November 2021 Demo

The intent of this atlas is to remain true to Dr. Floyd Scott's original vision with the amphibian and reptile atlases while modernizing them in a way that allows for more frequent updates and makes them more functional for contemporary users.

How this works

Links to species accounts on this atlas start on the left hand side of this page (or bottom of this page if you are on mobile) after the "report a reptile" link. Currently we have pages developed for four species, Copperheads, Timber Rattlesnakes, Rough Green Snakes, and Alligator Snapping Turtles. In addition to maintaining the integrity and functionality of the previous atlas, a dynamic map on the bottom of the screen allows you to further explore specimen records for that species. This pulls specimen records from within our collections as well as any museum specimen records that have been pushed to Vertnet or GBif. Counties where museum records exist are bordered in black and filled in a transparent gray. It also allows you to view any Inaturalist submissions for that species within the state alongside museum records. Inaturalist records are citizen science and are considered unofficial in regards to the atlas, but being able to view them gives an idea of where else this species may occur in the state. Clicking a museum record or inaturalist record links you to that specific records webpage where available. Important Note: The records being displayed for each species are currently incomplete, missing literature records and several museum records. These records are currently being processed and should be added in early 2022.

Within the new atlas, species of concern within the state and common species are treated differently. These statuses are determined by the Tennessee Wildlife Action Plan, in our examples Rough Green Snake and Copperhead are considered "Common" and Timber Rattlesnakes and Alligator Snapping Turtles are considered species of greatest conservation need (GCN). GCN species are mapped as described above, with verbatim localities reported on both the static and dynamic maps. For GCN species, only official specimen records are reported and localities are obscured. Instead of reporting actual locations for the specimen records, a number of random points equal to the number of reports of that species are generated within each county. This still allows a sense of the species occurrence and density within each county but protects the exact localities.