Field Herp Forum

General Stores and places like Lowes, Home Depot usually have stations where you can select pieces of plywood for board lines. I've gotten a couple dozen 3 ft by 4 ft boards there. Other times, I've gotten boards, doors, and carpet from neighbors around town during spring cleanup and yard sale seaso...

Superb pics and storytelling as always.

– Justin

... My jaw has dropped.

– Justi

Kevin and Brian, thanks!

Never thought I'd find six mole kings this year. Yet alone three milks and two kings. I guess I should count my blessings. Also VERY interested to see how this montanus site fares after further visits.

– Justin

Thanks y'all. Your feedback is appreciated. Good to hear I'm getting better at narratives.

– Justin

Great finds, Justin! That Mud is especially excellent. I recently found some habitat like that here in Fairfax County, VA and look forward to scouring it come spring for some Muds. Someone told me they've been found there before. Did you find yours under a log or in leaf litter? Maryland is my home...

Just a little feedback on the book... It's good, but as some herpetologists have pointed out – it has a lot of errors. See here: https://pauwelsolivier.com/docs/PauwelsandGrismer_2015_BookReview.pdf Then again, it's one of the few books that covers the entire country and isn't limited to a specific ...

Howdy folks, I'm back in college and here to report on my second half of 2017. The board line I set up with my Dad last year has continued to produce snakes. Usually, the two of us are too busy to routinely check the place every week, so our visits have started to become sporadic. The site still loo...

Hi Vince, I have never been, but have a grasp of recent literature published on the country. The guide by Leviton et al. "Dangerously Venomous Snakes of Myanmar" is the best field guide for the vipers and elapids despite its age. Link below. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/857/Levit...

AWESOME!!

Wow! What an excellent selection, and congratulations on over 100 species of salamanders! I'd love to see some of those one day.

– Justin

Awesome little viper. Looks like Siberia has some splendid bird diversity too! I would love to see a Siberian Salamander some day.

– Justin

Those are some swell sparrows... Not fair!

– Justin

Yep! Ptyas mucosa. And a beautiiful one to boot!

- Justin

Wow, I'm in love with these photos. Looking forward to more!

– Justin

I'm very envious of the different warblers you get to see on a regular basis, and the White-throated sparrow. Those have been extremely difficult for me to find and get pics of...I still don't have a decent shot of one. Cool post... :thumb: Thanks Brian. Come up to New Jersey at the right time, and...

Last post, I checked my boards. Now I check my birds. Unlike last year, I herped more than I birdwatched. However, I almost made par in my county in terms of how many birds I saw in 2017 compared to 2016. I covered part of January 2017 in my last birding post, so here I will cover the rest of 2017. ...

A newer rock band out of LA area called the Mountain Goats have some great herp related songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTrDJm_70BE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HILnK3lf5a8 Not to mention that one of their albums is called All Hail West Texas. While I don't have any evidence to back it up...

Similarly on Johnny Cash's "Drive On" from the American Recordings album. We were crazy, we were wild And I have seen the tiger smile I spit in a bamboo viper's face And I'd be dead , but by God's grace My new avatar is ripped from one of my favorite hip-hop artists, MF DOOM, who has a song "Gazzill...

Thanks all again. I'm itching to get back to the field soon!

Coincidentally, I went back to my board line a few days ago and didn't strike out.





– Justin

So - just because genetics may not be able to distinguish between two populations at the DNA level, if there are distinct enough differences then I would say subspecies level designation is valid and important because it gives us a taxonomic way to note those differences that may be an indication t...

Great herps Thor!

– Justin

Thanks folks, FH, these are my second and third mole kings respectively. The first one I found on the side of a busy highway! John, yeah it was! I wouldn't be surprised if another king snake was inside. Tom, I herped throughout Maryland as well as New Jersey. But you could say I focus mostly on the ...

That was an enjoyable tour of a part of the country that I have not explored. Snow in March - ugh! There are 5 mole king records for Louisiana, and none by me. I wouldn't want to ruin the thrill of the catch by finding two in a trash dump, or would I? Nevermind, I'll take one in a trash dump over 0...

Last update I covered a lot of the birds I found during the first half of 2017. Now I will focus on the herps for this half of 2017. Admittedly, I have not birded as frequently this year due to college but I did manage to get out into the field a few times, especially in May when the semester was ov...

Maybe it would be more helpful to consult this guide – "Les serpents d’Afrique occidentale et centrale" by Jean Philippe Chippaux. You should be able to key the species out, even though it is in french. https://senegalwildlife.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/chippaux-serpents-d-afrique-occidentale-et-ce...

