I'm going to use this thread as a photo dump for the species I have seen in 2015. I think I'm at 63 or 64, right at the mid-year mark; these are from four states (MA, NH, PA and FL). I might switch out some photos for another, if I find one I like better (this happened a few times while I was composing this thread in Word).
I'm going to keep my own comments minimal on the photos, in order to initiate some discussion.
Enjoy!
Andrea
Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) – Carbon County, PA
DSCN9722 by Andrea, on Flickr
Florida Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) – Collier County, FL
DSC_0168 by Andrea, on Flickr
American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) – Collier County, FL
DSCN0608 by Andrea, on Flickr
Blue-Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) – Suffolk County, MA
DSCN0917 by Andrea, on Flickr
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) – Middlesex County, MA
DSCN1140 by Andrea, on Flickr
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus) – Bristol County, MA
DSCN0388 by Andrea, on Flickr
Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) – Plymouth County, MA
DSCN9942 by Andrea, on Flickr
Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0474 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0410 by Andrea, on Flickr
Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0365 by Andrea, on Flickr
Florida Softshell (Apalone ferox) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0399 by Andrea, on Flickr
Scarletsnake (Cemophora coccinea) – Monroe County, FL
DSC_0097 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) – Suffolk County, MA
DSC_0025 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9949 by Andrea, on Flickr
Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN0310 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9019 by Andrea, on Flickr
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) – Monroe County, FL
DSCN0538 by Andrea, on Flickr
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) – Luzerne County, PA
DSCN9666 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) – Franklin County, MA
DSCN0455 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9354 by Andrea, on Flickr
Southern Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus punctatus) – Miami-Dade County, FL
DSCN0450 by Andrea, on Flickr
Greenhouse Frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) – Monroe County, FL
DSC_0096 by Andrea, on Flickr
Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) – Middlesex County, MA
DSCN9868 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata) – Plymouth County, MA
DSCN8971 by Andrea, on Flickr
Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) – Luzerne County, PA
DSCN9613 by Andrea, on Flickr
Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porpyriticus) – Berkshire County, MA – State record for both NAHERP and Mike and me.
DSCN0010 by Andrea, on Flickr
Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) – Essex County, MA
DSCN9153 by Andrea, on Flickr
Tropical House Gecko/Wood Slave (Hemidactylus mabouia) – Monroe County, FL
DSCN0553 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) – Franklin County, MA
DSCN0431 by Andrea, on Flickr
Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) – Collier County, FL
DSCN0708 by Andrea, on Flickr
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) – Plymouth County, MA
DSC_0045 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum Triangulum) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9286 by Andrea, on Flickr
American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9038 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9370 by Andrea, on Flickr
Pig Frog (Lithobates grylio) – Monroe County, FL
DSC_0106 by Andrea, on Flickr
Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris) – Berkshire County, MA
DSCN0002 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) – Middlesex County, MA
DSCN0078 by Andrea, on Flickr
Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) – Collier County, FL
DSCN0671 by Andrea, on Flickr
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) – Middlesex County, MA
DSCN1061 by Andrea, on Flickr
Florida Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) – Miami-Dade County, FL
DSCN0458 by Andrea, on Flickr
Florida Green Watersnake (Nerodia floridana) – Miami-Dade County, FL
DSCN0485 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9436 by Andrea, on Flickr
Brown Watersnake (Nerodia taxispilota) – Miami-Dade County, FL
DSCN0592 by Andrea, on Flickr
Red-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) – Norfolk County, MA
DSC_0009 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Smooth Greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis Vernalis) – Monroe County, PA
DSC_0024 by Andrea, on Flickr
Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) – Monroe County, FL
DSCN0573 by Andrea, on Flickr
Black Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus) – Carbon County, PA
DSCN9713 by Andrea, on Flickr
Yellow Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus) – Collier County, FL
DSCN0679 by Andrea, on Flickr
Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) – Luzerne County, PA
DSC_0138 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) – Bristol County, MA
DSCN0975 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) – Luzerne County, PA
DSCN9624 by Andrea, on Flickr
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) – Middlesex County, MA
DSCN1087 by Andrea, on Flickr
Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys peninsularis) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0416 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Red-belllied Cooter (Pseudemys rubiventris) – Bristol County, MA
DSCN8925 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber) – Luzerne County, PA
DSCN9621 by Andrea, on Flickr
Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus) – Monroe County, FL
DSCN0565 by Andrea, on Flickr
Brahminy Blindsnake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSCN0438 by Andrea, on Flickr
Cane/Marine Toad (Rhinella marina/Bufo marinus) – Miami/Dade County, FL
DSC_0022 by Andrea, on Flickr
Argentine Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae) – Miami/Dade County, FL
Lifer Tegu by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) Bristol County, MA
DSCN8904 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi dekayi) – Norfolk County, MA
DSCN9048 by Andrea, on Flickr
Northern Red-Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata) – Luzerne County, PA
DSCN9795 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus) – Norfolk County, MA
DSC_0020 by Andrea, on Flickr
Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) – Carbon County, PA
DSC_0044 by Andrea, on Flickr
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) – Suffolk County, MA
image by Andrea, on Flickr
Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Chapter
Moderator: Scott Waters
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Does anyone else think this is a weird looking rat snake? Most yellows I've seen have stripes, not saddles like that. I would say corn, but that doesn't seem right either. Just a juvi that has its baby saddles fading away? Maybe even a yellow rat with some Everglades rat in the genetic mix?
