 An Australian skink, Egernia depressa (Günther), introduced into Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Biological Circle, No. 3, 5.

Romer JD. 1955 Domestic fleas known to occur in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Biological Circle, No. 3, 7-8.

1958

Romer JD. 1958. Cetaceans recorded from within or near Hong Kong territorial waters. Hong Kong University Fisheries Journal 1958 (2), 127-129.

Romer JD. 1958. Occurrence of the sea snake Hydrophis ornatus ornatus (Gray) near Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Fisheries Journal 1958 (2), 129.

Romer JD. 1958. Partial albinism in a Chinese Cobra, Naja naja (Linn.). Copeia 1958, 334.

1959

Romer JD. [anonymously] 1959. Aid to the Recognition of Venomous Snakes in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

1960

Romer JD. 1960. Bats known from Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 4, 1-4.

1961

Inger RF, Romer JD. 1961. A new pelobatid frog of the genus Megophrys from Hong Kong. Fieldiana—Zoology 39, 533-538.

Romer JD. 1961 Annotated checklist with keys to the snakes of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 5, 1-14.

1963

Romer JD. 1963. Notes on the White-lipped Pit Viper, Trimeresurus albolabris Gray, in Hong Kong. In, Venomous and Poisonous Animals and Noxious Plants of the Pacific Area edited by HL Keegan and WV Macfarlane, pp 379-384. New York: Pergamon.

Romer JD. 1963. 1963 Occurrence of the Common Water Monitor, Varanus salvator (Laurenti), in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 6, 12.

Romer JD.1963. First record of the Grey Shrew, Crocidura a. attenuata Milne-Edwards, in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 6, 13.

1965

Romer JD. 1965. Illustrated Guide to the Venomous Snakes of Hong Kong. Second (Revised) Edition. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

1966

Romer JD. 1966. Further records of bats in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 7, 4-5.

Romer JD. 1966. Overwintering eggs of the lizard Gekko gecko (L.).  Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 7, 11-12.

Romer JD. 1966.Two colubrid snakes not previously recorded from Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 7, 13-14.

Romer JD.1966. The frog Microhyla butleri Boulenger found in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 7, 15.

Romer JD. 1966 Long-tailed Macaques in Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 7, 16.

1969

Malnate EV, Romer JD. 1969. A snake new to the fauna of Hong Kong and China: Amphiesma atemporalis (Bourret). Notulae naturae of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia  No 424, 1–8.

1970

Romer JD. 1970. Revised annotated checklist with keys to the snakes of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 8, 1-22.

Romer JD. 1970. Bird problems at Hong Kong airport. In Proceedings of the World Conference on Bird Hazards to Aircraft (Kingston, Ontario 2-5 September 1969), pp.77 and 79-86. Ottawa: National Research Council of Canada.

1974

Romer JD. 1974. Annotated checklist with keys to the bats of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 9, 1-6.

Romer JD. 1974 Notes on a specimen of the snake Natrix percarinata (Boulenger) from Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 9, 20.

Romer JD. 1974. Notes on the care and breeding of tree squirrels Callosciurus spp. International Zoo Yearbook 14, 115-116.

Romer JD. 1974. Milk analysis and weaning in the Lesser Malay Chevrotain Tragulus javanicus. International Zoo Yearbook 14, 179-180.

1975

Romer JD. 1975. Annotated checklist with keys to the lizards of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 10, 1-13.

Romer JD. 1975. Hong Kong's "New" Zoo. International Zoo News 22 (5) No 129, p 33.

1977

Romer JD. 1977. Illustrated Guide to the Venomous Snakes of Hong Kong. Sixth (Updated) Impression of Second (Revised) Edition 1965. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

Romer JD. 1977. Reptiles new to Hong Kong. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 17, 232-234.

Romer JD. 1977. Occurrence of the frogs Rana paraspinosa and Rana spinosa in Hong Kong. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 17, 237-238.

1978

Romer JD. 1978. Annotated checklist with keys to the chelonians of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 12, 1-10.

Romer JD. 1978. Brook’s gecko found in Macau. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 18, 191.

Romer, JD. 1978: First record of the pelobatid frog Leptobrachium pelodytoides Boulenger in Hong Kong. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 18: 211-212.

1979

Romer JD. 1979. The Red-necked Keelback, a venomous snake of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Urban Council.

Romer JD. 1979. Captive care and breeding of a little-known Chinese snake Elaphe porphyracea nigrofasciata. International Zoo Yearbook 19, 92-94.

Romer JD. 1979. Second revised annotated checklist with keys to the snakes of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 14, 1-23.

Romer JD. 1979. Annotated checklist with keys to the adult amphibians of Hong Kong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society No. 15, 1-14.

1980

Risch J-P, Romer JD. 1980. Origin and taxonomic status of the salamander Cynops shataukokensis. Journal of Herpetology  14, 337-341.

1981

Romer JD. 1981. Notes on the geckos of Hong Kong. Herptile 6, 18-19.

1983

Romer JD, Bogadek A. 1983. Illustrated guide to the venomous snakes of Hong Kong. With recommendations for first aid treatment of bites. Third Edition. Hong Kong: Urban Council.

The above  Publication List can be downloaded as a pdf HERE

John Romer handling a Wagler's Pit Viper
at a temple in Penang. September 1950
(Aquarist & Pondkeeper, October 1951)