Adult female Escambia map turtles develop hypertrophied heads.
Jake and I had been talking about making a photographic foray for the various southeastern map turtles (Graptemys) for some time. One hot day in June 2016 we decided that the time had finally come. We had motored to Florida’s western panhandle in search of a bog frog (successful), and the first map turtle on Jake’s list, the Escambia map, was just a hop, skip, and jump further westward. So we found a motel and at sunrise the next morning we began our hopping, skipping, and jumping to the Escambia River drainage, where from a fishing dock, Jake got his lifer Escambia map turtle, G. ernsti, an adult female. The turtle was well above the waterline on a distant snag, but was immediately identifiable.

Although this broad-headed map turtle had been known to exist in the Escambia, Yellow, and Shoal rivers system for years, until 1992 it had been considered the easternmost population of the Alabama map turtle. Females attain a length of 7 to 10+ inches. Males are about half that size.
Continue reading “Map Turtle Time” …read more
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This frillie looks a little angry our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nydon ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Ever wonder what a group of frogs would talk about? This batch of White’s Tree Frogs seem like they are having a meeting of the minds in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user DanitaParapai ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Once rather commonly seen in the pet trade, this is no longer the case with the The Rio Bamba marsupial frog, Gastrotheca riobambae.
Wayyyyyy back, from the 1950s to about 2000, importing herps for the hobby occurred at an almost unbelievable volume. Herps came to the USA from southern and eastern Africa, from many South and Central American countries, from Southeast Asia, and even from the various European countries. Within the USA itself, interstate trade in both native and imported herps was rampant and largely unregulated. When compared to today herps were abundant, species available were far more varied, and the asking prices of herps were then very cheap. For example, the 3 species of anurans pictured were once commonly seen in the American pet trade. Think back now—when was the last time you saw any of these offered? Here yesterday, gone or almost gone today. And today will soon be the yesterday when we find in future years that many of the herp taxa that we now take for granted are no longer available.

Continue reading “Forgotten Imports–Anurans” …read more
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This young banded water snake being very curious in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user casichelydia ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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The dark outlined white shoulder marking is characteristic of the males of this taxon.
It was a female of this little (about 3” total length) lizard that I found first, and had she remained quiescent, I would have never seen her. Although the sun shown overhead, bathing the Amazonian canopy in heated brilliance, the rainforest trail that I trod was darkly shaded and relatively cool. The lizard, herself dark except for a single white tailtip band, was also on a dark, mouldering treetrunk. But for the nervously waving tail she. A collared gecko, Gonatodes concinnatus, was nearly invisible. But even in the gloom of the rainforest that seemingly disembodied patch of white waving to and fro caught my attention. I readied the camera but she darted to one side to never be seen by me. About 20 feet further on the trail and I happened across another female of this diurnal gecko wagging her strongly patterned tail. This time I got a picture.

But it was not until the next trip that I had an opportunity to see a male of this beautiful lizard. In fact, I got to see 2 males. The first was brought to me by a villager who had caught the lizard and secured it in a small plastic bag. I was delighted at having the opportunity to carefully observe the lizard. But I was even happier when later that day I was walking by the bird observation platform and I saw another male, this one perched quietly on a large bracket fungus. Camera…
Continue reading “The Collared Forest Gecko” …read more
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Monday’s need cuteness only hatchling alligators can give, like this pair in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user reptiletubs! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Although caudal patterns may vary, elsewhere the colors are pretty well standardized.
We rented a tiny boat, a motor, and a driver, on the docks of a small fishing village on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Cost had been negotiated successfully, and within a few minutes we were on our way westward on the choppy waters of the bay. Our target species on this watery interlude was the yellow-bellied sea snake, Pelamis platurus, which species was quite common in the region, but that was most commonly seen by fishermen in the ocean slicks, patches of smooth-surfaced water that drifted between the choppy surfaces and when the snake became stranded on the beach.

Although Pelamis grows to nearly 4’ in length, those that we saw ranged from 24 to about 32 inches. On that trip we saw more than 2 dozen of these pelagic serpents. And indeed they are pelagic, ranging from the Asiatic shores of the Indian and Pacific oceans, Africa, and in the New World from Central America to California (rare in the USA). It has also been found far asea. Although this has often been said to be the most widely distributed of the world’s snakes, I’m wondering if the tiny flowerpot (blind) snake is not now a close runner-up?

