Texas herps of 2010

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Scott_Wahlberg
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Texas herps of 2010

Post by Scott_Wahlberg »

Haven’t posted pictures here in a long time so here it goes. I didn’t have access to my camera for a large portion of 2010 so here is a hodge podge of what was encountered when I had my camera. In no particular oder...

A number of Texas Corn Snakes were found this year. These are abundant savannah ecosystems in this portion of east Texas.
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Coluber constrictor are one of the most commonly encountered snakes in the region. In my part of the state most resemlbe tan racers more so than Buttermilks. Most tend to be tan snakes with faint speckling. Here are a few predominately Tan Racers from this year.
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I didn't spend much time in southeastern Texas where the best looking anthicus occur so I only saw a handful this year.
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I don't get to upset over roadkill snakes but man this sure is one I would've liked to see alive.
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On one of a few visits to the Big Thicket region a few Louisiana milksnakes were encountered.
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Scarlet snakes are locally and seasonally abundant in sandy xeric sites in deep east Texas.
This one is from a locale where I suspected them to occur but had previously never turned them up.
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This is the only live Canebrake I managed to come across this year.
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Pygmy rattlesnakes can be difficult snakes to come across in east Texas. Most seem to prefer mesic areas of mixed oak and pine in the region. This one is from about as far west as they occur in the state.
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Grahams crayfish snake
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And as usual I spent a decent amount of time in my favorite part of the state. I am counting the days until I can move back to south Texas. In no particular order here are a few finds from this year.

Agkistrodon contotrix laticinctus from Victoria County
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We found a number of Schott's and Ruthven's Whipsnakes this year. This is the only schotti I photographed.
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Some ruthveni as found in stack of tin from Hidalgo County.
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Southwestern ratsnakes are commonly encountered but I seldomly choose to photo them.
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A few milksnakes from the south Texas coast.
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Found while looking for milksnakes and saguas in the dunes.
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This was a less than stellar year for Texas Coral Snakes. Most years I see on average between 15 and 20. This year I only saw six. This one is photo'd as found from Brownsville.
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Flipping Drymarchon is always a neat experience.
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Previous to this animal I had only found Green toads dead on the road. So it was exciting to finally find a live one.
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Habitat shot of where the above animal was found
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I've spent a decent amount of time looking for this species in other parts of the state where they are more common without any luck. So it was quite unexpected to come across one while flipping trash along the coast one morning.
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Pseudacris streckeri

Perhaps my favorite find of the year was this seldomly encountered species. This was an absolutely amazing frog chorus and not something that will be easily topped. After driving around for a while I finally heard the “whooooop” sound I was listening for. I got lucky in finding this chorus as there were only a handful of choruses going. This was the first one I found.
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There were even a few crossing the road.
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A few Smilisca were out too
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We also heard a few white-lipped frogs calling but were unsuccessful in locating any.

These can prove to be quite common once you get the right search image down.
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Sceloporus grammicus

While looking for Mesquite lizards we came across this scene.
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It was evident that the snake was not going to get the frog down and after a few minutes of watching they separated and the frog made a hastey escape.
It's not a good trip without one of these.
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Leptodeira septentrionalis
That’s all for now.
Later, Scott
mikemike
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by mikemike »

Dang.
It must be awesome to flip an Indigo.
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Fieldnotes
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Fieldnotes »

Best Texas post ever!!! :thumb: :thumb:
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azatrox
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by azatrox »

Great post! Loved the Agkistrodon!

-Kris
dickbartlett
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by dickbartlett »

Killer post Scott. I've gotta get KW in the groove and see a few of these taxa this year.
Coluber c. etheridgei and those uggggggleeeeee strawberry and black frogs are wayyyy
up on the list. Good luck to you and John.
John Williams
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by John Williams »

Great stuff. Hopefully we can encounter a few of those species and add a few to our list this year. I guess I haven’t really thought about it until your post, but I’ve flipped as many Drymarchon as I’ve seen active down there. Strange. Is that Leptodeira in shed or just the ugleist one ever found?
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DaneConley
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by DaneConley »

I really need to find either a scarlet king or milk snake.

Great post though.

:thumb:
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chrish
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by chrish »

Awesome stuff Scott.

The Leptodeira and Rhinophrynus are certainly on my "must see" list for the the state, but the thing that perked my ears up the most was the P. streckeri.
I have spent a lot of time in their range to no avail. I must say that is an odd-looking little streckeri based on my limited experience with them (i.e. photos and museum specimens).

Chris
Paul White
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Paul White »

I have to get my butt back to Hidalgo an Cameron and Uvalde.
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MattSullivan
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by MattSullivan »

that mexican burrower is awesome! i love the head on shot of him all puffed out. too cool :thumb:
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Gibson
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Gibson »

Awesome post! That Green Toad and the Narrowmouth toad are sooo cool! Nice job! :thumb:
Coluber Constrictor
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Coluber Constrictor »

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gretzkyrh4
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

Fieldnotes wrote:Best Texas post ever!!! :thumb: :thumb:
I'll second that!
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Paul Huang
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Paul Huang »

Excellent post for not having your camera with you all the time! :)
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ChrisNM
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by ChrisNM »

Where's the pics of the random IOR speckled king and the I've-been-up-all-day NM Herper sleeping in the front seat of your exploder? Wait, that was 2004. Nice to see ya posting again. I'll have to get back out your way.
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ksuglennj
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by ksuglennj »

I will 3rd 4th.... that this is the best Texas post ever. Great photography of a bunch of special species but the Rhinophrynus is just beyond special. Such a rarely posted animal. :thumb:

Glenn
Bladeblaster
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Bladeblaster »

great finds, loving the whipsnakes 8-)
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walk-about
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by walk-about »

That was a sweet post, Scott!!! The Cemophora must have been a huge find? Don't see many on here from TX. Thanks for sharing.

