track and sign photos needed.

[salamanderhunter]

Hello all...
I could still use more good photos of herp tracks/herps with tracks for the field guide...(Reptiles and Amphibians: A field guide to N. American species). This includes burrows, scats (natural diet only please), forms, etc... Could use them for study purposes as well... So, if anyone has photos they would like to contribute...please post! Regretfully, there isn't any money in the budget for compensation...but you'll be given photo credit... Thanks! joe

[-EJ]

you want them posted or sent?

Hello all...
I could still use more good photos of herp tracks/herps with tracks for the field guide...(Reptiles and Amphibians: A field guide to N. American species). This includes burrows, scats (natural diet only please), forms, etc... Could use them for study purposes as well... So, if anyone has photos they would like to contribute...please post! Regretfully, there isn't any money in the budget for compensation...but you'll be given photo credit... Thanks! joe

[Chris_VE.]

you want them posted or sent?

Hello all...
I could still use more good photos of herp tracks/herps with tracks for the field guide...(Reptiles and Amphibians: A field guide to N. American species). This includes burrows, scats (natural diet only please), forms, etc... Could use them for study purposes as well... So, if anyone has photos they would like to contribute...please post! Regretfully, there isn't any money in the budget for compensation...but you'll be given photo credit... Thanks! joe

Post them. We would like to see them too. ^_^

[salamanderhunter]

Yes...post 'em too! if you have too many to post or just want to post the great ones...you can email compressed photos directly...which would be awesome too!
[email protected] Thanks!
By the way...if you're into animal tracking...check out http://www.coyotetrails.org

[Gyri]

Do you need photos of Gopher Tortoise burrows and tracks? I don't have any good ones right at this moment but could take some tomorrow if you don't already have enough. I should also be able to get you some Indigosnake tracks at tortoise burrows but I can't promise those within 24 hours. Almost certainly within the week though...

[-EJ]

umm... did anyone else notice... awww nevermind.

Do you need photos of Gopher Tortoise burrows and tracks? I don't have any good ones right at this moment but could take some tomorrow if you don't already have enough. I should also be able to get you some Indigosnake tracks at tortoise burrows but I can't promise those within 24 hours. Almost certainly within the week though...

[salamanderhunter]

Gyri...yes and yes. bring 'em on.
EJ...northern new england?

[Gyri]

EJ was possibly alluding to the fact that there isn't really a good way to justify teaching most people how to identify indigo tracks -- it is something I was thinking of as I went to bed last night. In a book it could basically sum up to a collectors guide. That is most likely true. Leave it to the small percent of people out there poaching to ruin it for the rest. Burrows should be fine, they aren't exactly a subtle feature of the landscape where tortoises occur.

[-EJ]

Well... here's my contribution...

I've always been searching for that perfect sidewinder track and can't seem to get what I'm looking for.

This is Anza Borrego, CA.


Lizard tracks.


These are Algadones Sand Dunes, CA.



Lizard tracks from Algadones.


This is a cool implied track. I though it was so interesting that the odds of it happening and then me finding it... When your time is up... you really have no say.

These squirrels were running all over this particulat wash. You can pretty much see this guys trajectory.

Tortoises are my main interest so...
This is outside of Glamis, CA.

In this particular wash I've found the tracks of 7 different tortoises on one occurance but I didn't have my camera. I've never seen a tortoise there... only tracks.

This final set is Gopher tortoises.


It had just rained a little to only cover the surface leaving these really pronounced tracks.

Then there were these Ghost crab trails.


Hope you enjoyed it.

[BillMcGighan]

Southern Black Racer - Moderate speed

[chrish]

I saw this track while I was looking for Saltmarsh Snakes in Port Aransas TX one night -



Undoubtedly Nerodia clarkii since no other snakes live in this marsh AFAIK.

[Antonsrkn]

If you haven't already I would suggest contacting Carl Koch, he has some excellent images of eastern hognose burrows with their tracks. I think its exactly the sort of thing you're looking for.

[Ames]

You probably have an example of this species' tracks. I think it is pretty nice example. Anyways, here it is.

neonate snapping turtle's track

Neonate Snapping Turtle Tracks by Pixel Peasant, on Flickr

If you'd like to use it, let me know and I'll send over a higher res. version. I also have an image of the individual that created the tracks.

Thanks,
Ames

[salamanderhunter]

Great photos! As a tracker and a herper I derive great pleasure in looking at these photos.
Gyri...yes, there's always the possibility that putting out info. may aid in poaching...I think that's the case with all scientific literature. Looking forward to your post...
EJ...That white sand looks awesome! I'll have to consider anza borrego as a research locality in the spring... Is that one of your normal herping spots?
Bill...thanks for listing the speed of the racer...it's helpful when the speed/gait is known by observation of the animal making the track.
Chris...nice photo! It's easy to miss a turtle trail among all those bird trails.
Ames...nice photo as well. I live for flood pools like that!
Thanks guys for posting...I'll have to spend some alone time with these. And I'll be referring back to this post to fill in photo niches as I go... Keep 'em coming!

[-EJ]

The dunes in Borrego Springs and Algodones sand dunes you cannot beat for tracks.

I'm now in Ga. but those were 2 of my favorite places for the tracks. Going right after a fresh rain sprinkle was the best.

