If you’ve never heard the “H word,” you’re not alone. Webster’s dictionary has no listing for herptile, but defines the science of herpetology as the study of reptiles and amphibians. The word root comes from the Greek word herpeton, meaning a creature that creeps or crawls. Many herpetologists—biologists who study these creatures—prefer the term herpetofauna. For simplicity, reptiles and amphibians together are often just called herps.
Though lumped under the same umbrella, amphibians and reptiles belong to distinctly different classes of animals, as different from each other as mammals are from birds. Both are “cold-blooded,” meaning their body temperature is governed by the temperature of their environment rather than by heat generated by metabolism.
Colorado is a state in which prairie streams and ponds dry up each summer, winters reach sub-zero temperatures and drought can parch the land for years. So how does a cold-blooded herp survive in this capricious climate? By tap dancing. Lizards regulate their body temperature by moving in and out of sun and shade. They hibernate in winter under logs and in crevices, their body temperature dropping to just above freezing. Amphibians hibernate beneath leaf litter or in burrows at the bottom of ponds. Wood frogs and western chorus frogs can tolerate being frozen. When conditions are warm and moist enough, the animals emerge from hibernation with one thing on their mind—breeding. In a dry summer, some amphibians may not emerge until the following year, hibernating through inhospitable conditions until things improve.
Herps produce a large number of eggs, only a small percentage of which will become adults. While most Colorado herps die in their first year, the species survives because this tap dancing succeeds at the population level.
Nature's Magicians
Amphibians are among nature’s greatest magicians, bridging the biological world between water creatures and those that live on land. Beginning life as fish-like animals equipped with gills, they undergo a startling physical metamorphosis, replacing gills with lungs, shedding tail for legs and crawling from the water to complete the adult 
stage of life on land. Science aside, discovering tadpoles with partially-grown legs swimming around a pond is one of the delights of childhood. There are seven species of frogs in Colorado, 10 species of toads and one salamander. Unlike fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, whose skin is protected by scales, feathers or hair, amphibians go naked into the world. Their absorbent, mucus-covered skin makes amphibians particularly vulnerable to toxins in water and air, and thus often the first victims of environmental pollution.
The Scalies
Reptiles are much more abundant in our state than amphibians. They don’t require water in which to lay their eggs and many are well-adapted to dry habitats. Colorado is home to 26 species of snakes, 19 species of lizards and five species of turtles. Few live above 6,000 feet though prairie and plateau lizards have been found at 9,200 feet and short-horned lizards at 11,000 feet. Many reptiles are killed by vehicles when they move onto roads to warm themselves in the sun.
Get Involved with Herps
Are Colorado’s herps disappearing? Northern leopard frogs are now rarely seen along Front Range ponds where they were once common. Boreal toads once inhabited subalpine wetlands throughout the southern Rockies, but today there are just a few, highly localized populations. Northern cricket frogs have not been found in Colorado since 1979. Something is going on, but no one is sure what.
Biologists need information before they can act to protect declining species. The Colorado Herpetofaunal Atlas, an online, interactive database, is the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) newest tool for the conservation of herps. The atlas is compiling historic and ongoing observations about herps to answer questions such as: How abundant are they? Where do they live in the state? Are their populations declining? Because the state’s biologists can only do so much, the Atlas needs the many eyes of nature-lovers interested in making field observations. An army of citizen scientists working in the field statewide will add hundreds of records to the knowledge base. Individuals, school classes, Scout and other groups are all encouraged to get involved.
At the core of this interactive project is an online database with three components:
- The species accounts offer photos, physical descriptions, habitat information and recordings of frog and toad songs to help users identify the creatures they see. There are tips for finding animals in the field as well as a glossary, a frequently asked questions page and links to other Web sites and CDOW personnel.
- The database of 25,000 historical records offers background information and maps to help in field trip planning. It can be accessed by a table of information or a map format. After field sightings are validated, they will become a part of this database.
- This component is the most fun—contributing field observations to the database. Before an outing, citizen scientists can download field survey sheets, then log on and submit their field data to the Atlas. Each user registers and receives an observer identification number (OIN). A major goal of the Atlas is to determine where species are distributed in the state, so locations of sightings are essential. Each site will get a location ID number so observers can input data for the same sites over successive visits, allowing biologists to track changes year-to-year at a specific site.
A PDF file of A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado is available for help when reporting sightings.
Take a look at the Atlas web site and you’ll be hooked: http://wildlife.state.co.us/species_cons/HerpetofaunalAtlas.asp.
So if you are a herp-lover who feels warm and fuzzy about the creepie-crawlies, log on to the herp atlas and get involved!
For more information contact CDOW’s herp coordinator Tina Jackson at 719.227.5237.
Next: Myths about Herps
(The information contained in this issue of Colorado's Wildlife Company was accurate at the time of original publication. Situations and circumstances described, staff positions, contact information, and dates of some events may have changed in the interim. Present knowledge and understanding of biological and behavioral facts and information may also be different, now, than presented here.)