Wow! This project continues to amaze me. I can't believe we have 50,000 herp observations from Florida. This is valuable data and, I hope, leads to positive conservation outcomes for many of these species. We have records of most herps found in Florida, with a few exceptions:

AMPHIBIANS:

Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)
https://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Desmognathus_monticola.pdf

Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus lustricolus)
http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Pseudobranchus+striatus+lustricolus

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)
https://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Stereochilus_marginatus.pdf

REPTILES:

Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica)
https://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Apalone_mutica_calvata.pdf

Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma)
https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/farery.htm

South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/reptiles/South_Florida_rainbow_snake/index.html

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)
http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/snakes/mississippigreenwatersnake.shtml

Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus)
http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Plestiodon+anthracinus

Mole Skink (Egmont Key Population) (Plestiodon egregius pop. 1)
http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Plestiodon+egregius+pop.+1

Florida Brown Snake (Lower Keys Population) (Storeia victa pop. 1)
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/snakes/florida-brown-snake/

Smooth Earth Snake (Highlands County Population) (Virginia valeriae pop. 1)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-snakes/list/virginia-valeriae-valeriae/

Let's find these missing herps!

Thanks for all that you do and keep exploring,

Peter Kleinhenz
FWC Interpretive Writer and Planner

We reached 40,000 observations! Keep the records coming, as they help us better understand the distribution of both common and rare species in the state. This data truly makes a difference, and I appreciate all of you for using iNaturalist when you are out and about!

Keep exploring,

Pete
FWC Interpretive Writer & Planner

Wow! You all continue to fill in the gaps! We've pared down this list even more and it's pretty amazing how few species are left to document every native herp species known from Florida. Keep up the good work and, if you have observations of these species that you haven't uploaded, please consider doing so!

Thanks!

AMPHIBIANS:

Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)

Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus lustricolus)

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)

REPTILES:

Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica)

South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)

Barbour's Map Turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)

Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus)

Mole Skink (Egmont Key Population) (Plestiodon egregius pop. 1)

Florida Red-bellied Turtle (Panhandle Population) (Pseudemys nelsoni pop. 1)

Florida Brown Snake (Lower Keys Population) (Storeia victa pop. 1)

Smooth Earth Snake (Highlands County Population) (Virginia valeriae pop. 1)

Hello Herpers of Florida! We have an amazing number of observation in this project and, although our reptile and amphibian diversity is well-represented, we are still missing several species that are tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Even more species have been found since our last "Missing Herps" post in January, but we still need observations of the following species:

AMPHIBIANS:

Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)

Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus lustricolus)

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)

REPTILES:

Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica)

Key Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus)

South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)

Barbour's Map Turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

Striped Mud Turtle (Lower Keys Population) (Kinosternon baurii pop. 1)

Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)

Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)

Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus)

Florida Keys Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius)

Cedar Key Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius insularis)

Mole Skink (Egmont Key Population) (Plestiodon egregius pop. 1)

Florida Red-bellied Turtle (Panhandle Population) (Pseudemys nelsoni pop. 1)

Florida Brown Snake (Lower Keys Population) (Storeia victa pop. 1)

Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata)

Rim Rock Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica)

Smooth Earth Snake (Highlands County Population) (Virginia valeriae pop. 1)

If you have data on any of these species, please help us fill in distribution gaps to help us conserve these species.

Hello Herpers of Florida! We have an amazing number of observation in this project and, although our reptile and amphibian diversity is well-represented, we are still missing several species that are tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Although some species have been found since our last "Missing Herps" post, we still need observations of the following species:

AMPHIBIANS:

Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)

Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)

Carpenter Frog (Lithobates virgatipes)

Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus lustricolus)

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)

REPTILES:

Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica)

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Key Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus)

South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)

Barbour's Map Turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

Striped Mud Turtle (Lower Keys Population) (Kinosternon baurii pop. 1)

Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)

Short-tailed Snake (Lampropeltis extenuata)

Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)

Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus)

Florida Keys Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius)

Cedar Key Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius insularis)

Mole Skink (Egmont Key Population) (Plestiodon egregius pop. 1)

Florida Red-bellied Turtle (Panhandle Population) (Pseudemys nelsoni pop. 1)

Florida Brown Snake (Lower Keys Population) (Storeia victa pop. 1)

Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata)

Rim Rock Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica)

Smooth Earth Snake (Highlands County Population) (Virginia valeriae pop. 1)

If you have data on any of these species, please help us fill in distribution gaps to help us conserve these species.

Thank you!

Hello Herpers of Florida! We have an amazing number of observation in this project and, although our reptile and amphibian diversity is well-represented, we are still missing several species that are tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. We still need observations of the following species:

AMPHIBIANS:

Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)

Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)

Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)

Carpenter Frog (Lithobates virgatipes)

Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus lustricolus)

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)

REPTILES:

Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica)

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Key Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus)

South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola)

Barbour's Map Turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

Striped Mud Turtle (Lower Keys Population) (Kinosternon baurii pop. 1)

Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)

Short-tailed Snake (Lampropeltis extenuata)

Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)

Mississippi Green Water Snake (Nerodia cyclopion)

Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus)

Florida Keys Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius)

Cedar Key Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius insularis)

Blue-tailed Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius lividus)

Mole Skink (Egmont Key Population) (Plestiodon egregius pop. 1)

Florida Red-bellied Turtle (Panhandle Population) (Pseudemys nelsoni pop. 1)

Florida Brown Snake (Lower Keys Population) (Storeia victa pop. 1)

Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata)

Rim Rock Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica)

Smooth Earth Snake (Highlands County Population) (Virginia valeriae pop. 1)

If you have data on any of these species, please help us fill in distribution gaps to help us conserve these species.

Thank you!

Thank you for joining Herps of Florida. It's no secret that Florida has some of the highest herp diversity in the country, and that many of its species are notoriously hard to find. Help us document distributions, abundance, and more by contributing to this project.

If you are interested in serving as a project curator, or would like to share a brief field experience for us to post in this journal, please email peter.kleinhenz@myfwc.com