4/16/10 Salamander hunting

Contrary to common belief, we actually do have more than two species of salamander here in the Texas hill country. We have three. Most people know of the Texas blind salamander found in caves, and those who live in Boerne usually know of the rare cascade caverns salamander. The lesser known of our three salamanders is the western slimy salamander. One of the lung less salamanders common to the American Midwest it can be found under moist logs in places outside of civilization. I had not found one of these animals in a long while so finding one was a treat, even if it was a few weeks back. I found it in a canyon which is only filled with water after a few days of heavy rain. On this particular day I went down to search at an interval between two large rainstorms. During this time the sun had come out and it was close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The salamander was underneath a small log near the edge of a woodpile so I am glad that he didn't sprint to the woodpile and I would not be able to catch him.

Definitely my favorite salamander found in Texas.

Night Cruising 4/23/10

Me and the kingsnake

Meahllmorum rat snake
The second Rattlesnake
DOR Checkered Garter
Desert Kingsnake
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

A few weeks ago in April I went road cruising down in south Texas in search of snakes. The lack of cloud cover limited our finds to only a few snakes yet it still yielded a few good finds, including a first for me. We started cruising at about 8:00 and had a few early finds but as the night wore on the action slowed down as a huge storm rolled in across the flat landscape. Early in the night our first find was the infamous Western Diamond back Rattlesnake. This snake was about 4 ft and thick bodied. A few minutes later we ran into a new species for me, the Desert King Snake. The near three foot adult immediately struck up a defensive pose and began to shake its' tail. As we continued cruising we saw only another rattler and a DOR checkered garter snake. This second rattlesnake was darker in color than the first. The last snake of the night was a meahllmorum rat snake. Subspecies of the emory rat snake this wasn't truly a first for me but this was a new subspecies for me to find in the wild so I was happy to be able to cross it off of my list of snakes I have found in Texas.

Emory Rat Snake

This particular specimen was found on 4/30/10. A small female found on the steps in my backyard. Found on a surprisingly warm night (in retrospect I wish I could have gone night cruising). The emory rat snake is a fairly common snake in this area and is one of my favorites. The snake surprisingly did not strike nor seem at all agitated when caught which was not really expected seeing as how they often are quite aggressive when messed with. Over all a great snake to have an encounter with.

Spotted Chorus Frog

In my opinion the spotted chorus frog is one of the coolest frogs that we have in the hill country of Texas. This is a small frog, similar in size and stature to that of the Blanchard's cricket frog. I have found them on a few occasions but most recently found on 5/23/10 in a stock pond on a ranch on the edge of town. The species is incredibly variable in its appearance, ranging from white with a black eye bar, to green with brown spots. I have included a few pictures in order to show the color differences.

Texas Patchnose snake

On 5/25/10 I decided to do some minor herping around in my backyard and flip the plywood boards I have laying about my yard. Underneath the 4th board I flipped I Found a small Texas patchnose snake. Closely resembling the very common red stripe ribbon snake this species is characterized by its trademark rostral scale on its nose. One of the quickest snakes in the Texas hill country it is only bested by the coachwhip and its relatives. These snakes feed mostly on lizards such as six lined racerunners. This specific snake was the first example of this species that has ever struck at me.

Eastern Hognose Snake

On Sunday 5/23/10 I went herping for a brief time.
Underneath the first plywood board that i flipped I found a small adult Eastern Hognose snake. This specific specimen was very light in color with a reddish hue. After capture the snake promptly began to feign death (a defense mechanism which defines the hognose snakes). The snake also had recently eaten a gulf coast toad about 4X the girth of the snake itself. The snake's ability to swallow such large prey items is certainly a useful adaptation for an opportunistic predator such as this.
The only pictures where taken with my phone so I am sorry for the poor quality.

Hello

Well I have started this in order to show and talk about the species I find. So please enjoy! For pictures of my past finds, or if you just want somewhere to discuss field herping if it is a passion of yours there is a link to Herping with Dylan forum over to the right.