California Reptiles and Amphibians

This website is an illustrated atlas that documents the diverse reptile and amphibian fauna found in California. Our goal is to educate, entertain, and promote an awareness and appreciation of indigenous reptiles and amphibians and their natural habitats. In addition to the complete section on California herps, there are collections of pictures of reptiles and amphibians and their habitats from many areas beyond California.

Including:

• Lists, picture galleries, range maps, and species accounts of every form of native and introduced   California reptile and amphibian.
• Short videos of many species.
• Lists of species of possible occurance in California and of established introduced species.
• Tips for identifying California reptiles and amphibians.
• Current California collecting regulations, and fieldherping information.
• Current conservation status information.
• Sound recordings of most of California's frogs and toads and more.
• Photo galleries, sound recordings, and video of many herps from outside of California



We will continue to add more pictures, video, and information, and update name changes, new species discoveries and new species introductions as we learn of them. Your comments, contributions, and observations of California reptiles and amphibians are always welcome. If you have pictures of interesting or unusual California reptiles and amphibians and their activity that you want to share, please contact us.

"Attrition of remaining natural areas, those largely unaltered by human activities, is occuring at an accelerated pace in most parts of the world. ... Population increases with attendant spread of urbanization and extension of the agricultural base, along with other uses of the land, have already widely obscured or greatly changed original conditions. In many places we are too late, and in others we must work rapidly to determine the kinds of naturally occuring plants and animals, their interrelations, and their importance to man. The significance of such work should not be underestimated. The interdependence of living things is far-reaching, and the function of many of the separate life forms in the complex balance of nature is not well understood. No one can say what consequences may follow elimination of a species or what is the potential value to man of any organism until it has been thoroughly studied. Our interest thus extends beyond that of having available natural areas for recreation and an outdoor laboratory to satisfy purely academic phases of the interests of naturalists."

Robert C. Stebbins, Preface to Amphibians and Reptiles of Western North America, 1954 edition.

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