Herpetology - Bonn

Amphibians & Reptiles

The Herpetology Section specialises in amphibians and reptiles from all over the world, but mainly from Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Research focuses on taxonomy, diversity, auto-/synoecology, macro-ecology, species conservation, biogeography, species distribution modelling, evolution and phylogenetics.

The constantly growing scientific collection, which currently comprises > 110,000 specimens, is curated by PD Dr Dennis Rödder and Dr Claudia Koch.

Both curators are involved in university teaching and offer seminars, block modules, and excursions for the BSc Biology and OEP MSc degree programmes at the University of Bonn. Final theses (Bachelor/Master) and PhD theses are also supervised.

Innovative methods in morphology, taxonomy, and systematics

Every year, several hundred new amphibian and reptile species are described worldwide. The LIB makes an important contribution to this; since its foundation, type material of more than 700 taxa has been deposited in our section, including over 350 primary types (i.e. holo-, lecto-, and neotypes) and almost 100 syntypes. To identify new species, we use state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques (genetics, genomics, phylogenetics) as well as computer-aided imaging techniques such as µCT-based 3D reconstructions.

Computer-aided analyses in biogeography, evolutionary ecology, and conservation research

We investigate the effects of climate and land-use changes on different time scales, from currently observable distribution shifts and rather short-term distribution dynamics of (invasive) species (several years to decades) to evolutionary adaptations during speciation (several million years). Amphibians and reptiles are particularly suitable for this purpose, as they are highly dependent on environmental factors. Special attention has always been paid to the search for causal ecological mechanisms that determine distribution and abundance patterns in relation to environmental factors. We use the knowledge gained to make forecasts for the future and to become involved in international nature conservation.

Teaching programmes

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Supervision of project work and theses

Bachelor Biology OEP Biology Master PhD programme

OEP-A23 Advanced Bioinformatics in Phylogenetics, Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity research:
- Introduction to Scientific Programming in R (seminar/exercise)
- Introduction to GIS / species distribution modelling (seminar/exercise)
OEP-B30 Advanced Course in Combining Field and Lab Techniques and Methods in Organismic Biology, Evolutionary Biology or Paleobiology
OEP-C02 / WBIO-F-02: Zoogeography and ecology of marine organisms in tropical habitats (with an excursion to the Red Sea, Dahab/Egypt) (Seminar/Excursion)
OEP-C07 Biodiversity of the Tropics, with a Field Trip to Ecuador (Seminar/Excursion)
OEP-B16 Evolution, and Biodiversity of Lower Vertebrates (block course)
OEP-B19 Patterns and Processes Shaping Biodiversity (Seminar)
WBIO-E-01 Free practical courses for BSc Biology

Related collections

Herpetological Collection, Museum Koenig Bonn

Dr. Claudia Koch

Curator Herpetology
Radiation Protection Officer
Head of Animal Husbandry

Phone: +49 228 9122 234
E-Mail: c.koch@leibniz-lib.de

PD Dr. Dennis Rödder

Head of Section Herpetology

Phone: +49 228 9122 252
E-Mail: d.roedder@leibniz-lib.de

["English"] WCH10 — International networking: Members of Herpetology Bonn at the 10th World Congress of Herpetology in Borneo

["English"] Digitales Museum — We use big data and analyze evolutionary and biogeographical patterns

["English"] Polychrus peruvianus — Peruvian Bush Anole (Polychrus peruvianus)

["English"] Epictia antoniogarciai — The blind snake species Epictia antoniogarciai was discovered in 2015 in Cajamarca, Peru by researchers from the Museum Koenig

["English"] Liotyphlops beui — µCT scan of the head of a blind snake (Liotyphlops beui)

Projects

All projects

Evolution of the gecko's adhesive toes
Management: PD Dr. Dennis Rödder
Provenance research at the Museum Koenig
Management: Dr. André Koch