Rock ON!

Dave
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Daniel Parker
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Daniel Parker »

Nice post Scott! I really like seeing all those east and south Texas herps that we don't see posted here too often. Flipping would be a cool way to find an indigo. All of the ones I have seen (both Texas and Florida) have been out on the crawl. I have heard of people finding them under tin in Georgia.
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Don Becker
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Don Becker »

I would have guessed this was a calligaster based on the picture.
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KevColubrid
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by KevColubrid »

Scott-
Very cool post, I love all the south texas specialties, and you covered some of my favorites with both buttermilks and ruthevins in there. Love the cat eyed snake too.

Kevin
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chris drake
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by chris drake »

Great post Scott. Looking at your pics makes me realize i need to get out ALOT more. :)

Chris
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Scott_Wahlberg
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Scott_Wahlberg »

dickbartlett wrote:Killer post Scott. I've gotta get KW in the groove and see a few of these taxa this year.
Coluber c. etheridgei and those uggggggleeeeee strawberry and black frogs are wayyyy
up on the list. Good luck to you and John.
Thanks, Dick. Hope you and Kenny do well in Texas also. We'll be around if you come through south east Texas and want to head to some flipping spots.
John Williams wrote:Great stuff. Hopefully we can encounter a few of those species and add a few to our list this year. I guess I haven’t really thought about it until your post, but I’ve flipped as many Drymarchon as I’ve seen active down there. Strange. Is that Leptodeira in shed or just the ugleist one ever found?
It's the ugliest Leptodeira ever found. We'll do fine down there at the very least we'll eat well which is worth the trip alone.
chrish wrote:Awesome stuff Scott.

The Leptodeira and Rhinophrynus are certainly on my "must see" list for the the state, but the thing that perked my ears up the most was the P. streckeri.
I have spent a lot of time in their range to no avail. I must say that is an odd-looking little streckeri based on my limited experience with them (i.e. photos and museum specimens).

Chris
Chris, no one was more surprised than me to see that P. streckeri there, we were in Aransas Co. But after thinking about we were on a well drained sandy site with a few ephemeral ponds present. John and I also remarked on its unusual appearance
ChrisNM wrote:Where's the pics of the random IOR speckled king and the I've-been-up-all-day NM Herper sleeping in the front seat of your exploder? Wait, that was 2004. Nice to see ya posting again. I'll have to get back out your way.
I think I'll be through NM this year. Maybe we'll herp!
walk-about wrote:That was a sweet post, Scott!!! The Cemophora must have been a huge find? Don't see many on here from TX. Thanks for sharing.

Rock ON!

Dave
Dave, we turn up limited numbers of Cemophora every year in our P. ruthveni traps through May and June. In deep east Texas they're doing ok in the remaining sections of Long-leaf pine. If I can just find a Texas Scarlet now I'd be happy.
Daniel Parker wrote:Nice post Scott! I really like seeing all those east and south Texas herps that we don't see posted here too often. Flipping would be a cool way to find an indigo. All of the ones I have seen (both Texas and Florida) have been out on the crawl. I have heard of people finding them under tin in Georgia.
Daniel, of all the Indigos I've seen only two have been flipped. Both were under relatively large sheets of AC.

Everyone else, thanks for the comments.

-Scott
stjensen92
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by stjensen92 »

May I ask what county did you find the sauguas and milks in the dunes?
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Tim Borski
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Tim Borski »

I'm also on the "best Texas post ever" bandwagon. Beyond great! Thanks, man.
Tim
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Don Cascabel
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Don Cascabel »

Awesome post. Probably the nicest array of herps I´ve seen come out of a Texas post. Congrats on the Rhinophrynus, they can be tough, you have to hit them right. The Leptodeira is pretty standard... you guys up north get some pretty spectacular ones (halloween snakes) but those are not the norm throughout the range.... normally they are more drab. Good job on the streckeri, that´s a species I want to see some day. Also, when were you hunting the massies on the dunes? Flipping or looking for baskers? What month? I want to register those things in Tamaulipas one of these days.... Dunes would be a fun way to do it.

Chris
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The Real Snake Man
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by The Real Snake Man »

Incredible post. As a Texas boy myself (who can hardly ever et his Dad to take him herping) I really appreciate your finds, especially the south Texas ones. For me however, the Texas Corn, the Scarlet Snake, and the Milk snakes were the highlights. Great stuff.

Gene
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SoutheastColorado
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by SoutheastColorado »

Wow I thoroughly enjoyed this post man! I really gotta get down there with ya sometime.
William
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Scott_Wahlberg
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Scott_Wahlberg »

on the Rhinophrynus, they can be tough, you have to hit them right.
Tell me about it! I got down there the night after the first storm system came through and with the exception a single frog still calling far off of the road they had already shut down. I had to wait around an additional week for a second storm system to come through before I heard them again.
Also, when were you hunting the massies on the dunes? Flipping or looking for baskers? What month?
I've only ever looked for Sistrurus in the dunes when flipping for milksnakes during February. I've seen them on the road further south during June and July though.
Wow I thoroughly enjoyed this post man! I really gotta get down there with ya sometime.
William, Come on down! Thankfully my time in deep east Texas is just about done so you better make it soon.

Thanks for the comments, Scott
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Alex Pepper
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Alex Pepper »

Great post!

As a Drymarchon nut, I (and I'm sure many other forum members) would love to see any other shots you have of them regardless of quality.
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Norman M. Schlincter
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Re: Texas herps of 2010

Post by Norman M. Schlincter »

That's quite a selection of herps I've never seen, Mr. Wahlberg. However, be sure to italicize your scientific names. This seems to be a commonly overlooked issue!

Norm
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