I cannot help with the frogs and lizards for now, but I can identify your snakes easily. The first species you identified as Grayia smithii are Blanding's Tree Snakes Toxicodryas blandingii . The second species is most likely Dipsadoboa underwoodi . If you counted scales, it may be easier to identif...

Exceptional post as always. I adored the baby coots and grebes.

– Justin

Thanks guys! It was certainly a privilege spending time in the Chiris.

Nick, survived my first semester of Organic Chem, but the struggle continues...

– Justin

Sorry for the bump.

Rhabdophis chrysargoides


– Justin

I prefer the 1998 version, but I will admit that the addition of newly described taxa (the Salamanders for example) and non-natives/invasives is a good touch. I disagree on some of the maps and some of the taxonomic decisions made. I can elaborate if requested.

– Justin

Wow, your point and shoot shots put mine to shame! I thoroughly enjoyed.

- Justin

I jumped for joy when I saw this post. Just a f***ing unbelievable find. 2017's becoming a banner year for herpetological discoveries! To expand upon this snake's significance, check out this article.

http://snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2016/ ... penis.html

– Justin

Here's one from last year

Eastern Tiger Salamander by Justin Lee (NoNameKey), on Flickr

– Justin

In retrospect, Well, I knocked off one of the bucket list places last year (Southeast AZ, and New Mexico). I suppose my priorities have changed a little bit since the last time I posted. It's been a banner year for taxonomic revisions here in the United States with the publications of new salamander...

I don't have any experience with the island, and certainly do not know any exact locations. I assume the usual herping tactics (flipping, road cruising, hiking at night) in suitable habitats will produce for you. This book may help as well: Schwartz, A., & Henderson, R. W. (1991). Amphibians and rep...

Thanks Chris,

Actually, we're getting pretty spoiled with them. We get at least one every year now that people know what to look for. If not, at least one Barnacle. I suppose it's a bit like those Tropical vagrants you folks have down in the southwest

– Justin

Hans, The two books suggested are your best shot in terms of pocket guides, but new species are being described all the time and most of the information regarding herps is spread out in the scientific literature. I can send you papers for particular species groups if interested, which will likely be...

That six-flip Eryx.... jeez

– Justin

Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) contains a lot of unique habitats. Some areas are pretty arid and reminiscent of deserts. In other areas, where there are mountains, there are vast cloud forests. You get a nice combination of endemic reptile and amphibian species that are unique to the ...

Well I was originally going to do a second half of 2016 post of all the birding highlights from recent trips (Florida and Arizona). However, college and exams have overwhelmed my time so I will just post a few of the big highlights from the rest of the year and early 2017. I was able to boost up my ...

Sorry for the delay. For something more simpler than Savage's book, I would recommend "Amphibians and Reptiles of La Selva, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean Slope" by Craig Guyer and Maureen Donnelly. Very easy to read, good pocket guide and has great pictures. A more expensive, heavier but very inform...

I like the feedback in the first video. Reminds me of the beginning to an album by Boris.

- Justin

Picture's kinda pixelated so it's hard to see some of the scalation. Just from shape I shall go with Calamaria pavimentata

- Justin

That's a really cool Ramphotyphlops. I remember reading up on some of the species they have in Australia. There's one ( R. longissimus ) discovered on Barrow Island that was pulled out from a well-casing probably from a deep karstic cavern. It's only known from a single specimen and it may be one of...

The one advantage of being a LECH, is that sometimes we get some killer birds come through. https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/774/31223485404_1ff8a503f8_c.jpg Pink-footed Goose by Justin (NoNameKey) , on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/256/31791784835_8668fec3d0_c.jpg Barnacle Goose by Justin (NoNa...

I agree it could be S. borneensis . The species description of it is only based on adults. There isn't much information on the species available for me at the moment. All I have is the type description by Inger (1967) and Das' Southeast Asia field guide. Using morphometrics from these pieces of lite...

Haven't visited that area of the world, just have a bit of literature from that neck of the woods since South America's herpetofauna is always fascinating

- Justin

I found a pdf for a Chilean guide to Amphibians online here, it's focus is largely on conservation but it does have a species account section in the back. I am sure it will also have a good number of publications that you can skim through in its bibliography: http://www.travelchiloe.com/sites/defaul...

Thanks Brian! Lots of birds/herps I would love to see around your area too.

- Justin