Search found 269 matches

by mfb
April 9th, 2016, 10:15 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Underwater Wood Frog Eggscape
Replies: 2
Views: 2021

Underwater Wood Frog Eggscape

Didn't get to see the wood frogs breeding this spring, but I caught up with their eggs recently. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1708/25520555053_62be79178e_z.jpg Underwater Eggscape: Wood Frog Eggs by Mike Benard , on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1570/26030677242_8533501649_z.jpg Underwater...
by mfb
April 9th, 2016, 10:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herps in habitat - photo thread
Replies: 69
Views: 31558

Re: Herps in habitat - photo thread

Lots of great photos here! Here is one of my personal favorites. It is not a beautiful landscape, but gray treefrogs love to live in this dumpster in the summer. There are lots of flies and other insects, so perhaps they are drawn by the food? http://www.mister-toad.com/photos/frog/Hyla_dumpster_01....
by mfb
April 9th, 2016, 10:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Don't Tread On Me... BLEACH & BOOTS
Replies: 43
Views: 16835

Re: Don't Tread On Me... BLEACH & BOOTS

Glad to see so many folks serious about preventing disease transmission. We have a disinfection protocol for our waders and nets that reduces the life of the gear, but is worth it for safety.
by mfb
February 25th, 2016, 5:12 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts
Replies: 90
Views: 50135

Re: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts

People may also be interested in connecting through the HERpers hashtag on twitter that started yesterday:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/HERpers?src=hash
by mfb
February 20th, 2016, 11:12 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ohio Amphibian Research & Conservation Conference March 12
Replies: 0
Views: 2834

Ohio Amphibian Research & Conservation Conference March 12

Also posted this in the main forum. Folks in Ohio might be interested in attending the Ohio Amphibian and Research Conservation Conference on March 12th in Columbus. Registration deadline Friday February 26th. More information available here: http://www.ohioamphibians.org/ There will also be a discu...
by mfb
February 20th, 2016, 11:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ohio Amphibian Research & Conservation Conference March 12th
Replies: 1
Views: 1762

Ohio Amphibian Research & Conservation Conference March 12th

Folks in Ohio might be interested in attending the Ohio Amphibian and Research Conservation Conference on March 12th in Columbus. Registration deadline Friday February 26th. More information available here: http://www.ohioamphibians.org/ There will also be a discussion of forming an Ohio PARC chapter.
by mfb
February 20th, 2016, 11:07 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: different snake species basking together?
Replies: 23
Views: 9955

Re: different snake species basking together?

Very cool post idea, and nice to see so many folks sharing photos and observations. I don't think I've ever actually seen different snake species basking together. Interesting to see these many examples.
by mfb
February 6th, 2016, 2:37 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Costa Rica December 2015
Replies: 19
Views: 11676

Re: Costa Rica December 2015

Great photos, thanks for posting. That eyelash viper is a master of disguise.
by mfb
February 6th, 2016, 2:30 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bog and blandings turtles
Replies: 2
Views: 1696

Re: Bog and blandings turtles

Great turtles!
by mfb
January 24th, 2016, 10:51 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 : larval salamanders to desert lizards (& bugs & more)
Replies: 2
Views: 2449

Re: 2015 : larval salamanders to desert lizards (& bugs & mo

Thanks! The tadpole tail shape and color is more of a gradient than a present/absent morph. The two tads represent different points along a continuum. I've also found the pale morph to be rare in the wild, probably less than 5% of the wetlands I have looked in. Where I see them is shallow temporary ...
by mfb
January 22nd, 2016, 5:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 : larval salamanders to desert lizards (& bugs & more)
Replies: 2
Views: 2449

2015 : larval salamanders to desert lizards (& bugs & more)

I've been enjoying reading so many of these 2015 reviews that I decided to add mine. I don't take as many photos as I used to, but I did take shots of a few of my favorite herps, as well as some inverts, plants, fish and mammals. I've organized these by location. I live in northeast Ohio, so many of...
by mfb
January 18th, 2016, 4:32 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Summer 2015 (GA, AL, TN, SC, NM, TX)
Replies: 8
Views: 6713

Re: Summer 2015 (GA, AL, TN, SC, NM, TX)

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. That is a really wide range of diversity, from cave salamanders to desert snakes.

