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WELCOME TO THE AUSTRALIAN HERPETOLOGY WEBSITE
by
John Fowler & Rachel Barnes
This is your starting point if you are interested in any aspect of Australian Herpetology.
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuatara) and amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians).
The terms "herpetofauna" "herps" "herptiles" are sometimes used to describe these animals (i.e. reptiles& amphibians)
The word "herpetology" is from Greek: herpeton, "creeping animal". People with an avid interest in herpetology and who keep different reptiles or amphibians often refer to themselves as "herpers" with the term"field herpers" or "field herps" applying to those who search for reptiles in the wild.
Herpetologists may be classed as professional or amateur with amateur herpetologists often assisting professionals in the field or with information. Many professionals kept pet reptiles when younger and many still like to keep some live animals.
Herpetoculture is the captive care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians, and applies to pet keeping, professional breeding and zoo keeping.
Herptiles are kept in captivity in incredible numbers worldwide with Turtles and Tortoises, Pythons Boas and Colubrids as well as Iguanas and Bearded Dragons being bred for the pet trade in massive numbers.
Worldwide there are over 9000 species of reptiles.[1] and over 6700 species of amphibians[2] known to science plus many subspecies
