Sunday, November 17, 2013

Colombia 2013 - backpacking the Amazon with Tops Knives! Teaser!

COLOMBIA 2013!!  I recently got back from a short two week long trip to southern Colombia along the Amazon basin.  Top Knives supported us in our journey!  We spent 8 days backpacking in remote Amazonian forest while living off of the land and keeping our eyes out for any reptiles and amphibians.  We observed ~40 species of frogs, including some species that may prove interesting to the scientific community.  Photographs coming....




I will be posting in the coming weeks all of the highlights of our recent Colombia trip as well as, a 2013 wrap up domestic post.  Lots of highlights this year from the Carolinas, along with a few from other states.  Some of the bigger highlights include:

  • Eastern Indigos
  • Eastern Diamondbacks
  • Canebrakes
  • Southern Hognoses
  • Coachwhips
  • Hellbenders
  • Mud Snakes
  • Oak Toads
  • Mabee's Salamander
  • Ornate Chorus Frogs
  • Yonahlossee Salamanders and Bat Cave specimens
  • Kirtland's Snake
  • Brimley's Chorus Frog
  • Weller's Salamander
  • Blackchin Red Salamanders
  • Spotted Turtles
  • Glossy Crayfish Snakes
  • Pine Barren Treefrog
  • Red Phase Carolina Pigmy Rattlesnakes

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Husbandry Update

I decided to just do a single update post since much has changed.  I have dove more into gecko keeping with the addition of Electric Blue Geckos (Lygodactylus williamsi), Mourning Geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris), and of course I've been keeping the Gonatodes albogularis fuscus project going, with all three 2012 hatchlings going strong.  Additionally, I've added several more snakes to my collection, to even out projects I already have.  I purchased addtional Transpeco Ratsnakes (Bogertophis subocularis) , a 1.2 group from Randy Wittington (pair of Mustard Blondes and a female Blonde Silver).  I also received a breeding loan an adult pair of Tanami bloodline / locality Woma Pythons (Aspidites ramsayi).

Seen here is one of my female Mourning Geckos about to eat some fresh day gecko diet.

It has been a bit busy here as I've had success on all fronts.  My L. williamsi have produced 4 eggs, same for the pair of female Mourning Geckos.  Currently all my adult and ready to breed Transpeco Ratsnakes are down in burmation and have been for the past two months.  This week they are going to be brought back up to normal temperature and feeding regimes.  I plan to introduce males to females around mid June if all goes well I'll have more to report on that then, I hope!

My new Tanami bloodline pair is seen hear basking on a mid-day winter day afternoon.

Since the success with my Woma Pythons last year (13 egg clutch, 100% hatched) I decided to add another adult pair to my collection.  This new pair is a different bloodline than I already have, as the stock originated in the Tanami desert.  These individuals just about lack all black, and have reddish bellies, tan bands, clean heads, little black above the eyes, remain a smaller adult size (when compared to my Uluru bloodline), and hence have smaller clutches.  This Tanami bloodline is more market friendly but more widely available in my eyes.  One thing is for sure, this female is not going to have a 13 egg clutch ever.  One odd thing to note, is that the feeding response is so strong on these, they remain responsive through the winter cycle!

I have checked up on the female Womas several times this season and my Uluru bloodline female seems to be developing nicely, while my Tanami bloodline female seems to be a step behind (last time I may have felt small follicles).

Will update soon on L. williamsi and Mourning hatchlings and any successes on Womas this year!

One of my Gonatodes albogularis fuscus hatchlings not long after emerging from the egg.

On a random July night, when all hope of a boa litter had faded...a pile of nice young Hogg Islands!

May 2012, always a welcomed sight!  Woma Python with an impressive 13 egg clutch!

This is my male 2009 Hogg Island hold back, getting ready for special things in 2014!

My new adult female Blonde Silver Transpeco Ratsnake, hoping for a nice clutch this year!

My new male Mustard Blonde Transpeco Ratsnake, love that color!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Fun in Appalachia II

In this part, Mike and I travel to some of the southwestern counties in North Carolina to target a few more Plethodontid (Lungless) Salamanders found only in the Appalachian Mountains.  Our main targets for this trip include the Red-Legged Salamander (Plethodon shermani), Seepage Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus), Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus), and the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus).

We start by meeting in Huntersville, NC where I pick up Mike and head to the town of Bat Cave, NC.  We get to our first spot shortly before nightfall.  At this location we are looking for Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus), which are protected in North Carolina and are listed as a State Threatened Species, needless to say our approach will be hands off.  We fail to detect any Green Salamanders but we turn up a young Blue Ridge Gray-Cheeked Salamander (Plethodon amplus).  Plethodon amplus is a species is in the 'jordani' complex, where it used to be referred as a mere conspecific to a number of other Plethodon species in the southern Appalachians; P. shermani, P. montanus, P. cheoah, P. jordani, P. metcalfi, and P. meridianus.  We observed P. montanus on our last adventure to Avery and Watauga counties in my initial Fun in Appalachia post.


