Arthur Tiutenko

Arthur Tiutenko
Arthur Tiutenko in 2022
Born	(1969-10-25) 25 October 1969 Kharkov, USSR
Known for	Research on amphibians and reptiles of sub-Saharan Africa
Scientific career
Fields	herpetology, zoology
Workplaces	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Arthur Tiutenko (Russian: Артур Анатольевич Тютенко; born 25 October 1969) is a Ukraine-born (at the time the Soviet Union) German herpetologist and nature science illustrator based in Bavaria, Germany.

Biography

Tiutenko was born on 25 October 1969 in Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR (now Kharkiv, Ukraine). His father was a graphic designer and teacher at the Kharkov State School of Art. The mother was a teacher of German language at the Kharkov Secondary School No. 134.

Tiutenko's academic background includes studies in biology, computer science and linguistics. From 1987 to 1992 he studied Germanic linguistics at the Kharkov State University, graduating with a diploma in 1993. His next diplomas were in biology (after studies in 1994–2000 at the VN Karazin Kharkiv National University) and in computer science (after studies in 2000–2001 at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics).

After Tiutenko received a doctor degree (PhD in linguistics) in 2000, he moved to Germany, to become a research staff member of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg where he is in charge of software development for language teaching and automatic knowledge testing. He nonetheless remained active as a herpetologist. Since the 2010s his research focuses on the amphibian and reptile fauna of sub-Saharan Africa.

Herpetological research

Tiutenko entered herpetology when he was 12 years old. Once, in 1982, in the exhibition of the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (now National Museum of Natural History at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) in Kiev he was drawing pictures of some snake specimens on display. Someone from the museum staff noticed this and introduced Tiutenko to Nikolay N. Szczerbak who was at that time curator of herpetology at the museum. Szczerbak, who was busy and apparently did not have time for such "kids", forwarded Tiutenko to Mikhail L. Golubev, a specialist in Central Asian geckos and a former student of him. As Golubev heard that Tiutenko was from Kharkov, he recommended him to contact Valeriy I. Vedmederya at the Museum of Nature of the Kharkov State University (MNKNU). After returning to Kharkov, Tiutenko met Vedmederya who accepted him as his apprentice in the young zoologists' club that he had organised in 1968 at the museum. In 1969, Vedmederya had founded a club for herpetoculture enthusiasts. It was a pioneering venture for its time in the Soviet Union where citizen initiatives were strictly regulated and controlled. He gave it the symbolic name "Turanomolge", in honour of Turanomolge mensbieri, an enigmatic species of tailed amphibian described by Alexandr Mikhailovich Nikolsky in Kharkov (from the type specimen that was housed in the museum’s scientific collection). This name perfectly captured the spirit of the Kharkov herpetological community of that time — where a passion for remote expeditions and the study of new or little-known species was multiplied by a desire to be successors to the great herpetologists of the past. Tiutenko joined this organisation in 1983. In 1986 he was elected its secretary and remained it till "Turanomolge" was dissolved in 1991, upon the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tiutenko participated in zoological expeditions to the Caucasus, Central Asia and Africa since the 1980s. He contributed to the collections of the Kharkiv Museum of Nature (Ukraine), Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (Germany), Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (Germany) and authored numerous scientific publications.

2012–2026: Research in Ethiopia

Ethiopia was the main destination of Tiutenko‘s field work between 2012 and 2026. In these years, he undertook ten field trips to the south of the country. In 2018, Tiutenko was leader of an international zoological expedition to the Harenna Forest that was supported by the National Geographic Society. The expedition aimed to investigate the biodiversity of the forest, including its birds, amphibians and reptiles, and to assess the condition of its ecosystem.

Research in Angola

In 2022, Tiutenko was part of a research team (led by Portuguese zoologist Luís M. P. Ceríaco) that surveyed wildlife on Serra da Neve, a mountain in southwestern Angola. The team discovered four new species of geckos and two new species of skinks. Subsequently Tiutenko co-authored further species descriptions from Angola.

Taxonomic work

Tiutenko is credited with authorship of the following zoological taxon names:

• Bofa – Ethiopian Forest Snakes (genus)
• Elaiophis – African Olive Snakes (genus)
• Acontias mukwando – Serra da Neve Lance-skink
• Dasypeltis albigularis – White-throated Egg-eater
• Erythrolamprus aenigma – Savannah Racer
• Gloydius rickmersi – Alai Pitviper
• Holaspis ngalangi – Ngalangi Gliding Lizard
• Leptopelis diffidens – Harenna Burrowing Tree Frog
• Leptopelis montanus – Montane Burrowing Tree Frog
• Panaspis ericae – Erica's Snake-eyed Skink
• Panaspis mundavambo – Serra da Neve Snake-eyed Skink
• Phrynomantis newtoni – Newton's Rubber Frog
• Rhoptropus nivimontanus – Serra da Neve Day Gecko
• Trachylepis attenboroughi – Attenborough’s Skink
• Trachylepis bouri – Bour’s Skink
• Trachylepis hilariae – Hilária’s Skink
• Trachylepis ovahelelo – Ovahelelo Skink
• Trachylepis suzanae – Suzana’s Wedge-snouted Skink
• Trachylepis vunongue – Mwene Vunongue Skink
• Trachylepis wilsoni – Wilson’s Wedge-snouted Skink

Illustrator work

Arthur Tiutenko in 2015, during an exhibition of his photographs in Museum Koenig, Bonn

Tiutenko created over 800 zoological (mainly herpetological) illustrations for scientific articles and books.

From 2026 on he is among the artists illustrating the Handbook of the Reptiles of the World by Lynx Nature Books.