Our Herp Photo of the Day shows and amazing look inside the egg of a Russian Tortoise to be, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tortusjack!
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How lovely is this great field shot of this Black Salamander found in a redwood forest in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sc_shark!? Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Rolling out a true giant to celebrate World Snake Day! The Reticulated Python, as you can see in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user DEATH, is truly a gentle giant! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Sometimes you need to look outside the box! This stunning Sunbeam Snake may not be the most colorful on first glance, but as you can see in our Herp Photo of the Day, they are a truly beautiful snake, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mecdwell! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What it all boiled down to was the fact that I needed a photo of a Tucson shovel-nosed snake, Chionactis occipitalis klauberi. But boiled down even further was the fact that aftter failing on several lengthy trips to find one it was time to seek expert help. So I dialed up Arizona herp Guru, Randy Babb. And Lady Luck was with me, Randy agreed to take me afield in search of my elusive and increasingly enigmatic goal.
For reasons not yet fully determined this, the Tucson shovel-nosed snake, the southeasternmost subspecies of the genus, had become difficult to find over the years. Since comparatively few people have much interest in the small burrowing snakes, few people seemed aware of the population reductions. And of those that were aware, no one could venture a reason, But where you could once find two or three examples on a good night, you were now lucky to be able to see one a year and often saw none. Randy hadn’t returned to his study site, hundreds of acres in a wildlife management area and the paved road that bisected this expanse, in several years, but the weather seemed perfect so we began our search. Randy. Andy Holycross and Charlie Painter came by Randy’s to visit and photograph herps, and got recruited into the search. Since Andy happened to be looking at the genetics of the genus, recruitment wasn’t too difficult.
We elected to only roadhunt, and drove for hours on each of three nights. For our efforts the combined number of shovel-noses found was 2 thoroughly crushed DORs and 1 that had seemingly been hit but that was still alive and was very photographable. It wasn’t what I had hoped for, but it at least filled a photograph gap. Interestingly, we saw no variable sand snakes, Chilomeniscus stramineus (those north of the border are not too variable, being off-white below, pinkish-orange above, and having a regular series of prominent black dorsal saddles), while roadhunting Randy’s site. Randy was a little perplexed by this lack, for sand snakes, once as common as the shovel-noses, now seemed equally uncommon. Whether it is just our sampling technique (we might have been a month to late for the peak movement of these snakes) or whether there is an actual downturn in the populations of these two snakes remains to be seen.
Continue reading “Where Have All the Sand Dwellers Gone.” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! All venomous snakes need our support, and this stunning Olmec Pit Viper (Atropoides olmec) in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user PeteSnakeCharmer is no exception! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
We celebrate #RattlesnakeFriday to celebrate the wonderful venomous species that contribute to making our world greater and also use it as a way to support conservation efforts to protect these species worldwide!
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An Oklahoma couple were arrested while in possession of a stolen vehicle, weapons, whiskey and a rattlesnake, oh yeah and a container of radioactive uranium?! Trust me, we checked, this isn’t The Onion! It is real life.
From Oklahoma’s New 4:
The traffic stop was made at 11 a.m. in a Guthrie neighborhood because the tag was expired. Jennings was in the driver’s seat, Rivera in the passenger seat, and in the backseat, a pet Timber rattlesnake in a terrarium.
At about the same time Jennings told officers he had a gun in console, police learned the Ford they were driving was reported stolen.
“So now he’s got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm, and somebody under arrest,” said Guthrie Police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs.
Oddly enough, the rattlesnake was legal as Jennings had a valid fishing license at the time. No charges as of yet on the uranium.
To read the full story, click here.
lead photo of timber rattlesnake. credit and thanks to John Kirinovic. …read more
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An Oklahoma couple were arrested while in possession of a stolen vehicle, weapons, whiskey and a rattlesnake, oh yeah and a container of radioactive uranium?! Trust me, we checked, this isn’t The Onion! It is real life.
