Research, Conservation, Education
The SSAR is pleased to announce that Herpetological Review is moving to a faster, more efficient system to better serve our community. Starting February 16, all standard manuscripts must be submitted via Scholastica: https://herpetologicalreview.scholasticahq.com/. Stay tuned for corresponding updates as this date approaches!
To download recent or past issues of Herpetological Review, visit our webpage: https://ssarherps.org/herpetological-review-pdfs/.
The SSAR is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowment in honor of Martha L. Crump that will support pre-college student scholars. Known to all as Marty, she is a behavioral ecologist and field biologist of the Neotropics who is also one of the most prolific writer of books about amphibians and reptiles of our generation. She was trained at the University of Kansas where she earned her PhD in 1974, based upon her pioneering study of reproductive strategies of a community of frogs at Santa Cecilia in the Upper Amazon Basin of Ecuador. She was a faculty member at the University of Florida during 1976–1992 and is currently an adjunct professor at both Utah State University and Northern Arizona University. A member of SSAR since 1967, Marty has held many important posts in the Society and served as President in 2019–2020. She organized the official start of the SSAR Pre-College Scholars Program in 2018 (supported by a generous grant from the family of Tristan Weinkle, DVM) and continues to mentor students in the program. Marty has remained active in this wildly popular program, the intent of which is to introduce budding herpetologists to professionals in our field and to possible careers in science. John Maerz (University of Georgia) currently directs the program. There is an academic-year series of discussions between budding herpetologists and leading professionals in our field using Zoom technology followed by a mentored program at the Society’s annual meeting for selected students; the first non-USA students (from Botswana and Mexico) attended in 2024. The anonymous donors of the Marty Crump Endowment have stipulated that non-USA students should be given preference for these funds.
Please join us in congratulating Marty on this singular honor, which recognizes her special interest in introducing young people (including children) to amphibians and reptiles. A more detailed announcement will appear in Herpetological Review.
The cover of HR 56(2) features an image of a juvenile Sunda King Cobra, Ophiophagus bungarus, that was photographed by Hamad Azam in Singapore. It is diurnal, intelligent, and alert, often raising the front third of its body and displaying defensively when threatened. Habitat loss, persecution, and illegal wildlife trade increasingly threaten populations. Understanding and conserving this species is essential, not only for preserving biodiversity in southeast Asia, but also for maintaining the ecological balance of forest ecosystems where it remains a top reptilian predator. Full contents are available online to SSAR members at https://ssarherps.org/herpetological-review-pdfs/. Natural History Notes, Geographic Distribution Notes, and Book Reviews are Open Access and are available for download at the same link.
If you are not a member of SSAR, please consider joining the leading international herpetological society. Student and online-only rates are available. Click here to join or learn more about membership.
For more information about this award, take a look at this year’s call for applications or visit our webpage.
The SSAR invites proposal submissions by March 15 of the year prior to the annual meeting when the symposium would take place (due March 15, 2026 for the 2027 annual meeting). Proposal criteria can be found on the SSAR website. This coming year the SSAR can monetarily sponsor one symposium with funding of $2,000. Symposia are important components of the SSAR Annual Meeting that allow researchers to come together and present the latest research in that area. If you have been thinking about a symposium topic that would be of interest within SSAR at the 2027 Annual Meeting, please consider submitting a symposium proposal!
In recognition of Robert (Bob) W. Hansen’s 30-plus years of service to the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), and to the general herpetological community, we are proud to announce a new award that honors outstanding herpetological photography, one of Bob’s great passions. Membership in SSAR is not required and individuals may submit up to two applications per year. Applications are due annually on April 1. For more information about this new award, visit our webpage. Please contact the award coordinator, Paul Freed (herps2apes@gmail.com), if you have any questions.
Every year, the Roger Conant Grants-In-Herpetology program distributes 14 awards to individuals in different areas of herpetology. In our effort to maintain fairness and unbiased in the review process of the applications, we try to enlist new reviewers every year. External reviewers are assigned grants in one of seven categories: Conservation, Field Research, Laboratory Research, Travel, International, Herpetological Education, and Undergraduate Research in Herpetology. The number of proposals to review will depend on the number of applicants, but we aim for no more than ten proposals per reviewer. The deadline for the reviews is February 28th , 2026. If you are interested in being a grant reviewer, please contact Roberto Brenes at rbrenes@carrollu.edu.
Thank you for your consideration!
Roberto Brenes
Chair, SSAR’s Roger Conant Grants-In-Herpetology
The Journal of Herpetology recently updated its submission protocols for scholarly reviews, broadening the kinds of manuscripts that are accepted. In addition to timely topical syntheses, the new review series called “Reviews in Herpetology: Past, Present, and Future Directions” will allow for longer-format approaches to contemporary challenges in a “lessons learned” context. Because these reviews are likely to be lengthy, the typical word limits for JH manuscripts will be suspended for submissions in this category. The Journal invites submissions of either kind of review, and the co-editors are happy to offer input on topical themes to prospective authors. More information can be found in Journal of Herpetology 59(2):60: https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-herpetology/volume-59/issue-2.
The cover of HR 56(1) features an image of Coluber constrictor etheridgei that was photographed by Clint Guadiana from east Texas, USA. This species is a diurnal predator that relies heavily on speed and visual hunting to capture a wide range of prey, including insects, small mammals, lizards, and other snakes. They play an important mid-trophic role by linking invertebrate and vertebrate communities and by serving as prey for raptors and larger mammals.
Full contents are available online to SSAR members at https://ssarherps.org/herpetological-review-pdfs/. Natural History Notes, Geographic Distribution Notes, and Book Reviews are Open Access and are available for download at the same link. If you are not a member of SSAR, please consider joining the leading international herpetological society. Student and online-only rates are available. Please visit the membership page for more information: https://ssarherps.org/about-ssar/membership/.
The SSAR is soliciting applications to attend the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in New Orleans, LA, USA, July 8-12, 2026 as Carl Gans Fellows. Students and postdocs that are conducting herpetological research and are members of a herpetological JMIH society (SSAR, ASHI, or HL) are encouraged to apply. Up to 24 awards will be granted in this cycle ($800 per fellow for U.S./Canadian researchers and $1,300-$1,700 for fellows from other countries). Priority will be given to those in greatest need (i.e., those for whom the award makes the difference between attendance or lack of attendance) and those from historically underrepresented groups based on gender, race, country of origin, or other factors. Applicants should fill out this Google Form by February 1, 2026.
For more information about this award, take a look at this year’s call for applications or visit our webpage.