Hello, my name is Owen Morris Scott, and I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Biology. I am from Norman, Oklahoma...
Hi, I am Yamillet Escamilla. I am an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma majoring in biology. I am from Durango, Mexico but came to the...
I am a chemical bioscience major from Springfield, Missouri. My freshman biology lab instructor talked about her experience within the herpetology department, and I wanted to get...
Hi, I’m Haven Powell! I’m an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies. I’ve always had a love...
Braydon Groff joined Siler Lab as a volunteer in the Spring of 2023 after finding about volunteer opportunities in an OU Herpetology class. He is a senior...
My name is Jack Chlebanowski, I am an undergraduate sophomore majoring in Paleontology. My goal is to graduate and go to graduate school to study vertebrate paleontology...
Trinity is a biology major from Frisco, TX. She is a undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma. Some of her interests and hobbies include animals, with...
My name is Sydney Phan. I am an undergraduate senior at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Biology. My goal after school is to attend graduate school...
Hi I’m Xavissa (Xavi) Molina from Belize! I enjoy mostly anything related to biology. By a very interesting stroke of luck, I worked with crocodiles in Placencia,...
Emma Franklin is an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Biology with a minor in German. She was admitted to OU with the hope...
Cait is a senior biology student at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. She has had a passion for animals and wildlife as early as she can...
Cameron Forehand joined the Siler Lab in the fall of 2022 as a Masters student. Her passion for herpetology and conservation biology led her to join the...
Forrest joined the Siler Lab in the summer of 2022 as a MS student. After graduating with a BS in zoology from Colorado State University in 2016,...
Julianne is an undergraduate freshman studying Biology at the University of Oklahoma. Despite only having ever lived in Edmond, Oklahoma, some of her favorite childhood memories are...
Claudia Goss is an undergraduate junior at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology. She was admitted to the University with plans to...
Carmen joined the Siler lab in the Fall of 2021 as a volunteer after having taken Field Herpetology during the spring intersession. She is majoring in Biology...
My name is Isiah Caldwell, and I am from Oklahoma City. I have had an interest in herpetology since I was a kid, and I would spend...
Hello, my name is Jordon Henderson. I am a MES student at OU that majors in Hydrology and Water Security with a focus on water management. For...
Katherine is a research and field technician who graduated from OU with a dual B.S./B.A. in biology and Spanish, both with Honors. She grew up in Piedmont,...
Gracie is an undergraduate student in the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma earning her dual B.S./B.A. degree in biology and criminology. She joined the Siler Lab...
My name is Emma Clary. I am an undergraduate junior at the University of Oklahoma, and I am double-majoring in Biology and Psychology and minoring in Chemistry....
Alexandria (Alex) Fulton joined the Siler Lab in the summer of 2021 as a MS student. She is interested in the conservation of reptiles and amphibians and...
Madelyn Kirsch is a masters student that joined the Siler Lab in Summer 2021. She grew up in Central Montana fascinated by animals and the outdoors, which...
After a handful of weather-related delays, the Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) that have been raised at the Oklahoma City Zoo “Lizard Lab” for the last 1–2...
Cameron Siler was recently featured in a US Fish and Wildlife News article entitled “The Sound of Silence” about the rampant illegal trafficking of Philippine monitor lizards...
The Sam Noble Museum is now back open as normal! But we know many families are still spending most of their time at home and/or their children...
My name is Bryce Messer and I have come a long way from my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to attend OU in order to double major in...
Will Hanson-Regan is an undergraduate sophomore at the University of Oklahoma studying Biology and International Studies. He currently plans on pursuing a career in biological research and/or...
Graduate student Elyse Ellsworth is spending the Spring 2019 semester studying the ecology of the critically endangered Central American River Turtle, or Hicatee (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize....
Miranda joined the Siler lab as a master’s student in the fall of 2018. Inspired by a life-long interest in conservation and wildlife, she completed her undergraduate...
Jed Casauay is a sophomore undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma. He is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is a Biology/Pre-Med major with a minor in Spanish....
Elyse joined the Siler Lab in Spring 2015 as an undergraduate researcher. Since her graduation form OU in Spring 2016, she has continued working with the Siler...
