Howard K. Gloyd

Howard Kay Gloyd (February 12, 1902 – August 7, 1978) was an American herpetologist who is credited with describing several new species of reptiles, such as the Florida cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti.

Also, he is honored by having named after him the following taxa: a genus of Asian pit vipers, Gloydius; two species of nonvenomous snakes, the eastern fox snake, Pantherophis gloydi, and the dusty hognose snake, Heterodon nasicus gloydi; and two subspecies of Central American pit vipers, Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi and Crotalus intermedius gloydi.

Born in De Soto, Kansas, Gloyd attended Kansas State University for a year, and then attained his bachelor of science from Ottawa University in 1924. He taught biology at Ottawa University until 1927 when he went to teach zoology at the Agricultural College of Kansas State University. In 1928 he wrote The Amphibians and Reptiles of Franklin County, Kansas. In 1929, he attained his master's degree at Kansas State College, and went to Michigan to become a professor of zoology at the University of Michigan.