Field Herp Forum

Hello, Looking for any info anyone is willing to share if you have been in this area before. There is a chance I'll be there either coming up in July this year or January/Feburaury of next year. Any info like areas of interest, places nearby with good diversity? Species easily observed or found etc....

:? http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/10440/20131024/invasive-alligator-snapping-turtle-discovered-at-oregon-finally-euthanized.htm Invasive Alligator Snapping Turtle Discovered in Oregon, Euthanized An angler in Oregon spotted a scary, ancient- looking large creature at Prineville Reservoir...

Nice post, congrats on the mud! You're "midland" water snake is rather unusual as it has banding all the way down the body. Do you have anymore shots of that snake?

Here at my work near St. Louis MO, I routinely see Eastern Snapping turtles on our main refuge lake swimming under the ice on sunny days and have seen painteds on a few occasions. In the last few years I have been called out twice to remove a snake that was on top of snow. Both were in late january ...

Very cool. These guys are pretty interesting ive run across these and also Bryozoan while doing mussel and other aquatic surveys. Not sure about Bryozoans but the freshwater sponges here in MO the large colony mass breaks down in winter into very small tissue packets called Gemmules that flow with t...

Hope to be able to post some pics very soon!

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Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Department of Conservation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Announce the Captive Breeding Of Three Populations of Endangered Ozark Hellbenders First Time All Three River Populations of Hellbenders Have Reproduced The Saint Louis Zoo’s Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conserv...

Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Department of Conservation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Announce the Captive Breeding Of Three Populations of Endangered Ozark Hellbenders First Time All Three River Populations of Hellbenders Have Reproduced The Saint Louis Zoo’s Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conserv...

Awesome post! how awesome to see mudpuppy eggs in the wild. I too have an appreciation for naiades. I basically had to take a crash coarse in indentification as we do outreach float trip programs on the Meramec River and there are over 40 species of Mussels that occur there. A few species we run int...

First off let me say it was great to finally meet everyone in person, although i missed most of the meet and greet bonding around the campfire friday and saturday nights as my girlfriend was feeling a bit under the weather. Everyone was a top act and like has been mentioned before any resentments or...

Happy belated B-day to the Pingle! Was great to catch up and be in the field with you again at the road.

Matt

Thanks everyone, very cool and exciting to find an albino in the wild. The snake will be used for public outreach and education programs here. Landowner actually came into office today and bought the field guide to herps of the state and invited me to come over anytime and herp and see what other ty...

Thanks everyone, very cool to find and see one in the wild. Sorry Justin but I will have to turn down your offer :roll: It is currently residing in my office in quarantine and will be used for public programs especially school groups where we do programs about Herp adaptations to their enviroment. I...

Jason B wrote:Integrades I've seen from Peninsular Florida had plastrons with blotches on several but not all scutes and orange-tinted, irregular-shaped 'ear' marks behind the eye.

Thanks, thats gives me something to scrutinise on those odd looking individuals.

Matt

Yeah I understand the confusion but wanted to use the term hybrid since it is not a intergrade zone here. Guess i should say im Looking to see what intergrades look like, and if there are some common traits to look for on a intergrade T.s.elegans

Found this little guy today while checking around a home where a homeowner found a "Nest of Copperheads" near one of our study sites and wanted them removed or was going to kill them. http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/moofallon/HERP%202010/028-1.jpg http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/mo...

Anyone ever work with these species and seen hybrids? would like to hear from you or see some pics if you have them. I'm currently working on trapping an introduced population of T.s.scripta and have been noticing some abnormal variations in some T.s.elegans that occupy the same lake. Ive set traps ...

Found this little guy today while checking around a home where a homeowner found a "Nest of Copperheads" near one of our study sites and wanted them removed or was going to kill them. http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/moofallon/HERP%202010/028-1.jpg http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/mo...

Looks like most of the easterns I find here in the St.louis region its actually rare for them to not look exactly like yours. Though we do have some plains and get some interesting hybrids.

Matt

Awesomeness!!!! The lifer in Missouri I cant seem to find, and you have them in your backyard. Ill trade taking you out to see the spring mating Ringed sallies here to getting that lifer Bull! Hope your doing well we need to catch up, send me a PM I have new #

Congrats Chris, remember seeing this at the Midwest PARC meeting last summer. Very interesting and well done.

Ill be there. Looking forward to meeting up with old friends and getting in the field and sitting around the fire. May have a few others from the department joining me too.

Add St. Charles County MO to the list. As of now only in one medical warehouse that for the last 2 years consistently brings me in adults, Juvies and sometimes eggs to my office at work. I have about a 3 year backlog of records to add to NAFHA Database between work and free time herping.

Nice post. Thanks for sharing Just because of how massive some of these guys get they're my favorite nerodia. I assume you noticed your deli-cupper has a skink admirer in the background.

Matt

Congrats!!!!! Cherish every minute with the larva Justin, before you know it they will be metamorphs and going to high school. Again many congrats to you and your family I'll be in touch soon.

