Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) is an international herpetological society. It is a non-profit organization supporting education, conservation, and research related to reptiles and amphibians. Regular publications include the "Journal of Herpetology" and "Herpetological Review". It is the largest international herpetological society, and is recognized worldwide for having the most diverse program of publications, meetings, and other activities. The SSAR Conservation Committee brings conservation issues that affect reptiles and amphibians to the attention of state and federal government agencies, non-government organizations, and herpetologists worldwide. The committee serves
Evolution of reptiles recent times. Because of alien species out-competing them for food and the inability to escape from humans, there are many endangered species in this order. Sphenodontians arose in the mid Triassic and now consists of a single genus, tuatara, which comprises two endangered species that live on New Zealand and some of its minor surrounding islands. Their evolutionary history is filled with many species. Recent paleogenetic discoveries show that tuataras are prone to quick speciation. The most recent order of reptiles, squamates, are recognized by having a movable quadrate bone (giving them upper-jaw movement), possessing horny scales and hemipenes. They