Male Pelamis tend to be the smaller. This is a fish eating species.
Continue reading “Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Yes, it isn’t a Rattlesnake, but it is a venomous snake! The only snake as well known as a rattlesnake is a cobra, but not all cobras are made alike! Some stand out like this red eyed leucy Monocled Cobra in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user eekster ! 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 is a gravid female neon day gecko.

When I first saw a Phelsuma klemmeri at Glades Herp I exclaimed to Rob “that thing is brighter than a neon tetra!” And “neon day gecko” was the name that caught on for this yellow headed, blue and green, flattened, 3 ½ inch long mini-beauty.

Despite their small size I have found this small gecko to be easily kept and bred. Although a pair can easily thrive in a 12” cubed reptile cage, mine are in 24 x24x12” terraria. In a well-planted terrarium this size I am able to keep 2.4 of the geckos without fear of serious aggression. Since Epipremnum aureus is a hardy and pretty aroid that provides both humidity and substantial cover for the lizards, this is the planting I most often use. Lengths of bamboo (both vertical and diagonal (*see additional caging comments below)), heat and light are provided on both ends of the tank, thereby allowing the lizards ample room to stay well separated.

There is little question that the males of neon day geckos are territorial, but fewer keepers realize that to a lesser degree the females are also. Little serious physical harm comes from adverse interactions but the stress of persecution may eventually take its toll on the subordinate inhabitants. In a large communal situation, by providing well separated areas of equally ideal habitat, adverse effects from territoriality can be almost eliminated. In a smaller enclosure only a single pair should be kept.

Caging-Feeding suggestions

· Full spectrum lighting and a tight fitting screen top is necessary for this diurnal taxon
· 1/8” crickets, dusted with D3 + calcium as well as a prepared phelsuma diet should be provided
· Ascertain aggression does not occur. Do not crowd.
· Gently mist the terrarium daily. DO NOT overwet.
· 76-80F nights, 84-88F days.
· Vertical or diagonal dry bamboo sections between 1 and 3 inch diameter and as tall as the tank, preferably with natural longitudinal cracks through which the geckos may easily move, should be provided. Gravid female may need a marginally wider than normal opening. Careful use of a circular saw can provide access openings if natural cracks are not present.
· Sit back, relax, and enjoy these wonderful lizards!

Continue reading “Neon Day Gecko” …read more
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This Budgett’s frog in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BucketHead is one happy hippo! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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The earthen colors blend well with the litter of the forest floor.
Clad in roughened scales of muted browns, tans, grays, white, and charcoal, the little Paraoedura androyensis, pygmy panther gecko, is well suited to life in the leaf litter of the southern and eastern Malagasy deciduous forests. This is the smallest of the 13 (with only one species being extralimital to Madagascar) species in this genus, with females, the marginally larger gender, attaining a total length a bit in excess of 3”. When the gecko is moving about, the tail, shorter than the snout-vent length, is often curled over the body. Dorsally the tail bears numerous conical scales and is studded with large, more rounded, scales ventrally.

This is an easy gecko to maintain. It usually feeds readily and will thrive in a leaf covered, clean soil, substrate at 79 to 88 degrees.They will drink from a shallow water dish but will benefit and will drink droplets when their cage is gently misted. Full spectrum lighting is not necessary for this nocturnal gecko.

Never particularly common is the pet trade, this panther gecko is even less so today than just 10 years ago. Fortunately there are a few breeders that occasionally offer captive bred individuals and a very few wild caught examples are usually available each year.

If you’re thinking of acquiring a pair of geckos, think this species. It is a species that is well worth working with.
Continue reading “Androy Pygmy Panther Gecko” …read more
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If you head southwest, you will find these Desert Horned Lizards 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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Matamatas are always difficult to find and a pleasure to see.

I’m probably crossing some line or the other here by mentioning one of these 3 taxa but I’ll have a go at it anyway. The three species—wondrous Amazonians all– that I have firmly in mind are the matamata, Chelus fimbriatus, the Suriname toad, Pipa pipa, and the Amazonian leaf fish, Monocirrhus polyacanthus, ambush predators all and all amazingly camouflaged aquatic predators.

The matamata grows to 18”, is flattened, and is camouflaged both by its mud color and skin flanges. It is a fish eater that catches prey by extending its head rapidly forward while distending its throat. The resulting vacuum draws an unwary fish into the mouth where it is then quickly swallowed.

