Observations (reduced to detected/not detected) of 45 vertebrate species (seven mammals, seven amphibians, and 31 reptiles) across Southern California pitfall sampling projects conducted between 1995 through 2015. Habitat patch locations of every pitfall sampling project presented in a shapefile. Habitat patches were measured based on the size when pitfall sampling began within each. Sampling projects within the same geographic area may have different sized patches based on date of project sampling and if patch erosion occurred. A matrix of whether each species was expected within each habitat patch's species pool based on range maps and published records is also included. These data support the following publication: Amburgey, S.M., Miller, D.A.W., Rochester, C.J., Delaney, K.S., Riley, S.P.D., Brehme, C.S., Hathaway, S.A. and Fisher, R.N., 2020. The influence of species life history and distribution characteristics on species responses to habitat fragmentation in an urban landscape. Journal of Animal Ecology.