The Pennsylvania Herpitological Education and Research Project launched a new applicationto its web site today. PAHERP has been working on the Pennsylvania County Species Application for more than a month, anticipating it will be a great tool for the public.

The County Species Application is a web based site developed as an educational tool to bring awareness of the reptiles and amphibians to the Commonwealth counties. Using data from the PAHERP database, the program relates the information to older county records.

The application shows up-to-date verifications from data submitted by the public to the PAHERP database. It also shows unverified records related to older references for a county predating 2000. Finally, it shows historic species that have not been documented within a county for a number of years.

The application has two search features that can be used, Search by County and Search by Species.

Search by County brings up the list of all counties in Pennsylvania. When a county is selected, the user is taken to that county’s species list. This is a list of species that have been documented or had historic occurrence in that county.

Search by Species gives the user a list of all species that may be found within Pennsylvania. On selecting a species the user is taken to the species page showing a list of counties it has been documented in or has a historic status. A link is also provided to take the user to the PAHERP Identification site on that species for information on identification.

“This application is an important tool that allows folks to identify what may be living in their backyards. Additionally, with increased input from volunteers, an accurate picture of species’ ranges can be drawn which ultimately can assist with the conservation of some Pennsylvania’a rarer herps.” – Kyle Loucks

“Cool Application! Not sure what herps are in your county or a given area, just one click away! Great for species ID and range info also! Very user friendly. ” – Kevin Wolfe

Information on the species is updated after records have been reviewed from the PAHERP database. The application also updates the maps related to those species on the Pennsylvania Herpetological Identification site.

Pennsylvania County Species Application is an ongoing program to expand the range of species thoughout Pennsylvania. It is easy to use, and anyone interested in verifying a species in a certain county should visit the PAHERP database, sign up and add his or her sighting.

Launch the application now though PAHERP ID menu at the top of the page or visit the PAHERP App located at paherp.com