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Exploring Amphibian and Reptile Diversity: A Herpetologist’s Guide

Delve into the world of amphibians and reptiles, from the diverse characteristics of salamanders and frogs to the unique anatomy of caecilians and lizards. Discover the field of herpetology and the shared and distinct features of these fascinating creatures.

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Exploring Amphibian and Reptile Diversity: A Herpetologist’s Guide

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  1. Amphibians

  2. Amphibian diversity • Anura (frogs, ~7000sp.); Caudata (salamanders, ~700 sp.); Gymnophiona (caecilians, ~200sp.)

  3. Amphibian characteristics • Skin • permeable • respiration • mucous glands • poison glands • biphasic lifestyle • second hearing system • unique retinal cells • skull • paired occipital condyles • reduction/loss of bones • short ribs • declining populations • ectotherms • found in/near water

  4. Salamander characteristics • Tailed, most with four limbs, four digits on front limbs, five digits on hindlimbs • Aquatic, terrestrial/fossorial, arboreal • Breathe through lungs, gills, and/or skin • Sprawling gait • Large genome • 15-90 pg (humans: 3pg) • Diverse life cycles, reproductive modes --mostly internal fertilization

  5. Caecilian characteristics • No limbs, reduced or absent girdles • Annuli • Solidified skull with • Eyes reduced/absent • Fusion of bones • Roofed, few/no fossa • Tentacle • Phallodeum • Fossorial or aquatic Siphonops annulatus

  6. Frog characteristics • Squat, tailless body • Fused limb bones • Hindlimbs > forelimbs • Few vertebrae • Many species with protrusible tongue for feeding • Terrestrial, arboreal, aquatic • Great diversity of reproductive modes • Mostly external fertilization

  7. Reptile diversity • Turtles (Chelonia) 300 species • Crocodiles, alligators, caimans (Crocodylia) 27 species • Lizards, tuatara, snakes, amphisbaenids (Lepidosauria) 7000 species • Birds (Aves) 10000 species

  8. Reptile characteristics • Dry, scaly outer covering • Shelled eggs laid on land • Ectotherms

  9. Turtle characteristics • Shell • Fused to ribs • Fused to vertebrae • Limb girdles lie inside ribcage • Jaws lack teeth • Terrestrial or aquatic

  10. Crocodylian characteristics • Alligators, caimans, crocodiles, gavials • Large • 1-8 meters • Complex parental care • Top-end predators

  11. Lizard characteristics • 2 or 4 limbs, or limbless • Oviparous, viviparous, ovoviviparous • Hemipenes • Terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal, fossorial

  12. What is Herpetology? • The study of amphibians and reptiles • Greek root • Herpein: to creep • Herpeton: creeping animal

  13. What is Herpetology? • The study of amphibians and reptiles • Greek root • Herpein: to creep • Herpeton: creeping animal • "To herp" (verb): to look for herps • "Herps" • Amphibians: frogs, salamanders, caecilians • "Reptiles": lizards, amphisbaenids, snakes, crocodylians, tuataras, turtles

  14. Why study amphibians and "reptiles" together as a single group? • An evolutionary grouping? • Amphibians and reptiles closest relatives? • Shared characteristics? • E.g., ectothermy • Tradition? • History

  15. Diapsida

  16. Why study amphibians and reptiles together as a single group? • An evolutionary grouping? • Amphibians and reptiles are not closest relatives • Shared characteristics? • E.g., ectothermy? • Tradition? • History

  17. Shared characteristics of reptiles and amphibians • Ectothermy • Thermoregulation • Energy requirements • Body size and shape • Lay eggs (most) • Terrestrial (most) • Lack fur and feathers…

  18. Differences between reptiles and amphibians • Amniotic egg • Integument • Claws • Heart • Skull • Fertilization • Moisture environment

  19. Why study amphibians and reptiles together as a single group? • An evolutionary grouping? • Amphibians and reptiles are not close relatives • Shared characteristics? • Amphibians and reptiles differ greatly in anatomy and physiology • Tradition? • History

  20. Why study amphibians and reptiles together? Tradition! "Most amphibia are abhorrent because of their cold body, pale colour, cartilaginous skeleton, filthy skin, fierce aspect, calculating eye, offensive smell, harsh voice, squalid habitation, and terrible venom; and so their Creator has not exerted his powers to make many of them." Linnaeus (1750)

  21. History of HerpetologyContributions to the History of HerpetologyKraig Adler; ssarherps.org • Aristotle (384-322 BC): blood, locomotion, limbs, eggs • Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): SystemaNaturae (1735+)

  22. History of HerpetologyContributions to the History of HerpetologyKraig Adler; ssarherps.org • Aristotle (384-322 BC): blood, locomotion, limbs, eggs • Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): SystemaNaturae (1735+) • 1700s-1800s: France is center • G. L. L. Comte de Buffon (Histoire Naturelle1749-1804), B. Lacepede: Histoire des QuadrupedesOvipares (1788), Histoire des Serpientes (1789) • A. Brongniart (1799): Separation of Batrachians (amphibians)/reptiles • F. Daudin: Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles (1802) • A. Dumeril and G. Bibron: ErpetologieGenerale (1834-54)

  23. History of Herpetology • 1700s-1800s: France is center • G. L. L. Comte de Buffon (Histoire Naturelle1749-1804), B. Lacepede: Histoire des QuadrupedesOvipares (1788), Histoire des Serpientes (1789) • A. Brongniart (1799): Separation of Batrachians (amphibians)/reptiles • F. Daudin: Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles (1802) • A. Dumeril and G. Bibron: ErpetologieGenerale (1834-54) • Mid-1800s: Great Britain (J. Gray, A. Gunther, G. Boulenger) • Late 1800s: North America emerges • J. Holbrook: North American Herpetology (1836-42) • E. D. Cope: The Crocodilians, Lizards, and Snakes of North America (1900) • L. Stejneger: Herpetology of Puerto Rico (1904)

  24. Doris Cochran 1898-1968 Curator of Herpetology, Smithsonian 1942-1968

  25. Herpetology in the US today • UC Berkeley • C Camp, R Stebbins, D Wake, M Wake, H Greene, C Moritz, J Mc Guire • U of Kansas • E Taylor, J Tihen, H Smith, H Fitch, W Duellman, L Trueb, R Brown, R Glor • USNM (Smithsonian) • D Cochran, J Peters, G Zug, R McDiarmid, R Heyer, K de Queiroz • UT Austin • F Blair, D Cannatella, D Hillis, E Pianka, M Ryan, C Gans • Harvard • T Barbour, A Romer, A Loveridge, E Williams, P Alberch, J Cadle, J Hanken, J Losos • American Museum of Natural History • M Dickerson, G Noble, C Bogart, C Myers, C Cole, D Frost

  26. Herpetology at UNM • Museum of Southwestern Biology • Division of Amphibians and Reptiles

  27. Herpetological societies • American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH; 1913; Copeia) • Herpetologists’ League (HL; 1946; Herpetologica, Herpetological Monographs) • Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR; 1958; Journal of Herpetology, Herpetological Review)

  28. Web resources • Amphibiaweb.org • reptile-database.org • ssarherps.org • asih.org • herpetologistsleague.org • nmherpsociety.org • Journal of Herpetology, Copeia, Herpetologica, Amphibia-Reptilia, Herpetological Conservation and Biology, Phyllomedusa…

  29. Systematics • Taxonomy • Classification • Nomenclature • Phylogenetics

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