From Oklahoma’s New 4:
The traffic stop was made at 11 a.m. in a Guthrie neighborhood because the tag was expired. Jennings was in the driver’s seat, Rivera in the passenger seat, and in the backseat, a pet Timber rattlesnake in a terrarium.
At about the same time Jennings told officers he had a gun in console, police learned the Ford they were driving was reported stolen.
“So now he’s got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm, and somebody under arrest,” said Guthrie Police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs.
Oddly enough, the rattlesnake was legal as Jennings had a valid fishing license at the time. No charges as of yet on the uranium.
To read the full story, click here.
lead photo of timber rattlesnake. credit and thanks to John Kirinovic. …read more
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Gotta love the smile from this Monkey Tail Skink in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sreps ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Such an amazing wild shot of a Black Racer in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user piglet! Be sure to tell them you liked it here.
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An all American, this Baja black-collared lizard basks in it’s own freedom in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Brockn ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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60+ years ago, when I saw my first eastern kingsnake in New Jersey, I could hardly believe my luck.
Today, some 60 years hence, I can still remember coming southward with Gordy to central New Jersey from Massachusetts on a spring morning and finding big, beautiful, white-chained, black eastern kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula getula, as they searched and prodded for turtle eggs along the edges of sloughs and marshes. They weren’t numerous there, but it only took the finding of one or two to make a success of the whole trip. Then I can remember other trips when we went further south to the Low Country of southeastern South Carolina and found so many eastern kingsnakes that both my Gordy and I were utterly dismayed. I feel quite certain that although the eastern kingsnakes are still in these areas, they are now less common than in those long ago days.
The memory of Dennie Miller showing Gordy Johnston and me dozens and dozens of eastern black kingsnakes, L. g. nigra, under roadside trash in Arkansas remains indelibly imprinted somewhere in some memory niche. The shiny black snakes were of sullen disposition and sparsely patterned with a vaguely discernible chain pattern and a peppering of light scales on their sides.
And Ron Sayers and I used to shake our heads in disbelief at the vast numbers of speckled kingsnakes, L. g. holbrooki, (their bright yellow pepper-spots fairly glistening against their intense black body color) that we would see beneath debris on the sides of Louisiana levees as we made our periodic herping trips to and from Old Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. These were the good days
When Gordy Johnston and I finally expanded our herping horizons as far south as Florida we found eastern kings common on Paynes Prairie (there have been only two kingsnakes found anywhere near Paynes Prairie in the last two decades! The reason for the decline is unknown.). The Paynes Prairie kings looked a bit different than the eastern kings from further north, but they were still very recognizable.
We left the eastern kingsnake phenotype behind as we traveled further southward on the Florida peninsula. Near Lake Okeechobee we found ourselves amidst hordes of the brown and cream kingsnakes then known as Florida kingsnakes. Today they are recognized as the Florida Peninsula intergrade kingsnake, L. g. getula x L. g. floridana, and are thought of by most as snakes of the sodfields and sugarcane.
Back then there were few sodfields, but sugarcane was taking hold and peanuts were a staple. The irrigation canals were being dug, leopard frogs were moving in, water snakes followed them, and indigos and kings trailed the waters. Of course, there were rodents in the fields, additional fodder for the snakes that dwelt in these habitats. But best of all, the main north-south road, US27, was edged on both sides by Australian pines, beneath which blown out tire innertubes lay helter-skelter and in these the …read more
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Prevent your case of the Mondays by faling in love with this hatchling Big Head Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user stingray ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! All venomous snakes need our support! This Cottonmouth is screaming it from the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user BowieKnife357 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This Northern Pine does in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Turekj sparkles like a firework! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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When you have to put a turtle shell back together sometimes you need to get creative and that is exactly what the folks at Carolina Waterfowl Rescue did!
To stabilize the shell pieces and help them stay in place, they superglue the bra clasps to the shell to help offer additional support to the cracked shell pieces! As can see in the photo, it is brilliant!
To read more about the story, click here. And if you happen to have a few old bras laying around that are past their prime, consider checking with your local wildlife rehab group to see if they can use them! …read more
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When you have to put a turtle shell back together sometimes you need to get creative and that is exactly what the folks at Carolina Waterfowl Rescue did!
