Amphibians and Reptiles
The Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles began in the late 1960s with the work of Dr. Royce Ballinger, Dr. Alvin Flury and Dr. Gordon Creel.
Their efforts were joined by Dr. Gerald Raun in the early 1970s.
Raun made large additions to the collection, bringing the total to more than 10,000 specimens. Raymond Stone curated the collection from 1983-85.
Under the subsequent curation of Dr. J. Kelly McCoy, the collection grew to more than 14,000 specimens. Most specimens are from west-central to north-central Texas, but other areas of the U.S. and Mexico are also represented. Currently, the curator is Dr. Michael Dixon.
The collection includes a large series of many Concho Valley species collected by Dr. Royce Ballinger and his students. Voucher specimens from surveys of Devil’s River State Natural Area and Monahans Sandhills State Park are also housed in the collection. A significant number of specimens from northern Mexico were acquired from Tarleton State University.