A NEW atlas has been produced to shed more light on the county’s amphibian and reptile populations.

Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre (WSBRC) and Wiltshire Amphibian and Reptile Group has published the first edition of The Herpetofauna of Wiltshire.

It is the first document in the county to outline the distribution of the county’s reptile and amphibian populations.

The Herpetofauna of Wiltshire has been produced to promote the importance of Wiltshire’s populations of amphibians and reptiles and the landscapes that support them.

Gareth Harris, of WSBRC, said: “Wiltshire offers diverse habitats for each of the common and widespread species in the UK. Ranging from the ponds of the clay vales for great crested newt, the wetlands of the Cotswold Water Park for toad and grass snake, the ephemeral ponds of the Salisbury Plain chalk plateau for common toad and great crested newt, and the chalk hilltops for common lizard.”

Wiltshire supports the four species of native common and widespread reptiles found in the UK; slow worm, common lizard, grass snake and adder, as well as all five species of native amphibian; common frog, common toad, smooth newt, palmate newt and great crested newt.

At least three non-native species have been recorded including American bullfrog, Alpine newt and red-eared terrapin.

It is hoped this document will encourage further recording and that greater effort will result in the discovery of new breeding sites and new species in the county.

More than 10,000 records from 1996 to 2017 have been included in the atlas.

Gemma Harding, of Wiltshire Amphibian and Reptile Group, said: “The atlas represents the first document in the county to promote our amphibians and reptiles and the importance of the habitats that they need.”

Download it free from wsbrc.org.uk/herpetofaunaofwiltshire/