Amphibian/Reptile Resources
Amphibian/Reptile Identification Guides
The majority of field or identification guides to amphibians or reptiles are only in print with just a few available for online licensing. Below are a few of the online options. For locating the print field guides, search the UC Davis Library catalog using the following useful subject headings:
- Reptiles - California
- Amphibians - California
- (Subject) Reptiles Identification AND (Subject) North America
As is seen above, field guides often have the Subject subheading/subcategory of “identification” which can be combined with a subject term you are interested in such as “reptil*”.
An excellent field guide series for California is published by the University of California Press and called the California Natural History Guides series.
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UC Library Search
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- AmphibiaWebFrom About section: “AmphibiaWeb aims to establish a knowledge-base for all amphibians in the world, which includes:
* Creating a web page for every species of amphibian to provide information on their conservation status, phylogeny, taxonomy, species biology, natural history, and distribution.
* Providing reliable content for broad audiences on relevant topics to better understand the global amphibian crisis.
* Offering unique data aggregations and visualizations on amphibian data.
* Engaging students wherever possible such as outreach, writing, researching, and analysis
* Coordinating and engaging a diverse panel of amphibian experts
* Mobilizing the broader community of like-minded organizations and the interested public to contribute to the public knowledge about amphibians and conservation actions
* Serving curated, authoritative content for the scientific community, policy makers, government agencies, students, and the public.” - Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California2012 (Rev. ed.) Robert C. Stabbing, et al.
“This user-friendly guide is the only complete resource that identifies and describes all the amphibians and reptiles--salamanders, frogs and toads, lizards, snakes, and tortoises and turtles--that live in California. The species are described in richly detailed accounts that include range maps, lifelike color paintings by Robert C. Stebbins, clear drawings of various life stages including eggs, notes on natural history, and conservation status. Easy-to-use keys for every order help identify species, and informative chapters cover more general topics including evolution, habitat loss, and photography. Throughout, anecdotes and observations reveal new insights into the lives of California's abundant but often hidden amphibians and reptiles.” - North American Amphibians: Distribution and Diversity2014. David M. Green, et al, eds. “ Some 300 species of amphibians inhabit North America. The past two decades have seen an enormous growth in interest about amphibians and an increased intensity of scientific research into their fascinating biology and continent-wide distribution. This atlas presents the spectacular diversity of North American amphibians in a geographic context. It covers all formally recognized amphibian species found in the United States and Canada, many of which are endangered or threatened with extinction. Illustrated with maps and photos, the species accounts provide current information about distribution, habitat, and conservation.”
- Lizards of the World: A Guide to Every Family2021. Mark O’Shea. “A lavishly illustrated overview of the world's lizards. As survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, lizards are scaly and cold-blooded--relics from a prehistoric world that remain alive and well today. … From chameleons and skinks to geckos and iguanas, … With close to 6,500 species around the world, lizards can be found in almost every type of terrain and their physical features vary tremendously. In this book, more than 350 stunning color photographs illustrate species found in more than 80 lizard families and subfamilies. Each detailed profile includes a population distribution map, table of essential information, and fascinating commentary revealing notable characteristics and related species. … More than 80 lizard families and subfamilies … Broad coverage and in-depth treatment by a world-renowned herpetologist.”
- Snakes of the world : a catalogue of living and extinct species2014. Van Wallach, et al. This book is … “the first catalogue of its kind-covers all living and fossil snakes described between 1758 and 2012, comprising 3,509 living and 274 extinct species allocated to 539 living and 112 extinct genera. Also included are 54 genera and 302 species that are dubious or invalid, resulting in recognition of 705 genera and 4,085 species.”
NOTE: search the databases BIOSIS Previews or Zoological Record (in the Databases section) for locating amphibian/reptile journal literature. BIOSIS Previews will have comprehensive literature for well studied species including those which may be model organisms for laboratory studies. Zoological Record is useful for animals mainly researched in the wild via field studies and also organisms that are rare or highly endangered.