Part 1
Part 2
Part 4

I'm going to skip ahead a couple months from were I left off last and post some photos from a trip to Arizona that Jimi and I took in late August. We spent about a week and a half in the southern part of the state (Mostly Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties). We met up with Steve and a few others during our time down there. It was the first time I had been to that part of Arizona so pretty much everything was new to me.

After driving for a full day, we rolled in pretty late the first night. I think the only live snakes we saw the first night were atrox.


Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake-Crotalus atrox by Rye Jones, on Flickr


And we saw a few Sonoran Desert Toads that night too.


Sonoran Desert Toad-Ollotis alvaria by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Cruising was kind of slow so we called it a night and set up camp. The next morning we came across this blacktail that surprisingly wasn't hit by a group of ATVers who just passed us.


Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake-Crotalus molossus molossus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We headed further south and stopped by Terry's. We spent the afternoon with him showing us around his property. On our way to our next destination, we were hit by some heavy monsoon storms. We had to wait out a few storms, but in between we turned up a few things.


Mountain Skink-Plestiodon callicephalus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Mountain Skink-Plestiodon callicephalus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


That night we cruised around for a bit. We turned up a couple more atrox, a DOR coral and a bunch of amphibians.


Mexican Spadefoot-Spea multiplicata stagnalis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Mexican Spadefoot-Spea multiplicata stagnalis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Chiricahua Leopard Frog-Lithobates chiricahuensis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


The next morning we did some early morning cruising without much luck then hiked a couple different areas.


Sonoran Earless Lizard-Holbrookia elegans thermophila by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Clark's Spiny Lizard-Sceloporus clarkii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Red-spotted Toad-Anaxyrus punctatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Desert Grassland Whiptail- Aspidoscelis uniparens by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Chiricahua Leopard Frog-Lithobates chiricahuensis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Sonoran Mud Turtle-Kinosternon sonoriense by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We cruised the same road the next night with about the same amount of luck.


Couch's Spadefoot-Scaphiopus couchii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


The next day we moved on to a new location. After a short walk in a wash we turned up this nice looking coachwhip.


Sonoran Coachwhip-Coluber flagellum cingulum by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Sonoran Coachwhip-Coluber flagellum cingulum by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We again had about the same amount of luck cruising a new area.


Couch's Spadefoot-Scaphiopus couchii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Couch's Spadefoot-Scaphiopus couchii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


This was a very large and uncooperative atrox.


Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake-Crotalus atrox by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Mexican Spadefoot-Spea multiplicata stagnalis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We spent the next day looking for montane rattlesnakes, but got skunked.


Yarrow's Spiny Lizard-Sceloporus jarrovii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


That night we met up with Steve for some cruising.


Mojave Rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Mojave Rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Chiricahua Leopard Frog-Lithobates chiricahuensis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We woke up early the next morning and tried again for some montanes. We were much more successful this day.


Banded Rock Rattlesnake-Crotalus lepidus klauberi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Canyon Treefrog-Hyla arenicolor by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Banded Rock Rattlesnake-Crotalus lepidus klauberi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Banded Rock Rattlesnake-Crotalus lepidus klauberi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Yarrow's Spiny Lizard-Sceloporus jarrovii by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Banded Rock Rattlesnake-Crotalus lepidus klauberi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake-Crotalus willardi willardi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake-Crotalus willardi willardi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake-Crotalus molossus molossus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake-Crotalus molossus molossus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We continued on to cruise a new area hoping for a cerberus. We didn't have any luck with them, but we did find a few others.


Desert Kingsnake-Lampropeltis getula splendida by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Sonoran Desert Toad-Ollotis alvaria by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake-Crotalus atrox by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Tucson Banded Gecko-Coleonyx variegatus bogerti by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Tarantula Hawk with Tarantula by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Red-spotted Toad-Anaxyrus punctatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Sonoran Desert Toad-Ollotis alvaria by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We tried again for cerbs in the morning.


Sonoran Spotted Whiptail-Aspidoscelis sonorae by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Canyon Treefrog-Hyla arenicolor by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Canyon Treefrog-Hyla arenicolor by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Canyon Treefrog-Hyla arenicolor by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Sonoran Spotted Whiptail-Aspidoscelis sonorae by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We met up with Vic that evening for some cruising.


Sonoran Gopher Snake-Pituophis catenifer affinis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Mojave Rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Regal Ring-necked Snake-Diadophis punctatus regalis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Regal Ring-necked Snake-Diadophis punctatus regalis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


The next day we did another morning hunt for montanes.


Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake-Crotalus willardi willardi by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard-Sceloporus slevini by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona Alligator Lizard-Elgaria kingii nobilis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona Alligator Lizard-Elgaria kingii nobilis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Steve had to head home and Jimi and I went back to an area we cruised a couple nights prior.


Big Bend Patch-nosed Snake-Salvadora hexalepis deserticola by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Arizona Alligator Lizard-Elgaria kingii nobilis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We made a last minute decision to move to another area to try and set up for some better herping in the morning. We did a few quick hikes in the morning with little success and cruised this guy on the way out.


Regal Horned Lizard-Phrynosoma solare by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Regal Horned Lizard-Phrynosoma solare by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We stopped at the desert museum before making our way north.


Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana-Ctenosaura macrolopha by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Hummingbird by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail-Aspidoscelis exsanguis by Rye Jones, on Flickr


Our last night of cruising turned up a couple snakes we had yet to see.


Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake-Phyllorhynchus decurtatus by Rye Jones, on Flickr


California Kingsnake-Lampropeltis getula californiae by Rye Jones, on Flickr


We ended our trip the same way we started....with an atrox.


Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake-Crotalus atrox by Rye Jones, on Flickr


I'm not much for narrating, so feel free to jump in if I missed anything, Jimi and Steve.

Thanks again to Vic and Terry for their hospitality!

Amazing post and photography, I'm happy not to have past this post by. Perhaps i'm missing something, but isn't the Sonoran Desert Toad now referred to as Incilius alvarius?

Great post and awesome photos. I especially liked all the amphibians, love the diversity. Quick question about the Kinosternon sonoriense, was it in a creek or a pond?
Thanks for sharing.
Best,
Nick

Uh-huh. I'm still a little haunted by the brute that got away before we could whip around. That was a big snake.

Nick - that little muddie was up a seasonal - perhaps even intermittent - creek. Pretty high-gradient with little waterfalls, plunge pools, and such. The general area has lots of stock tanks, a bigger creek or two that might even be almost permanent, and lots of little seasonal & intermittent watercourses.

Thanks for the pics, Rye. Nice to see that, of all those great viewfinder images, at least a few turned out good full-screen.

cheers

Is it? I'm not sure. NAHERP has it listed as Ollotis alvaria, so I just went with that.



Thanks, Nick. Like Jimi said, that one was found up a creek. We did find 2 or 3 one night in a pond.



Haha, yeah that thing was a beast.

Nice herping man! I audibly said, "wow" with that klauberi close up, they're such an amazing species. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Kevin. Glad you enjoyed it.