The 6” long Suriname toad, primarily an invertebrate eater that will accept small fish, is also camouflaged by color and its flattened appearance. Rather than catching prey like a roving vacuum, this anuran shovels edible items into its wide mouth with its forefeet and fingers.

At 3”, the leaf fish is by far the smallest of these 3 predatory species, and limits itself, at least when adult, to a diet of smaller fish. The mouth of the leaf fish is large, distensible and extendable and a single barbel, in appearance like the stem of a leaf, extends from the lower jaw. Camouflaged by color and a very slow head down approach, this little mud colored (sounds like a broken record doesn’t it?) fish is a hunter to be reckoned with.

Do I see all 3 on every trip? No. But sometimes I do get lucky.
Continue reading “Three Wondrous Amazonians” …read more
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It is about time our cuteness broke the internet! This Savanah side-neck in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user miyazawa hits the cute meter! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Pretty and very agile, the green cascades frog was imported from Hong Kong.Prior to the turn of the century, occasional herp shipments from Southeast Asia (and most notably from Hong Kong) would include a few interesting anurans. One that I found very interesting was the beautiful and agile green cascades frog. Although imported under the name of Rana livida it was even then recognized that rather than an actual species, the cascades frogs were actually a species complex. Over the years genetic assessment has identified at least 6 additional lookalike species and the Hong Kong form (with which I was familiar) is now recognized as Odorrana chloronota. (Odorrana livida is now known to be restricted to southern Myanmar.)

As indicated by its common name this is a stream dwelling species, but not indicated by its name is the fact that the waters in which this primarily nocturnal frog occurs are not necessarily cascades. Within the streams the green cascades frog may be seen on boulders, logs, and the stream banks. This species is sexually dimorphic with females attaining a snout-vent length of 5” and adult males being about half that length.
Continue reading “Green Cascades Frog” …read more
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What a handsome Caiman Lizard 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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A bronze frog, Rana c. clamitans
The controversial generic name of Lithobates has been laid to rest—at least for Holarctic frog taxa.

Holarctic? What, exactly, does that mean and what frog species does it encompass?

Meriam Webster dictionary defines the term Holarctic thusly: “of, relating to, or being the biogeographic region including the northern parts of the Old and the New Worlds and comprising the Nearctic and Palearctic regions or subregions”. Or defined by the Free Dictionary as “a floristic and zoogeographic land area that occupies the extratropical portion of the northern hemisphere; its southern boundary lies roughly along the northern boundary of the Tropic of Cancer”.

In a Facebook post, geneticist David Hillis states “Our paper on the systematics and biogeography of Rana (Holarctic true frogs) is now available as a pdf at this link (final volume and page numbers to come): http://sysbio.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/syw055.

The actual name of the paper is Spatiotemporal Diversification of the True Frogs (Genus Rana): A Historical Framework for a Widely Studied Group of Model Organisms and Dr. Hillis was one of the 15 authors.

With this paper Lithobates is gone and Rana is back! To Dr. Hillis and the 14 coauthors I extend my profound “thanks.”
Continue reading “A Return to Rana” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We abosulutely LOVE this albino Atrox (a.k.a. Western Diamondback) in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz ! 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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Peninsula ribbons seem to outnumber the more northerly blue striped subspecies at Gulf Hammock.
Kenny and I were on a very rural dirt road that is well within an area known as a stronghold for classic “Gulf Hammock” rat snakes the target of that nights search. The total rat snakes found, despite seemingly ideal field conditions, was a resounding zero. But despite the lack of rat snakes we were far from skunked! On both the sand roads and later, on the paved roads, venomous snakes were on the prowl that evening. On the sand roads we found 4 dusky pygmy rattlers, Sistrurus miliarius barbouri, and 2 small Florida cottonmouths, Agkistrodon piscivorous conanti. On the paved roads we added 1 larger (3+ feet) Florida cottonmouths and a single Peninsula ribbon snake, Thamnophis sauritue sackenii, to the evenings total. We left happy, knowing then that we’d be back to try again tomorrow.
Continue reading “Gulf Hammock of Florida” …read more
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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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This Suwannee alligator snapper had a 6″ carapace length.
Ever get smacked in the headlamp on a dark night by a big water snake that you didn’t know was there? I’ll tell you, it can really catch your attention!

The Santa Fe River was either at its all time lowest or darn close to it. Normally 4 or 5 feet deep at this locale, at the time in question you could then wade across the river without getting much more than your ankles wet! Did I mention that we were in a drought—a drought that showed no sign of easing. I was searching for Suwannee Alligator Snappers, Macroclemys suwanniensis.

