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The official state turtle (Ornate Box Turtle) and amphibian (Barred Tiger Salamander) of Kansas

Photographs © courtesy of Suzanne L. Collins

The Official Web Site of the Kansas Herpetological Society

The Kansas Herpetological Society

The KHS is a non-profit 501c3 organization founded in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1974 by Joseph T. Collins and colleagues, designed to encourage scholarship, research, and dissemination of scientific information through the facilities of the Society; to encourage conservation of wildlife in general and of the herpetofauna of Kansas in particular; and to achieve closer cooperation and understanding between herpetologists, so that they may work together in common cause. The KHS is not a herpetocultural organization, but encourages individuals to keep and maintain native Kansas herpetofauna for educational and research purposes.

All interested persons are invited to become members in the Society. Membership dues per calendar year are $15.00 (U.S., Regular), $20.00 (outside North America, Regular), and $20.00 (Contributing) payable to the KHS. Send all dues to: Dr. Eva A. Horne, KHS Secretary, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA.

All members are entitled to participate in Society functions and have voting privileges. They receive copies of Society publications, which include Collinsorum, as well as other publications of interest or those co-sponsored by the Society. To be eligible for KHS grants and scholarships, individuals must be KHS members.

The KHS holds an annual meeting in the fall of each year. The meeting is, minimally, a two day event with lectures and presentations by herpetologists. All interested individuals are invited to make presentations. The annual meeting is also the time of the Saturday night social and fund-raising auction. All are invited to bid on herpetologically oriented items (except for live animals or parts thereof) donated by a variety of sources including members.

KHS Annual Meeting

The KHS hosts two or more field trips each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Field trips serve to broaden understanding of the distribution and abundance of various species in Kansas. In addition, field trips are an enjoyable educational experience for everyone. All interested persons are invited to attend.

While most specimens observed and counted during the KHS field trip will be released, selected specimens also will be collected by individuals with current Kansas Scientific Collecting Permits and kept for deposition in research collections at accredited institutions, where they (and their tissues) will be available for research use by any qualified investigators. Field trip participants wishing to assist in this research effort are encouraged to donate their specimens to those individuals qualified to receive them.

KHS Spring Field Trip

KHS Summer Field Trip

KHS Fall Field Trip

The KHS encourages individuals to conduct herpetofaunal counts each spring (during April and May only), similar to the Audubon Society's winter bird counts. All interested persons are invited to participate. Counts made should be submitted directly to the Editor or Associate Editor of Collinsorum (see below), and should include the location of the count, date(s), names of participants, list of species observed (standard common names only) and the number of each, and the complete name and address of the individual submitting the count. All counts must be submitted by 15 July, and will be published each year in the September issue of Collinsorum.

Download the KHS Herpetofaunal Survey Form Here

Established in 1987, this Award is presented to those individuals whose efforts and dedication to the Kansas Herpetological Society go far beyond the normal bounds. The recipients of this Award have given exemplary service to the KHS, and are presented with an elegant bronze sculpture of a Barred Tiger Salamander (our official state amphibian). The statue, created by artist Errol D. Hooper, Jr., is currently poured and finished by Heartland Art Bronze of Lawrence, and is mounted on an attractive wooden base, with the recipient's name on a plate above the words For Distinguished Service. Candidates for the Award are chosen by the KHS Executive Council. Previous recipients are as follows:

The KHS annually grants a scholarship named for Howard K. Gloyd and Edward H. Taylor, two distinguished Kansas herpetologists.

Nominations for the award ($300.00) are open to any KHS member enrolled in an accredited educational institution. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of potential for contributing to the science of herpetology. Students from high school through university are eligible. Self-nomination is encouraged.

Nominations should include, but are not limited to, academic record, herpetological activities, and future plans in herpetology. Academic record should address schools attended and an indication of academic performance in each (e.g., grade point average, teacher evaluations, courses completed, etc.). Herpetological activities should include a brief narrative that details experiences and activities that demonstrate a long-term interest in herpetology, and documents accomplishments in herpetological study. Future plans in herpetology should include a statement, not to exceed one-page, written by the student about his/her future interests and plans.

Applicants may include an optional appendix with photographs, awards, newspaper articles, reports written by the student, or other documents relevant to herpetological activities.

