Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

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Saunders
Posts: 433
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:42 am
Location: Boerne, Tx

Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by Saunders »

Hey guys, well it's the time of year when the herps start moving.
Up here in Tennessee I've found a few things, and then I went down back home to Texas and got some more good stuff.
So without andy further ado, here are some herps.
First off, a led phase Zig Zag Salamander (Plethodon dorsalis)
Image
Zig Zag Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Now, one of my favorite salamanders, the Green Salamander (Aniedes aeneus
Image
Green Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Next, my herpetology professor and I found this cool wetland and ended up setting out traps.
I'm looking forward to finding some tree frogs here later in the year.
Image
Amphibian Wetland by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

One thing our traps found was this gravid Two Lined Salamander (Eurycea wilderae
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Two Lined Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

This next find came from the same wetland and may be a big deal.
The ID of this one is still in question, it's either a paedomorphic Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum), or a larval Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum).
It has, and lacks characteristics of both species, for example, it lacks the striped ventral of talpoideum, but it also lacks the large jaws of tigrinum. If it is a Tiger then it is a big deal, the first one found on the Cumberland Plateau in this area, and an extension of their range in respect to elevation. We kept it and are getting multiple opinions, as we all as DNA tests.
Any opinions on its ID are welcome.
Image
Eastern Tiger Salamander Larvae by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Next up are some animals from my time back home in Texas for spring break.
My first find was this little Flathead Snake (Tantilla gracillis.
Image
Flathead Snake by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

I made use of my new macro lens.
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Flathead Snake by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Later that day a friend and I hit up our old flipping spots and had some luck.
Western Coachwhip (Coluber {Masticophis} flagellum)
Image
Western Coachwhip by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Next up was what is one of my favorite common snakes of the Texas Hillcountry, the Texas Patchnose (Salvadora grahamiae lineata)
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Texas Patchnose by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

In habitat.
Image
Texas Patchnose by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

That day also found us a few Texas River Cooters (Pseudemys texana)
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Texas River Cooter by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Later in the week I drove out to West Texas to herp with a friend, and all i got to show for it was this Sonoran Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
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Sonoran Ground Snake by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

The last part of Spring Break found me herping the Hill Country again, turning up animals such as this Western Slimy Salamander (Plethodon albagula)
Image
Northern Slimy Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

It was also then that I got my first decent photo of one of Texas' many species of small spring salamanders that inhabit very localized habitats throughout the Hill Country,
(Eurycea latitans)
Image
Eurycea latitans by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

Also found this nice Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
Image
Greater Earless Lizard by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

It was now that I returned up tho Tennessee where some quick herping turned up these species.
Five Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)
Image
Five Lined Skink by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

As well as this Two Lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)
Image
Two Lined Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

A quick trip into a small cave turned up many Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) and one Led Phase Zig Zag Salamander (Plethodon dorsalis)
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Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamanders by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamander and a Red Back Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamanders by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

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Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

I didn't notice this one until he was about halfway up my leg.
Image
Cave Salamander by Saundersdrukk, on Flickr

I hope you've enjoyed this post.

Also, just for good measure, here is a video I made of my herpetology class checking the traps that my professor and I set up at the wetland.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdzOqp3 ... eURjm2S2og
pops
Posts: 94
Joined: July 15th, 2010, 10:39 am

Re: Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by pops »

I'd like to see how large the larvae is but it looks like a talpoideum to me. Great pix BTW, thx for posting- dave
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Saunders
Posts: 433
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:42 am
Location: Boerne, Tx

Re: Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by Saunders »

Update: I talked to my professor ad we got a positive ID on the salamander and it is indeed a Tiger.
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Soopaman
Posts: 924
Joined: March 18th, 2012, 7:34 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by Soopaman »

Jealous of the Sonora. I really like them, even though they're an "LBJ." Glad you're having a good start to your season.
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PNWHerper
Posts: 667
Joined: July 8th, 2011, 2:04 pm
Location: King County, WA

Re: Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by PNWHerper »

Excellent post!

This has me wondering:
Image
To my knowledge, I don't know of any tiger salamander populations that have the extra phalanges in the 4th toe like this one is showing. Of all the tiger salamanders I have seen and the info I could locate, the 3rd toe is the longest. If it is indeed a Tiger salamander (as per the DNA tests) than you might have something unique on your hands. Worth investigating more... :thumb:
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Saunders
Posts: 433
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:42 am
Location: Boerne, Tx

Re: Spring is starting in Tennessee and Texas

Post by Saunders »

The specimen has been sent to be in a museum collection, and I assume the people there will look at it and see if it is something special.
We assume that there my be some phenotypic differences in the population because of the uniqueness of the location, maybe resulting in the smaller jaws as well as toe differences.
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