In this post, we continue our 2018 series featuring Siler Lab undergraduates. We here at the Siler Lab are proud of all our undergrads, especially those that...
We here at the Siler Lab are proud of all our undergrads, especially those that have graduated and moved on with the skills they have learned while...
The Sam Noble Museum Herpetology Department was recently funded by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Oklahoma City Zoo Conservation Action Now (CAN) to conduct Oklahoma statewide surveys to test...
Stephanie is a Junior Biology major at OU from Rowlett, TX. She plans to attend vet school and become an exotic veterinarian. Stephanie loves to paint in...
Kenzie is a freshman undergraduate studying at the University of Oklahoma. A double-major in Biology and English, she is from Des Moines, Iowa. Currently, she hopes to...
Kasey is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Biology at the University of Oklahoma. He grew up in El Reno, Oklahoma where he attended high school as...
The Herpetology Department of the Sam Noble Museum was funded through grants from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Oklahoma City Zoo Conservation Action Now (CAN) to determine the...
Lara Keddissi is a junior at the University of Oklahoma. She is studying biology (pre-medicine) and completing a minor in Spanish. She is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma....
Ethan Kelley is a Senior undergraduate biology and biochemistry major at the University of Oklahoma. He works as an undergraduate research assistant at the OU Biological Survey...
Sam Eliades is a PhD student who joined the Siler Lab in Summer 2017. He is primarily interested in reptile and amphibian phylogenetics, biogeography, and conservation. Growing...
Last month, Jessa had the honor of attending the annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) in Denver, CO on June 19–23,...
We here at the Siler Lab are proud of all our undergrads, especially those that have graduated and moved on with the skills they have learned while...
Graduate student Elyse Freitas continues doing well during her Fulbright in Thailand, based at the Kasetsart University, working alongside Dr. Anchalee Aowphol and her students. She has been...
Isaac is a Biology major from Edmond, Oklahoma entering his Sophomore year. As a young kid, he was always outdoors, exploring, camping, and fishing. This exposure to nature...
Cameron Siler, Katrina Menard, and the OU field crew (Austin Carriere, Elyse Ellsworth, Sierra Smith & Sam Eliades) arrived safely in Manilla on May 22 and had a...
Digital Life Project Uses 3D Technology to Document Endangered Frogs for Future Generations UMass Amherst, Zoo Atlanta, Amphibian Foundation and University of Oklahoma highlight the world’s amphibians in...
This Spring, the Siler Lab has been busy participating in local conferences. In February, Jessa Watters attended the Oklahoma Natural Resources Conference in Tulsa, OK, where she...
Our graduate student Kai Wang recently received two NSF Fellowships, including the East Asian and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) and the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)! EAPSI...
Jenna is a senior undergraduate Biology major at the University of Oklahoma. She is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Expected to graduate in December 2017, she hopes to attend dental school to...
Vivian is an undergraduate junior at the University of Oklahoma from Forest Park, Oklahoma. She is a Biology major with a French minor. She plans on obtaining...
Josh is a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. He is passionate about wildlife management and conservation biology, as well...
After training with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in San Diego for the next month, I will depart on a six-month research expedition in Fiji that...
Sarah is a freshman undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma. She is majoring in biology and is particularly interested in genetics. Other past-times include playing the cello...
Tanner Ortery is a Freshman Biology student at the University of Oklahoma. Tanner was born and raised in Claremore, OK. Tanner has loved nature his entire life...
Sierra is a Biology major from Owasso, Oklahoma. She is a sophomore, undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma. Sierra’s passion for animals and conservation started at...
Austin is a Biology major from New Orleans, Louisiana and plans to pursue a career in field work after graduate school. He is a freshman, undergraduate student...
The Siler Lab and the Miller Lab (run by Matt Miller, new SNOMNH Curator of Ornithology) have teamed up to deep clean, bleach, and rearrange furniture to...
Cameron Siler and art professor Dr. Peter Froslie have teamed up to create a fantastic new course entitled “Brunei – At the Intersection of Science and Art:...
Last weekend, Siler Lab members joined in with 350+ other participants from around the state to sample biodiversity along Lake Texoma at the OU Biological Station for Oklahoma BioBlitz!...
The Sam Noble Museum had another fantastic Science in Action event last weekend, with booths run from all over the museum, campus and Oklahoma (highlights included the Oklahoma...
