Useful Sources of Information
about New England Reptiles and Amphibians

In addition to the recommended sources listed below, you may find the print resources listed on our Additional Reading page helpful.

Identification (field guide)

A few good field guides to reptiles and amphibians exist. These help you identify herptiles but do not give you life history information. One that is easy to find and up-to-date is:

Conant, R., and J.T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Third Edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.

CARC-NET also has online identification keys (see Websites, below)

Identification (posters)

The posters listed below contain photos, distribution maps, and identification information on all of Vermont’s species. They can be purchased through the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas website (http://VtHerpAtlas.org/posters.php). All income from the posters helps support our efforts.

Andrews, J.S. and A.K. Burgess, 2006. Native Vermont Reptiles Part 1: Snakes and Lizards

Andrews, J.S. and A.K. Burgess, 2006. Native Vermont Reptiles Part 2: Turtles

Andrews, J.S. and A.K. Burgess, 2007. Native Vermont Amphibians Part 1: Frogs

Andrews, J.S. and A.K. Burgess, 2007. Native Vermont Amphibians Part 2: Salamanders

Natural History

These guides focus less on identification and more on natural history, local distribution, and conservation.

Franke, V., and J. Andrews. 2008. Rattlers, peepers, and snappers: the first complete DVD guide to all the amphibians and reptiles that breed in New England. Peregrine Productions, Waterbury, VT.
This guide includes field trips, songs, quizzes, and information on the natural history, identification, and conservation of all of New England’s herptiles. Find out more on our DVD info page, or order it from Amazon, our local independent Vermont Bookshop, or directly at Peregrine’s website.

Gibbs, J.P., A.R. Breisch, P.K. Ducey, G. Johnson, J.L. Behler, and R.C. Bothner. 2007. The Amphibians and Reptiles of New York State: Identification, Natural History, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York. 422 pp.

Harding, J.H. 1997. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 378 pp.
All our species are included.

Holland, M. 2013. “What a Snake's Eyes Can Tell You”. Naturally Curious With Mary Holland (online). Accessed September 7, 2013 at http://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/what-a-snakes-eyes-can-tell-you/.
Round and elliptical pupils have different advantages.

Hulse, A., C. J. McCoy, and E. Censky. 2001. Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. 419 pp.
Most of our species are included.

Hunter, M.L., A. Calhoun, and M. McCullough (eds.). 1999. Maine Amphibians and Reptiles. University of Maine Press, Orono, Maine. 272 pp.
This edition includes a CD of local frog calls. Call 207-581-1408 to order.

Klemens, M.K. 1993. Amphibians and Reptiles of Connecticut and Adjacent Regions. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Bulletin No. 112. 318 pp.
Unfortunately this is currently out of print. You may be able to obtain it from libraries or used book sellers.

Krulikowski, L. 2007. Snakes of New England: a Photographic and Natural History Study. self-published. 320 pp.
Unfortunately this is currently out of print. You may be able to obtain it from libraries or used book sellers.

Tyning, T.F. 1990. A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 400 pp.

Calls

Cornell University: Macauley Library (audio, online). Accessed April 3, 2013 at http://macaulaylibrary.org/.
The Macaulay Library is a scientific archive of audio and video recordings under the auspices of Cornell University. Analog records as far back as 1929, as well as more recent digtial ones, are available. Amphibian recordings can be browsed from http://macaulaylibrary.org/browse/taxa/amphibia; reptiles at http://macaulaylibrary.org/browse/taxa/reptilia, but we recommend coming in through the main page.

Eliot, L. 2004. The Calls of Frogs and Toads. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
A very useful tool to help you learn the calls of frogs and toads. Call 1-800-732-3669 to order.

Franke, V., and J. Andrews. 2008. Rattlers, peepers, and snappers: the first complete DVD guide to all the amphibians and reptiles that breed in New England. Peregrine Productions, Waterbury, VT.
This guide includes field trips, songs, quizzes, and information on the natural history, identification, and conservation of all of New England’s herptiles. Find out more on our DVD info page, or order it from Amazon, our local independent Vermont Bookshop, or directly at Peregrine’s website.

Jones, Dr. Patricia and Animal Diversity Web. 2006. Frog Calls: Is that a frog I hear? The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed June 23, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/topics/frogCalls.html.
Includes examples of frog calls in several formats (.mp3, .wav, .aiff,.au) so you may need a variety of players.

Websites

Many useful sites exist. Some provide more reliable information than others. A few reliable sites, some with many links to other resources are listed below. We also recommend a few local natural-history and herp blogs as well. Links should open in a new window or tab.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy
http://amphibianandreptileconservancy.org/

Amphibiaweb (an excellent source of information on amphibians)
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/aw/

Animal Diversity Web
A selection of frog calls is available at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/topics/frogCalls.html.
The examples of frog calls are in several audio formats (.mp3, .wav, .aiff,.au) so you may need a variety of players.

