Herpetology
AMNH Herpetology collections includes specimens from William Beebe, A.P. Blair, Drinker Cope, Roger Conant, E.R. Dunn, Richard Etheridge, Richard Heighton, Karl Kaufield, Ernie Liner, Carl Sofus Lumholtz, Sherman Minton, Wilfred T. Neill, Craig Nelson, James A. Organ, Albert Schwartz, Clifford H. Pope, Frederick A. Ulmer, and Prince Maximilian von Wied-Neuwied. Some material previously at Archbold Biological Station, Brooklyn Museum, Columbia University, Lehigh University, New York Zoological Society, Newark Museum, Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, Rutgers University, Texas A&I, Toledo Zoological Society, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute are currently cataloged at AMNH.
The AMNH collection of amphibians and reptiles ranks among the world's five largest herpetological collections. The separately catalogued collections of amphibians and reptiles total more than 335,000 specimens, of which more than 13,000 have more than one type of preparation.
How to request detailed information from our collections database.
Search for basic information about the holdings of the collection. Search for genus, species, country, state, collector, or type of preparation.
Information for researchers and students making an appointment to visit the collections
Requirements for requesting a loan of specimens (including tissues)
Datasets for published studies by department staff, along with the associated publications are available here for download. Descriptions of datasets and formats for each study are provided in the associated readme files.
Staff listing for the Department of Herpetology.
Herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History has its roots in the Golden Age of global expeditionary biology and continues as one of the world's foremost centers of herpetological research.
In the 1950's Richard Etheridge and Ernest Williams began constructing a taxonomic catalogue of the Iguanidae as it was known at the time, the intention being to publish this work in the series Das Tierreich.
Search the Amphibians of the World Database.