Herpetology Highlights

  • Expeditions

    Expeditions

    Explore Myanmar, Gulf of Guinea, & Yunnan. more

  • Galapagos Tortoise Collection

    History

    The first herpetological specimen was received by more

  • Collections

    Collections

    Explore our entire collection more

  • tetragenesis

    Research

    Frogs of the Arabuko-Sokoke forest. more

During the past two and half decades, the Department has produced well over 100 scientific papers, and authored or contributed to the publication of at least 11 books. Herpetology faculty and staff have served as officers and board members of national and international organizations such as the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Geological Society of America, Willi Hennig Society, California Institute for International Studies, Forum for the History of Science in America, the Biodiversity Foundation for Africa (Zimbabwe) and the National CITES Standing Committee of the Kenya Wildlife Service, to name a few.

Collection Statistics

As of January 2009, 296,611 specimens have been cataloged in the Department of Herpetology.The collection is comprised of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) collection (215,241 specimens) and the Stanford University collection (SU) (53,296 specimens).

African Frogs

Visit Dr. Bob Drewes' pages on The Frogs of the Impenetrable Forest, Frogs of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Gulf of Guinea Treefrogs, and the discovery of a new Serengeti Treefrog.  The Amphibian and Predator list, available on the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest page, contains images, sounds, and descriptions of the frogs, some of the predators, and other inhabitants.

Funding Opportunities

The Herpetology Department maintains three grant programs: The Charles Stearns Memorial Grant-In-Aid for Herpetological Research, The Brett Stearns Award for Chelonian Research, and Joseph B. Slowinski Research Memorial Fund. 

New species of reptiles and amphibians discovered from Myanmar

Download Dr. Jeff Wilkinson's presentation of new species discovered in Myanmar.

 

 

 

Projects funded by the National Science Foundation

Since 1979 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded several major CAS herpetology department projects.

Herpetology Department Innovations

The members of the Department of Herpetology pride themselves in being one of the more creative and innovative departments in the Academy. Our past three decades have included many Academy "firsts."

Research Expeditions

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Search Collections

Our collection of amphibians and reptiles is one of the ten largest in the world, containing more than 292,000 catalogued specimens from 166 countries.

Contact the Department

  • Herpetology
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • 55 Music Concourse Drive
  • San Francisco, CA 94118
  • 415-379-5289 (direct)

Summer Systematics Institute

The Summer Systematics Institute, a hands-on, collections-based summer research program in evolutionary biology and the Internship in Biological Illustration are for undergraduate college/university students who are U.S. citizens or resident aliens. Learn more.

Internship
February 12, 2010

FAQs

  • Can you identify a reptile or amphibian for me?

    Positive identifications can only be made if a specimen is brought to our laboratory.  We cannot declare genera based solely upon general descriptions, drawings, or even photographs.

  • Can I donate specimens?

    We only accept donations of specimens if you are able to provide locality data, (this includes latitude and longitude as given by a GPS unit). Otherwise please contact the Academy's Naturalist Center . They take donations of specimens that are in good condition for educational purposes.

  • What’s the best way to take care of my animal?

    Please note that we do not work with the live animals on exhibit, nor do we focus on husbandry. Inquiries regarding animals on exhibit should be directed to the Aquarium, and for inquires regarding husbandry, we recommend contacting the East Bay Vivarium.

Dr. Drewes Gulf of Guinea Blog

The Race: What’s in a Name? (New Species)
Ever wonder why biologists use weird, hard-to-pronounce names for animal and plant species?  Well, it all started with Carl Linnaeus, the famous Swedish 18th Century botanist pictured below. In the 10th edition of his great work, Systema Naturae (1758), Linnaeus established a system  wherein  every living species is given but a single scientific name ...
The Race: New Fish Excitement
Our colleague, Ricardo Lima, currently working on São Tomé has sent us another exciting photo; not of another São Tomé shrew this time, but of a large fish that we somehow missed during the island river surveys of GG I and GG II. Led by Dr. Tomio Iwamoto, we surveyed all of the major rivers ...
The Race: Taming of the Shrew (and updates)
Things have been very busy. Our flower people, Dr. Tom Daniel and Rebecca Wenk have been very active. Rebecca successfully completed her M.Sc . degree at San Francisco State University, based in part on plants she collected in the islands during GG III (A). She then published her research, with Tom, in the ...

Become a Donor

For those who would like to support young herpetologists through the Joseph B. Slowinski fund, tax deductible donations can be made to 'the California Academy of Sciences', with a cover letter stating that the money is to be credited to the Joseph B. Slowinski Memorial Fund. Please address your donation to:

 

Herpetology Chair
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA. 94118
United States