The sun fades and we are left making our way to a nearby dirt road that cuts into a mountain.  We stop at several areas along the road that look like appropriate habitat; rocky boulders covered in moss.  On our first stop Mike and I both spot a couple adult Blue Ridge Gray-Cheeks (Plethodon amplus) - quick photographs are taken and we continue.  On the way we spot a Northern Ringneck Snake out foraging and a few more adult Blue Ridge Gray-Cheeks.  Finally, Mike spots our target here, a sub-adult Yonahlossee Salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee) - yes, the same species we initially targeted in my previous post.  But its not what your thinking - this population used to be recognized as a separate species known as the Crevice Salamander (Plethodon longicrus).  Individuals found here, in the vicinity of Bat Cave, look distinctly different.  The Crevice Salamander lacks the deep red dorsum expressed so obviously on Yonahlossee Salamanders.  Head morphology appears to be distinct between the two forms, however, this population receives no special taxonomic distinction.  But, in my opinion - and that is all that counts - this is a distinct race; being geographically separate.  I mean, if two seemingly identical Gray-Cheeked Salamanders (P. amplus and P. montanus) can be two completely separate species, then how can two different geographic Yonahlossee forms not be recognized at least on the subspecies level?  In much the same way 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', so is taxonomy - Ha, this is completely ignorant but its my blog, my rules!


I'm sure you can see quite the difference, too!  After a few frustrating photos, we continue - like most salamanders, getting them to stay still for a photograph is a painful process, but worth the rewards, most of the time.  The road turns out to be a short one, so we turn around to check out a small roadside stream we had passed earlier.  The stream passes under the road via a simple culvert system, here we turn up three species of salamanders; the Black-bellied (Desmognathus quadramaculatus), Seal (D. monticola), and Ocoee (D. ocoee).  Desmognathus ocoee is in the D. "ochrophaeus" complex, which includes four other species; D. orestes (see my previous post), D. ochrophaeus, D. imitator, and D. carolinensis.  Species in this group are the most terrestrial members of the genus Desmognathus (Dusky Salamanders).  Their most key feature is a tail that is round in cross section, unlike the other Dusky Salamanders which need a tail more triangular in cross section for aquatic locomotion.    This complex mimics larger Woodland Salamanders (Plethodon sp.) quite well - more on that in a future post.


Mike spotted several large Black-bellies (4-6 specimens) poking out of a leaf-pack root system at the culvert edge.  We devised a system that lead to the capture of one individual, while Mike netted another specimen in the culvert.  After some tricky photography we left for our campsite in Macon County, where we would resume in the morning.

Well, we got lucky.  Our campsite is home to at least three species of Salamanders.  We got two of our four main trip targets within 10 feet of my hammock!  Mike started the morning off right - with two Seepage Salamanders (Desmognathus aeneus) and several Red-Legged Salamanders (Plethodon shermani).  We totaled with three Seepage Salamanders (finally flipped my own) and possibly more than twenty Red-Legged Salamanders (apparently abundant in one particular old rotten stump).  We also flipped an Ocoee Salamander (Desmognathus ocoee), however, this specimen expressed red-limbs.  The "red-legged" morph is wildly known from areas where Red-Legged Salamanders (P. shermani) occur - many believe it is a type of mimicry.  The idea is that the Red-Legged Salamander (P. shermani) is mildly toxic to the point of distasteful to predators and by mimicking the red legs, Ocoee Salamanders can capitalize on predator identification and avoidance.  It is a hard process to look at scientifically, but this relationship of "ochrophaeus" and "jordani" complexes extends range-wide.  Another example can be seen in the case of the Imitator Salamander (Desmognathus imitator) and the Red-Cheeked Salamander (Plethodon jordani), where the Imitator Salamander exhibits "red-cheeks" in areas where it is sympatric to the Red-Cheeked Salamander.  I know, pretty interesting stuff going on here, but the "ochrophaeus" complex does not just mimic members of the "jordani" complex, but like I said already, this if for another post!