- mtratcliffe
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Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Great selection of herps! Looks like your trip down to FL did you well. Your Florida Red-bellied Cooter *might* be a Peninsula Cooter, but I can't see it's jawline to verify. Though I did find that Redbellies seemed to be more common than Peninsulas down in the Everglades.
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Good catch. The rat snake caught my eye, but I double checked the cooter. It looks more like a Peninsula to me too. Red bellies have a, well, a reddish belly. Do you have a pic of the mouth at all? Cusps = red-belly No cusps = peninsula.mtratcliffe wrote:Great selection of herps! Looks like your trip down to FL did you well. Your Florida Red-bellied Cooter *might* be a Peninsula Cooter, but I can't see it's jawline to verify. Though I did find that Redbellies seemed to be more common than Peninsulas down in the Everglades.
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Yeah, I really didn't know what I was looking at when I saw it. It's eyes say yellow rat to me though, as did it's temperament.Does anyone else think this is a weird looking rat snake?
I'll see what else I have for that cooter.
- Mike VanValen
- Posts: 2074
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- Location: Connecticut
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Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
I can see the "hairpins" on the top of the cooters head. It's a Peninsula.
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
LOVE that garter snake! Found one just like it behind a supermarket back in 2002 and I've never seen another one like it before or since.
- BillMcGighan
- Posts: 2362
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- Location: Unicoi, TN
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Really nice mix of northerners and southerners.
Toddler Blanding's was special.
Rat snake looks like typical Collier county. They often keep a hint of blotches as adults and are often burnt orange. First one I found was a hitchhiker under the cowling of my outboard motor after a fishing trip to Chokoloskee!
Toddler Blanding's was special.
Rat snake looks like typical Collier county. They often keep a hint of blotches as adults and are often burnt orange. First one I found was a hitchhiker under the cowling of my outboard motor after a fishing trip to Chokoloskee!
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Okay! I've edited the turtle picture to reflect that it is a Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys peninsularis), rather than a Florida red-bellied cooter. Now to go through all my turtles photos from this trip to see if I had any Florida red-bellies!
This, of course, increases my lifer list by one, so thank you!
This, of course, increases my lifer list by one, so thank you!
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Oooh, let me tell you more about that little guy/gal. I got plenty of photos of it, so I could report it's notches, and emailed it to the graduate student who is studying this particular population, and this is his response:BillMcGighan wrote:Really nice mix of northerners and southerners.
Toddler Blanding's was special.
"This is indeed one of our young Blanding's turtles. I can't tell the exact number of the turtle since it's a little too hard to tell which scute the notch is in on the backside, but the location of the front two notches tell us that this is a turtle that was released to the wetland in 2011. It is one of our non-head-started turtles, so he/she would've been released...[location redacted]... in September/October 2011 shortly after hatching out of its egg. These non-head-started turtles only have a 1st-year survival rate of about 26%, so it's very cool to see that this one is still alive and has made it on his own for the last 3 1/2 years. He does still look pretty small, but he would've only been about the size of a quarter when he was released in 2011, so he's actually growing up pretty fast. Thank you again for passing on this cool sighting."
I was so excited to learn about this!
Here's to this little turtle!
DSCN9872 by Andrea, on Flickr
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Pretty good year list so far!
This has to be the beefiest Black Ratsnake I have ever seen! What a hog!
This has to be the beefiest Black Ratsnake I have ever seen! What a hog!
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
- ZantiMissKnit
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 9:43 am
- Location: Boston area, MA
- Mike Pingleton
- Posts: 1471
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- Location: One of the boys from Illinois
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Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
Most excellent. I love-love-love the spotted salamander poking through the leaves
-Mike
-Mike
Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha
The funny rat from Collier County looks like what was known as Elaphe obsoleta deckerti into the 1970s - the Key Rat, which was a yellow rat that kept the baby blotches.
My Massachusetts Blanding's Turtle story was posted prior to the crash, so I will repeat: In 2nd grade, about 1967 in Acton, Mass, a kid brought a "snapping turtle" for show-and-tell. The brilliant yellow chin and throat, high, polished shell with many pale specks told me what it was. I stood up in front of the class without permission (criminal offense in those days) and announced that it was a Blanding's Turtle. I was ordered to sit down and remain silent - any fool knew it was a snapping turtle.
My Massachusetts Blanding's Turtle story was posted prior to the crash, so I will repeat: In 2nd grade, about 1967 in Acton, Mass, a kid brought a "snapping turtle" for show-and-tell. The brilliant yellow chin and throat, high, polished shell with many pale specks told me what it was. I stood up in front of the class without permission (criminal offense in those days) and announced that it was a Blanding's Turtle. I was ordered to sit down and remain silent - any fool knew it was a snapping turtle.