Nominations should be sent to the KHS Awards Committee Chair, and must be postmarked by 25 September. The scholarship winner will be announced at the KHS annual meeting in November. New applications will be accepted after 1 January of the following year.

The KHS annually awards a grant ($300.00) in honor and memory of Alan H. Kamb, longtime supporter and member of the Kansas Herpetological Society.

KHS members are eligible to apply for The Alan H. Kamb Grant for Research on Kansas Snakes. The winner will be announced at the annual meeting in November. If no qualified proposals are submitted, no award will be made for that year.

The KHS Awards Committee will entertain proposals for research on Kansas snakes. The proposal must be limited to ten typed pages, and should include, but not be limited to the following: title, name of researcher, contact information, abstract, introduction and justification, objectives or hypotheses, materials and methods, significance of research and possible results, literature cited, timetable, and proposed budget. The research must be conducted on one or more native Kansas snake species. Additionally, a majority of the field work or observations must be proposed to occur in Kansas, or the data must be proposed to be collected, at least in part, on Kansas specimens.

Proposals for this grant should be sent to the KHS Awards Committee Chair, and must be postmarked by 25 September. The grant recipient will be announced at the KHS annual meeting in November. New applications will be accepted after 1 January of the following year.

The George Toland Award for Ecological Research on North American Herpetofauna was established in 2006 by the Board of Directors of The Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH) as a trust in perpetuity in recognition of the distinguished teaching career of the late George Fredrick Toland (1915-1992), a Salina (Kansas) biology teacher whose life-long field work with young folks in search of amphibians, chelonians, and reptiles was amply demonstrated in his extensive mentoring of the many students whose lives he so profoundly influenced. George was born in St. John, Kansas, on 25 September 1915. He received his Bachelor's Degree from McPherson College (Kansas) and his Master's Degree from Northern Colorado University. George taught school in the following Kansas communities: Canton, Turner, Caldwell, Minneapolis, and Salina. He was a horseman, a teacher, a poet, a writer, an author, a naturalist, a dramatics coach, a football coach, a statistician, a craftsman, a romantic, a photographer, but most of all he was a legend. He died on 15 March 1992 and is buried at his birthplace. By agreement with CNAH, the KHS annually makes an award ($200.00) in honor and memory of George Toland, a longtime supporter and member of the Kansas Herpetological Society. All students presenting papers on the ecology of North American herpetofauna at the KHS annual meeting are eligible for the George Toland Award. The winner will be announced at the conclusion of each annual meeting in November. The KHS Awards Committee will select the recipient of the George Toland Award. The recipient must be present to receive The Toland Award or another recipient will be selected.

The Henry S. Fitch-Dwight R. Platt Award for Excellence in Field Herpetology was established in 2010 by the Executive Council of the Kansas Herpetological Society as a trust in perpetuity in recognition of the distinguished careers in ecological herpetology of the late Henry Sheldon Fitch (1909-2009), a faculty member in the Divison of Biological Sciences at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and KHS Distinguished Life Member Dwight R. Platt, biology faculty emeritus at Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. Both of these herpetologists distinguished themselves by their research excellence in the study of amphibians, chelonians, and reptiles, research amply demonstrated in their voluminous published works. For the Fitch-Platt Award, the KHS annually makes an award ($200.00) to a KHS member that, in the recent past, made a significant herpetological discovery in the field or conducted significant herpetological field work that contributed to our knowledge of these creatures. The winner will be announced at each annual KHS meeting in November. The KHS Awards Committee will select the recipient of the Fitch Platt-Award. The recipient must be present to receive The Fitch-Platt Award or another recipient will be selected.

Collinsorum is the official publication of KHS. Issued quarterly, Collinsorum publishes manuscripts and notes of interest dealing with the biology of herpetofauna. Collinsorum also contains information and reports of Society activities. All interested persons are invited to submit items for publication as well. Manuscripts should be submitted to the Editor no later than the 15th of the month prior to the month of issuance. All manuscripts become the sole possession of the Society, and will not be returned unless special arrangements are made with the Editor. Pen and ink illustrations and photographs are also welcomed. These should be sized accordingly as no reductions can be made. Illustrations and photographs will be returned to the author only upon request.

All back issues of Collinsorum are available gratis for downloading as pdfs. The KHS is pleased to offer gratis back issues of a dues-based herpetological periodical for the first time in the history of our profession.

KHS Publications Back Issues