California
Reptiles & Amphibians

Notes on Our Taxonomic Lists

This web site was created to promote an appreciation and understanding of the amazing diversity of reptiles and amphibians and their habitats occuring in California by illustrating them in their many forms.

To accomplish this, we need a list of all of the known forms of reptiles and amphibians currently or recently occuring within the state of California and in nearby coastal waters, including some introduced species with well-established reproducing populations, and formerly-occuring species that may now be extirpated from the state. The list we are using is based on the most recent list of scientific and common names published by experts in this field. It has been split into five family groups - Frogs, Salamanders, Lizards, Snakes, and Turles - to make it easier to use.

Nomenclature

The nomenclature used here is not necessarily definitive. It is a challenge to keep up with the cintinual changes in scientific nomenclature and common names. There is frequent disagreement about the concept of what determines a biological species or subspecies (or even the validity of subspecies at all) and how to classify and name them. The science of naming and classifying animals (taxonomy or systematics) is constantly evolving and there are often conflicting interpretations. Recent widespread DNA studies have identified many new species and led to new classifications of species, and this has changed the nomenclature considerably. Since there is no one list made by an organization that is unanimously accepted as the final authority on nomenclature (as there is with birds, for example) herpers are left with a confusing variety of multiple common and scientific names.

I don't want to create even more confusion by creating my own unique list for this site, so I have used the list published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (with a few minor updates and modifications of my own) since 2001. However, the 6th edition of this list, published in January of 2008, contains some major revisions, mostly involving the scientific names of a few frogs and toads and snakes. Fortunately, the common names generally remain the same. In most cases I have decided to list the new names next to the old ones, while waiting to see if they become standard. I realize this complicates the list, but adopting all the new changes immediately would be even more confusing because many of the names here would differ significantly from the long-accepted nomenclature used in most books and publications, including the internet, along with the California Department of Fish and Game list, which codifies the laws regarding California's herps.

There are at least three authorities who have published lists of standard scientific and English common names that cover the reptiles and amphibians in California:

SSAR

The lists used on this web site mostly follow "Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, With Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding Sixth Edition " by the Committee on Standard English and Scientific Names, Brian I. Crother, Chair, published January 2008 (Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular No. 37).
Hereafter, this list will be referred to as SSAR circular 37.

Although some of the common names are unfamiliar and not the same ones in the field guides and in common use for many years, it is the official list of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and The Herpetologists' League, as well as the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. It describes various taxonomic controversies, and explains its reasoning when there are changes or controversy.

CNAH

Another version of common and scientific names of North American reptiles and amphibians based on the most current Collins & Taggert Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians is available online at the site of the Center for North American Herpetology. This list is continually updated as new species are described and other changes are made, something which is not possible with a published guide. (Admirably, there is no apparent rush to adopt new changes immediately. Instead they list the new recommendations in notes.) This list will remain popular and influential due to the excellent web site.

Robert Stebbins' Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians

In the spring of 2003 the Peterson Field Guide: Western Reptiles and Amphibians 3rd Edition, by Robert C. Stebbins, was published. The names used in this guide are likely to become the popular standard, due to its wider availability and historical use as the authority on Western reptiles and amphibians since the 1950's. On page 14, Stebbins writes that he reviewed and followed, for the most part, the recommendations of the committee which produced SSAR circular 29. You can see on our lists where he has made some changes, in many cases due to the need for future study.

Comparisons

In consideration of both alternate lists, and to give an example of some of the multiple names one might encounter for a specific animal, the scientific and common names from Stebbins and the CNAH are also listed on the California lists. This will provide an opportunity to easily compare and contrast the current nomenclature of these three authorities. The lists here will be conformed to any new updates published by the SSAR and the CNAH and future editions of the Stebbins Field Guide, if any are published.

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