| Alpine Tundra | A ground-hugging plant community including lichens, mosses, grasses, and shrubs that occurs above 11000' |
| Amphibious | Inhabiting both land and water |
| Amplexus | The sexual embrace of frogs and toads; the male clasps the female from above with his forelimbs |
| Anal scale | In snakes, the large scale covering the vent; immediately anterior to the base of the tail on the underside of the body |
| Anterior | In front of, or toward the front |
| Anuran | A frog or toad |
| Aquatic | Water-dwelling |
| Arroyo | Dry gulch |
| Arthropod | A joint-legged animal lacking a backbone, especially insects, spiders, and crustaceans |
| Branchial slit | An opening on the side of the neck of a larval amphibian |
| Boss | A glandular or bony lump between the eyes of certain toads |
| Carapace | The upper portion of the shell of a turtle |
| Carnivorous | Feeding on animals |
| CL | Carapace length |
| Cloaca | The chamber into which the intestinal, excretory, and reproductive tracts discharge; empties to the outside through the vent |
| Cloacal sacs | Glands that open into the cloaca of snakes and some lizards and secrete an odorous liquid |
| Constriction | In certain snakes called constrictors, a method of killing prey by compressing it in tight coils of the body |
| Copulation | Sexual intercourse |
| Cranial crests | Ridges that border the medial and posterior portion of the eyes in certain toads |
| Digit | Finger or toe |
| Diploid | Possessing two copies of each type of chromosome (this is the usual condition in nearly all species) |
| Diurnal | Active during daylight hours |
| Dorsal | Pertaining to, or situated on or near, the upper surface of an animal |
| Dorsolateral folds | Ridges of skin along the side of the back in certain frogs |
| Dorsum | The dorsal side, or back, of an animal |
| Ectothermic | Deriving body heat from the external environment |
| Extirpated | No longer extant in a particular area |
| Fang | A long, sharp tooth, especially a hollow one modified for the conduction of venom |
| Feces | Excrement |
| Fossorial | Adapted for digging; living underground |
| Frontoparietal bones | In spadefoot toads, the bones forming the top of the skull between the eyes |
| Frontoparietal fontanelle | In spadefoot toads, the gap between the frontoparietal bones |
| Gills | Feathery vascular structures through which certain amphibians (especially larvae) extract oxygen from the water |
| Habitat | The natural abode of an organism; the ecological situation in which it is commonly found |
| Herptile | A completely illegitimate term that has been used recently in amateur literature as a short-hand reference to reptiles {and turtles} and amphibians. It is also occasionally used in professional literature by authors who apparently lack a classical background. . . . from Peters, James A. 1964. Dictionary of Herpetology. New York: Hafner Publishing Company. |
| Hibernaculum (plural, hibernacula) | The place where an organism spends the winter or cold season |
| Hibernate | To spend the winter in a lethargic, inactive state |
| Home range | The area in which the daily activities of an individual occur |
| Hormone | A chemical released into the blood that produces an effect on the activity of cells at a different location |
| Intermittent Stream/Pond | A stream or pond that does not have water year round |
| Interparietal scale, interparietal | In lizards, the rearmost large scale on the top of the head |
| Invertebrates | Animals lacking a backbone |
| Keeled scales | Scales with a straight, longitudinal ridge |
| Kettle pond | A basin in a glacial deposit, generally a temporary body of water |
| Labial scales, labials | The lip scales |
| Labial tooth rows | Rows of tiny, horny, comblike teeth arranged in rows on the lips of anuran larvae The designation “2/3” indicates that the upper lip usually has two rows of teeth and the lower lip has three |
| Larva (plural, larvae) | A gill-bearing, water-dwelling amphibian that has not metamorphosed |
| Ligament | A tough band of tissue connecting different bones |
| Marsh | Wetland found adjacent to slow moving streams or lakes/ponds |
| Medial | Toward or in the middle |
| Metamorphosis | The change from the gill-bearing larval stage to the gill-less, more terrestrial stage characteristic of most amphibians |
| Metapopulation | A group of populations that significantly interact with one another over a long period of time For example, one population (subpopulation) may serve as an important source of individuals for recolonization of a habitat patch in which another population of the same species has been extirpated |
| Monotypic | Represented by only one member (e.g. , a family or genus with a single species is monotypic, as is a species with no subspecies) |
| Montane forest | Forests of Ponderosa pine, other conifers, and Aspen on mountain slopes between 7500' and 9000' |
| Mountain meadow-parkland | Small to large ("parks") areas of shortgrass, forbs, and wildflowers occurring within high elevation forests |
| Mountain shrubland | Shrub area on semi-arid slopes between 7000' and 8500' |
| Musk | A smelly substance secreted by glands at the sides of the shell of certain turtles |
| Neonate | A newly born or hatched individual |
| Nocturnal | Pertaining to, or active at, night |
| Omnivorous | Eating both plants and animals |
| Oral papillae | Clusters of soft, nipplelike, sensory projections surrounding the mouth of certain anuran larvae |
| Paravertebral | Adjacent to the vertebral (mid-dorsal) line |
| Parietal scales, parietals | In snakes, a pair of enlarged scales on top of the head, just behind the eyes |
| Parotoid gland | Aggregation of poison glands forming a lump on each side of the neck of certain toads |
| Parturition | The act of giving birth |
| PL | Plastron length |
| Plastron | The underside of the shell of a turtle |
| Prefrontal scales, prefrontals | In snakes, 2–4 enlarged scales on top of the head, just in front of the eyes |
| Preocular scale, preocular | Scale bordering the front edge of the eye |
| Riparian | Habitats surrounding streams or rivers that are moister than nearby uplands |
| Sandhill | Grassland prairie on wind deposited sand dunes |
| Semi-desert shrubland | Lower elevation shrublands found where annual precipitation is less than 20" |
| Shortgrass plains | Plains consisting of a diverse population of grasses and fauna |
| Shortgrass semi-desert | Bunches of shortgrass interspersed with large areas of exposed soil |
| Special Concern | "the state . . . government maintains a list of species that may be at risk of becoming threatened or endangered. (Wildlife in Danger, Colorado Division of Wildlife publication) |
| Species | "a single lineage of ancestral descendant populations of organisms which maintains its identity from other such lineages and which has its own evolutionary tendencies and historical fate" (Wiley, 1978, page 18). |
| State Endangered | "Any species or subspecies of native wildlife whose prospects for survival or recruitment within this state are in jeopardy as determined by the commission" (Colorado Revised Statute 33-1-102(12)) |
| Subalpine forest | Spruce-fir forests between 10000' and 11500' adapted to high winds and cold temperatures |
| Subspecies | A formally named subdivision of a species |
| Supraocular scales, supraoculars | Scales on top of the head, just above the eyes |
| SVL (snout-vent length) | The distance from the tip of the snout to the posterior end of the vent |
| Syntopic | Occurring together in the same habitat in the same site |
| Taxon (plural, taxa) | A biological entity that has been given a scientific name |
| Territory | Portion of the home range that is defended against other individuals of the same species |
| TL (total length) | The distance from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail in a fully extended individual |
| Triploid | Possessing three copies of each type of chromosome |
| Type specimen | Specimen upon which the name of a species or subspecies is based |
| Upper labial scales, upper labials | Scales on the upper lips, not including the scale at the tip of the snout |
| Vent | The external opening of the cloaca |
| Vertebrate | Animal with a flexible column of cartilage or bones along the back, including fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals |
| Wart | Glandular bump in the skin of toads |
| Wet meadow | Waterlogged grassland without standing water year round |
Revised: January 15, 2004