The Center for North American Herpetology announces the 9 September 2002 publication of the first printing of the long-awaited fifth edition of

Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians

by Joseph T. Collins and Travis W. Taggart

The first edition of this compilation, published in 1978, listed 454 species (or kinds) of amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians, and was quickly adopted nationwide as a source for common names for these North American (north of Mexico) animals that could be consistently used worldwide to avoid confusion, both in spelling and during conversation.

The new fifth edition lists 590 kinds of amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians in the United States and Canada, an increase of 136 species (30%) since 1978, which demonstrates clearly how much the diversity of these animals was previously underestimated.

Also of interest in this fifth edition is the updated section on alien species, those creatures that are not native, have escaped or been released in North America, and have become established in the United State or Canada. Most significant of these is the large Indian Python, which is now a breeding resident of south Florida. This constricting serpent reaches a length in excess of fifteen feet, and can have a serious impact on native wildlife, as well as small livestock and neighborhood pets.

The standard common names in the fourth edition (1997) of this list were used exclusively in the well-known Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (third edition expanded, 1998, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston). The forthcoming fourth edition of the Peterson Field Guide, which has the widest distribution of any book ever written about these creatures worldwide, will adopt the standard common names of Collins and Taggart (2002). Use of standardized common names achieves stability, comprehension, and ease of use throughout the United States and Canada, and thus has the potential to create closer cooperation among biologists across the nation, so that they may work together in the common cause of conserving and protecting these often maligned creatures.

The web site of The Center for North American Herpetology, which is the largest academic herpetological web site in the world, has adopted the common and scientific names in the fifth edition.

Single copies of the fifth edition of Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, are available free by simply sending a self-addressed 7 x 10 inch manila envelope with first class postage affixed for ca. 4 ounces ($1.29) to CNAH, 1502 Medinah Circle, Lawrence, Kansas 66047.

CNAH Note: The first printing of the fifth edition contained several typographical errors and a single incorrect subspecific common name. Due to the great demand for this list, the first printing (a very small number of copies were printed) is exhausted, and the second printing (a much larger number of copies) is a corrected version that will be sent out nationwide. The authors apologize for these errors, and recipients of the first printing of this list wishing a copy of the second printing can obtain same by following the instructions in the preceding paragraph.
The Center for North American Herpetology announces the 9 September 2002 publication of the first printing of the long-awaited fifth edition of

Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians

by Joseph T. Collins and Travis W. Taggart

The first edition of this compilation, published in 1978, listed 454 species (or kinds) of amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians, and was quickly adopted nationwide as a source for common names for these North American (north of Mexico) animals that could be consistently used worldwide to avoid confusion, both in spelling and during conversation.

The new fifth edition lists 590 kinds of amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians in the United States and Canada, an increase of 136 species (30%) since 1978, which demonstrates clearly how much the diversity of these animals was previously underestimated.

Also of interest in this fifth edition is the updated section on alien species, those creatures that are not native, have escaped or been released in North America, and have become established in the United State or Canada. Most significant of these is the large Indian Python, which is now a breeding resident of south Florida. This constricting serpent reaches a length in excess of fifteen feet, and can have a serious impact on native wildlife, as well as small livestock and neighborhood pets.

The standard common names in the fourth edition (1997) of this list were used exclusively in the well-known Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (third edition expanded, 1998, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston). The forthcoming fourth edition of the Peterson Field Guide, which has the widest distribution of any book ever written about these creatures worldwide, will adopt the standard common names of Collins and Taggart (2002). Use of standardized common names achieves stability, comprehension, and ease of use throughout the United States and Canada, and thus has the potential to create closer cooperation among biologists across the nation, so that they may work together in the common cause of conserving and protecting these often maligned creatures.

The web site of The Center for North American Herpetology, which is the largest academic herpetological web site in the world, has adopted the common and scientific names in the fifth edition.

Single copies of the fifth edition of Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, are available free by simply sending a self-addressed 7 x 10 inch manila envelope with first class postage affixed for ca. 4 ounces ($1.29) to CNAH, 1502 Medinah Circle, Lawrence, Kansas 66047.

CNAH Note: The first printing of the fifth edition contained several typographical errors and a single incorrect subspecific common name. Due to the great demand for this list, the first printing (a very small number of copies were printed) is exhausted, and the second printing (a much larger number of copies) is a corrected version that will be sent out nationwide. The authors apologize for these errors, and recipients of the first printing of this list wishing a copy of the second printing can obtain same by following the instructions in the preceding paragraph.