In the 74th African Herp News (AHN) of August 2020 the HAA promoted citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist, and introduced a series of challenges to encourage members to contribute their records. The most novel and exciting records from the reporting period are to be selected and featured in future AHN publications.

Please join the following projects if you would like to contribute or check out the progress of these challenges. We also encourage users to help confirm species identifications within these projects.

Challenge 1:
New records Jalla’s Sand Snake (Psammophis jallae)

Challenge 2:
Herpetofauna of the southern Drakensberg and adjacent Lesotho

Over the past year there has been a noticeable increase in the number of African herpetofauna records. As we pass the milestone of 75 thousand observations it is worth taking this opportunity to look back on how we have progressed.

As shown in the graphic, observations are currently just over 2000 per month, increasing from about 1500 in 2019. The total number of species observed is approximately 2047, and the majority of records (51 %) come from South Africa, with the Western Leopard Toad, Cape Dwarf Chameleon and Nile Crocodile being the most observed species.

Looking at uploads made during the year 2020, three users stand out in particular with regards to the number of species observed (many which represent the first observations on iNaturalist) as well as the number of observations:

@m_burger: 224 species (443 obs.)
@tyroneping: 201 species (213 obs.)
@ryanvanhuyssteen: 145 species (302 obs.)

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this achievement by adding observations and helping with identifications and may this community continue to grow.