To stabilize the shell pieces and help them stay in place, they superglue the bra clasps to the shell to help offer additional support to the cracked shell pieces! As can see in the photo, it is brilliant!
To read more about the story, click here. And if you happen to have a few old bras laying around that are past their prime, consider checking with your local wildlife rehab group to see if they can use them! …read more
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Red and black? Black and yellow? Mimics in nature are clear with this pair of South American hognose from the same clutch in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Longhitano!
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This Ambilobe Panther Chameleon is all fired up in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user vinniem1210! Be sure to tell vinniem1210 you liked it here!
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This is an example of one of the less colorful Rich Mountain salamanders.
If discussions about salamanders come up at all, it is often the big mole salamanders, newts, hellbenders, or the Appalachian group of plethodontids that have brought the discussion about. All too often the caudates of the central states are completely overlooked. This is sad because there are some noteworthy salamander taxa in the montane regions of Missouri and Arkansas. On more than one occasion I’ve hopped in the car and headed westward, photos of the grotto salamander, the ringed salamander, or the beautiful and variable Rich Mountain salamander, Plethodon ouachitae.
As I mentioned above, the Rich Mountain salamander, a very typical plethodontid, is a variable taxon. Adult at a robust 5 to 6 inch length, in some populations this salamander may simply be black and marked dorsally and laterally with a variable number of white and bronze flecks. Elsewhere it may retain the variable flecking on black sides but have a have a beautiful, rich, chestnut dorsum, it too being flecked. On some examples the flecking may be so reduced that it can be overlooked at first glance, and on others, as mentioned, it may be the chestnut coloring that is reduced.
At the eastern end of its range the Rich Mountain salamander may hybridize with the closely related Fourche Mountain salamander, Plethodon fourchensis. This latter was long considered a subspecies of P. ouachitae, and probably should have remained so.
The pretty Rich Mountain salamander occurs in a variety of habitats. Some populations seem to prefer the cover of leaf and moss covered rock slides. Others may be found beneath damp logs or trash.
But one thing is certain. If you like caudates the Rich Mountain salamander is well worth the time you spend in your search, but be certain you do photograph enough to display at least some of the wide variations in color.
Continue reading “The Rich mountain salamander” …read more
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In our celebration of all things venomous on Friday, this little rough-scaled bush viper (Atheris hispida) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eekster26 is looking forward to the weekend! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This gecko in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eve is so bright we gotta wear shades. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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How adorable is this Newt in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user plagueguitarist ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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So bright and brilliant, this Yellow Anaconda shines in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mattf77 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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What an awesome shot of a shedding in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tylerwork! Bet this Ball Python loves it’s new outfit! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This, the western yellow-bellied racer, is the most westerly of the racer clan.
Racers as a group of 11 subspecies, range across the USA from Maine and Florida to California and Oregon. Think about that. Then add to that thought that one subspecies, the eastern yellow-bellied racer ranges from just north of the USA/Canadian border to southern Texas (not quite to the MX border) and both the facts and the snake species itself, Coluber constrictor by name become even more impressive.
Except for 2 subspecies in the southern Midwest the racers are of a rather uniform but variable color both dorsally and ventrally. The dorsal color may be black, olive-tan, blue, or gray, The ventral coloration of many subspecies is the same or slightly lighter than the dorsal color. The common names, such as black racer, blue racer, yellow-bellied racer, tan racer, black-masked racer, even a buttermilk racer the latter being a blue to tan snake with groups of lighter scales that resemble the curds in buttermilk. To these may be added a regional feature such as northern, southern, eastern, western, or a more specific area such as the Everglades. In actuality the names are quite descriptive.
Besides the racers there are several other coast to coast snake species. Among these are the eastern garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. This variable species starts at the east coast with the eastern, Maritime, and blue-striped garters and terminates on the shores of the Pacific with the more gaudy San Francisco, California red-sided, and Valley subspecies.