The biggest of the alligator snapping turtles stayed pretty close to the deeper pits scoured around old snags and root systems. Smaller snappers, more mobile, hence less restricted, could still be seen in shallower areas. And it was one of these smaller turtles, one about 6 inches long, that I was trying to photograph in situ when I blundered into a big—or at least when it struck at me it seemed big—brown water snake, Nerodia taxispilota.

It was well after dark and I was intent on following a turtle that was at least equally intent on not being followed. In fact, the turtle had just disappeared, having maneuvered quickly into a hidden root system in the undercut bank. Without first looking I leaned against an overhanging limb to stablize myself as I searched (in vain, I might add) and accidentally pinned the water snake against the tree with my shoulder. As water snakes are wont to do, this one (all 3 ½ feet of it—adults can be 5 to 5 ½ feet in total length) took exception to my accidental familiarity, striking at the illuminated and moving headlamp.

I jumped back, tripped, fell (sure glad the river was low!) saw the snake drop into the current, and decided to call it quits. Now, which way was the car?

Continue reading ” Snappers and Brown Waters on the Santa Fe” …read more
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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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As in many other locales in Texas, rocky roadcuts between Sanderson and Comstock provide ideal habitat for many herps. Though rainy and dreary as we drove it in 2016, this stretch of highway holds many fond memories.
Jake and I had been in West Texas (Comstock to Big Bend) for more than a week and had been plagued by adverse weather for all but one night. Deluges had curtailed most herp movement for the first 2 nights. This was followed by a high pressure system for the next 6 nights. Jake’s vacation time was quickly drawing to a close, and we were still experiencing bad weather. Hoping to find a particular taxon of earless lizard and to make the most of the persistent high pressure we had elected to head back eastward a day early. By the time we had gotten to Sanderson the sunshine had been obliterated by sullen clouds that stretched to the horizon. The road, somewhere just east of Langtry was wet and a gentle rain was still falling —it too stretching to the eastern horizon. Obliterated with the sunshine was the lizard search.

I would imagine that unless you’re a herper or a birder, the long drive from Sanderson to Del Rio, might be a boring strip of road. Occasional cattle, a raven or two, and a dozen or so 18-wheelers—a roadsign directing you to Pumpville, another for Pandale, the communities of Langtry and Comstock, and a vast reservoir are all you will see.

But for herpers this same stretch of road holds many possibilities, especially if traversed on a dark night during a period of low barometric pressure. For, to many of us, and certainly to me, this is “the gray-banded kingsnake road.” It was from beneath a cattle guard at the corner where Bill Chamberlain’s gas station once stood that with Gordy and Dennie I was to see our first “Blair’s king,” a dark phase (yes, they WERE Blair’s kings back then). And then, just to add to the excitement of that night,on one of the dirt roads (I think it was the road to Pumpville) we found a second Blair’s, a light phase. Although I’ve never duplicated that 2 in one night episode, I’ve added rat snakes, long-nosed snakes, rattlesnakes, and many others to the species found along US90.

Bored by this road? Not I!

Continue reading “Sanderson to Comstock—Memories” …read more
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“You’re kingsnake.com, where are all the kingsnakes?” Right here in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user trevid ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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As hatchlings, alligators are prominently banded with yellow on black.
Alligators are very much a fact of life in the deep south. And our area of Florida is certainly not exempt. We live between a fair-sized pond and a sizable wetland. Just beyond the wetland is Paynes Prairie State Biological Preserve. There is no shortage of gators here. In wandering from pond to wetlands or vice versa gators often stop in our yard. So far he visitors have ranged from 14” to 8’. Because we have dogs the bigger alligators cause us some concern so we escort them out of the yard and at least part way back to the pond. So far none have returned.

Since the wetlands opened across the street from us we have been able to watch and listen to these big reptiles at about any time we choose. Breeding activity (including male bellowing) and territorial skirmishes are seen and heard in April and May. Hatchlings are usually first seen in late May to July. Except on the most inclement of winter days basking adults may be seen year round.

