The Venomous Snakes and their Mimics of Panama and Costa Rica: Las Culebras Venenosas y sus Mímicas de Panamá y Costa Rica
Julie M. Ray spent her childhood chasing insects and hoping to become an entomologist. A genetic visual impairment has led to her moving up to large organisms and finding her niche in snake ecology. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology at University of Wisconsin –Stevens Point and conducted her Masters research on Lake Erie Watersnakes at Northern Illinois University. It was her PhD research, conducted at Old Dominion University, which brought her to Panama to study the Neotropical snake community. While in Panama she has worked closely with the local people to establish La MICA Biological Station and Team Snake Panama. She has over 25 publications and currently resides nearly full time in central Panama. James L. Knight has been interested in Herpetology, especially snakes, since he was a small boy. After completing an undergraduate degree at Emporia State University he attended graduate school at The University of Kansas, under the guidance of herpetological ecologist Henry Fitch. From KU Jim moved to the Department of Herpetology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, and then to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, before taking a position at the South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, South Carolina, where he spent nearly a quarter of a century as Curator of Natural History and Director of Collections. He has authored about 60 papers on Herpetology and Vertebrate Paleontology. He and his wife, Karin, raised two children and have retired in South Carolina.