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How are "Range Extensions" established?
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by skyChimp on May 13, 2007
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Hypothetical question: If I suspected a certain species of snake existed in a county where it had not previously been recorded, and was able to verify its existence there, how or to whom would that be reported so that a range extension could be recorded? Are photos and location information sufficient, or is a voucher specimen necessary?
Thanks.
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by SnakeEyes2006 on May 13, 2007
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I do not actually know the answer to your question, but I have had some similar experiences in my herp findings, I have found Osage Copperheads here in West Virginia, I live on the West Coast only 42 miles from Ohio, I also have found Plains Rat Snakes. So I know they are moving into our ranges.. I hope someone answers your question so then we will both know who and how to notify someone of this....
Shawn
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by Cro on May 13, 2007
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Rowland and Shawn, there are several potential answers to your question, depending on where you live and who you know.
Here in Georgia, we have a State Herpetologist, who works for the Department of Natural Resources. He is compiling a Atlas on the Snakes of Georgia, and will accept Photos of range extensions for verification via the web. Range extensions withoug voucher photos are not accepted though.
You should check and see if Virginia and West Virginia have any similar programs through your Fish and Game Departments.
Also, The Herpetologist League lists range extensions in their Herpetological Review publication. Item submitted have to be verified by someone such as a proffessor at a local college or university, or by a curator at a local zoo, or other experts in your area.
Usually, a voucher specimin will not be necessicary, but you will probably have to provide the actual animal or good photos to who ever is going to verify your identification.
I would suggest you go to a university library and find a copy of Herpetological Review and find the section about submitting items and what verification they might need. You should also look on the web for The Herpetologists League, as they might have submission information there also.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by Cro on May 13, 2007
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Here is the link to the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles on where and how to submit Range Extensions and Geographic Distribution:
http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/HRinfo.php
The person to contact within the Society for this is:
North America (U.S./Canada) - Alan R. Richmond (alanr@bio.umass.edu)
They list fairly good details on how the submission should be structured, but I would still suggest that you look at an actual issue of Herpetological Review to see examples of how others have submitted range extensions and verifications.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by SnakeEyes2006 on May 14, 2007
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Thanks JohnZ, I will just e-mail Dr. Thomas K. Pauley again (I Probally misspelled last name) he is a professor at Marshall University here in WV he helped to write Reptiles and Amphibians of West Virginia back in the 80's, and told me to be on the lookout for an upcoming sequel!!!
Shawn
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by Snakeman1982 on May 14, 2007
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Herpetological review is the main journal where "range extensions" are reported. It is published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. They also publish the Journal of Herpetology and Catalogue of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetologist's League publishes Herpetologica and Herpetological Monographs. All are pretty awesome journals.
I publish range extensions in Herp. Review occasionally. First you have to do your research and make sure that it is actually a county record. Find a field guide that includes dot localities for each county with specimens verified. Dixon's A&R of Texas (2000) is an excellent example. Or Trauth et al. Arkansas book. Then you need to look in Herp. Review each year after that book was published to make sure that no one has submitted a record since the book. Once you have done this you should be ok.
After that, you need to get the voucher (specimen or photo) submitted to a museum, preferably in the state of the record. They will provide you with a catalogued number for that item. Then you'll need to get a collection manager, curator, or professor of herpetology (generally from that region) to verify that the specimen submitted is the correct species/subspecies. It may be best to use the people working at the museum you deposited the specimen at.
If it is indeed a county record, then you'll follow Herp. Review format of all the locality and collection data (which needs to be very detailed and exact). GPS is preferred. Occasionally people will submit little notes about the capture as well and if other individuals were observed (e.g., if you captured a spadefoot that was singing in a chorus of other spadefoots).
Hope this helps,
Robert
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by skyChimp on May 17, 2007
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It does help – thank you. But it does sound like a big pain in the ass. No wonder certain “known ranges” published in books don’t include counties where the snake is known to some to exist. Either people that have seen the snake outside it’s known range don’t know the process, or they do and don’t feel it important enough to go through all that.
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RE: How are "Range Extensions" establish
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by tj on May 19, 2007
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Alot of times snakes are also hidden from range maps in order to protect them. In NY, there are a large number of timber rattlesnake populations that are not on any of the maps. And these snakes are WAY beyond what the current map actually shows.
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