Publications

Complete list of publications since 2011

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2025

2025/3
Böhme, W., Koppetsch, T., Trapp, B.
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Nutzen Würfelnattern, Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), ihre Zungen zu aggressiver Anlockmimikry? Do dice snakes, Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), use their tongues for aggressive lingual luring?
SAURIA – Zeitschrift für Terraristik & Herpetologie, 1, 47
2025/3
Brito, J., Vega-Yánez, M.A., Guaya-Ramos, J.P., Polo, M., Koch, C., Tinoco, N., Pardiñas, U.F.J.
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Soft anatomy and morphological variation in Daptomys peruviensis (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a rare ichthyomyine from the northwestern Amazonian forests
PeerJ, 13
2025/3
Shen, Y., Kaiser, C.M., Nishikawa, K., Sanamxay, D., Inthavong, P., Kaiser, H.
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First record of Trimerodytes praemaxillaris (Angel, 1929) from Xaisomboun Province, Laos, with additional comments on morphology, natural history, and the type locality
Herpetology Notes, 18
2025/2
Meyers, E.K.M., Faure, N., Jiménez-Alvarado, D., Barker, J., Toledo-Padilla, H., Tuya, F., Pike, C., Mead, L.R., Sealey, M.J., Belén Caro, M., Jacoby, D.M.P., Olivares, F.R., Bañeras, T., Guerra-Marrero, A., Espino-Ruano, A., Castro, J.J., Bousquet, C., Giovos, I., Rödder, D., Manel, S., Deter, J., Feldheim, K.A.
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Distinct management units for the Critically Endangered angelshark (Squatina squatina) revealed in the Canary Islands
Conservation Genetics, 26
2025/2
Mutz, T., Böhme, W.
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Ichthyosaura as a generic nomen for the Alpine Newt (Caudata: Salamandridae): a doubtful case of literarian archeology
Salamandra, 1, 61
2025/2
Entiauspe-Neto, O.M., Giraudo, A.R., Guedes, T.B., Tiutenko, A., Borges-Martins, M., Koch, C.
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Rediscovery of a rare and endangered Apostolepis (Serpentes: Dipsadidae): reassessing species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships using integrative approaches
Salamandra, 1, 61
2025/2
Noori, S., Rödder, D., Yusefi, G.H., Hawlitschek, O., Wanke, D., Husemann, M., Rajaei, H.
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Biogeographic Patterns of Iranian Lepidoptera: A Framework for Conservation
Diversity and Distributions
2025/2
Purser, W.A., Doughty, P., Rowley, J.L., Böhme, W., Donnellan, S.C., Anstis, M., Mitchell, N., Shea, G.M., Amey, A., Mitchell, B.A., Catullo, R.A.
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Systematics of the Little Red Tree Frog, Litoria rubella (Anura: Pelodryadidae), with the description of two new species from eastern Australia and arid Western Australia
Zootaxa, 2, 5594
2025/1
da Silva Junior, M.B., Costa, R.N., Dias, I.R., Pendu, Y.L., Solé, M., Mira-Mendes, C.V.d., Orrico, V.G.D.
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Toxicity of the Herbicide Roundup Original DI® in Tadpoles of Physalaemus erikae and Physalaemus cicada (Anura: Leptodactylidae)
Toxics, 1, 13
2025/1
Dufresnes, C., Jablonski, D., Ambu, J., Prasad, V.K., Bala Gautam, K., Kamei, R.G., Mahony, S., Hofmann, S., Masroor, R., Alard, B., Crottini, A., Edmonds, D., Ohler, A., Jiang, J., Khatiwada, J.R., Gupta, S.K., Borzée, A., Borkin, L.J., Skorinov, D.V., Melnikov, D.A., Milto, K.D., Konstantinov, E.L., Künzel, S., Suchan, T., Arkhipov, D.V., Trofimets, A.V., Nguyen, T.V., Suwannapoom, C., Litvinchuk, S.N., Poyarkov, N.A.
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Speciation and historical invasions of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Nature communications, 1, 16
2025/1
Reilly, S.B., Kaiser, H., Karin, B.R., Arifin, U., Stubbs, A.L., Arida, E., Hamidy, A., Iskandar, D.T., McGuire, J.A.
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Rampant Dispersal Without Gene‐Flow: Reproductively and Geographically Isolated Lineages of the Supertramp Lizard Permeate the Lesser Sunda Archipelago
Journal of Biogeography
2025/1
Böhme, W., Koppetsch, T.
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Amphibians of Yemen
11
2025/1
De la Quintana, P., Solé, M.
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Unsuccessful predation of Ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758) causes the death of a juvenile snake, Oxyrhopus trigeminus Duméril et al., 1854, in Bahia, northeastern Brazil
Herpetology Notes, 18

