Phryno advice sought

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NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Phryno advice sought

Post by NACairns »

Hi folks,
I'm on my annual migration to take the kid to visit his grandparents on Vancouver Island. Part of that tradition is tight timelines and me and me trying to locate a few herps within them. We're going to be taking the I-90 through Washington and Idaho back to Saskatchewan. We'll only have a couple days to do it so I was hoping to look for something plentiful but novel. Because of that I was thinking Phrynosoma douglasii. It's a species I've never seen and from what I can figure out they are present along the I-90 corridor. Does anyone have any specific advice for this species in Washington?

I find P. hernandesi regularly (in good habitat usually about 1 an hour) in Saskie and this time of year they are particularly common with all the neonates (though I heard the reproductive output is lower for P. douglasii). From what I've read they seem pretty similar in their preferences. I usually find them on the edges of open substrate (usually flaked shale) and around alluvial fans. They tend to be associated with umbrella plant (Eriogonum), rabbibrush (Ericameria) and other pedastled plants. Are these the type of habitat you guys usually see P. douglasii in?

Any advice would be most helpful. If you have suggestions for other Washington and Idaho species I'd love to hear them at well. Whatever I find will make it into my trip report.
Thanks in advance,

Nick

Here's a nice big female P. hernandesi.

ImagePhrynosoma hernandesi by N Cairns, on Flickr
ADCIII
Posts: 100
Joined: August 26th, 2010, 10:56 am

Re: Phryno advice sought

Post by ADCIII »

Washington Herp Atlas has great distribution maps, Art
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Phryno advice sought

Post by NACairns »

Thanks Art,
I've had a look and it seems like there are a few good spots along the I-90. I'll poke around on google maps and see if I can find some locals I can stop at.
Thanks,
Nick
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TravisK
Posts: 774
Joined: July 8th, 2010, 11:14 am
Location: Eastern Washington

Re: Phryno advice sought

Post by TravisK »

Vantage area is pretty good. I have found them north of Moses lake too but not as commonly as in Vantage.
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Phryno advice sought

Post by NACairns »

Thanks TravisK,
I had actually been looking at some of your previous posts, looks like you have an eye for them. I tried my luck in Vantage on Tuesday but we got there too late/early in the day. I searched for as long as we could spare from the drive. Towards the end some Uta started to show themselves which was great as I don't get to see lizards other than the hernandesi up here. Unfortunately the douglasii never showed, despite the guy at the gas station saying he sees them all the time. I'll have to try again one of these days, I want to see the differences/similarities between the two species first hand. Not too far of a drive.
ImageColumbia basin scrub by N Cairns, on Flickr
ImageUta stansburiana by N Cairns, on Flickr
Not quite what I was looking for but we got a boa in Montana on the way home.
ImageCharina bottae by N Cairns, on Flickr
I put the rest in a larger post soon.
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TravisK
Posts: 774
Joined: July 8th, 2010, 11:14 am
Location: Eastern Washington

Re: Phryno advice sought

Post by TravisK »

Glad you got out there. I really like that area.

Pygmy's are typically active from 12pm-3pm. I should have mentioned that previously, sorry.

Looking forward to see your pics in the future!
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