CARC-NET's Identification Key to Amphibians
http://www.carcnet.ca/english/amphibians/key/AmphKey.php
Their site updated in 2008, so if you find some lost links, let them know. Also, they switched in 2011 from a static pages (URLs ending in .html ) to a more scripted version (URLs ending in .php). You may have old links bookmarked, so you might check the URL ending if you have a lost link.

CARC-NET's Identification Key to Reptiles
http://www.carcnet.ca/english/reptiles/key/rkey1.php

New York State Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project (1990-1999)
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7140.html
and more about Herps from NYS Department of Conservation

North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP)
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/naamp

Northeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (NEPARC)
http://www.northeastparc.org/

Nova Scotia Herpetofaunal Atlas
http://landscape.acadiau.ca/herpatlas/idguide.htm

Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC)
http://www.parcplace.org/
PARC is "dedicated to the conservation of the herpetofauna--reptiles and amphibians--and their habitats". Membership is free.

Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University: Online Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Connecticut
http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/vertebrate-zoology/herpetology/online-guide-amphibians-and-reptiles-connecticut

Peregrine Productions, co-producer of Rattlers, Peepers, and Snappers
http://www.peregrineproductions.com
You can purchase from us by check or from them online (online: DVD, posters) (direct from us: DVD, posters).

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR)
http://www.ssarherps.org/

The Snakes of Massachusetts
http://www.masnakes.org/

University of Massachusetts: Center for Agriculture – Research and Extension
http://ag.umass.edu/topics/fish-wildlife-biodiversity
Downloadable documents on Fish, Wildlife & Biodiversity, from mitigating transportation impacts to wetland assessment to additional links.

University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
Or jump straight to their Reptile or Amphibian sections. The amphibian section includes examples of frog calls in several formats.

Blogs

There are several good blogs out there for herpers and natural history buffs and other friends and fans of the outdoors. Some we particularly like include:

AFK: herping by Kiley Briggs
http://herping.blogspot.com/

Below the Surface by ECHO Vermont staff
http://blog.echovermont.org/
You can also view just those posts tagged with keywords, e.g., "Amphibian", but not all staff tag their posts.

Naturally Curious
http://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/

North Branch Nature Center
http://northbranchnaturecenter.blogspot.com/

Management Information

Management guides are just beginning to be available. All of these include reptile- and amphibian-related information.

Biebighauser, T. 2002. A guide to creating vernal ponds. USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the Izaak Walton League of America. Morehead, Kentucky. 33 pp.
Call 606-784-6428 to order or download from http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/VernalPonds/VernalPondGuide.pdf (2.9 MB PDF).

Calhoun, A.J.K. and M.W. Klemens. 2002. Best Development Practices: Conserving pool-breeding amphibians in residential and commercial developments in the Northeastern United States. MCA Technical Paper No. 5, Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York. 57 pp.
Call 924-925-9175 to order, or download from http://www.umaine.edu/vernalpools/PDFs/Best%20Development%20Practices%20%20-%20%20Conserving%20Pool-breeding%20Amph.pdf.

Calhoun, A.J.K. and P. deMaynadier. 2004. Forestry habitat management guidelines for vernal pool wildlife.  MCA Technical Paper No. 6, Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York.  32 pp.
Call 924-925-9175 to order.

Evink, G. 2002. National Cooperative Highway Research Program Synthesis 305, Interaction between roadways and wildlife ecology, a synthesis of highway practice. Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C. 78 pp.
Impacts of roads on herptiles and some conservation strategies. A big problem, good information. Order at 202-334-3213 or download from http://trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_syn_305.pdf (5.1 MB PDF). See also our bibliography about road effects on herptiles.

Flatebo, G., C. Foss, and S. Pelletier. 1999. Biodiversity in the forests of Maine: Guidelines for land management. University of Maine Cooperative Extension Bulletin #7147. C. Elliot editor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Orono, Maine. 168 pp.
Contact UME Extension Office at 207-581-3188 or view online at http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/pubs/pdf/biodiversity_forests_me.pdf.

Mifsud, David. 2014. Michigan amphibian and reptile best management practices. Herpetological Resource and Management, LLC.
Although this is a Michigan guide, the practices recommended are very pertinent here. A free electronic copy of this guide is available on line at http://www.herprman.com/amphibian-reptile-management-practices-michigan.

Kingsbury, B. and J. Gibson. 2002. Habitat management guidelines for amphibians and reptiles of the Midwest. Midwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (Midwest PARC). 57 pp.
Visit the PARC website for more information or download from http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/MWHabitatGuide/index.htm.

Mitchell, J.C., A.R. Breisch, and K.A. Buhlmann, 2006. Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Northeastern United States. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Technical Publication HMG-3, Montgomery,Alabama. 108 pp.
Visit the http://www.parcplace.org/publications/habitat-management-guidelines.html for more information, or to order for a suggested donation of $10.