Vertebrate Zoology

Herpetology

Herpetofauna from Africa

The herpetology collection in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Vertebrate Zoology is rich in amphibian and reptile specimens from western Africa, specifically Benin and Cameroon. This region is diverse in its topography and thus also in habitat types.

Western Africa

In 2002 the Museum began work in Equatorial Guinea, which shares a border with Cameroon. While the islands of Equatorial Guinea have been studied herpetologically, the mainland (Rio Muni) is largely unknown.

The topology and climate of Rio Muni contributed to a high diversity of species for this small country. To date, in addition to birds and mammals, more than 53 specimens representing over 400 taxa of amphibians and reptiles have been collected from Equatorial Guinea. The Peabody’s continued work in Rio Muni will likely reveal many more secrets that this small African country has to offer.

This gecko is using
his tongue to clean his eye.
Hemidactylus longicephalus
YPM catalog no. 14399

The Yale Peabody Museum’s collections are available to legitimate researchers for scholarly use. Loans are issued to responsible individuals at established institutions. Loans and access to the collection can be arranged through the Collections Manager.

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