Field Herpetology at the Southwest Research Station (Part 2)

More photos from the 2013 Field Herpetology course!

The first female Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii) I have ever seen hold still:

Herpetologist photobomb:

Round-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum):




Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus priceii):

Huge male!

Think rattlensakes are mean? Look at this individual hiding his head.

Bad lighting, but a beautiful snake.

My very first Bunchgrass Lizard (Sceloporus slevini). A tough find all the way up the mountains:

Here is some of the variation in Long-nosed Snakes (Rhinocheilus lecontei):

Field Herpetology at the Southwest Research Station (Part 1)

We are three days through the 2013 Field Herpetology course at the Southwest Research Station. Whew, what a whirlwind this course is for the second year in a row. We have students from all over the country: college students, retired doctors, government contractors, and environmental consultants. 

I've been busy tweeting some of our activities, but need a place to show you some of the photos of the class at work and the animals we are finding. So here ya go.

A handsome Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus):

Dr. Carol Simon gives a seminar on the natural history of the Chiricahua Mountains:

My main man Dr. Steve Mullin describing the sexual differences between kingsnakes:

Here is a group of endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frogs (Lithobates chiricaheunsis):

Here is Matt Holding demonstrating to the field herpetology students and local residents how scientists safely transport and restrain venomous snakes:

Dr. Emily Taylor and Matt Holding implant a radio transmitter in a Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus):

My favorite rattlesnake: The Rock Rattlesnake (C. lepidus)!

A really nice find from night driving was a pair of Desert Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis splendida). She was no doubt cruising around looking for a nice rattlesnake meal. 

One of our first field trips was to Granite Gap, an area in Arizona know for having both a beautiful community of cactus and a thriving population of Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum).

And here is the star of the show. Worth all of the heavy hiking, for sure.

Gila Monster relaxing center-middle.

Herpin' the Florida Panhandle

A few weeks ago I was in beautiful St. George Island, Florida on vacation with my family. A big part of vacations for me is running around searching for creatures. I was able to spend a good amount of time exploring Apalachicola National Forest and Tate's Hell State Forest. It was fantastic, and I wanted to share some of the species that I turned up.

First off, here is a Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea) that was found while night driving. These beautiful snakes spend most of their time under the leaf litter hunting for eggs of other reptiles. 

A lovely Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttata) that was found just down the road from the Scarlet Snake:

Tate's Hell State Forest provided many opportunities to pull the car over and listen to a variety of frogs and toads calling. One of the loudest and most prominent members of this chorus were Barking Treefrogs (Hyla gratiosa):

Another common road-crosser, the Pine Woods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis):

There is a Pine Woods Treefrog on this bark, promise.

Here was a first for me, a River Frog (Lithobates hecksheri). I learned very quickly that the terrifying call I was hearing in the middle of the night was actually a river frog. 

Another Pine Woods Treefrog:

One of the most commonly seen and heard treefrogs in the southeast is the Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea):

One call that I immediately recognized was the sheep-like "BAAAA" of the Eastern Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis). In the second picture you can see one of the unique physical features of narrowmouth toads, the flap of skin on the top of the head that they can fold across their eyes to remove pestering insects.

Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephala), a species that I remember as "the laughing frog".

Here is an especially colorful Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris):

Finally, here is an example from one of my favorite groups of reptiles in the Southeast, the Family Anguidae:

"Gotcha, I'm not even a snake"

It is an Eastern Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)! So cool! This lizard is such a treat to find. I've seen them in South Carolina before, but they often disappear into pine needles way before I can get a hand on one. 

There is something so bizarre about seeing the head of a lizard on the body of a snake:

This trip was just a taster for the Gibbs' lab trip to Florida in August, when we will be assisting fellow grad student Sarah Smiley in finding Pygmy Rattlesnakes. I'm positive we'll be picking up quite a few other great reptiles and amphibians of the Southeast along the way.

Beer as a Metaphor for Biodiversity

Check out this great video from MinuteEarth that compares the dynamics of plant communities to the economics of beer. Sounds strange at first, but ends up being a great way to explain the importance of biodiversity to an economics major who is taking there required biology course.

Check it out:

Make sure to take a look at MinuteEarth's other videos on youtube and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. 

Southwest Dreamin'

Greetings all!

Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) about to say something important.

I haven't posted on this blog for close to a month due to general busyness and time spent traveling. The purpose of my recent traveling has been to make it out to Portal, AZ to help out with the field herpetology class taught at the American Museum of Natural History's Southwest Research Station. This has been my first time west of Yellowstone National Park, and oh boy I have had a fantastic time so far.

My labmate Matt Holding demonstrating how to safely handle venomous snakes for research purposes.

We have students from all over the U.S. from all walks of life here to learn about the Southwest's herptofauna. So far they have traversed some gnarly habitat, caught some incredible creatures, and memorized scientific names like it was their job.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

I've been very fortunate to help out with the course this year not only for the reptiles and amphibians, but also to connect with some great scientists that are here to teach and share their research. Unfortunately (fortunately), I have been very busy and don't have much time to update this blog. For now I will drop some photos for your enjoyment and wonder.

Mountain Patchnose Snake (Salvadora grahamiae) showing off its wonderful rostrum

The threatened Twin Spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus priceii) only habits talus slopes that promote me falling down a lot.

People think I'm dumb, but my favorite desert herp is the Sonoran Desert Toad (Incilius alvarius)

A juvenile Green Rat Snake (Senticolis triaspis) makes for an extremely photgenetic animal

From here, I'll be heading up to California briefly before flying to Vancouver, Canada for the World Congress of Herpetology. After that , it is back to the (relatively) real world. Being a scientist is fun.

Look for more pictures and (maybe) stories to come!