Ditto with the ring-necked snakes, Diadophis subspecies, beginning on the eastern seaboard with the northern and southern ringnecks and transitioning on the West Coast into a host of beautiful, subspecies with remarkably brightly colored bellies.
And although there are others, I’ll cease and desist with mention of the hobbyist favorite, the kingsnakes of the genus Lampropeltis. Ignoring the current trend to make species out of subspecies or to not recognize appearance differences at all, we begin on the California coast with the pretty and variable California kingsnake, transitioning eastward first to the desert king, then after a broad area of intergradation to the speckled, black, eastern and Florida races.
The United States, a wonderland of herpetological diversity, no matter what your classification system may be.
Continue reading “Cross-country Snake Species” …read more
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We love everything that rattles, but today we give the spotlight to this baby timber rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jameswv! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This young green Basilisk in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AirPirate is enjoying his morning swim! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This beautiful Trans-Pecos Rat Snake is holding on to her most valueable treasure in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pecoskid ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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There is no mistaking why these guys are called the yellow-belly puffing snake (Spilotes sulphureus), as you can see in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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The Smithsonian’s Reptile Discovery Center recently hatched it’s first Chinese Water Dragon from an unfertilized egg. For the species, it was the first recorded parthenogenetic birth. It is not unusual to see unfertilized eggs from a variety of species, just ask any Iguana or bearded dragon owner! Lauren Augustine, a keeper at the Reptile Discovery Center, decided to hold and incubate all eggs from virgin females. What happened next is quite honestly history, and documented at that!
After two weeks of incubation, Reptile Discovery Center keepers candled the eggs; that is, they held them up to a light. The candling process revealed veins—a tell-tale that the eggs were fertile and the embryos were developing. After looking through our Asian water dragon’s records, I immediately suspected parthenogenesis. Before reaching sexual maturity, she was housed either by herself or with other females.
They have actually collected more than 1 fertile egg, however only 1 has hatched. This year the baby is of breeding age, so the team will be monitoring her eggs as well as mom’s. They are still looking at the embryos that did not survive to hatching to determine the genetics as well. For more on this fascinating story, visit the Smithsonian Blog here.
lead photo courtesy of Smithsonian Blog …read more
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Happy World Croc Day from this group of breeding Gharials in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Lucky_7 . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Sympholis lippiens, another of Mother Nature’s wonderfully secretive creations. The Mexican short-tailed snake is a larger- than- normal insectivore.
Unlike earlier years when herping south of our border was simply a choice of whether or not to just get up and go, today’s decisions are a more complex decision for me. In fact, the last time I traveled into Mexico was about 15 years ago and then I didn’t travel too far to the south. I had initially considered going to Sinaloa, got as far as southern Sonora, and decided that was far enough. And, as it turned out, it actually was far enough for me to interact with the small boas of Yecora, Mexican treefrogs, beaded lizards and other species that I hadn’t seen for years.
And one of these “other” species, one that I found really interesting, was the Mexican short-tailed snake (Sympholis lippiens).
The first of this species on that trip was seen in the headlight glow of oncoming traffic. The little snake was slowly moving across the pavement. And somehow, after the half dozen cars (that’s 24 collective tires) had passed, the snake remained uninjured. I was delighted for this was an enigmatic species that really intrigued me.
That it is patterned for its entire 16- (or so) inch length in rings of jet black and creamy yellow is obvious. That it is of reasonably heavy girth, has a proportionately short tail and feels rather yielding and flaccid when lifted is almost as obvious. It was known (or at least thought) to be a secretive burrower that comes topside primarily when forced to do so by monsoon rains flooding its burrows. But beyond these things everything about Sympholis was conjectural. There was virtually nothing known about its food or feeding habits or its reproductive biology.
Today, thanks to research and compilation by Peter Holm, an Ecologist with Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument we do know a bit more about this little snake.
It is apparently commensal with a Mexican leaf- cutting ant. Leaf-cutters, their larvae, and grubs of a species known to dwell in the detritus of ant-mounds are now known to be eaten by Sympholis. Additionally, it was surmised that the thick skin, the conformation, cloacal discharge and skin secretions of this anthill specialist protected it from ant bites.
