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Colorado Herpetological Society's

Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Colorado

  
About this Guide
Naming Conflicts,
Documenting,
& References
INDEX OF SPECIES
By Common Name
By Scientific Name
Grouped By Family
Index of Counties
Map of Counties
IDENTIFICATION KEYS
Amphibians
Turtles
Lizards
Snakes
List of Subspecies
CHS Home Page
  

| Naming Conventions / Conflicts |
| Documenting County Records and Range Extensions |
| References Cited |

Naming Conventions / Conflicts:
For the most part, the scientific names and related species codes are based on (Collins, 1990).

The tables normally omit records for non-native (introduced) amphibians and reptiles except for those of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, which has populations established in many localities in the state.

Note that there are some differences in the scientific and common names listed by Collins, (1990), compared to names for the same taxa in Hammerson (1986). Also, we use the genus name Liochlorophis instead of Opheodrys for the smooth green snake (Oldham and Smith, 1991). Finally, because of the difficulty of distinguishing Pseudacris maculata from P. triseriata, records for both are tallied under P. triseriata.

Documenting County Records and Range Extensions:
If you find a specimen in a locality that represents a new county record or a range extension for a species, we encourange you to document the presence of that species and submit the record to Herpetological Review for publication. Specimens can be donated in two ways:
  • A photograph (preferably a color slide) can be taken of the specimen. The photograph must illustrate important diagnostic features of the specimen, such as the appearance of dorsolateral folds for Colorado's two leopard frog species.
  • One or more specimens can be collected and preserved using standard preservation techniques.
(Note: Before collecting and preserving specimens, please become familiar with laws pertaining to the collection of the various species of amphibian and reptile in the state.)
Specimens, whether actual or photographic, should then be deposited in a repository such as the University of Colorado Museum at Boulder. Submit your specimen along with locality information, collector name(s), and date of collection. Museum personnel will assign a collection number to the specimen. See recent issues of the geographic Distribution Section of Herpetological Review for information on submitting geographic distribution records for publication.

References Cited:
Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Third ed. SSAR Herp. Circ. No 19. 41pp.

Hammerson, G. A. 1986. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. 131pp.

Livo, L. J. 1995. Colorado ampibian and reptile records by county. Colorado Herpetological Society, Denver. 20pp.

Oldham, J. C., and H. M. Smith. 1991. The generic status of the smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis. Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc. 27(4):201-215.

Reichard, K. T. Duncan, D. Chiszar, L.J. Livo, and H. M. Smith. 1996. Herpetological microbiogeography of Colorado 1: Numerical analysis. Cold Blooded News 23(4):3-7.

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