Records of amphibians (Amphibia) and reptiles (Reptilia) in Ukraine according to the results of monitoring of Facebook public groups in 2019-2022

Study Extent

The dataset consists of records of amphibians and reptiles gathered from three public groups on Facebook social network, that are related to the registration of fauna of Ukraine by local residents (citizen science). In these groups people are free to post photo, video and audio materials with subsequent identification by relevan experts. Each post has at least minimal metadata (locality (sometimes even the coordinates), date of observation, biotope etc.) that help the experts to identify the species correctly. In terms of study of herpetofauna, such groups and information provided by citizen science is extremely valuable for conducting of different sorts of research. The data was collected, organized and in most cases identified by the author of the dataset. This dataset was prepared (correctly organized according to Darwin Core standards) and published with the help of the project "Preservation of data on biodiversity of Ukraine during the Russian occupation" funded by "Documenting Ukraine" initiative. The initiative is financed by the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (https://www.iwm.at/).

Sampling

The material was collected in 2019–2022 in the process of monitoring posts published on the Facebook social network (mainly the groups "Жаби, Ящірки та Змії" ("Frogs, Lizards and Snakes") (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1449554118682265), "Тваринний світ України" ("Animal World of Ukraine") (https ://www.facebook.com/groups/tvarynnyy.svit.ukrayiny) and "Українське герпетологічне товариство" ("Ukrainian Herpetological Society") (https://www.facebook.com/groups/464579473942349), some others). Identification of species was carried out by analyzing public audio, photo and video materials. Only those materials were taken into account, that contained clearly defined diagnostic features that allowed for the exact identification of the species. Information on the date and place of detection of animals, as well as additional data, was obtained directly from the post or during an additional interview with the author of the post. The coordinates were obtained from the authors of the observations (they were determined using the Google Maps service or at the place of registration using mobile apps). Otherwise, the coordinates were determined using the Google Earth program.

Quality Control

The author is fully responsible for the quality of data provided within the dataset.

Method steps

1. Monitoring of three mentioned groups in Facebook.
2. Identification of the species according to the available material.
3. Personal interview with the author of the post in order to collect additional data, if necessary.
4. Georeferencing.
5. Organizing of the dataset according to Darwin Core standards.

The dataset consists of representatives of amphibians (Amphibia class) and reptiles (Reptilia class) of Ukrainian herpetofauna.

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Chordata
   rank: phylum
3. Amphibia
   rank: class
4. Reptilia
   rank: class
5. Squamata
   rank: order
6. Testudines
   rank: order
7. Anura
   rank: order
8. Caudata
   rank: order
9. Lacertidae
   rank: family
10. Viperidae
    rank: family
11. Colubridae
    rank: family
12. Anguidae
    rank: family
13. Ranidae
    rank: family
14. Bufonidae
    rank: family
15. Salamandridae
    rank: family
16. Hylidae
    rank: family
17. Bombinatoridae
    rank: family
18. Emydidae
    rank: family
19. Pelobatidae
    rank: family

The records presented within the dataset cover territory of Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Khmel'nyts'kyi, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Zhytomyr administrative regions of Ukraine.