I was able to visit a cave with a colleague a few years ago, and it was one of the natural history highlights of my life.
by mfb
January 18th, 2016, 4:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Queensland over Xmas...2014 - The Reptiles - the final post
Replies: 5
Views: 2687

Re: Queensland over Xmas...2014 - The Reptiles - the final p

Nice! I have really enjoyed the whole series, thanks for posting them. I also like how you photograph the DORs too. So often those are skipped.
by mfb
January 17th, 2016, 11:17 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Post your 1 best photo from 2015!
Replies: 61
Views: 49364

Re: Post your 1 best photo from 2015!

Wonderful! Its great to see the many different species and photo styles from all the contributors.
by mfb
January 17th, 2016, 11:16 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: We're Not Out of The Woods Yet (TX,LA,MS,AL,FL): 2015 EOY
Replies: 34
Views: 31874

Re: We're Not Out of The Woods Yet (TX,LA,MS,AL,FL): 2015 EO

Absolutely fantastic post!
by mfb
January 17th, 2016, 11:06 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 in California (Same as CA forum)
Replies: 5
Views: 3999

Re: 2015 in California (Same as CA forum)

Great observations, thanks for sharing!

I miss those sharptail snakes from when I used to live in CA.

But my absolute favorite is the courting Ensatina. It's not too common to run into courting Plethodontids. Did you get to see any spermatophores put down?

Mike
by mfb
January 10th, 2016, 11:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Sea Turtle Stranding Beach Patrol (Cape Cod, MA) - Xpost NE
Replies: 11
Views: 8127

Re: Sea Turtle Stranding Beach Patrol (Cape Cod, MA) - Xpost

Outstanding post! Thanks for sharing your adventure, and thanks for all of your efforts to help the turtles.
by mfb
January 2nd, 2016, 8:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Okefenokee Trip 2015
Replies: 16
Views: 10927

Re: Okefenokee Trip 2015

Great post, thanks for sharing! In addition to all the herps, I really liked the habitat, dung beetle and pitcher plant photos. Gives a sense for the rest of the environment the herps live in. Mike
by mfb
January 2nd, 2016, 8:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: China 2015: Western Yunnan and Eastern Tibet
Replies: 12
Views: 8447

Re: China 2015: Western Yunnan and Eastern Tibet

Thanks for posting, great stuff! I really appreciated that you put in habitat photos for the different animals. What were the elevations where you were seeing the Batrachuperus karlschmidti, and do you have any habitat photos for them you would be able to share? Mike
by mfb
January 2nd, 2016, 8:19 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 Year in Review--Galapagos, KS, TX
Replies: 7
Views: 5074

Re: 2015 Year in Review--Galapagos, KS, TX

Congrats on retirement plus a new career! From your posts on FHF, I think your students will be lucky to have you.

Thanks for the great post, I especially enjoyed the shot with multiple lava lizards and iguanas all together.
by mfb
January 2nd, 2016, 8:17 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Pond build
Replies: 10
Views: 11468

Re: Pond build

Awesome and inspiring! Since I was a kid, I have wanted a pond in my backyard. Very cool to see that you made one yourself. Please do update this post with photos as the project progresses. Mike
by mfb
December 18th, 2015, 5:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aneides- the Climbing Salamanders
Replies: 9
Views: 5373

Re: Aneides- the Climbing Salamanders

http://www.mister-toad.com/photos/salamander/Aneides_lugubris_16Feb2005c.jpg I am a big fan of Aneides lugubris. I used to do research on pacific chorus frogs in the ca coast range and saw many arboreal salamanders. One lived in a crevice in a tree next to the research station, and would stick its ...
by mfb
December 18th, 2015, 5:46 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Queensland over Xmas...2014 - The Reptiles - Installment Two
Replies: 6
Views: 4879