After some extremely painful photography, Mike and I were off.  We had already got what we came to this particular spot for, but we decided to look around for awhile.  We found a nice little seep a few feet off one of the main trails.  The seep didn't have much in terms debris to flip, but Mike managed to flip a nice Blackchin Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber schencki) larva.  In this seep, where Red-Legged Salamanders (Plethodon shermani) are NOT present, we only flipped all black Ocoee Salamanders (Desmognathus ocoee); but right outside of the seep we flipped more red-legged Ocoee Salamander morphs, interesting!  We continued to another seep, much more rocky.  I immediately flipped a nice Carolina Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus dunni) larva.  I used to flip Spring Salamander larvae all the time in West Virginia, it was nice to see one in North Carolina for a change.  After some quick photographs we manged to hike a few feet in elevation and Mike flipped our nicest Red-Legged Salamander (Plethodon shermani) of the trip!  It was a stunner.  An adult male complete with a visible mental gland.  The gland is used in courtship rituals and is known as a secondary sexual characteristic (appearing only during the active breeding season).  We left the spot to travel back to Henderson county to search for our last two targets of the trip.  On our way out we stopped at a roadside seep and flipped a few more Ocoee Salamanders and Mike spotted a young stripe-less Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis).


We picked up a meal and some supplies (i.e., batteries) in Brevard before making our way to our desired location.  We planned to hunt for Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus) at night and in the morning venture out for some Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus).  We drove through some rain which made the roads crowded with little Red-Efts - the terrestrial sub-adult stage of the Eastern Red Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus v. viridescens).  Well, to put it shortly we struck out on finding any appropriate Green Salamander habitat and didn't get to hike any habitat.  We didn't have any spots per se, and didn't see any good habitat.  We decided to call it an early night and recharge for Timber Rattlesnakes in the morning.  While looking through aerial photographs, Mike picked nice ridge to hike in the AM.

That next morning we broke camp and made our way.  We decided on hiking a route that went along the ridge line - it was longer than the second option, straight up (but in hindsight I'm glad we went with the option we did).  It ended up being a little more of a climb than either of us had anticipated, certainly not I.  It took us about a mile to get to the first canopy opening, we were now on the ridge line.  As we hiked we flipped a few rocks hoping for that elusive Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis t. triangulum), but no luck with that.  We reached the first large rock boulder a quarter mile or so later.  There was a nice large rock crevice in full sun, perfect aspect.  I dropped and peered in, faintly making out a pattern I shout to Mike, "I see a copperhead!".  Mike following suit and then moments later replies with, "Oh man, it ain't just one.  I see at least...dude, there are neonates!"  It was a pretty neat moment, we had found a Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) rookery (or birthing) site.  We counted at least 9 adult snakes (most likely consisting of mostly females) and at least 15 neonates (all opaque, about to shed for the first time).  It was quite the moment, very interesting to see a communal Copperhead birthing site.  I had seen this communal behavior before in pit-vipers, with Timber Rattlesnakes in Maryland.



We snapped several photographs each and decided to keep hiking to the point we initially set out for, after all we had yet to see any rattlesnakes - and conditions seemed perfect.  He hiked down that knob and up the next to our desired site, searched for a hour or so with little more than another, this time lone, Copperhead to show for it.  No rattlesnakes for us on this day, but quite the view!  It was easy to tell we were on the highest ridge in the area.


Mike and I headed back to Huntersville, where he then departed for Columbia and I, Kernersville.  Another great trip and for me, a couple nice new lifers!  2012 has had a couple good moments...a couple.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Fun in Appalachia

As most of you know I am a native of North Carolina - you know, the state that is home to the highest salamander diversity in the world.  A feature that I've rarely celebrated on my many trips around the state.  Well, my interests have shifted, and as such I've made several trips the mountains of North Carolina.  These trips mainly centered around the Boone area, where one can find the most coveted salamander in all of North Carolina, moreover, in all of Appalachia - the Yonahlossee Salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee).

Plethodon yonahlossee, as I prefer to call it, is a member of the Lungless Salamander family Plethodontidae.  This species is a large bodied salamander that frequents rocky north facing slopes, and can be seen in fairly high abundance under the right conditions (i.e., rainy).  I have observed this species a number of times, and my first encounter was in 2008 with my former boss Phil Bradley.  At that time our mission was to collection five specimens for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to provide exhibit and back-up exhibit specimens.  We very easily saw well over 100 specimens in two nights (short nights) of searching.

Well, fast forward to the end of last month (July, 2012) when a good friend of mine and fellow herp enthusiast Mike Martin reached out to me about needing to 'get out of the office' and reiterated that he has always wanted to see and photograph a Yonahlossee Salamander.  "Well Mike, I know a place", I replied.  And, on that first weekend of August (2012) we ventured out with a set of salamander targets to observe and photograph - first on the list, Yonahlossee.