2024

2024/12
Hamdan, B., Bonatto, S.L., Seixas, V.C., Santos, R.M.F., Santana, D.J., Machado, L.G., Kleiz-Ferreira, J.M., Freitas, M.A.d., Gonzalez, R.C., Cavalcante, T., Barbosa de Souza, M., Régis, C.B., Fernandes, D.S., Fernandes-Ferreira, H., Zingali, R.B., Rödder, D.
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When a name changes everything: taxonomy and conservation of the Atlantic bushmaster ( Lachesis Daudin, 1803) (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae)
Systematics and biodiversity, 1, 22
2024/12
Zaher, H., Trusz, C., Koch, C., Entiauspe-Neto, O.M., Battilana, J., Grazziotin, F.G.
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Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the dwarf boas of the family Tropidophiidae (Serpentes: Alethinophidia)
Systematics and biodiversity, 1, 22
2024/12
Baum, T.J., Barrio-Amorós, C.L., Kaiser, H.
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A reptile dysfunction: tail bifurcation in the Costa Rican Tropical Night Lizard, Lepidophyma reticulatum Taylor, 1955, a first for the family Xantusiidae
Herpetology Notes, 17
2024/12
Aitken, W.M.I., de Mira-Mendes, C.V., Carilo Filho, L.M., Castro Santos, I.M., do Nascimento, M.S., Varela Rios, C.H., Medeiros, T.T., Batista, C.S., Menezes, V.Q., Argôlo, A.J.S., Solé, M., Dias, I.R.
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From sand to rocks: divergent diets in two populations of Pleurodema diplolister (Anura Leptodactylidae) in the semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil
Ethology Ecology & Evolution
2024/12
Böhme, W.
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A second look on the identity of Chamaeleon johnstoni affinis Sternfeld, 1912 (Squamata, Chamaeleonidae)
Spixiana, 1, 47
2024/12
Borgwerth, M., Scholten, C., Lin, A., Thura, M.K., Grismer, L.L., Ziegler, T., Rödder, D.
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Gaps in the protection of the amphibians of Myanmar—threat status, endemism, protected area coverage and One Plan Approach conservation
Integrative Conservation, 4, 3
2024/12
Sokhnenko, D.V., Doronin, I.V., Böhme, W.
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Parthenogenetic Reproduction in the Ocelot Gecko, Paroedura picta (Peters, 1854) (Squamata: Gekkonidae)
Russian Journal of Herpetology, 6, 31
2024/11
Höffner, H., Nguyen, S.T., Dang, P.H., Motokawa, M., Oshida, T., Rödder, D., Nguyen, T.Q., Le, M.D., Bui, H.T., Ziegler, T.
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Conservation priorities for threatened mammals of Vietnam: Implementation of the IUCN´s One Plan Approach
Nature Conservation, 56
2024/11
Souza-Costa, C.A., Solé, M., Vinicius de Mira-Mendes, C., Argôlo, A.J.S., Ribeiro Dias, I.
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Uncovering the rich amphibian fauna of two semideciduous forest fragments in southwestern Bahia, Brazil
ZooKeys, 1217
2024/11
Kaiser, H., Holden, M., Ineich, I.
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Observation of a bifurcated tail in an adult arboreal skink, Epibator nigrofasciolatus (Peters, 1869), the first published case for the genus and for New Caledonia
Herpetology Notes, 17
2024/11
Baum, T.J., de Silva, A., Kaiser, H.
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A twinning tail: first report of a tail duplication in the Keeled Sri Lankan Mabuya, Eutropis lankae (Deraniyagala, 1953)
Herpetology Notes, 17
2024/11
Köhler, J., Koch, C., Garlacz, R., Preick, M., De la Riva, I., Vences, M.
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Getting back to name-bearing types: archival DNA and morphology clarify the identity of Hyla splendens Schmidt, 1857 and challenge the taxonomy of Bolivian populations of Gastrotheca (Anura: Hemiphractidae)
Salamandra, 4, 60
2024/11
Kunwar, B., Baral, S., Jeong, Y., Park, S., Choi, S., Oh, H.
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Predicting the Potential Distribution of a Rodent Pest, Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus), Associated with Changes in Climate and Land Cover in South Korea
Ecology and Evolution, 11, 14
2024/11
Egea-Serrano, A., Macêdo, E., Solé, M.
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Sensitivity of larval Dendropsophus haddadi (Bastos and Pombal 1996), an anuran species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, to acute exposure to nitrate
Ecotoxicology
2024/11
Böhme, W.
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Von Kiel nach Bonn und anderswohin: Auto- und Allobiographisches, mit herpetologischem Fokus
34
2024/11
Koch, A., Auliya, M., Bhattacharya, S., Zia, S.Z., Mahato, S., Gangwar, R.K., Singh, N.
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Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India
Nature Conservation, 56
2024/10
Auliya, M., Rasmussen, A.R., Sanders, K.L., Lobo, A.S.
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Challenges of regulating commercial use of marine elapid snakes in the Indo‐Pacific
Conservation Biology, 5, 38

