Search found 604 matches

by Jeff
June 1st, 2015, 7:22 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A froggy night north of Houston
Replies: 4
Views: 2773

Re: A froggy night north of Houston

Matt That is a great peak of activity. Unless you are under water now due to subsequent floods... Is that a place that might have Houston Toads? You heard Strecker's Chorus frogs: a colleague thought he might have heard some in central Louisiana at the same time. How does a guy know for sure that is...
by Jeff
May 29th, 2015, 3:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: BioBlitz 2013
Replies: 12
Views: 6611

Re: BioBlitz 2013

Heather

Are you SURE that the Sceloporus and pine tree were part of that particular Bioblitz? Neither are native inhabitants south of Lake Pontchartrain. As the semi-official herpetogeographer for Louisiana, I must ask.

Jeff
by Jeff
May 29th, 2015, 2:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bornean Snake ID (Enhydris)
Replies: 3
Views: 2624

Re: Bornean Snake ID (Enhydris)

It looks like Homalophis doriae, formerly Enhydris doriae.

Jeff
by Jeff
May 13th, 2015, 6:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: We've lost another great herpetologist
Replies: 8
Views: 3856

Re: We've lost another great herpetologist

Charlie was a great guy, and I consider his a very untimely, and misfortunate passing. The last time I spent time with Charlie was at a Federal meeting in 2010. He sat next to me for four days, and we grilled each other during the tedium about herpetofaunal exploits over the years. He spent much of ...
by Jeff
April 18th, 2015, 7:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My FIRST in situ photographs - POST YOURS
Replies: 33
Views: 12740

Re: My FIRST in situ photographs - POST YOURS

Draco

Amazing spot on that alligator lizard.

Jeff
by Jeff
April 13th, 2015, 5:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Western Pond Turtle endangered?
Replies: 14
Views: 3653

Western Pond Turtle endangered?

The US Fish & Wildlife Service has determined that a petition to list the Western Pond Turtle as federally Threatened or Endangered is warranted, and they are soliciting information that supports or contradicts that determination. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-10/pdf/2015-07837.pdf Jeff
by Jeff
April 3rd, 2015, 1:14 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Four Corners lizard ID
Replies: 3
Views: 1834

Re: Four Corners lizard ID

Second on Telegans
by Jeff
April 1st, 2015, 7:58 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: New Thailand Guide
Replies: 0
Views: 4080

New Thailand Guide

This just in... 314 pages, $40 paperback....

Image

Image

Image

Jeff
by Jeff
March 16th, 2015, 3:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes and Agamids from South-east Asia - ID help
Replies: 6
Views: 2113

Re: Snakes and Agamids from South-east Asia - ID help

First lizard looks like Gonocephalus grandis
by Jeff
March 16th, 2015, 3:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes and Agamids from South-east Asia - ID help
Replies: 6
Views: 2113

Re: Snakes and Agamids from South-east Asia - ID help

Kongi

Second lizard looks like a female Calotes mystaceus

First snake looks like a species of Calamaria

Second snake is Pseudoxendon macrops

Jeff
by Jeff
March 10th, 2015, 8:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The First 2 Months
Replies: 6
Views: 3900

Re: The First 2 Months

Noah

I also heard the crickets chirping. Snake and lizard activity is really up over here as well. I think the folks north of the 31st parallel are in denial. By the time their snow melts we will be contemplating the Fall activity peak. Hasta Septiembre!

Jeff
by Jeff
March 10th, 2015, 7:54 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Lunch break
Replies: 3
Views: 1799

Re: Lunch break

Are those desperate animals, or typical spring verdure? Folks in the United States may not realize that you are at the latitude of middle Canada and southern Alaska!
by Jeff
March 6th, 2015, 5:48 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: If there could be a book
Replies: 12
Views: 19697

Re: If there could be a book

it's no secret to those who pay attention to the literature that there simply are not enough books out there to satisfy one's appetite for herpetological knowledge. Particularly frustrating is the lack of books that discuss a country or region's herpetofauna in a monograph-type fashion. I have been...
by Jeff
January 23rd, 2015, 3:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Educational Ethics
Replies: 54
Views: 336240

Re: Educational Ethics

Your statement "bring harm" is equivocal - bring spiritual harm? physical harm? Perhaps holding the snake and allowing each student, volunteer only, to come and touch the snake, as per potential physical agonistic reactions. The kid in question can watch through the classroom door. That wo...
by Jeff
January 23rd, 2015, 2:42 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 Officer List
Replies: 3
Views: 2187

Re: 2015 Officer List

Noah

I volunteered myself as Vice President

Jeff
by Jeff
January 5th, 2015, 5:37 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: The Better Guide?
Replies: 6
Views: 5049

Re: The Better Guide?