We got to the spot before sunset but flipped a few young specimens with little effort.  Adrian, another fellow herp enthusiast joined us for the night.  The conditions were particularly dry, which is not really ideal per se.  Although we ended up seen a fair number, the adults were impossible to catch due to their reluctance to venture out of their underground crevices under such dry conditions.  But, we saw several White Spotted Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon cylindraceus) out moving, as well as, a number of Blue Ridge Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus orestes) and one Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola) - these three species are common species in this particular area.  As the night hunt was ending Mike, Adrian, and I headed to a stream culvert where I knew Black-bellied Salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) occur.  As I started looking around the culverts I saw our first "hands-on" adult Yonahlossee of the night - unfortunately this specimen sported an injured tail.  It was somewhat surprising to see a Yonahlossee in that spot, so close to the running water.  But at last, we all got to photograph an adult specimen!  For Mike, his first.


On the way to the campsite we pulled over at a random trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway where we observed two more species for the night:  the Blue Ridge Two-Lined (Eurycea wilderae) and Northern Gray-cheeked (Plethodon montanus) salamanders.  Both species represented lifers for Mike.  (A 'lifer' is defined as the first time one has observed that particular species.  Some (including me) compile a 'life list', listed often in taxanomic order, consisting of all the reptiles and amphibians one has encountered in their life.  Birders are perhaps the first group of naturalists to coin these terms.)  At this point we called it a night, it was late and we needed to find a camp ground.  Oh, and of course once we declared this the rain started to pour!  Ha!  Still beats sleeping in a bed falling asleep to the TV.


We broke camp and made for our next target, the Weller's Salamander (Plethodon welleri).  This time I had never previously seen this species and knew only of a couple mountains were it was found - no precise spots to look for them.  After using some aerial maps, I had a pretty good idea where to go poke around.  As we drove up the mountain all we saw was house after house, after house.  Once we reached the top I saw Adrian shake his head as if telling me to head back down, this place is terrible.  But we had not reached the spot I had set out for and I wasn't going to just leave before looking around.  It didn't take long to find the spot and in extremely short order (first flip) we turned up two Weller's Salamanders.  At the spot we totaled ~20 Weller's Salamanders (very productive), 1 young Yonahlossee Salamander, ~6 or so Northern Gray-cheeked Salamander, and several  Blue Ridge Dusky Salamanders.  Weller's was a lifer for Mike and I, while Adrian had observed it at its type locality years prior.  Needless to say we were all stoked about the productivity of this spot and how this short trip was panning out.  Adrian then parted Mike and I to try his luck as some trout fishing on his way home.


Mike and I crossed into Tennessee to try a rumored spot for Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), the largest New World Salamander.  Hellbenders are a fully aquatic species endemic to the eastern United States that feed primarily on crayfish and are found in larger Appalachian streams.  Needless to say, after driving for a couple hours and hiking a hell of a hillside we ended up with only a sub-adult Black Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta), no Hellbenders.  But, that is herping - it doesn't always pan out.  We then went back the  Yonahlossee spot we visited our first night.  We turned up several more Yonahlossee Salamanders, a couple of large adults, as well as the usual species for the area.

The next morning we headed out to visit our buddy Joe in Sparta, NC.  On our way to his house Mike said, "Man, you know what Joe is going to make us do first thing....alcohol".  He couldn't have been more right, immediately upon saying hello Mike and I were taking shots, oh Joe!  Joe lives in a nice two story house secluded in the woods, his driveway is a small bridge.  He lives here with his wife Ashley and as one looks around his property you see machetes, bee hives, targets, knives, and various outdoor gear.  His office consists of 1 part typical office stuff (computer, desk, books, etc), 1 part outdoor gear (he reviews for magazines), and 100 parts knives and machetes.  I mean, yeah.

Well, seeing how Mike has never seen a Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata) and I have never seen one in North Carolina - that was our first set of business.  At Joe's bridge we took a look and quickly spotted a big ole' girl basking about 3 feet above the water - it dove, Mike made the grab.  She was a gravid female and by her looks, she was going to pop (birth) soon.  Joe and I spotted another individual but it dipped into thick brush before either of us could plan an attack.  That night Joe, Mike, and I set out to road cruise in the rain.  We saw many of the usual suspects.  Mike would brake, shout the species, and hit the gas.  He was really hoping for a Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) or a Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber). We did not get either of those species that night, but we did get another adult Yonahlossee Salamander - a somewhat unexpected find and a new locality for me.


The next morning we looked in the Queen Snake bag and saw she had dropped her litter, a total of 14 neonates.  It was neat to see all those tiny young ones.  After a quick photography session of the previous night's salamanders and the Queen Snakes - Mike and I were reluctantly ready to leave.  It was great to see Joe and Ashley again and, for me, get my lifer Weller's Salamander.  The trip was a success, we found all of our targets with the exception of the Hellbender, always next time - right?!