I used my last weekend to get back into the wilderness and capture some pictures of some common herps (ok, well the not-so-common just didn't show). I did this to shed light on a lot of mistakes I had seen being made regarding identification, diagnostic keys, and the like. While some of the veteran herpers and highly educated may scoff at my relatively newbie herping skills, I must let you know I have been reading up and doing my research. You may want to pull up a chair and pay attention.
I see this misidentified all the time. This melanistic Coachwhip is being called a Black Racer all the time here. Our area is primarily known for the melanistic morph of this animal.
This individual was as Nasti as they come. I finally got it in a full frame pose and just as I snap the picture...
Why is it not lunging at me? Hmm...
Herping with children has its trials.
While many of you may chalk this up as unidentified frog, the new literature will surely cite that Green Frogs do in fact change there color to match their surroundings. Some, such as this one, even changes its texture to match the algae it is floating in. Tests are currently being performed at the University of Northern Delaware by S. Pinifer, Phd.
I will spare most of the roadkill, but unfortunately I didn't get any pics of a live one and I wanted to bring this point up. There have been a lot of debate amongst turtle common names. I'm gonna put an end to all that. To all stay on the same page we are referring to Pseudymys rubiventris as the Northern Redbellied Sliding Terracooter. Or simply NRBSTC. So again, I apologize for the pic of the DOR NRSBTC.
In Southern Jersey there is a lot of confusion regarding the Keelless Redbellied Snake. This is a close relative to its Northern counterpart, but lacks the keels as it has evolved and adapted to a smoother scalation for easier burrowing in the sandy coastal plain. I see people calling these worm snakes all the time. Excuse my frankness, but c'mon fellow members. Pick up a book. Worm snakes are extremely rare in Southern Jersey. I doubt that any of us have actually seen one, unless you only post it on facebook.
I'm not a birder, but if I see a cool bird I'll snap a pic. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't too good for this Peragrine Falcon.
Patternless Leopard Frog... Please don't try and tell me its a patternless pickerel. Sheesh.
I couldn't lure these turtles close enough for identifying shots, so I'm just gonna put them in the database as the obvious choice... bog turtles.
These have recently been split into a new subspecies, and I'm quite excited about it actually. I introduce the Eastern Pine Lizard. After decades of study, it was found that these little swifts are rarely found on fences. In this first pic, there are three on a fallen tree.
This next one, a log.
And finally, this third one is showing its natural camouflage on a chunk of concrete. Quite cryptic, indeed. Notice... no fences.
Daddy-Long-Legs... completely harmless. The first one is immature, according to Elliot (not Elliott).
Northern Cricket Frogs (I don't see anyone identifying these wrong.) - These guys were jumping amongst the sundews (Drosera coolcarnivourousplants).
*I tried getting a good DOF to get the cricket and the sundew in focus, but missed my opportunity when it jumped. Little b*st*rd. It woulda been a cool shot.
Fire-bellied ringneck... Another rarity in the pines. This snake was this year's young. Apparently it hadn't learned that when placed on spaghnum you just take your lumps and pose for the camera. I had my hand in my pocket, grabbing for the quarter and all. Oh well.
Here's why we need to keep entering our records. I spent 9 hours in South Jersey and only turned up one Fowler's toad. They are not trash or junk herps anymore. They are obviously in decline. I even spared punting this one into the nearby vernal.
I'm pretty sure this is an aberrant Ambystoma annulatum. I pickled it just in case this is a disjunct, fragmented population and not just a marbled salamander. If anyone can lead me in the right direction, I'd like to get it to the proper scientists.
What comes after Q?
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Man, I'd like to have this shot back. I'm sure there will be more to find. I only found one at the vernal's edge (and one more tiny one a long way away). *Someday, I'll get photoshop.
I found this juvy Black Racer. When they are young, they have a pattern to them. They eventually lose the yellow ring.
I took some close-ups of this Five-Lined skink. I had never taken the time to actually figure out what people were talking about with scale counts to differentiate between these and Broadheads. Well, let me tell you... It's a BIG mistake to do a google image search on "labial count." Make sure your safesearch is set to at least moderate. Or better yet, trust me; It's a 5-line.
This thing looked like a giant kalmi, but it had ridges. I'm wondering if its some kind of tumor showing up. If anyone else has noticed this, I'd like to hear about it.
That's about it for my NJ exploration. It's getting late so let me just run through what I roadcruised in a short hour last night.
A Fowler's Toad, before I DOR'ed it. You can tell its a fowler's toad by paying attention to whether I want it dead or not.
Bulls everywhere... This one was odd looking, but they all are when they are young, I guess.