As stated at the outset, gators are very much a fact of life here. We keep our distance and during the breeding season we keep even greater distances from displaying males and nesting females. Dogs on trails, even when on leashes, can lead to seriously adverse gator encounters. Pure and simple, dogs = food. Watch toddlers carefully. Use common sense folks. Gators are big, dominant, predators that often feed in the shallows or on the shoreline. Give them their due! As the cliché states, “Be safe, not sorry!” And I’ll add, if you really love your dog, leave it at home when you’re in gator country.
Continue reading “Alligators?—Ho Hum.” …read more
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This Irian Jaya Jag is just chilling like a villian in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user AJ01 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Hatchling Texas alligator lizards are prominently marked.
The family Anguidae comprises species from Europe, Africa, Mexico, Asia and the United States. Several of the species are limbless and others, such as the various alligator lizards, have short but fully functional limbs. All have functional eyelids, most have a lateral groove, and the broad tongue is protrusible and bears a slight notch at the tip.

To many hobbyists, the Texas alligator lizard, Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis–attenuate, short limbed, and long-tailed–is the king of the family. Certainly it is an interesting species that, although not rare, is secretive and can be difficult to find. Although essentially terrestrial, hiding beneath all manner of surface debris (leaf litter, logs, rocks, cardboard, etc.), this lizard is quite capable of climbing and may ascend juniper or other rough barked trees/shrubs.

Adults of this impressive lizard are gray(ish) or brown(ish) with poorly defined lighter dorsal barring from nape to tailtip. The ground color of juveniles (and hatchlings especially) is much darker and the dorsal barring is lighter and more precise. The long tail is slightly prehensile and readily autotomized.

This is a lizard of Texas’s Edwards Plateau westward to the Big Bend region and from there southward to San Luis Potosi.
Continue reading “Texas Alligator Lizard” …read more
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Santa’s gecko elves are prepping to load the sleigh in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Geckoranch ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Big, loud, prolific, and predatory describe the adult bullfrog well.
Besides the painted turtles mentioned in my last blog, the ponds in the one-time zoo in my hometown had a sizable (both in numbers and body size) and vocal population of bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana. In itself this was not unusual. By definition bullfrogs are big, noisy, and prolific. Having a body size of 8+ inches, males of this very aquatic species are larger than females. And although females are capable of making escape and fright screams, it is the males that produce the more typical croaks, bellows, and “jug-o-rums.” That takes care of the big and noisy parts of my above statement, but how about prolific? Female bullfrogs produce egg masses that contain from about 7,500 eggs to more than 25,000! That, my friends, is prolific! Fortunately, many predators, from cats to raccoons to herons to water snakes, to bigger bullfrogs to aquatic insects consider bullfrog tadpoles and metamorphs a tasty repast, so not all young bullfrogs make it to the adult size. In fact, it is probable the most don’t survive past the juvenile/subadult stages.

But what about those that do? Well, back to the bullfrogs in my hometown zoo ponds where, secluded and protected by lush water lily/lotus growth dozens (if not hundreds) of wee bullfrogs evaded predation, survived and grew and grew. Most of the froglets were normal, but I would find a few—1 or 2—each year that had a similar deformity—3 hind legs! Cause? Unknown. And I never found an adult with this anomaly.
Continue reading “A Mention of Bullfrogs” …read more
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Chondro Claus is getting in a quick nap before his big weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user toshamc ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Eastern painted turtles usually have an immaculate plastron.
Midland, Eastern, or Intergrade? That is the question.

As a kid I was either skipping school to watch a warbler migration or out bugging the local (Springfield, MA) herp populations. It seemed then that either of these pursuits was a whole lot better than sitting in a classroom.

One of the herp populations that I enjoyed visiting was the huge population of painted turtles in the water lily/lotus ponds of erstwhile local park/zoo, i.e. Forest Park. I didn’t know much about herps back in those early days (I’m not sure I do now!) but I did know that there was a dramatically different suite of characteristics in those turtles. Some had plain yellow plastrons, some had plastrons smudged with dark pigment, and the plastron of others bore a well-defined central figure. I also noticed at some point in time that the carapacial scute sutures (costals and vertebrals) of those having the solid yellow plastrons went nearly straight across the carapace from side to side (excluding the marginals) while the costal sutures of the painted turtles with the plastral figures were not in line with the vertebral sutures. I don’t remember the carapacial suture configuration on the turtles with the smudged plastrons.

So, what did we have in these painted turtles? Employing the description still used today we had eastern painteds, Chrysemys picta picta (solid yellow plastron and nearly straight side to side scute sutures), midland painteds, C. p. marginata (well defined plastral figure and offset costal-vertebral sutures) and intergrades (smudged plastrons).