In addition to Jerry's comments -- I have both in hand, and have never been anywhere near that part of the world. Thus, with some objectivitiy: 1- Lee has range maps for each species, Campbell has none 2- Lee covers all of the Yucatan, Campbell only the southern base 3- Lee uses excellent ink drawin...
by Jeff
December 23rd, 2014, 3:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Peepers calling yet? LA, TX, AR.
Replies: 5
Views: 2277

Re: Peepers calling yet? LA, TX, AR.

Peepers really going around Baton Rouge as of this afternoon, with more rain coming.
by Jeff
December 14th, 2014, 8:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Peepers calling yet? LA, TX, AR.
Replies: 5
Views: 2277

Re: Peepers calling yet? LA, TX, AR.

Nick

No rain in the southern half of LA for two weeks, and none forecast. The northern half of LA has gotten some light showers, but probably just the sort that gets the soil damp.

Jeff
by Jeff
December 13th, 2014, 2:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Pa Timber at its finest.
Replies: 9
Views: 3775

Re: Pa Timber at its finest.

That's a very unique picture, and looks precarious as well! It reminds me of rock rattlesnake habitat at the top of the reef in Carr Canyon in the Huachucas.

Jeff
by Jeff
December 10th, 2014, 6:20 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Always check those roadkills!
Replies: 18
Views: 6993

Re: Always check those roadkills!

John Presumably the isolated gulf coast populations of green snakes, 13-lined ground squirrels, and ring-necked snakes are derived from populations to the north. I say that because there are no populations nearby in the other directions. I've never seen those species depicted from the gulf populatio...
by Jeff
December 6th, 2014, 5:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Always check those roadkills!
Replies: 18
Views: 6993

Re: Always check those roadkills!

Chris That garter snake is a spectacular find. Thamnopis sirtalis was the topic of my dissertation, but I was not able to cover the Texas coast populations. They are not assignable to current subspecies, and there is no connection between them and T. s. annectens or T. s. sirtalis. Yours matches the...
by Jeff
December 1st, 2014, 6:07 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Florida Herping 1950's trip
Replies: 4
Views: 2033

Re: Florida Herping 1950's trip

Dear Failedherper I guess we need an "attempted satire" alert (emoticon, please!). Neither Hubbs nor I were much out of diapers in the 50s. Also need a "waiting for the point" emoticon.... Scott.... anybody? Nevermind, got it :sleep: There are some true 1950s Florida field trip a...
by Jeff
November 21st, 2014, 4:37 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herp collecting surveys
Replies: 29
Views: 10040

Re: Herp collecting surveys

Yuesam Can you tell us what country or organization you were associated with during your negative experience? Bryan, Cappy, Jerry, mfb and Bill M have countered with the modern explanations about why additional animals are collected, and I will try not to repeat their experienced responses. The mean...
by Jeff
November 7th, 2014, 5:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A Dream Come True in Borneo!
Replies: 33
Views: 18972

Re: A Dream Come True in Borneo!

Ditto on the Wows! Your photo says much more about the species than published photos of dead or limply dying specimens. For example, at the midbody it is evident that the snake is extending its ribs outward, evidently to grip the rock. And if that is its typical habitat, the rib clutch is well suite...
by Jeff
November 1st, 2014, 5:37 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: November Species List
Replies: 3
Views: 2981

Re: November Species List

Sorry Jeff Cricket frogs can be tough, even with a piece of note paper and pencil in my shirt pocket. One day along the sandy shore of the Comite there were seemingly 5-10 juveniles leaping at every step, and some would jump over each other, some landing ahead, perhaps to be counted again. To furth...
by Jeff
October 31st, 2014, 6:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Sometimes it pays to stop and watch a Uta.
Replies: 8
Views: 3495

Re: Sometimes it pays to stop and watch a Uta.

from what I can tell, it is a Desert Grassland Whiptail
Yes, DG Whiptail
by Jeff
October 27th, 2014, 6:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aspidoscelis septemvittata?
Replies: 3
Views: 2034

Re: Aspidoscelis septemvittata?

