Sonora semiannulata - ground snake
Rana blairi - plains leopard frog
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Sonora semiannulata - ground snake |
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Rana blairi - plains leopard frog |
In October 1997 curation and management of the amphibian and reptile collection of the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History (UIMNH) was transferred to the Center for Biodiversity at the Illinois Natural History Survey. With nearly 100,000 catalogued specimens, it is one of the largest amphibian and reptile collections in North America. The geographic emphasis is Mexico, but there are large holdings from the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Cuba, The Philippines, and Venezuela. There are approximately 2,000 type specimens; including over 170 primary types. With the exception of a few skeletons and dried skins, the vast majority of the specimens are preserved in ethanol. The UIMNH collection was largely assembled by Hobart Smith, curator from 1947 to 1968. In addition to adding thousands of specimens from his and his students' research, Smith was instrumental in acquiring other collections, most notably those of Edward Taylor, Chapman Grant, and Frederick Shannon. The UIMNH collection also includes specimens collected by other famous herpetologists, including Hobart Smith's mentor, Edward Taylor, whose Mexican collection is the most extensive in the world. Other famous collectors include Robert Ridgeway, an ornithologist who collected in Richland County, Illinois early in this century; Alvin Cahn, who collected throughout Illinois in the 1930s; and Chapman Grant, who collected in Cuba and Guatemala in the 1950s.
A searchable version of the UIMNH Amphibian and Reptile catalogue is now online (link below). The nomenclature of the computer catalogue is reasonably up to date. I welcome any comments or suggestions for further updates.
--Christopher A. Phillips, Curator
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Last Modified 22 January 2002
This web page has been accessed times since December 9, 1998.