Tiger Salamander
Eastern Red-backed Salamander
Herps is shorthand for the science of herpetology -- the study of reptiles and amphibians. This is a grouping of convenience as reptiles and amphibians are not closely related (or are as closely related as mammals and birds). Northern Minnesota is home to only the heartiest herptiles. Our cold, long winters offer a significant challenge to creatures that cannot regulate their own body temperature. Salamanders, frogs, toads, snakes, turtles, and lizards have developed a whole host of adaptive strategies to survive sub-zero temperatures. Included below is information about some of those strategies.
Minnesota is home to 48 species of herps, 19 amphibians and 29 reptiles. Although they are often maligned and misunderstood by people, they are a wonderful rarity to be sighted in the wild. In detail, there are 5 species of salamanders, 14 frogs and toads, 9 turtles, 3 lizards, and 17 snakes.
