The amphibian collection at the Mayborn Museum Complex contains over 22,600 specimens, 97% of which are preserved in alcohol. The remainder of the specimens is preserved as freeze-dried museum mounts, skeletal material, and thin sections on microscope slides.
As Curator of the Baylor University Museum, John K. Strecker collected over 1200 amphibians, starting in 1903 and continuing until his death in 1933. Approximately 70% of those specimens were collected in Texas. On many of his collecting jaunts, Strecker was accompanied by Dr. Walter J. Williams, chair of the Baylor University Math Department, and Dr. Wilby T. Gooch, chair of the Baylor University Chemistry Department.
A small but important collection of amphibians was obtained by the 1938 Chisos Mountains Expedition, which followed in the footsteps of John K. Strecker’s 1905 survey of the area. Museum Director Leo T. Murray, along with two student assistants, Rudolph E. Hikel and Thomas R. Turner, spent 30 days securing a collection that included the Canyon Treefrog (Hyla arenicolor) and the Red-spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus), while observing many other fauna.