Mark O'Shea

Prof. Mark O'Shea MBE is a distinguished Professor of Herpetology at the University of Wolverhampton's Faculty of Science and Engineering since 2018. With four decades of field experience across all continents except Antarctica, he specializes in the systematics and conservation of New Guinea and Wallacean snakes while maintaining active roles in snakebite research and taxonomic integrity advocacy.

• First author of 4 and co-author of 7 new snake species descriptions
• Member of WHO Snakebite Expert Roster
• Recipient of lifetime achievement awards (2021, 2023)

Research Interests span snake taxonomy, venomous snake ecology, and conservation of island herpetofauna. His work combines museum specimen analysis with field surveys in biodiversity hotspots like Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Recent publications focus on cryptic species complexes, taxonomic vandalism mitigation, and snakebite medical countermeasures.

Scientific Contributions include:

• Describing new species: Indotyphlops diliensis (2023), Stegonotus aplini (2021)
• Resolving taxonomic controversies: Toxicocalamus loriae complex (2022), Boiga multomaculata revision (2023)
• Advancing imaging protocols for museum specimens (2018)

Awards & Recognition:

• MBE for services to Higher Education and Snakebite Research (2020)
• Snakeman of the Year (2015)
• Millennium Award for Exploration (2000)