Herpetology

Oklahoma’s Herpetology Collection

The Sam Noble Museum’s Herpetology collection contains approximately 68,000 amphibian and reptile specimens. Roughly 60 percent of the museum’s herpetology collection is composed of Oklahoma specimens, making it the largest repository of Oklahoma amphibians and reptiles found anywhere in the state. The collection’s full geographic diversity covers 50 U.S. states or territories and 54 countries. Among those countries, the collection preserves large holdings of foreign specimens for Latin American nations like Brazil and Nicaragua, as well as rare collections from Egypt and the Galápagos Islands. The collection includes type specimens, such as the holotypes for the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and lesser earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata). In addition to physical specimens, the collection preserves photographs and field notebooks from researchers spanning over 60 years. These archival materials are stored in print and digital formats in the Charles C. Carpenter Herpetology Library and contain audio and visual material referenced by regional and international herpetologists. The herpetology collection continues to grow with the acquisition of specimens from Southeast Asia and selected areas of Oklahoma. Tissues and extractions associated with the herpetology collection can be found in the Oklahoma Genomics Resources Collection.