I want to open this introduction by acknowledging the work of all committee members listed throughout this edition. They have worked diligently and collaboratively to produce this edition, and I am proud and humbled to have been able to work with them all. I am especially grateful to them because without them this resource that so many workers in herpetology use would not have continued.
This ninth edition has been produced with several new developments in addition to completely updating the names herein:

Greater diversity in committee membership:
Past efforts were made to increase non-white male participation in this work, and even greater efforts were undertaken with this committee, perhaps aided by cultural changes rippling through the world and our professional societies. However, the search for volunteers was difficult, as this work is not trivial and often requires considerable diplomacy, patience, fortitude, and endurance. We warmly welcome anyone to collaborate on this important work, and current and past members can attest to the collaborative and equitable nature of our work. SSAR takes a strong stance on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and this committee strives to embody those principles in our work.

Term limits
In an effort to increase transparency across our activities, ensure diverse perspectives are included, and reduce the workload for our members, we have implemented staggered term limits for our members. New members on each taxonomic subcommittee will cycle on with each edition of the list replacing previous members as they cycle off. There will be new chairs of each taxonomic subcommittee as well as a new lead Committee Chair.

Scientific and Standard English name selection guidelines
While guidelines for the selection of Standard English Names were published several issues previously, we developed a second set of guidelines for developing the Standard English names when controversial. Both guidelines will appear in the PDF and online database versions.

New online database hosted by CNAH
A new and vastly improved online database hosted by the Sternberg Museum of Natural History and the Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH) has launched with the publication of this edition of the list. You can find it at CNAH.ORG

Dynamic revisions for database and PDF
Both PDF and database will be updated more frequently. In past, new editions usually published roughly every 5 years. We hope to update more frequently, but will have to beta test our operations before determining a set periodicity.

Expansion on contents of Introduced Species to include more information on the native range, origin of and locations of introductions, notes on established populations with relevant references.

This edition, as with all previous versions, seeks to standardize names to facilitate communication among all working with North American reptiles and amphibians. Committee members work together to recommend the scientific names that correspond to each Standard English Name (“common name”) and that work is relatively seamless when herpetologists are in agreement. Where controversies exist in names, the committee works to summarize the disagreements and it is up to the community to resolve these issues, not this committee. Our work is merely summarizing the status and standardizing the common names. It is important to note that this list is not a ruling body on scientific names; it is up to each author to decide what name to use, and they must perform due diligence in researching the name they feel is most appropriate to use as they have to defend it.

We also very gratefully thank several outside reviewers would provided feedback and edits to all sections of this edition.

Kirsten E. Nicholson, Chair
Standard Names for North American Amphibians and Reptiles Committee
September 2024