University of Arizona Herpetology Collection (UAZ-Herpetology)

The University of Arizona Museum of Natural History (UAZ), Herpetology Collection presently houses over 57,000 cataloged amphibian and reptile specimens. The holdings for this Legacy Collection are international in scope, spanning forty-six countries from six continents, and include material from forty-six U.S. states and territories, as well as thirty Mexican states. Other regions with coverage include Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Malaysia, and the Middle East. The principal strength of this collection, however, resides in extensive holdings from the Southwestern United States, and Northern Mexico. Approximently 70% of our specimens are from the States of Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico, making this assemblage one of the premiere regional collections in the country, and the single most important herpetological collection covering this extremely diverse and important biological realm. The bulk of our holdings are formalin-fixed and preserved in isopropyl alcohol (33% for amphibians and 55% for reptiles), but the collection also includes osteological preparations, dehydrated specimens, photographic specimen vouchers (PSV), formalin preserved amphibian larvae, cleared and stained material, and a small but growing tissue collection. These collections are maintained by Collections Manager George Bradley. Any inquiries or comments should be directed to him. Full contact information is available at the bottom of this page. At present, approximately 240 species of amphibians from 3 Orders, 24 Families, and 66 Genera, as well as 637 species of reptiles from 3 Orders, 35 Families, and 258 Genera are represented. Taxonomically, the collection has several important strengths. The collection possesses one of the largest and most diverse assemblages of the Teiid genus Cnemidophorus (Aspidoscelis in part) available with 8,860 specimens distributed in 35 species. Our holdings of the Family Xantusiidae demonstrate another strength, where 11 speci
Collections Manager: Melanie Bucci, mebucci@arizona.edu
Director of Collections: Peter Reinthal, pnr@arizona.edu
Collection Type: Preserved Specimens
Management: Data snapshot of local collection database
Last Update: 23 December 2016
IPT / DwC-A Source:
Digital Metadata: EML File
Collection Statistics
  • 57,140 specimen records
  • 2,328 (4%) georeferenced
  • 53,134 (93%) identified to species
  • 78 families
  • 277 genera
  • 740 species
  • 740 total taxa (including subsp. and var.)
Extra Statistics