James Arthur Peters (July 13, 1922 โ December 18, 1972) was born in Durant, Iowa; grew up in Greenup, Illinois.
He studied at the University of Michigan and obtained his Ph.D.
in biology in 1952.
He studied with the herpetologist Norman Edouard Hartweg.
He held teaching positions in
Brown University (1952โ1958)
Universidad Central de Ecuador, Fulbright Lecturer (1958โ1959)
Southern Illinois University (1959)
San Fernando Valley State College (1959โ1966)He held positions in the Department of Reptiles and Amphibians at the Smithsonian Institution
Associate Curator (1964โ1967)
Curator (1967โ1972)Peters was a member of professional societies such as: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, where he served as secretary, 1960โ1966, vice-president, 1967 and president, 1970.
He was elected to the Washington Biologistsโ Field Club.
He inaugurated the Smithsonian Herpetological Information Services which distributed materials to herpetological institutions and individuals.
He founded the newsletter MUDPIE (Museum and University Data Program and Information Exchange) providing information on computer programs, references, grants, meetings, etc.
His main subject of research was herpetology and zoogeography of Latin America, especially Ecuador.
During his thirty years of research in herpetology he described seventeen new species or subspecies, most of them amphibians, such as a few neotropical toads of the genus Atelopus.
Several neotropical amphibians and reptiles are named after him, including Ameerega petersi, Anadia petersi, Andinosaura petrorum, Colostethus jacobuspetersi, Dipsas jamespetersi, Gonatodes petersi, Helicops petersi, Micrurus petersi, Pristimantis petersi, and Tantilla petersi.