The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

Sunday in one of the most beautiful state parks in CA.

Just 22 seconds. But it is plenty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APSMQhaOC8M
mark buck
Posts: 102
Joined: March 30th, 2015, 11:01 am
Location: Bakersfield, CA

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by mark buck »

Nice one!
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

Thanks Mark, more to come. All under 30 seconds.
Less talk more herps.

Craig
Jimi
Posts: 1955
Joined: December 3rd, 2010, 12:06 pm

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by Jimi »

That is a nice one. The phenotypic diversity of that taxon in that specific area is amazing - no "locality look" at all to them, unlike elsewhere. I love the salt & pepper, low-orange ones like yours.

cheers
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

PICT0001crop.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Jimi
Posts: 1955
Joined: December 3rd, 2010, 12:06 pm

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by Jimi »

I didn't look very closely - do you think it's the same animal? Or are you just noting one of very similar appearance in the same general area?

Within a 20-minute walk of a certain campground with a little pupfish pool by the toilets, over the years since about 1983 I've seen animals just like yours, as well as brick-red ones, grey ones, yellowish ones, and also ones with way less black (almost all "salt", almost no "pepper"). Also highly variable are the "bands" - some animals (like yours) have fairly complete bands, some have dumbbell marks, some have spotted bars, and a few just have paired spots down the back on an otherwise fairly unicolored body. This is so unlike the taxon elsewhere, where you can either 1) often guess the local source population pretty confidently, or 2) guess the general region they come from (e.g., there's a "fugly Mojave orange morph"). Ha ha.

Cool snakes. I love how they really seem to understand just how camo they are, when they are comfortably set up in a resting spot (as opposed to on the crawl, out in the open).

cheers
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

No, I don't think it is the same animal. I think that the ones right there have that color pattern.
Not mentioned is that I think the mortality rate is high there. In the last ten years I have seen three others DOA (hit by car).
Three is not a low number for deaths, because in the last ten years I have only been there three other times.
I know that there are many more living further off the road, but it still bothers me.

I really prefer to see the live ones, and even " persuade" them to move further off the road.
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

Just an update: Another Crotalus mitchelli from the Highway 62 area, last night.
6.14.19 speck.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

Let's see if I can follow directions:

craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

Sorry folks nothing Crotalid wise to add today.
I was out and about last night and saw a few snakes.
Sunday nights are so pleasant, no traffic on the roads getting there. Nobody on my favorite roads.
Last night no moon until midnight. What could go wrong....
CHP was out citing stupid folks for speeding. I actually go too slow, and try to identify the doa's

Happy Trails :mrgreen:
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: The best 22 seconds of a C. mitchelli....

Post by craigb »

I was out and about in the upper desert last night. It stayed 87 degrees from 7:30 until we left about 10 pm. Lots of rodents and banded geckos were out. We saw one tarantula and one desert iguana out soaking up the road heat. Not a terrible night, but very warm and very windy. Next month may be better.

craigb
Post Reply