Yehudah Leopold Werner (1931 – 5 June 2026) was an Israeli herpetologist and academic who was Professor Emeritus at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology).

Life and career Werner was born in Munich in 1931. The family fled from Nazi Germany in 1933, immigrating to Palestine via France and England in 1935. Werner studied under Georg Haas (1905–1981), an emigrant from Austria who was Professor in Jerusalem,Adler, K. (1989): Contributions to the History of Herpetology. - Society for the study of amphibians and reptiles: 202 p. who guided his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

During his long scientific career, Werner published more than 400 titles. Among other things, the biology of the geckos, including their vocal communication, as well as the zoogeography and conservation of the reptiles and amphibians in the Middle East are his main themes. Werner was a co-founder of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and served as chairperson of the Zoological Society of Israel.

Werner died on 5 June 2026, at the age of 95.

Taxa described by Yehudah Werner Yehudah Werner described or redescribed (alone or with co-authors) a number of amphibian and reptile taxa:

Hyla heinzsteinitzi Grach, Plesser & Werner, 2007Grach, C., Plesser, Y. & Y. L. Werner (2007): "A new, sibling, tree frog from Jerusalem (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae)". - Journal of Natural History 41 (9–12): p. 709–728. (this species is a synonym of H. japonica that has been apparently introduced into Israel, see Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 1019–1024.) Acanthodactylus ahmaddisii Werner, 2004Werner, Y. L. (2004): "A new species of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Jordan". - Zoology in the Middle East 32: p. 39–46. Acanthodactylus beershebensis Moravec, Baha El Din, Seligmann, Sivan & Werner, 1999Moravec, J., Baha El Din, S., Seligmann, H., Sivan, N. & Y. L. Werner (1999): "Systematics and distribution of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group (Lacertidae) in Egypt and Israel". - Zoology in the Middle East 17: p. 21–50. Acanthodactylus pardalis (Lichtenstein, 1823) Moravec, Baha El Din, Seligmann, Sivan & Werner, 1999 Asaccus nasrullahi Werner, 2006Werner, Y. L. (2006): "Retraction of Ptyodactylus Goldfuss from the fauna of Iran and its replacement by a new species of Asaccus Dixon & Anderson (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae)". - Hamadryad 30: p. 135–140. Cerastes cerastes Werner, Sivan, Kushnir & Motro 1999Werner, Y. L., Sivan, N., Kushnir, V. & U. Motro (1999): "A statistical approach to variation in Cerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) with the description of two endemic subspecies". - In: Joger, U. [ed.]: Phylogeny and Systematics of the Viperidae. Kaupia 8: p. 83–97. Cerastes cerastes hoofieni Werner & Sivan, 1999 Cerastes gasperettii Werner, 1987 Cerastes gasperettii Werner, Le Verdier, Rosenman & Sivan, 1991Werner, Y. L., Le Verdier, A., Rosenman, D. & N. Sivan (1991): "Systematics and zoogeography of Cerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) in the Levant: I. Distinguishing Arabian from African Cerastes cerastes". - The Snake 23: p. 90–100. Cerastes gasperettii mendelssohni Werner & Sivan, 1999 Eirenis coronella ibrahimi Sivan & Werner, 2003Sivan, N. & Y. L. Werner (2003): "Revision of the Middle-Eastern dwarf-snakes commonly assigned to Eirenis coronella (Colubridae)". - Zoology in the Middle East 28: p. 39–59. Eirenis coronelloides Sivan & Werner, 2003 Laudakia stellio salehi Werner, 2006Lachmann, E., Carmely, H. & Y. L. Werner (2006): "Subspeciation befogged by the 'Seligmann effect': the case of Laudakia stellio (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae) in southern Sinai, Egypt". - Journal of Natural History 40 (19–20): p. 1259–1284. Mesalina bahaeldini Segoli, Cohen & Werner, 2002Segoli, M., Cohen, T. & Y. L. Werner (2002): A new lizard of the genus Mesalina from Mt. Sinai, Egypt (Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae). - Faunistische Abhandlungen 23 (1): p. 157–176. Micrelaps tchernovi Werner, Babocsay, Carmely & Thuna, 2006Werner, Y. L., Babocsay, G., Carmely, H. & M. Thuna (2006): "Micrelaps in the southern Levant: variation, sexual dimorphism, and a new species (Serpentes: Atractaspididae)". - Zoology in the Middle East 38: p. 29–48. Ptyodactylus hasselquistii krameri Werner, 1995Werner, Y. L. (1995): "Some unusual accidental herpetological finds from Cyprus and Lebanon, including a new Ptyodactylus (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Gekkonidae)". - Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 22 ("1994"): p. 67–76.

Note: Amphibian and reptile taxa with the author's name "Werner" described between 1893 and 1938 are by the Austrian zoologist Franz Werner.

Taxa named in honor of Yehudah Werner Yehudah Werner is commemorated in the scientific names of two reptiles:Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Werner, Y.L.", p. 282).

Testudo werneri Perälä, 2001 Pseudotrapelus sinaitus werneri Moravec, 2002

Published works Reptile Life in the Land of Israel

References

External links Yehudah Leopold Werner: General Information, Curriculum Vitae, Publications Article with photos of Hyla heinzsteinitzi and Yehudah L. Werner