Continue reading “The Mexican Short-tailed Snake” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Yes, it isn’t a Rattlesnake, but it is a venomous snake! What an awesome shot of this Lansberg’s hognosed pitviper (Porthidium lansbergii) in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Neverscared ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world. It is our goal to help dispel the fears surrounding our beloved venomous creatures.
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This Wood Frog in our herp photo of the day, makes me want to go herping. Uploaded by kingsnake.com user casichelydia . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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We are loving this shot of a Black Milk Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gerryg ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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All that glitters is not always gold, sometimes it is diamonds too! This diamond/jungle cross is absolutely stunning in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user KWE , they still inspire us constantly! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Adventures, good adventures, interesting adventures, just seemed to happen to Kenny and me. On this trip Kenny had decided that he would like to see dwarI waterdogs and since I am always interested in new spots for old herp species, I went along. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but somehow our target got redirected when our host, Matt, asked whether, as well as the little Necturus, we’d like to see some pretty – real pretty – red salamanders, Pseudotriton r. ruber. Our collective answer was, of course, not only yes, but “heck yes” and temporarily at least waterdogs were forgotten.
When we stopped it was at a huge swamp, an expanse that was criss-crossed by newly fallen as well as decomposing pine carcasses and with as much soupy mud as I would ever wish to slog through. In other words it was a salamander haven and heaven.
Kenny and Matt (and Matt’s “wonder-dog) were soon plowing agiley through the mud and jumping over or turning fallen timber. As usual I was far behind and tripping over most obstacles. Nothing new there until I floundered over a log, knocking off a bit of bark, and found 2 eastern worm snakes, Carphophis a. amoenus. Just about then Kenny and Matt both hollered “got one.” Being reasonably sure that I would get a chance to photo at least one I started back to the car.
Now time for the waterdog. At least I’d get a chance to wash some of the mud off. And we actually got both demudded and a waterdog, N. punctatus.
Another successful day.
The black-chinned red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber schencki, is a brilliant subspecies from the Smoky Mountain area.
To be introduced to this heavily speckled phase of the red salamander, Pseudotriton r. ruber , was a pleasure indeed.
As I have learned, sometimes a fall results in a find, as happened with this northern worm snake, Carphophis a. amoenus.
…read more
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So very underestimated but how many of you caught a Garter like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user snakekate for your first field find? Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Adventures, good adventures, interesting adventures, just seemed to happen to Kenny and me. On this trip Kenny had decided that he would like to see dwarI waterdogs and since I am always interested in new spots for old herp species, I went along. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but somehow our target got redirected when our host, Matt, asked whether, as well as the little Necturus, we’d like to see some pretty – real pretty – red salamanders, Pseudotriton r. ruber. Our collective answer was, of course, not only yes, but “heck yes” and temporarily at least waterdogs were forgotten.
When we stopped it was at a huge swamp, an expanse that was criss-crossed by newly fallen as well as decomposing pine carcasses and with as much soupy mud as I would ever wish to slog through. In other words it was a salamander haven and heaven.
Kenny and Matt (and Matt’s “wonder-dog) were soon plowing agiley through the mud and jumping over or turning fallen timber. As usual I was far behind and tripping over most obstacles. Nothing new there until I floundered over a log, knocking off a bit of bark, and found 2 eastern worm snakes, Carphophis a. amoenus. Just about then Kenny and Matt both hollered “got one.” Being reasonably sure that I would get a chance to photo at least one I started back to the car.
Now time for the waterdog. At least I’d get a chance to wash some of the mud off. And we actually got both demudded and a waterdog, N. punctatus.
Another successful day.
The black-chinned red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber schencki, is a brilliant subspecies from the Smoky Mountain area.
To be introduced to this heavily speckled phase of the red salamander, Pseudotriton r. ruber , was a pleasure indeed.
As I have learned, sometimes a fall results in a find, as happened with this northern worm snake, Carphophis a. amoenus.
…read more
Read more here: King Snake
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