In Spring 2016 nearly 40 teachers (and their students) and homeschool families participated in our Amphibian Infectious Disease Citizen Science project! We hope to reach even more...
Joey Brown has recently joined the Siler Lab as a Masters student at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and University of Oklahoma. After growing...
Siler Lab graduate student Kai Wang has just recently return from fieldwork in China and Tibet, plus presenting at the 8th World Congress of Herpetology in Hangzhou, China....
This is the third in a series featuring the 2016 OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences they...
Graduate student Kai Wang has completed the Tibetan portion of his field work and has now crossed the Tibet-Yunnan Province border. He collected many Japalura (the focal genus for...
June marks the end of our normal Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) funded field season. We had a great year with close to 800 amphibians and reptiles...
This is the second in a series featuring the 2016 OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences they...
This is the first in a series featuring the 2016 OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences...
Herpetology Collection Manager Jessa Watters joined an expedition led by Earlham College’s Dr. John Iverson to the uninhabited Allen’s Cays and Bushhill Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas from...
We have just gotten an update from Kai Wang, who has been at the China-Myanmar border in southwestern Yunnan Province from May 28-31. He and his colleagues...
As field work continues in Oklahoma through early June, under the leadership of field assistant Aaron Geheber, and undergrads Elyse Ellsworth, Brendan Heitz,and Claire Winfrey, the remainder...
The 2016 Oklahoma field season is well underway, with two sampling trips completed so far! We are continuing the work of documenting Oklahoma biodiversity and amphibian infectious...
Siler Lab students once again participated in the Honors College’s annual Undergraduate Research Day on April 2, 2016. Three total projects were presented (see titles below), covering...
The Philippine field crew is doing well at their second site on the Bicol Peninsula. They have had no problem finding the Brachymeles that are so integral...
Cameron and Nick of the Siler Lab are joined in the Philippines by Sam Noble Museum Invertebrates Curator, Dr. Katrina Menard, University of South Dakota Herpetology PhD...
This past weekend, 15 other OU McNair scholars and I traveled to the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas to present our research from the past year....
Laney Rennert is an undergraduate freshman at the University of Oklahoma and is from Austin, Texas. She was first interested in biology due to a childhood love of...
One of the trickiest aspects of being a graduate student is obtaining funding to conduct new research. Just like an entrepreneur, acquiring funding through fellowships and grants...
Emily Vittitow was born and raised a Sooner in Norman, Oklahoma. Her interest in nature and natural history began with neanderthals and mammoths in the first grade...
Liza Marhanka is from Dallas, Texas and is a junior undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma. She is majoring in Biology with a focus on animal studies...
The Siler Lab participated in the annual Oklahoma Biological Survey‘s BioBlitz! This year the event was held in Osage Hills State Park, near Bartlesville in northeast Oklahoma....
Science in Action and Object ID Day is an annual event sponsored by the Sam Noble Museum. One Sunday a year, the museum is FREE to the...
Shelby is a junior at the University of Oklahoma with a major in Biology, a focus on Pre-Med, and a minor in French. She is from Oklahoma...
The Siler Lab is proud to announce the following award winners at the SSAR 2015 conference! Nick Huron: Seibert Award, Ecology for best student talk in that category...
This is the fifth in a series featuring the recent OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences...
This is the fourth in a series featuring the recent OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences...
This is the third in a series featuring the recent OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences...
The Siler Lab was well-represented at the SSAR 2015 meeting in Lawrence, KS with 2 staff members, 4 graduate students, and 3 undergraduate students attending (see our...
This is the second in a series featuring the recent OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the experiences...
This is the first in a series featuring the recent OU graduates who are members of the Siler Lab. In their own words, they will highlight the...
The Siler Lab is attending the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) annual meeting in Lawrence, KS on July 30-Aug. 2, 2015. See below...
As a herp-enthusiast, Kai started catching and keeping reptiles and amphibians in southwestern China at a very young age. Ever since he read the book, Fauna Sinica...
Kai Wang, recent graduate of Washington State University, will be joining the Siler Lab in July 2015 as a Master’s Student. Prior to his arrival here in Oklahoma,...