Oh, yes, the thighs. I'm with the young tesselata ID.

Jeff
by Jeff
October 24th, 2014, 3:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New Game-What is it?
Replies: 10
Views: 3337

Re: New Game-What is it?

Kermit
That's close...at least you identified it as a frog...
No, he identified it as a puppet
by Jeff
October 24th, 2014, 3:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: New Game-What is it?
Replies: 10
Views: 1955

Re: New Game-What is it?

Kermit
That's close...at least you identified it as a frog...
No, he identified it as a puppet
by Jeff
October 21st, 2014, 5:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Hybird Wandering Gartersnake
Replies: 24
Views: 7635

Re: Possible Hybird Wandering Gartersnake

Brian There is nothing behind the eyes that indicates that it is anything but a Wandering Garter Snake. Clearly, the rostro-ocular area is messed up, probably pre-parturition. The snout is blunted, the iris is black, the rostral area is non-pigmented -- these are not characteristics of T. sirtalis. ...
by Jeff
October 20th, 2014, 2:59 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Texas ID ?'s
Replies: 12
Views: 3574

Re: Texas ID ?'s

The water is N. erythrogaster - pattern clear in the underwater shot
First lizard is Sceloporus merriami
Spiny is S. magister/S.bimaculosus, whatever you wish to call it
First whiptail is Asp. tessellatus
Second is A. septemvittatus

I'd be guessing on the rest....

Jeff
by Jeff
October 19th, 2014, 5:59 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14
Replies: 19
Views: 10638

Re: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14

a

They vary geographically and ontogenetically in spot size and density.

Jeff
by Jeff
October 19th, 2014, 12:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14
Replies: 19
Views: 10638

Re: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14

a

That blue-spotted salamander looks VERY much like a Slimy Salamander (even spotting, nasolabial protrusions, round tail, etc.). I know they aren't supposed to be in Ontario, so did you take the photo elsewhere?

Jeff
by Jeff
October 6th, 2014, 7:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Completed goals of 2014
Replies: 14
Views: 5226

Re: Completed goals of 2014

Darn well I got one less lifer I guess... but hey I still got quite a few!
Welcome, you are a herpetologist!

Jeff
by Jeff
October 5th, 2014, 8:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: October Species list
Replies: 3
Views: 1836

Re: October Species list

That's a pretty good haul for this time of year, especially the marbled salamander plus 3 racers.

If you can count the TMTC, please do -- it makes a difference for trend analyses.

Jeff
by Jeff
October 5th, 2014, 8:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Utah 2014-Wrapping it up
Replies: 11
Views: 3244

Re: Utah 2014-Wrapping it up

Rye What a fantastic portfolio. I made several visits to Utah in the 1970s and 1980s, and your pictures inspired long lost memories. Your first photo of the painted turtle with the snowy mountains in the background reminded me of my first spring as a FS employee in the White Mountains of Arizona. I ...
by Jeff
October 5th, 2014, 3:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Red-bellies in the South Bay area!
Replies: 10
Views: 3653

Re: Red-bellies in the South Bay area!

Stevens Creek was not a place that I frequented (maybe twice), though I had some friends that spent time up there during the 1970s. In those days Stevens Creek was too far to bother by bike, so my associates (including Owen and El Garia) operated the three watersheds to the southeast. We spent a lot...
by Jeff
October 4th, 2014, 11:17 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Red-bellies in the South Bay area!
Replies: 10
Views: 3653

Red-bellies in the South Bay area!