Stupid green frog. I've cruised these roads for four years now searching for a leopard (endangered in PA). I can spot the ridges and differentiate between them and a bull from a good ten yards. And every time, I hope those ridges mean Leopard. I'd give up, but I know as soon as I do, Kyle will find one. And that will kill me. Because Kyle always wins.
Jersey sucks. PA Chorus Frog
And my favorite anuran species to date. Poor guy. I didn't even realize he musta been clipped by a car until after I looked at the pics. I didn't hear it call so I can't say for sure, but it looked like it'd say ribbit. Pacific chorus frog.
It's late. I never post this late. I hope I got all my facts right. Goodnight and thanks for looking.
Bob
You're All Misinformed
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: You're All Misinformed
I loved it, reminiscent of a Joe Farah post. We need more levity to some of these posts.
- Josh Holbrook
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Re: You're All Misinformed
Awesome. I have learned much. And for that, I thank you.
Re: You're All Misinformed
I was actually afraid I'd sound a little too much like Joe. I love his posts. We need a little more humor from time to time.justinm wrote:I loved it, reminiscent of a Joe Farah post. We need more levity to some of these posts.
- BillMcGighan
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Re: You're All Misinformed
Nice animals.....
BUT.........
I, for one, was offended in that you are not taking this as serious as it truly warrants. There is no room for levity in herpetology… This is serious business….
… Many of us here take pride in our anal retentive posture, and have honed it to a fine point…
Shocked, Bill
PS My wife, and serious birder, says you misidentified your Peregrine. It’s actually a species of Gyrfalcon that specializes on animals that make the mistake of sleeping on the Jersey Turnpike.
BUT.........
I, for one, was offended in that you are not taking this as serious as it truly warrants. There is no room for levity in herpetology… This is serious business….
… Many of us here take pride in our anal retentive posture, and have honed it to a fine point…
Shocked, Bill
PS My wife, and serious birder, says you misidentified your Peregrine. It’s actually a species of Gyrfalcon that specializes on animals that make the mistake of sleeping on the Jersey Turnpike.
- Tim Borski
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Re: You're All Misinformed
Lilie's shoes are still on the wrong feet.
Tim
Tim
- Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: You're All Misinformed
My bad if I don't get the joke, if there is one involved, but......innat a turkey vulture??the lighting wasn't too good for this Peragrine Falcon.
- kyle loucks
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Re: You're All Misinformed
I kowtow in your general direction and await further instruction.
- Josh Holbrook
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Re: You're All Misinformed
All the ID's in this post are offHans Breuer (twoton) wrote:My bad if I don't get the joke, if there is one involved, but......innat a turkey vulture??the lighting wasn't too good for this Peragrine Falcon.
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Wow, I needed that...
That is funnnnny. I was cracking up the whole read. I really like the juvie racer that losed the ring. I never knew
J
J
- Chris Smith
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- Russ_Jones
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Re: You're All Misinformed
It was funny up to the five-lined skink and I googled "labial count", at which point I forgot all about this thread
Cheers!
Russ
Cheers!
Russ
Re: You're All Misinformed
Lol! Ditto!Russ_Jones wrote:It was funny up to the five-lined skink and I googled "labial count", at which point I forgot all about this thread
Cheers!
Russ
- Nigel Smith
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Re: You're All Misinformed
Funny stuff Thanks.
- Daniel D Dye
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Re: You're All Misinformed
Say what?!?!?
Re: You're All Misinformed
Haha, that was my favorite part. It was a nice looking toad too.brick911 wrote:A Fowler's Toad, before I DOR'ed it. You can tell its a fowler's toad by paying attention to whether I want it dead or not.
Re: You're All Misinformed
Hilarious. Thanks for taking the time to entertain and amuse us.
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Re: You're All Misinformed
How'd you explain those pictures to the3 kids? I knew the herp meaning of that term before I knew the human meaning...caused some confusion in health class as a kid.. It's a BIG mistake to do a google image search on "labial count." Make sure your safesearch is set to at least moderate. Or better yet, trust me; It's a 5-line.
loved hte pine lizards
Re: You're All Misinformed
I think your Perigrine Falcon is actually some sort of bat that was standing right side up. Everything else looked good!
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Re: You're All Misinformed
I think I saw every one of those herps on my X-country trip last year... and mis-Id'd every single one. boy do I feel stupid... jim
Re: You're All Misinformed
I don't think the bat was standing right side up, i think Bob was standing on his head when he shot the picture.Aaron wrote:I think your Perigrine Falcon is actually some sort of bat that was standing right side up. Everything else looked good!