Daniel recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma in the Spring of 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in the field of Biology, as well as a...
We have been extremely busy in SE Oklahoma this Spring! So busy that we have fallen behind on updating our field blogs 🙂 Below are some highlights...
Elyse Freitas and I are halfway through a three week visit to Southeast Asia. We spent a week in Thailand working with collaborators and visiting a wonderful...
During our 5 week expedition across Gabon our team increased Gabon’s national amphibian collection by 67%. We contributed specimens from three previously unrepresented provinces in Gabon. In...
Marie is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma. She is majoring in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology....
Siler Lab members (Jessa Watters, Nick Huron and Rachel Flanagan) were joined in the field in April 2015 by local journalist Dan Bewley, creator of the blog...
Brendan is a senior undergraduate student from Austin, Texas, majoring in biology with a minor in sports management at the University of Oklahoma. While Brendan ultimately has...
Our expeditions to Gabon to study to the river biogeography of the Ogooué was very productive. In 5 weeks, we sampled over 1000 amphibians and reptiles from...
The Siler Lab was in the field again last weekend and we saw/heard a fantastic frog chorus at a pond on the James Collins WMA in Latimer...
Two of the Siler Lab members who received internal research grants presented their findings at OU’s annual Undergraduate Research Day on April 18, 2015. Tucker Walton gave an...
Enjoy a great presentation of the OU Herpetology Course camping adventures to southeast Oklahoma. Link to Video Presentation Produced by our own Kathryn Shauberger enrolled in the...
What an amazing adventure with a great group of students at OU. We visited the Red and Grassy Sloughs in southeast Oklahoma, enjoyed some AMAZINGLY cold weather,...
The website for the Sam Noble Museum of Oklahoma Natural History has had a make-over! Every collection now has online access to databases, history, archives, loan policies,...
The final curator in our series, Dr. Charles C. Carpenter, Professor and Curator Emeritus Dr. Charles C. Carpenter, “Chuck” to his friends and “Doc” to his 50...
This past weekend, several members from the Herpetology Department went to SE Oklahoma. This was the first time a few of us had ever gone “herping.” On...
This week, we hear from Dr. Janalee P. Caldwell, Professor and Curator Emeritus I was Curator of Amphibians at the Sam Noble Museum and professor in the Biology Department at OU...
This week, we hear from George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Curator Emeritus, Dr. Laurie J. Vitt: I was Curator of Reptiles at the Sam Noble Museum and Professor in...
Last Friday, February 13, the Oklahoma weather was nice enough to allow us to take a scouting trip up to the Oklahoma City Zoo to check out the...
The Siler Lab and the Herpetology Department of the Sam Noble Museum are once again sponsoring a school outreach program entitled Fantastic Frogs to educate Oklahoma students and...
On my first blog, I mentioned how I appreciated support and fun from my colleagues to me, here at Sam Noble Museum, and how this Fulbright experience...
Oklahoma is home to some of the weirdest weather in the US! During the last week of January 2015, we broke state records for the warmest day...
In association with the recent Siler Lab grants from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma City Zoo, an undergraduate researcher (Rachel Flanagan) has begun...
Michelle is a freshman from Norman, Oklahoma, currently majoring in biology at the University of Oklahoma. She has always had an interest in Biology and life sciences,...
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) With the generous support of the Office of the Vice President of Research, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program offers financial assistance for...
I am currently a Senior studying Biology at the University of Oklahoma. I discovered my passion for chemistry and biology in high school and I knew I...
Being here for four months now at the Siler Lab is not all fun: I am learning many exciting and new things at work. I managed to make...
Marie Labonte is a freshman undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma. She is from Mont Belvieu, Texas. Marie is majoring in biology and plans to pursue...
On December 18th and 19th, Siler Lab grad student Greg Jongsma, and his wife, Andi Emerich, visited the New Brunswick Museum in Canada and swabbed 475 amphibians...
It has been an exciting week in the Siler Lab, especially with today’s announcement that we have received a Conservation Action Now (CAN) grant from the Oklahoma...
Lasting thoughts Overall, my summer expedition to the eastern Philippines reinforced my strong believe that it is imperative for the research and conservation communities to emphasize the...
The Siler Lab is excited to announce a recent grant funded through the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) entitled “Tracking the emergence of infectious disease among...