Re: Queensland over Xmas...2014 - The Reptiles - Installment

Great stuff, thanks for posting. I especially like the maps. As cool as the herps are, the moth really blows me away.
by mfb
December 18th, 2015, 5:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Another Peninsula Malaysia post
Replies: 13
Views: 12150

Re: Another Peninsula Malaysia post

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. I particularly like the toads. I feel sympathy for the toad with a crown of mosquitoes..
by mfb
December 18th, 2015, 5:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts
Replies: 90
Views: 50135

Re: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts

Lot of great responses already about women helpers on this forum. Just a couple suggestions for finding contacts off the forum. I see you are at o s u. You may want to look up Tiff Garcia and some of her students. Twitter has many active and highly successful women herpetologists. Look up Katy Green...
by mfb
November 28th, 2015, 1:33 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp
Replies: 10
Views: 6830

Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Wonderful stuff, thanks for sharing! I especially like that adult Spring Salamander.
by mfb
November 28th, 2015, 1:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to the Sundarbans
Replies: 10
Views: 4621

Re: Back to the Sundarbans

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. Love those mudskippers, fascinating fish! Those crab-eating frogs would also be an interesting thing to see. I've been fascinated with their salt-tolerance for a while. We have been doing some experiments on salt tolerance in Ohio wood frogs, and it is incredible the...
by mfb
November 15th, 2015, 7:54 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida
Replies: 13
Views: 10385

Re: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. I especially like that gray treefrog on the bark photo.
by mfb
November 15th, 2015, 7:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bipes rumor
Replies: 7
Views: 4339

Re: Bipes rumor

Thanks krismunk for posting that, I was just about to look up the reference! A good warning on just how dangerous Bipes are. Be careful! (j/k)
by mfb
November 15th, 2015, 7:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bothrocophias Research. need info on spatial ecology
Replies: 15
Views: 8554

Re: Bothrocophias Research. need info on spatial ecology

I don't have any insights on these species to share, but wanted to say "Thanks" for posting the great photos! Good luck with your study.
by mfb
September 22nd, 2015, 7:41 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Post photos of wild herps feeding
Replies: 56
Views: 49645

Re: Post photos of wild herps feeding

Anton, Thanks for starting this thread, it is really great! Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I recognize quite a few of these photos from flickr over the years. I especially like the Dicamptodon eating the banana slug. Here are a couple photos of mine from years gone by: https://farm3.staticf...
by mfb
September 22nd, 2015, 7:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spot Recognition software
Replies: 8
Views: 3356

Re: Spot Recognition software

I was the associate editor who handled the Schoen, Boenke, and Green Fotospottr paper for Herp Review. While checking the paper, I did some practice runs with the software using David Green's toad images, and found it to be easy to use. The only challenge is that it requires Matlab to run. If you ha...
by mfb
July 16th, 2015, 6:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Gartersnake (cyrtopsis) behavior - Rhabdophis impersonation
Replies: 41
Views: 16806

Re: Gartersnake (cyrtopsis) behavior - Rhabdophis impersonat

Fascinating!

This post is one of the reasons I frequent FHF.

Always exciting new observations to learn from.

Thanks for sharing!
by mfb
June 16th, 2015, 5:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: First Half of 2015- part 2
Replies: 14
Views: 6996

Re: First Half of 2015- part 2

Great stuff! Really enjoyed all the prairie dog shots in addition to the herps.
by mfb
May 30th, 2015, 6:08 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2015 so far in Indiana
Replies: 9
Views: 6145

Re: 2015 so far in Indiana

Very nice! I initially saw some of these as you posted them on Flickr, but it is cool to see them together in a single post.
by mfb
May 30th, 2015, 6:04 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herp heroes
Replies: 39
Views: 19013

Re: Herp heroes

Also - forgot to say that I enjoyed the Project WILD information from Klawnsnake's link.