And therein lies the problem, a problem unbeknownst to me then, and of no interest to the turtles either then or now. But while the easterns and even the intergrades could be easily explained, the presence of 2 well defined subspecies, the eastern and the midland, in the same puddles should not have occurred. Could our descriptive criteria be faulty? Awww heck. As long as the turtles don’t care why should it bother us.
Continue reading “Painted Turtles: Midland, Eastern, or Intergrade?” …read more
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We have the proof Santa is a reptile right here in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rosebuds! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Hatchling rusty whipsnakes are bright green.
Most herpers are familiar with the ontogenetic changes (orange as neonates/hatchlings and green as adults) of emerald tree boas and green tree pythons. But fewer among us are familiar with the color changes of the rusty whipsnake, Chironius scurrulus.

The rusty whipsnake is a hefty and often feisty Amazonian species. Although 4 to 5 feet in length is the most commonly seen adult size, a few may exceed 6 feet by a few inches. Subadults and adults are often found along watercourses where they feed on amphibians and (I have been told but have not verified) fish. The term “rusty” fits the adults to a T—they are a rusty orange, often with scattered black scales dorsally and laterally. The head may have a dusky hue.

The hatchlings, however, are semiarboreal and are a beautiful leaf green. The green dulls quickly with age and growth and within 2 or 3 shedding cycles the once bright green baby has become a dull olive, an ontogeny 180 degrees reversed from the better known emerald boas and pythons.
Continue reading ” Reversed Ontogeny” …read more
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What a festive Tokay in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bloodpython_MA ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Once common, today the Tucson shovel nosed snake, C. o. klauberi, can be difficult to find.
The insectivorous (some arachnids are also eaten) genus Chionactis, the shovel-nosed snakes, contains 2 fossorial species, palarostris and occipitalis. The former, the Sonoran shovel-nose, Chionactis palarostris, contains 2 subspecies (palarostris and organica) while the western shovelnose, C. occipitalis, contains 4 (occipitalis, annulata, klauberi, and talpina) .

The ground color of both species is white (or cream or yellow), with well separated saddles of black or brown and (often) saddles, or at least a hint, of red (or orange) alternating with the black. Some saddles, especially the dark ones, may extend ventrally and encircle the body. Colors and patterns vary both subspecifically and individually.

These small (14-17 inches), slender, burrowers feed on insects and arachnids. Seldom seen (unless flipped) by day, they are often found above ground at night and can be remarkably abundant when atmospheric conditions are ideal.

Rarely seen in the United States, the range of Chionactis palarostris, includes nwSN and extreme scAZ. Conversely, C. occipitalis, the western shovel-nose, ranges primarily in the sw USA (scAZ and scCA northward to sNV), entering MX only in nBaja and nwSN.
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Habitat of the Chihuahuan Lyre Snake in West Texas
That Trimorphodon vilkinsonii are out there, there is no doubt—no doubt at all. There is also not the least bit of doubt that I can’t find them. Others find them, sometimes mere minutes before I arrive or after I have left. I know this for a fact for sometimes I’ve been allowed to photo the found snake.

I began looking for this elusive nocturnal snake on Texas trips in the ‘50s with my friend and mentor, Gordy (E. Gordon) Johnston. We drove (actually Gordy drove and I rode) back and forth, and failed to find them. Subsequently I have failed to find them on many of the same roads, right up until today, some 55 years later. If not anything else, at least I am consistent—except for one time. That one time about 15 years ago, Kenny and I were driving through the Chinati Mountain ghost town of Shafter, Texas. In the middle of the town (population once about 4,000, now about 11) we found a DOR lyre snake. The DOR snake was rather fresh and I wondered where the car that had killed it had come from, where it was going, and if the killing of the snake had been deliberate or accidental. It just seemed impossible that with that little traffic the paths of car and snake should have crossed.

Since then I have looked with reasonable regularity during all kinds of weather at all hours of darkness, and never again glimpsed one. Hugh tells me they’re fairly common. Ron tells me they’re very rare. I know only that I have driven and walked the rockcuts in their known TX range for more than half a century and have not only failed to find them, but failed dismally. Time to switch to birding.

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Kismet thinks Iguanas are better to lead Santa’s Sliegh in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What a gorgeous shot of a Russel’s Viper in our photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user reptilehq ! 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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Think this Cham in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun a little hangry?! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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