herpetology
noun
her·pe·tol·o·gy ˌhər-pə-ˈtä-lə-jē 
: a branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians
herpetological
ˌhər-pə-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl
adjective herpetologist
ˌhər-pə-ˈtä-lə-jist
noun 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web They should never be handled by people who aren’t trained, said Matt Evans, assistant curator of herpetology at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in D.C. 
Cathy Free, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 Andy Snider, curator of herpetology and aquatics at the Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo, said Argentine boas are a subspecies of boa constrictor that, as the name suggests, are native to portions of Argentina. Jennifer Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Nov. 2021 Audubon first described the bird in 1833, and just a century later, the species was almost wiped out of existence, Dirk Stevenson, a naturalist with a background in herpetology, told ABC News. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2021 What is a tragedy for one chick is in fact a promising sign for the birds of Frégate Island as a whole, says Gregory Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who wasn’t involved in the new paper. Matt Simon, Wired, 23 Aug. 2021 Little is known about the mating behavior of these creatures, which is why Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at L.A. County’s Natural History Museum, started a community science campaign five years ago. Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2021 Coca growers use pesticides and fertilizers that are poisoning local waterways, according to Steffen Reichle, a Bolivian ecologist and leader of the herpetology team on the expedition. Eric Niiler, Wired, 14 Dec. 2020 Santa Claus, who in real life is herpetology collections manager Jens Vindum, reaches out to Willow, a frisky reindeer grazing on the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Peter Hartlaub, SFChronicle.com, 27 Nov. 2020 Scientists from both Madagascar and Germany published a report in the Salamandra Journal (a journal dedicated to herpetology), according to the Associated Press. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2020 See More
Cathy Free, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 Andy Snider, curator of herpetology and aquatics at the Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo, said Argentine boas are a subspecies of boa constrictor that, as the name suggests, are native to portions of Argentina. Jennifer Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Nov. 2021 Audubon first described the bird in 1833, and just a century later, the species was almost wiped out of existence, Dirk Stevenson, a naturalist with a background in herpetology, told ABC News. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2021 What is a tragedy for one chick is in fact a promising sign for the birds of Frégate Island as a whole, says Gregory Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who wasn’t involved in the new paper. Matt Simon, Wired, 23 Aug. 2021 Little is known about the mating behavior of these creatures, which is why Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at L.A. County’s Natural History Museum, started a community science campaign five years ago. Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2021 Coca growers use pesticides and fertilizers that are poisoning local waterways, according to Steffen Reichle, a Bolivian ecologist and leader of the herpetology team on the expedition. Eric Niiler, Wired, 14 Dec. 2020 Santa Claus, who in real life is herpetology collections manager Jens Vindum, reaches out to Willow, a frisky reindeer grazing on the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Peter Hartlaub, SFChronicle.com, 27 Nov. 2020 Scientists from both Madagascar and Germany published a report in the Salamandra Journal (a journal dedicated to herpetology), according to the Associated Press. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Greek herpeton quadruped, reptile, from neuter of herpetos crawling, from herpein
First Known Use
1824, in the meaning defined above