And some of you may enjoy this example of project some kids did while learning about snakes:

by mfb
May 30th, 2015, 5:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herp heroes
Replies: 39
Views: 19013

Re: Herp heroes

This is a fantastic, wide-ranging thread! Thanks to Hadar for starting it. I want to revisit the topic of anthropomorphic characters. Especially for young children, anthropomorphic characters can be great for getting their interest. My favorite example of this is Dinosaur Train . My kids learned a t...
by mfb
May 16th, 2015, 11:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: trip report - Peninsular Malaysia april 2015
Replies: 25
Views: 16087

Re: trip report - Peninsular Malaysia april 2015

A wonderful adventure! Thanks for posting. Mike
by mfb
May 16th, 2015, 11:15 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Another 60 hours - no sleep revisited
Replies: 5
Views: 2600

Re: Another 60 hours - no sleep revisited

Thanks for posting this fantastic trip report! Great storytelling too. I would love to make it over there at some point.

Were those feral camels, or was someone with them?

Mike
by mfb
May 14th, 2015, 6:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white eggs
Replies: 9
Views: 3382

Re: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white

Thanks krismunk, Jimi, Tamara and Chris! I appreciate the kind words. And I’m glad that I am not the only one to think the cognatus were unusually loud. We’re a little past halfway in the breeding season here. Woods, leopards, toads have wrapped up. Peepers are slowing down. Greens and gray treefrog...
by mfb
May 14th, 2015, 6:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Broadhead skink vs wolf spider
Replies: 4
Views: 2355

Re: Broadhead skink vs wolf spider

This is very cool! I've embedded your video to make it easier to watch from FHF:

by mfb
May 14th, 2015, 6:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: We've lost another great herpetologist
Replies: 8
Views: 3856

Re: We've lost another great herpetologist

This is sad news and a real loss.
by mfb
May 10th, 2015, 10:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: stress levels of animals in the wild
Replies: 14
Views: 4402

Re: stress levels of animals in the wild

I agree with Kelly - how do you define stress? Ability to reproduce? Longevity? Metabolism? The study I linked to used corticosterone as a metric of stress. There is a lot of ongoing research in the zoo world on health of animals, particularly primates. One of the major issue is that many of them ar...
by mfb
May 10th, 2015, 4:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: stress levels of animals in the wild
Replies: 14
Views: 4402

Re: stress levels of animals in the wild

There are plenty of studies of stress in the wild. Here is one example: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.3075

Is there something specific you are interested in?

Mike
by mfb
May 9th, 2015, 1:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white eggs
Replies: 9
Views: 3382

Re: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white

Thanks!

Almost 20 yrs ago I got to spend two summers in SE AZ. I was amazed by the desert toad choruses. I remember the cognatus seemed louder than any frog/toad I've heard before or since. Would love to see them again sometime!
by mfb
May 9th, 2015, 5:57 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Blue Coral Snake - Raw Footage
Replies: 2
Views: 1414

Re: Blue Coral Snake - Raw Footage

That is an amazing snake - and great video. I really like the ground level view as it slithers by (~ 50 seconds in).
by mfb
May 9th, 2015, 5:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white eggs
Replies: 9
Views: 3382

Re: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white

Thanks! The toads are pretty amazing. They are one of the top three herps that got me into herping as a kid. I did locate one of the male gray treefrogs, but it wouldn't call for me so I left it alone after a minute. They are just getting started here, with only a few males in the ponds. Probably no...
by mfb
May 8th, 2015, 4:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white eggs
Replies: 9
Views: 3382

My night with the toads: love, fights, death, and white eggs

The big pulse of American Toad ( Bufo americanus ) mating arrived a week ago in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. I had a chance to spend an evening with a large group of breeding toads. Here are some photos and videos from the night. Dozens of toads (like this guy) were waiting on the edge of the pond. https:...
by mfb
May 8th, 2015, 4:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes So Far (Mostly Florida)
Replies: 4
Views: 3108

Re: Snakes So Far (Mostly Florida)

Nice photos! That water snake looks stubby on both ends.
by mfb
May 6th, 2015, 8:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: An Ambitious Start to 2015 in the Lower Midwest
Replies: 6
Views: 3254

Re: An Ambitious Start to 2015 in the Lower Midwest

Great stuff!

I really liked the composition of the first photo of the snake on the log.