UPDATED GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS OF MICHIGAN HERPETOFAUNA:

A SYNTHESIS OF OLD AND NEW SOURCES

Abstract

Recently a comprehensive overview of reptiles and amphibians in Michigan was published. Unfortunately, the distributions of the species represented were compiled before widespread accessibility to technological tools providing greater access to museum and historical records as well as citizen science efforts. To update the known ranges of Michigan herpetofauna, published literature, museum collections, and photographic vouchers submitted to an online database were examined and 339 new county and island records were added, updating the maps for 48 of Michigan’s 55 known species of reptiles and amphibians. I also present the first published list of Michigan amphibians that includes two new plethodontid salamanders, the Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) and Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera). This paper serves as an example of the wealth of information available to scientists that may have previously been unobtainable, and can be used for the distribution of herpetofauna elsewhere.