Report malformed amphibians and help investigate the causes
Have you found a frog that has extra or missing legs, missing eye or a jaw, or looks otherwise deformed, "mutated," or abnormal? Report your sighting by filling out the North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations (NARCAM) online form to help researchers investigate the causes of amphibian declines and malformations.
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Following your contribution of about 20 minutes
to complete and submit an online report on this page, your data will be reviewed and verified by a team of professional herpetologists at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab (SREL).
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After experts verify your report, all personally identifying information is removed
from the record. [For details, see
Privacy Notice
on this page].
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Your verified report will then published
in the NARCAM searchable database, where researchers can view verified malformations data by species name, state or county, or malformation type. NARCAM is also working towards providing a map interface to visualize the data.
The online reporting form consists of four parts. Each part collects information needed to verify your report [See
Report Approval Process for Quality Assurance
on this page].
1. Information about the Reporter - this information is required in the event that an SREL herpetologist needs to follow up with you regarding a question about your report or observations. Please note that all personally identifying information is
removed
from your report prior to publication [See NARCAM
Privacy Notice
for details].
2. Location of Amphibian Sighting - Please indicate where you saw the abnormality you are reporting, for example "Rock Creek Park," or "Old Mill Pond." You may choose to describe the location, e.g. "my backyard," or "culvert along 12 East." The USGS National Map Viewer (opens in new window) can help you identify the location of your sighting for this section of the report.
3. Species Observed at this Location - You must submit a photograph or provide a description to allow a scientist to verify your report.
Reports cannot be verified if the species is not identifiable from a photograph or description
. The USGS Amphibian Identification Guide (opens in new window) can help you learn or double-check the name of the species you have found.
4. Malformation Data - If you need assistance identifying types of malformations, the Field Guide to Amphibian Malformations [pdf] provides photo examples and can be opened in a new window.