After 20+ years of living around the Santa Clara Valley/Santa Cruz Mountains, I seem to have missed one species.... Red-bellied Newts (Taricha rivularis) - native breeding population in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Here are the title and a link... S. Reilly et al. Discovery of a new, disjunct populatio...
by Jeff
October 3rd, 2014, 9:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Completed goals of 2014
Replies: 14
Views: 5226

Re: Completed goals of 2014

The canthus rostralis is the angled slope anterior to the eye between the top and side of the snout - something both of those salamanders have. Both can have a dark, longitudinal mark on the canthus, and spring salamanders may have a pale line. The markings in both species tend to change with age, a...
by Jeff
October 2nd, 2014, 5:31 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: New Open Journal (and website) on Meso-American herps
Replies: 1
Views: 3093

Re: New Open Journal (and website) on Meso-American herps

Chris

Thanks for posting this. It seemed that the old Sociedad de Herpetologicos Mexicanos site had died.

Jeff
by Jeff
October 2nd, 2014, 3:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Completed goals of 2014
Replies: 14
Views: 5226

Re: Completed goals of 2014

and I am one hundred percent sure that the red salamander is not a spring salamander I was with a herpetologist when I found it and she was the one who ided it I'm also a herpetologist, and I've seen larvae of both Have a look at these photos http://www.paherps.com/herps/salamanders/spring_salamand...
by Jeff
October 1st, 2014, 5:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Completed goals of 2014
Replies: 14
Views: 5226

Re: Completed goals of 2014

Trip to Iowa: Goals achieved: Eastern Massassauga, Smooth Greensnake Goals missed: Fox Snake, Blanding's Turtle Down here: No Rainbow Snake yet, but it's still summer I had a very ambitious goal list for 2014 and I made a lot of progress Are you done for the year? Also, your Red Salamander looks a l...
by Jeff
September 21st, 2014, 1:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014
Replies: 13
Views: 6795

Re: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo 2014

Tom

The mystery Dasypeltis looks like the orange form of D. atra, which occurs in the region from which you reported it.

Jeff
by Jeff
September 9th, 2014, 6:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: AZ and NM, 12 days including the NAFHA meeting
Replies: 20
Views: 8317

Re: AZ and NM, 12 days including the NAFHA meeting

Andy Wow, fantastic assortment for a single trip. I've seen all of the species that you've shown, but only after numerous trips and living there during the 1970s-1980s. I enjoyed seeing places that I have not been to in 35 years. My great envy is the Spotted Skunk! I've seen badgers, fishers, hognos...
by Jeff
September 8th, 2014, 4:15 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: South Africa 2013, part 2
Replies: 13
Views: 5938

Re: South Africa 2013, part 2

Kevin What a very informative and entertaining shift from China! I spent a good half-hour absorbing it. The sausage that ChrisH noted first looked like the biggest Megatyphlops schlegelii ever recorded. Jeff [As an aside your sandveld skink Nucras caesicaudata is a Rainbow Skink (Trachylepis margari...
by Jeff
September 2nd, 2014, 6:24 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Weller's Doom
Replies: 24
Views: 15131

Re: Weller's Doom

do you have the full citation to the Walker paper describing P. welleri?
I scanned a copy today for BS Brown, and can send the same via personal e-mail to PM.

Jeff
by Jeff
September 2nd, 2014, 5:28 pm
Forum: Reading Room
Topic: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon
Replies: 18
Views: 9696

Re: There are books, and then there's Herp Canon

Sherbrooke has at least two horned lizard books. Correct. The newer one, 2003, has 160 pages, and is exceptional in detail and coverage.... http://books.google.com/books?id=sWe-cPzyviAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Sherbrooke+Horned+Lizards&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gF8GVJ6MCsvloATsgoDIBg&ved...
by Jeff
September 2nd, 2014, 6:57 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Weller's Doom
Replies: 24
Views: 15131

Re: Weller's Doom

I have a copy of the original "Proceedings of the Junior Society of Natural History" in which Plethodon welleri was formally described by Charles Walker (dated July 31, 1931). It also contains a brief Memorium about Weller that provides no additional information from what has has been pres...
by Jeff
August 29th, 2014, 6:46 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Weller's Doom
Replies: 24
Views: 15131

Re: Weller's Doom

If you fall to your death, you probably found the same spot. In Adler's "Contributions to the History of Herpetology Volume 2" it is stated that "...Weller's body was found lodged among boulders of rain-swollen Stonestack Creek." Supposedly, this would be at an elevation high eno...