Scott Waters wrote:Herp Nation LIVE is interviewing Jeff Ettling, Curator of Herpetology and Aquatics at the STL Zoo, on monday. Look for that to be posted next week.

HNL....
http://www.herpnation.com/category/hn-video/

thanks,
scott

Awesome

Awesome news
http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/st-louis-zoo ... ellbenders

Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Department of Conservation Announce World’s First Captive Breeding of Ozark Hellbenders—Salamander Numbers Drastically Down in the Wild Decade-Long Collaboration of Zoo and Federal, State Scientists Yields 63 Baby Hellbenders The Saint Louis Zoo’s Ron Goellner Center for He...

Just bumped into Jim after this post, still has the shop in South city. Only reptile shop still around. All the other big ones that dabbled in herps like beldts aquarium are gone. Glad I kept those newsletters been a blast going back and seeing what has changed in herp circles since then.

The way my day was starting out this gave me a good laugh. Very well done and nice to know someone in the upper chain of command still has a sense of humor and uses it.

Yes they were Mike, did not know about Alonzo. And haven't heard from norm for years and speak to Jeff occasionally through work. Besides my neighborhood herping then and dealing with herps growing up in the ozarks. I really cut my teeth fieldherping with you guys on society field trips to mingo and...

The beginning of a Legend and Mentor and friend of many. Was going through some of my herp books and files while moving them to my office and came across this and thought some of you might enjoy http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/moofallon/083-1.jpg Circa 1988 http://i210.photobucket.com/album...

Got this E-mail Alert from central office this morning, Invasive Species Alert Be warned of our state’s newest invasive species threat--ZOMBIES! While zombie management is largely left to the police, military and health agencies, conservation plays a role in protecting Missouri's fish, forest and wi...

Awesome post Mike!!! Been looking forward to seeing a post from you and wasnt dissapointed. I believe your eel is a
Marbled Swamp Eel Synbranchus marmoratus or something similar looks just like the ones ive caught in Peru

Got this E-mail ALERT from central office today

http://mdc.mo.gov/zombies

Definately a yellow-bellied

. I'm happy that this will warrant more protection, but sad that I wasn't able to find one before the protection came about. Is that selfish of me? No i dont believe it is Justin! Wish you and all the other guys that were on that herp survey could have seen one. Especially since we were so close and...

A little more detailed report that was sent to me, I posted the news when i found out and wasnt in my office to send this. News Release from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Oct. 5, 2011 CONTACTS: Georgia Parham at 812-334-4261 x 1203 Trisha Crabill at 573-234-2132 x 121 Danielle Kessler at 703-358-...

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2011/10/ozark-hellbender-found-ozark-national-scenic-riverways-declared-endangered-usfws8857 Some good news for a change, although late it's a step along with the great strides the department i work for along with the St.Louis zoo, us forest service service usfws...

Ive seen plenty of herps in the parks and also at the resorts/hotels on property. Ive seen brown watersnakes, banded watersnakes, florida softshells, sliders, alligators, skinks, anoles(invasive/native) ringnecks, ratsnakes, treefrogs, Ive also seen DOR on the park complex roads coral snake and Pygm...

I just registered through work, will you be in attendance? Would be great to put a face with the name and get out together on the scheduled field trips.

Matt

No easy answer to the Ringnecks in that area Me Justin, Andy O'conner and a few others had caught and photographed about a dozen Ringnecks there for vouchers a few years ago when I turned up this specimem. http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/moofallon/RN4.jpg Don, and everyone else have gave as...

Thanks everyone. :thumb: I pretty much knew I was right and usually correct people when they say they saw a cottonmouth. However, when an elderly man yesterday said his neighbor found one in his pond I just said "OH" and that was it. I wanted to make 100% certain that I am right. It's no wonder the...

Welcome back!! Good to see you posting again. If this is where I think it was outstanding and good to see some more juvies from there, Me and Andy O'conner found a large shed easily over 6ft that i kept from there back in 2009. Look forward to seeing some more posts from you.

Matt

I Love the milks from that area, dont think ive ever really found a ugly one there. Keep it up youre having a great spring so far. Look forward to your future posts and catching up with you in the field. Keep the storm chasing photos coming too,

Matt

We are currently looking to get info and see if we need to update our status on them. Any help is appreciated. Just curious what, if anything, you think needs updating for your state? We currently have them listed as a potentialy hazardous invasive species, and unwanted in our waters. The last year...

Thanks everyone for the replies, and thanks Josh for the link, very informative. Besides California i havent been able to really find out about any estabilshed populations elsewhere but the link put fact to when and where and why they were reported from the other states. Matt http://nas.er.usgs.gov/...

I know of one population in Southern CA, and there are supposed to be many places where they are established in SoCal...they are damn hard to get rid of...if not impossible, however, we do know that if they hop out of the aquarium they will die in the corner of a room... :lol: Aint that the truth :...