Frog, salamander, turtle and snake photos & videos from 2019

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mfb
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Frog, salamander, turtle and snake photos & videos from 2019

Post by mfb »

It has been a while, but I wanted to share some herp photos and videos from earlier this year. This is a mix of cameras, locations and species. I hope you enjoy!
One of our very special, all-female unisexual salamanders swimming underwater. Seen in northeastern Ohio:



I was particularly happy to get this short video of a Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris) singing its growling song in 2019. I have tried for a couple years to get a video of this species calling.



Three clips of a Midland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) making its distinctive trill in southeastern Michigan:



Close-up photo of a calling male with vocal sack inflated to the max:

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Two male chorus frogs:

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A sped-up video of some Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) embryos moving around inside their eggs prior to hatching.



And some photos of the hatchlings hanging out on old eggs (including a dead egg infested with fungus):

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Close-up on the head of a hatchling wood frog. At this stage it still has external gills. The arrows point toward the adhesive glands that are present on hatchlings but lost as the tadpoles develop.

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Underwater video of some wood frog tadpoles swimming around in a shallow vernal pool in the woods.



An eyeball-level encounter with some amorous and aggressive American Toads in northeast Ohio.



Profile view of a singing male American Toad:

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A pair of mating toads in amplexus:

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A Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) perched on a dead cattail frond, shaking the cattail with the force of its song:



Male gray treefrog calling from a tree next to a pond:

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Male gray treefrog calling from a mass of dead cattail leaves:

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In June 2019, trying out a trail camera on a nice basking long. A Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is in the foreground. Watch as a snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentine) crawls out of the vegetation onto the log behind the snake:



One of my favorite sights this year. I call it the “gargoyle salamander” because of the way it sits almost completely still while water rolls over its body and head. This is a blackbelly salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) sticking its head out on the edge of a waterfall. Seen in western South Carolina.

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BillMcGighan
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Re: Frog, salamander, turtle and snake photos & videos from 2019

Post by BillMcGighan »

Super post, Michael. :thumb: :thumb:

Some of us here can appreciate your patience and motivation to get such good videos and photos.

I've lived most of my life in Pickerel Frog range, and I don't think I ever caught one calling! :oops:
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mfb
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Re: Frog, salamander, turtle and snake photos & videos from 2019

Post by mfb »

Thanks Bill, I appreciate it!

That pickerel frog video means a lot to me because of the amount of time (several years) before finding one calling close enough to let me record it.
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