Madagascar’s

Reptiles & Amphibians

90% of Madagascar’s Herptiles are endemic, meaning there are found no where else in the world.

We want to create a comprehensive online field guide of reptiles & amphibians from Madagascar with photos of each animal and habitat, range maps and any other information we can find.

This free database will create access to the natural history of these animals for everyone to access, whether you are a biologist in the field, a hobbyist, a zookeeper or simply want to learn more. The more we know about these animals, the easier it will be to make proper conservation decisions.

On this island where 90% of the critters are endemic, meaning they are found no where else on the planet, there is no easy access to information about these animals available to the people that live there and share space with them.

In a country where the average income is less than $400 USD PER YEAR, not many can afford the reptile & amphibian field guide of their own country (costs about $70 USD). I carried my field guide around in a ziplock bag through storms while floating in a canoe and everywhere we stopped, everyone was fascinated. People took photos of the pages. One guide asked to carry it on our hike, just so he could photograph as many pages as possible whenever we stopped.

We are creating an online database that will be translated into Malagasy to create access to this information to the people who live with them.

This project is being lead by Audra Barrios, a biologist from California and Joshua Ralph, a herpetologist from England who will be heading back to Madagascar in 2019 to get this project off the ground. Follow our journey on Instagram (@madaherps) and help us make it happen.