The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ amphibian and reptile collection, started in the late 1800s by Museum co-founder C.S. Brimley, contains approximately 200,000 specimens. It is one of the largest and most complete regional collections in the United States.
Over 70 percent of the collection consists of North Carolina material, although at least 45 states, 19 countries and more than 400 species are represented. Other states with substantial representation include South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, California and Texas. The collection houses fluid-preserved specimens, skeletons, skins and other materials that assist with the documentation of the natural history, distribution and status of the state’s amphibian and reptile populations. Photo vouchers, field notes, other museums’ records of North Carolina holdings and specimen data sheets also are maintained as part of the materials documenting these resources.
Most of the specimens have been accumulated since the 1960s when William Palmer, then curator of lower vertebrates, began caring for the collections. Recent acquisitions include large collections from Duke and Virginia Commonwealth universities, material from the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences and the personal collection of the late E. E. Brown, who taught at Davidson College.
The section provides voucher repository and identification services for the public and private sectors and publishes research findings and general literature on the natural history of North Carolina’s herpetofauna.
Online Publications:
- Venomous Snakes of North Carolina booklet (PDF, 676k) Note: The printed booklet is available for sale at the Museum Store
- Checklist of North Carolina Amphibians
- Checklist of North Carolina Reptiles
Staff
For loan or other information, please contact Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles Bryan Stuart at bryan.stuart@ncdenr.gov or 919.733.7450 x751.
Staff Web Pages
- Bryan Stuart, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles
- Jeffrey Beane, Collections Manager of Amphibians and Reptiles
Links
- American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
- Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina
- Central Carolina Amphibian and Reptile Initiative
- Contemporary Herpetology
- North American Amphibian Monitoring Program
- North Carolina Herp Atlas
- North Carolina Herpetological Society
- North Carolina Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
- North Carolina Wildlife Federation
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
- Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
- Project Bog Turtle
- Sandhills Natural History Society
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
- Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
- Wake Audubon