Employees

All employees

Dr. Marc Auliya
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist
E-mail: m.auliya@leibniz-lib.de
Suraj Baral
ztm Herpetology Bonn Doctoral candidate
E-mail: s.baral@leibniz-lib.de
Ursula Bott
ztm Herpetology Bonn
Phone: +49 228 9122 249
E-mail: u.bott@leibniz-lib.de
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böhme
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist, guest
Phone: +49 228 9122 250
E-mail: w.boehme@leibniz-lib.de
Michele Chiacchio
ztm Herpetology Bonn Doctoral candidate
E-mail: m.chiacchio@leibniz-lib.de
Dipl. Biol. Morris Flecks
ztm Herpetology Bonn
Phone: +49 228 9122 254
E-mail: m.flecks@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Rafaela França
ztm Herpetology Bonn Postdoctoral researcher
Phone: +49 228 9122 253
E-mail: r.franca@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Philipp Ginal
ztm Herpetology Bonn Postdoctoral researcher
E-mail: philipp.ginal@gmx.de
Dipl. Biol. Timo Hartmann
ztm Herpetology Bonn Animal keeper
Phone: +49 228 9122 274
E-mail: t.hartmann@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Sylvia Hofmann
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 253
E-mail: s.hofmann@leibniz-lib.de
Prof. Dr. Hinrich Kaiser
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist, guest
E-mail: h.kaiser@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Claudia Koch
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 234
E-mail: c.koch@leibniz-lib.de
Paul Kornacker
ztm Herpetology Bonn Volunteer employee
E-mail: p.kornacker@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Markus Lambertz
ztm Herpetology Bonn Postdoctoral researcher
E-mail: m.lambertz@leibniz-lib.de
Eva Meyers
ztm Herpetology Bonn Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 9122 245
E-mail: e.meyers@leibniz-lib.de
Dikansh S. Parmar
ztm Herpetology Bonn Doctoral candidate
E-mail: d.parmar@leibniz-lib.de
Inna Rech
ztm Herpetology Bonn Doctoral candidate
Phone: +49 228 9122 253
E-mail: i.rech@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Jendrian Riedel
ztm Herpetology Bonn Postdoctoral researcher
E-mail: j.riedel@leibniz-lib.de
PD Dr. Dennis Rödder
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist
Phone: +49 228 9122 252
E-mail: d.roedder@leibniz-lib.de
Prof. Dr. Mirco Solé
ztm Herpetology Bonn Scientist, guest
E-mail: mksole@uesc.br