The prestigious Fulbright program sponsors a series of Enrichment Seminars to Fulbright scholars in the United States, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational...
Welcome to the new website for the lab group of Dr. Cameron D. Siler, Assistant Curator of Herpetology at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History...
They all come out at night… In a tropical region, the lush jungle, hot and humid climate, and high volume of rain usually make for the most...
Upon researching what “Boomer Sooner” actually means, my mind wondered how boomers and sooners have actually made their way settling in and after, during the “Land Run...
Let’s talk insects So I found myself in an incredible forest at the foot of Mt. Huraw in northern Samar Island (eastern Philippines). The price of beauty...
This is one of the eastern Philippine island populations of crested lizards in the genus Gonocephalus. Members of the genus in the Philippines are forest obligate species,...
A former undergraduate professor said those words to my classmates and I while we talked about being a student, and our “anxieties” after graduation. He said to...
Biodiversity Survey in the Philippines This summer, I was fortunate enough to join a team of international biologists and participate in a four-week biodiversity study on the...
Check out the latest edition of Tracks, the Sam Noble Museum Newsletter. This addition of Tracks features articles on endangered species and includes information on the museum’s...
A beautiful new species of Pseudogekko (sp. nov.) from the Philippines. Look for the species description later this year in Herpetological Monographs!...
Collin has been fascinated by reptiles and amphibians since childhood. He believes this fascination stems from a combination of watching a few too many episodes of The...
Alyssa Anwar is currently a senior undergraduate anthropology student at the University of Oklahoma. Alyssa was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has spent a great...
This is one of my favorite photographs of Gekko gigantes, a species of Philippine gecko known only from the tiny islands of North and South Gigantes. I...
This past Friday, October 24th, Cameron, Jessa, Elyse, Nick, Alyssa and I took a short trip to Oliver’s Woods to look for herps. The nature area is...
I know, not another pit viper. These continue to be some of my favorite reptiles to photograph in the wild. This species of viper in the Philippines...
This photograph was taken by Cameron D. Siler on a recent expedition to the eastern Philippines. The Philippine species of these beautiful vipers are actually quite easy...
Five members of the Siler Lab (Elyse Freitas, Greg Jongsma, Alyssa Anwar, Tucker Walton, and Rachel Flanagan) attended Oklahoma’s BioBlitz! 2014 at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site,...
This common tree snake was photographed by Cameron D. Siler on a recent expedition to the eastern Philippines. It took quite a few shots to get the...
Tamaki Yuri is the Collection Manager of Ornithology and Lab Manager of Genetic Resources Core Facility at the Sam Noble Museum. Tamaki’s keen interest in birds began...
This colorful vine snake was photographed by Cameron D. Siler on a recent trip to the eastern Philippines....
Tess’s interest in herpetology was sparked when she was previously awarded with a fellowship from the Philippine Commission on Higher Education to the University of Kansas to...
Such a beautiful species, Hylarana luzonensis occurs in the northern Philippines. Due to continued loss of its primary habitats around pristine river and stream systems, this species appears to...
Last Sunday, Sept. 28, the Siler lab participated in the Sam Noble Museum’s annual Science in Action and Object ID Day event. Over 700 members of the...
Matt De Ruyter is an undergraduate senior studying Biology and Spanish at the University of Oklahoma. He is from Prairie Village, Kansas, where he has lived for...
Jessa has been the Collection Manager for Herpetology at the Sam Noble Museum since Summer of 2009. Prior to this, she dabbled in both high school and...
Rachel Flanagan is currently a senior undergraduate zoology student at the University of Oklahoma. Rachel has lived in Oklahoma her whole life, originally from Norman, Oklahoma where...
As an M.S. student at the University of Oklahoma, Nicholas Huron is targeting unique and largely understudied amphibians and reptiles of Southeast Asia in his research. Nick...
Tucker Walton is a senior from Tulsa, Oklahoma studying biology at the University of Oklahoma. After taking field herpetology at the OU Biological station in the summer...
Elyse Freitas is a first year PhD student in the Siler Lab at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma in...
Conner Davey joined our lab two years ago as a collection volunteer and then became an undergraduate honors research assistant last year. He is currently is a senior at...