Herpetology

The Herpetology collection currently contains about 40,000 catalogued specimens of amphibians and reptiles. A large proportion of the collection is composed of amphibians and reptiles from the United States, and many of these species are from the Southern Plains and Oklahoma. In addition, because of the current curators’ work in Brazil and South America, large numbers of amphibians and reptiles from the Amazon region of Brazil and from other South American countries have been incorporated into the collection. The collection contains specimens from a total of 40 countries, with relative large numbers from Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, and Egypt. An early collection of specimens is from the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.

Much of the older Oklahoma material in the collection was a result of early expeditions organized by faculty members in the Department of Zoology and by the Oklahoma Biological Survey. Many of these early collecting trips in Oklahoma were organized by Dr. A. I. Ortenburger. Dr. Arthur N. Bragg was Curator of Amphibians for more than 30 years, and he led many of the early expeditions in Oklahoma and published many scientific papers on spadefoot toads. The herpetology collection is named in his honor. Dr. Charles C. Carpenter, currently Curator Emeritus, also conducted many field trips for the purpose of expanding the collection in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Herpetology Library is named in his honor.

The collection is housed in a modern state-of-the-art facility, which opened in 2000. Temperature, humidity, and light are closely controlled and pest management protocols are closely followed. Current growth of the collection is directed toward acquisition of specimens from South America, from re-surveys of selected areas in Oklahoma, and from research programs carried out by curators and graduate students.

Personnel

Dr. Janalee P. Caldwell, Curator (Amphibians)

Dr. Laurie J. Vitt, Curator (Reptiles)

Dr. Charles C. Carpenter, Curator Emeritus

Jessa L. Watters, Collection Manager

Tim Colston, Graduate Student

Gabriel Correa Costa, Graduate Student

April K. Fink, Graduate Student

Randy L. Lewis, Graduate Student

Research Associates

Dr. Teresa C. Avila-Pires, Affiliated Research Associate

Dr. Guarino Rinaldi Colli, Affiliated Research Associate

Dr. William E. Cooper, Jr., Affiliated Research Associate

Dr. Donald B. Shepard, Affiliated Research Associate