Australian Society of Herpetologists
Official List of Australian Species

This page last updated on 30 November 2023

The ASH Taxonomic Committee was established following a motion passed at the 2014 Annual General Meeting. The committee was tasked with establishing a single list of Australian frog and reptile species that are recognised by the Australian Society of Herpetologists. Decisions by the Taxonomic Committee are governed by the motion passed unanimously at the 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Society which expressed support for the Kaiser et al. initiative (2013. Herp. Rev. 44:8–23), its support for the position statement on taxonomic vandalism by Taxonomy Australia, and the establishment of a Positive List of Journals and other publications to clarify the boundary between scientific publication and non-scientific publications.

The ASH Official List of Australian Species will be monitored and updated regularly. It will be formally updated prior to each ASH AGM but the list is a living document and regular updates will include taxonomic and associated nomenclatural changes as they appear in the peer-reviewed literature and come to be accepted. All updates will appear on this website and will be communicated to the Australian Faunal Directory and the international Reptile Database for implementation on these lists. 

ASH Official List of Australian Species:

ASH Official List of Australian Species (30 November 2023)
Complete list of all frog and reptile species, including comments on individual species - recommend A3 paper and landscape format if printing

ASH Official List of Australian Species (30 November 2023)
Simplified list of all frog and reptile species, without comments - recommend A3 paper and landscape format if printing

How to cite the ASH Official List of Australian Species:

Australian Society of Herpetologists Official List of Australian Species. 2023 [modify year to match date of access]. http://www.australiansocietyofherpetologists.org/ash-official-list-of-australian-species. Accessed [insert date here].

Policies and Procedures:

Preface to the ASH Official List of Australian Species - Explanation of how the committee operates

ASH Position Statement on Taxonomy (18 January 2022)

ASH Positive List of Publications (20 May 2022)

ASH Positive List of Publications - procedures (31 March 2022)

Relevant Literature:

Kaiser et al. 2013. Best practices: In the 21st century, taxonomic decisions in herpetology are acceptable only when supported by a body of evidence and published via peer-review. Herpetological Review 44:8-23.

Wuster et al. 2021. Confronting taxonomic vandalism in biology: conscientious community self-organization can preserve nomenclatural stability. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 133:645-670.