A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Report Your Observations of Wild Amphibians and Reptiles

iPhone App
Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
iTunes App Store.

If you see a reptile or amphibian in the wild and want to report the observation to an organization to help them keep track of the status of herps around the world, you can send your observations and photos of the animal to the organizations listed below. You can also look at herp observations that others have made. After you join, all you need to do is log in and fill out a simple form to make a report.

You can add your observations of wild amphibians and reptiles to the Global Amphibian BioBlitz or the Global Reptile BioBlitz projects at iNaturalist.org.

Both are citizen science/social networking organizations created to document observations of wild amphibians and reptiles around the world.

Follow these steps or watch this Video to see how it's done.

1. Create your account and sign in.

2. Under the "Projects" menu, click on the links to join the Global Amphibian BioBlitz and the Global Reptile BioBlitz projects.

2. Enter your observation, including a picture if you have one.

3. Click " Add to Project" to add your record to either the Global Amphibian BioBlitz or the Global Reptile BioBlitz project.

You can also add your observations of reptiles and amphibians to the H. E. R. P. Database (Herpetological Education & Research Project)
a North American Field Herping Association (N. A. F. H. A.) project.

Go to www.naherp.com, read and agree with the N. A. F. H. A. bylaws, then create an account, log in, and add a new record for your observation.
You can add pictures also.

Here is some information about how to enter data into the database and the security of the location information you report.

More information is available on the N. A. F. H. A. Forums which are hosted by FieldHerpForum.com.

Report Lizards Seen in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles Natural History Musum is conducting a survey of lizards seen in Los Angeles County called the Lost Lizards Project.
You can use their Data & Photo Submission Form to report your sightings of lizards seen in Los Angeles County and to upload your photographs.

Report Non-native Watersnakes Seen in California

If you find an aquatic snake in California that you think is a Watersnake (Nerodia - similar to those shown below or here, and here),
please send pictures of it to the California Nerodia Site, which is tracking the distribution of this potential threat to native fish and wildlife.

Report Deformed Frogs Seen in California

Severe deformities and malformations have been reported in amphibian populations with growing frequency since the early 1990s. Typically such abnormalities involve the limbs and especially the hind limbs of affected frogs, including deformities such as extra limbs or digits, missing limbs or portions of limbs, or limbs that are twisted and misshapen. These abnormalities are most common in frogs that have recently metamorphosed from their tadpole stage, likely because affected individuals do not survive to adulthood. Malformed individuals do not swim, jump or forage as well as their normal counterparts and field studies have shown they have reduced survival in natural populations.

If you see frogs with deformities or malformations, photograph them and record the location where you observed them. This information is extremely useful to researchers. You can send along an email account to pieter.johnson@colorado.edu. You can read more about frog deformities on our page here, and read about amphibian malformations on the Johnson Lab site here, and you can look at and download a .pdf brochure about amphibian conservation and frog deformities here.

The organizations listed above are not affilitated with CaliforniaHerps.com. Please contact them if you have any questions.

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