Here are some photos from my first herping adventure in Oregon at Mary's Peak on June 14th, 2014. I was very excited to see my first tailed frog. Actually, all the species were new to me because I am only familiar with herps of the Midwest and Southeast. Please feel free to add comments. Thank you Jonathan for IDing the melanistic Plethodon dunni for me. In just 2 hours walking down this creek I was able to find 12 Dicamptodon tenebrosus, 8 Rhyacotriton variegatus, 4 Plethodon dunni, 1 Taricha granulosa, and an Ascaphus truei. It was a very exciting day for me. The only reason I stopped was because I found a cliff and I was very cold and wet. I look forward to going back soon.
Dicamptodon tenebrosus
Rhyacotriton variegatus
Habitat shots from where I found Dicamptodon tenebrosus and Rhyacotriton variegatus
Plethodon dunni
Ascaphus truei
Habitat shots from where I found Plethodon dunni and the Ascaphus truei
Herping at Mary's Peak
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
I don't think those photos worked...I'll see if I can figure out how to get them to show.
- M Wolverton
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Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
Welcome!
It's easiest to host them on photobucket or some other host.
It's easiest to host them on photobucket or some other host.
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
As Mike said, Photobucket works very well for getting pics uploaded.
I've also started just pulling my pictures straight from the NAHERP database. If you enter your data there (and Benton County could use a lot more data!), then you can take the photos you entered and repost them easily here as well.
p.s. - I believe that torrent salamanders on Mary's Peak would be R. variegatus. If it was found in the same habitat then the striped salamander would probably be Plethodon dunni, but pics of the hind feet would be definitive (though the coloration alone is often enough to tell). Looking forward to seeing the pics.
I've also started just pulling my pictures straight from the NAHERP database. If you enter your data there (and Benton County could use a lot more data!), then you can take the photos you entered and repost them easily here as well.
p.s. - I believe that torrent salamanders on Mary's Peak would be R. variegatus. If it was found in the same habitat then the striped salamander would probably be Plethodon dunni, but pics of the hind feet would be definitive (though the coloration alone is often enough to tell). Looking forward to seeing the pics.
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
My mistake, I thought the album was public but it wasn't. It is now.
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
Beautiful pictures Heather! I especially like the torrent salamander - the spotting on that one is prettier than any I've found (I made a post about the different species in the Torrent Salamander family here). Tailed frogs are always an awesome find too.
The green-striped salamander is a Dunn's, and I believe that the dark salamander is also a Dunn's. The melanistic population of Dunn's at Mary's Peak was once described as a separate species, but that turned out to be inaccurate - they're just melanistic versions of the same thing. (Though those dark-toned salamanders are an area of weakness for me, so hopefully somebody else can confirm or dispute that.)
The green-striped salamander is a Dunn's, and I believe that the dark salamander is also a Dunn's. The melanistic population of Dunn's at Mary's Peak was once described as a separate species, but that turned out to be inaccurate - they're just melanistic versions of the same thing. (Though those dark-toned salamanders are an area of weakness for me, so hopefully somebody else can confirm or dispute that.)
- Fieldnotes
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Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
WoW the mythical "stripeless" Dunn's Salamander does exist! Pretty cool.
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
Nice job on the finds! I'm thinking that is the mythical stripe-less dunni. I didn't find any at Mary's Peak but not too far south of there in northernmost Lane county I found these guys who look similiar;
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
Thank you for the help on identifying the dark salamander. Since I'm still learning the herps here I have to rely on my field guide and it wasn't too helpful on this guy.jonathan wrote:Beautiful pictures Heather! I especially like the torrent salamander - the spotting on that one is prettier than any I've found (I made a post about the different species in the Torrent Salamander family here). Tailed frogs are always an awesome find too.
The green-striped salamander is a Dunn's, and I believe that the dark salamander is also a Dunn's. The melanistic population of Dunn's at Mary's Peak was once described as a separate species, but that turned out to be inaccurate - they're just melanistic versions of the same thing. (Though those dark-toned salamanders are an area of weakness for me, so hopefully somebody else can confirm or dispute that.)
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
No worries - I'm the same way. My first stripeless red-backed salamander totally confused me, and I found three funny-colored Dunn's a few years back that I completely mis-ID'd. You were smart to not jump to conclusions.
Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
Nice post Hadar. Hope to see more to come
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Re: Herping at Mary's Peak
I'm glad to see some of the black ones. I herped Mary's Peak a few years ago, and found northern R.aff.variegatus, D.tenebrosus (including a large terrestrial adult), A.truei, and normal phase P.dunni, all at a single site. No luck with the dark dunnis, which were previously described as Plethodon gordoni. "Gordoni" differs not just in color, but in various body proportions. However, both forms will occur in a single litter. If this population were to be isolated from other P.dunni, in only a few hundred or thousands of years we'd have a separate species which actually looked different. That, however, is hypothetical at the moment.