Records of common species of amphibians and reptiles widespread in Northern, Central, Western and Southern Ukraine

Study Extent

This dataset was prepared (correctly organized according to Darwin Core standards) and published with the help of the project "Preservation of data on biodiversity of Ukraine during the Russian occupation" funded by "Documenting Ukraine" initiative. The initiative is financed by the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (https://www.iwm.at/). Also the creation of the dataset was partially supported by Rufford Foundation project "Open biodiversity data: serving Nature Conservation in Ukriane".

Sampling

Animals were caught manually during the peaks of activity of amphibians or reptiles (mainly from 7:00 to 11:00 am and from 5:00 to 11:00 pm). For catching amphibians we used a net or fishing rod, for reptiles - a hook. In the vast majority of cases the animals were simply caught by hand. Animals killed on the road by vehicles were taken into account if the identification to specific level was possible. For visualizing the records (points) and for further use in GIS-modeling, the points of herpetofauna registrations were collected (with the indication of latitude 00.00000 N and longitude 00.00000 E) using the field off-line orientation program MAPS.ME (version 12.0.1-Google) and Google Earth Pro (Earth version 7.3.3). Visualization of records and creation of maps was carried out in the QGIS program (v.2.181, QGIS Development Team, 2016. QGIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation. URL http://qgis.org). The species identification was carried out using methodological materials (Bannikov and Darevsky, 1977; Nekrasova and Morozov-Leonov, 2001; Kuzmin, 2012). Amphibians and reptiles were caught using a net (1.5-2 m, mesh diameter d=1 cm) and by hand during field research in their typical biotopes and habitats. Catching was carried out both during the daylight hours along the coastline and in characteristic hiding places (rotten stumps, logs, thickets of higher aquatic vegetation, hollows in the ground, roads), and also during the dark hours of the day after sunset using a headlamp, which allows you to detect the amphibian at a distance behind the characteristic reflection from the iris of the eye and blind it for a while to catch it without hindrance. In addition, old hydrotechnical buildings were checked for the presence of herpetofauna species, in which they can not get out and often die (wells, depressions for the maintenance of private water wells, cellars, maintenance pits for the maintenance of the water supply system). However, such places are automatic traps and perfectly illustrate the composition of batrachofauna in the surrounding area. In case the records were received from third parties (local residents) only those registrations having photo- or video-materials confirming the fact of species catching (and therefore - identification) were taken into account.

Quality Control

The authors of the dataset are fully responsible for the quality and correctness of the data provided in it.

Method steps

1. Conducting of field surveys and trips in search for representatives of native herpetofauna.
2. Collecting of information from other local residents.
3. Visual species identification as well as number of individuals.
4. Georeferencing.
5. Taking photos and necessary measurements if needed.
6. Putting of the information in the digital table designed in MS Excel.
7. Organizing of a dataset according to DarwinCore standards.

The dataset consists of records of the most common species of reptiles and amphibians inhabiting territory of Ukraine, namely, representative belonging to Hylidae, Bombinatoridae, Bufonidae, Ranidae, Colubridae, Lacertidae and Emydidae families.

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Chordata
   rank: phylum
3. Amphibia
   rank: class
4. Reptilia
   rank: class
5. Anura
   rank: order
6. Squamata
   rank: order
7. Testudines
   rank: order
8. Hylidae
   rank: family
9. Bufonidae
   rank: family
10. Bombinatoridae
    rank: family
11. Ranidae
    rank: family
12. Colubridae
    rank: family
13. Emydidae
    rank: family
14. Lacertidae
    rank: family

The dataset covers the entire territory of Ukraine. It hightlights records of representatives of native herpetofauna within all regions of Ukraine, except Luhansk and Donetsk regions.