About This Web Site
Most of the photographs displayed here are scans from 35 mm color transparencies. I specialize in herpetology, but you will eventually find stock photos here of many other natural history subjects organized by geography in the Environments section. The amphibian and reptile family lists are incomplete and contain only groups that are represented by photographs of at least one species. The nomenclature used here usually follows the arrangements found on the American Museum of Natural History’s Amphibian Species of the World list, and for the reptiles I am following The Reptile Data Base and a variety of other sources, including Pianka and Vitt's (2003) Lizards Windows to the Evolution of Diversity and McDiarmid's (1999) Snake Species of the World, Volume 1. However, there are exceptions since new molecular studies appear almost weekly, new evidence about relationships changes older views, and names change to reflect the reality of ancestral descent. Higher snake systematics follows Vidal et al. (2007) C. R. Biologies 330:182-187. Nomenclature changes are often controversial and notations on these may be placed in the captions. Identification of species can be difficult and while I have tried to insure correct identification, if it is uncertain the genus may be given followed by “sp.”
Some photographs of amphibians and reptiles were taken in public or private collections and thus I was dependent on someone else for identification. Note that the author of the species or subspecies often follows the name. If the author's name and date are in parentheses it means the species has been assigned to a different genus since it was described. This web site is a work in progress, more photos, text, and additional features will continue to be added. In many cases multiple images of subjects are available, but only one is on the web site. If you don't see what you are looking for please ask.
The Fine Print. All text and photographs are copyright © John C. Murphy. All rights reserved worldwide. The content of this site is made available for purposes of researching images offered for license by John C. Murphy. No image is to be copied, duplicated, modified or redistributed in whole or part without the prior written permission of JCM Natural History Photography.You are encouraged to browse the photographs and information on this site. Please understand that the photographs are NOT FREE, but they may be licensed for a negotiable fee. No image may be used, for any purpose other than temporary caching by web browsers, without prior written permission from JCM Natural History Photography. While the content of this site is deemed accurate, it is neither legally binding nor guaranteed. JCM Natural History Photography is not responsible for improper use of the material (text, images) contained in this site. The entire content of this site, as a whole and in its parts, is protected by international copyright.