[KevinS]

I found this salamander trail in a cave a few weeks ago (presumably left by a Gyrinophilus porphyriticus duryi, but possibly Pseudotriton r. ruber) and remembered a previous thread like this so I took pictures just in case the topic came up again.

[Tim Borski]

Here's a few from this fall.

Pigmy on the crawl. (animal found)



Pigmy loafing. (animal found)



Slider. (af)



Gator. (af)



I didn't find the culprit, but suspect it was a Mud snake due to a few clues.



And this one is interesting in regard to location/hab it was found. I'm only hopeful with a guess of Pine snake...



...Otter. (af)



Tim

Edit: And for whatever it's worth, here's some Croc tracks from a river mouth in Panama.

[salamanderhunter]

Thanks Tim and KevinS! Kevin...Cave photos are way cool. You might be able to differentiate your trail as ruber or duryi based on the trail width...if it was a large ruber the trail would be too wide for duryi...of course this would take some experimentation...I don't have any data on max trail width for either species. Either way...that is an awesome find!
Tim...I'm curious about the convex "rakes" on the outside of the trail you suspect to be a mud snake. That undulating trail looks suspiciously like a snapper tail drag...but it's difficult to work from a photo. Nice photos! You may already know this...but if you can find a tail tip in your 'pine snake hopeful' photo by zooming in, you can at least differentiate between rattlesnake/colubrid. The tail tip can be seen in your pygmy photo. It's the track within the track. Colubrids leave a tail trail that is thin like a pencil point (unless the tail is damaged)...rattlesnakes leave the wider trail trail...obviously because their tails aren't pointed like a colubrid... I could go on and on about interesting clues in the photos, but I guess i should save it for the book. Thanks a bunch! I'll prolly be asking for some ri-rez shots in the near future...

[reptilist]

Snake lines under a log. Arizona Sky Island.

[KevinS]

Kevin...Cave photos are way cool. You might be able to differentiate your trail as ruber or duryi based on the trail width...if it was a large ruber the trail would be too wide for duryi...of course this would take some experimentation...I don't have any data on max trail width for either species. Either way...that is an awesome find!

I didn't think of that. I doubt I'll be saying one way or another with much authority, but I know both species were present in the cave and the trail was too large to belong to any other native species.

I just noticed you also mentioned burrows and forms in your original request. I don't know if they're helpful, but I got some shots of box turtle forms over the summer. While I was looking for salamander larvae in this ditch I noticed muddy water flowing out of what I had thought were crayfish burrows along the sides. Over the next few days I saw more and more and started spotting turtle shells inside. I even witnessed a few digging themselves in.




I've also got a shot of Rana tracks in mud on my work computer. I'll try to remember to upload them early next week, but feel free to pm me a reminder if I forget. I just purchased a book on mammal track and sign so I'll be interested in checking out your book when it's done.

[ThamnElegans24]

Here's a pic of a Sonoran Coachwhip track. If you look close you can also see lizard tracks (probably Whiptails).

[salamanderhunter]

Sweet... Kevin...is there a turtle 'visible' in all 3 of those photos? Which mammal book? If it's Elbroch's...the herp guide is an extension of that series. (He also did bird track n sign). Reptilist...I have yet to come across snake trails under cover. Awesome! I assume you lifted that log? Any idea what those "pock" marks are along both sides of the trail? I don't think their footprints...I don't know of anything that would leave a trail like that. Maybe branch stubs from the log? The snake was crawling between them?
So, if anyone is interested...I'd like to throw out the possibility of some herpers doing some of the species accounts for the field guide. There's no way I can come close to covering all the N. American species...especially with the tiny bit of funding that's available. So why not have some of you guys who are interested in contributing do up a species account? There's no money in it (for me either) but you'll be considered the world's leading expert in tracking that species... And your name will be on the account. I can coach you on what type of photos are needed, etc... It should be a species that you have regular access to, preferably in a trackable substrate (sand or mud). We can 'walk' them in a prepared substrate if necessary. Behavioral notes would be awesome! (what times of year the animals emerge, nest, etc...in your area, etc...) I am particularly in need of turtle and lizard accounts. Hopefully you would learn a ton through the process. As a tracking instructor I always see that people are amazed at how much info. is in the track and trail once they figure out how to read the trail. This applies to herps no less than to mammals. Anyway, if you're interested let me know and we'll go from there. Thanks a bunch... joe

[KevinS]

Sweet... Kevin...is there a turtle 'visible' in all 3 of those photos? Which mammal book? If it's Elbroch's...the herp guide is an extension of that series. (He also did bird track n sign).

Yes, not very obvious in some, but there is at least one turtle visible in each shot above. The one I ordered is actually by Rezendes, but Elbroch's sounds very good now that I've looked it up-maybe I'll pick it up as well.

[salamanderhunter]

good. Rezendes' is good, but Elbroch's is the bible of tracking, although it's a bit pricey.

[Gyri]

Hey, sorry I have not posted the tortoise burrow and track photos yet. I got some good ones last week but am suffering a death slow satellite internet connection at the moment and haven't uploaded them yet. I will try to get on that tonight if the internet is being good...

[Gyri]

Hey, sorry I have not posted the tortoise burrow and track photos yet. I got some good tortoise shots last week but am suffering a death slow satellite internet connection at the moment and haven't uploaded them yet. I will try to get on that tonight if the internet is being good...