About Names

You’ll notice a mix of names used throughout this site. I am an amateur herpetologist. Therefore I am familiar and comfortable using the Linnaean binomial system scientists use for classifying organisms – especially for the reptiles and amphibians. Besides, many ‘herps’ lack a consistent common naming system. This is changing but I generally speak this language when referring to herps. Birds are another thing. While I could certainly look up or use their scientific names, birds are more of a casual topic for me. And, there is a more established common naming structure for birds. So you’ll notice, for the most part, that reptiles and amphibians will be referenced using their scientific names while other subjects (not my specialty) will have other common or accepted names.

So that brings the next part. Science is always changing. I’ll try to mention noteworthy items in the News section and will try to keep up with titles for subjects. But visitors should note that as new data is processed scientific names frequently change as organismal relationships shift. I try to keep up with the changes but some reptiles and amphibians fall outside of my primary interests, so you may see Generic names that don’t reflect the current taxonomy. Sometimes it’s oversight. Sometimes is just due to a lack of effort on my part. For example I know that the glass frogs have been reassessed. I will ‘get around to it’ with regards to changing the names. If you see something that is is outdated or incorrect, feel free to send me an email and I’ll look in to it.