Welcome to the NHA:

The Nebraska Herpetofaunal Atlas (NHA) serves both education and conservation. The occurrence records represent baseline data for future research, assist with conservation needs as they arise, and contribute to an increasing public awareness of the amphibians and reptiles in the state.

The Atlas contains information on all known occurrences of Nebraska' extant amphibians and reptiles. Unique to the site are the most up-to-date distribution maps of each species known to occur (or potentially occur) in the state. Each species account has text descriptions summarizing the description, distribution, natural history, taxonomy, and an ever-growing list of references.

Users have full access to most records and are encouraged to report new occurrences as they are found. Specific locality data for species currently designated as protected by Nebraska statute, is limited. If you need these data, you are encouraged to contact the collection that maintains them and make a request.

There are 63 established species (different kinds) of amphibians and reptiles in Nebraska. That total includes 11 frogs ('toads' are frogs), 2 salamanders, 10 lizards, 31 snakes, and 9 turtles. In general (and especially with respect to amphibians), the herpetofaunal biodiversity increases to the south and east.

The Atlas represents the work of numerous individuals that collected and recorded the many specimens and observations presented herein. Our current level of understanding with respect to the Nebraska herpetofauna is a result of their efforts. The distribution and natural history of Nebraska's herpetofauna is fairly well understood, however there is still much to learn. If you wish to contribute to the Atlas - and we encourage you to contribute - you may do so by donating specimens or by adding observations directly.

I hope you find the NHA useful... comments and suggestions are always welcome.