My buddy Justin posted a link to a paper on Facebook yesterday: “The desert tortoise trichotomy: Mexico hosts a third, new sister-species of tortoise in the Gopherus morafkai – G. agassizii group”. I’ve been waiting for this; it’s been known for some time that Gopherus populations in southern Sonora and…
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Andrew Durso’s Life Is Short, But Snakes Are Long is one of my favorite herp blogs. In his latest installment, Andrew talks about books, bushmasters, and Ditmars – a few of my favorite things, all wrapped up neatly together in one post.
I ask that question from time to time. “Uh, because it’s Regina?” I never liked that answer. If ‘Queen Snake’ springs from Regina, the name of its genus, then where does Regina come from? If it’s the other way ’round, then who is responsible? Sorting this out has been less than satisfying,…
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The end of the year traditionally requires an accounting of said year – and a very good year it was! I added 41 notches to my life list, got out in the field with lots of old friends, and made some new ones along the way. Here are some highlight…
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Hit Me With Your Nature Stick is one of my favorite field herping blogs. Mike and Andrea Howlett chronicle their herping adventures with a passion and excitement that make me wish I was there, and their latest post is no exception. Do yourself a favor and check out their account…
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“It’s the stuff dreams are made of” -Sam Spade My first awareness of the San Francisco Garter Snake came in the early seventies, when I came across a first edition of Stebbins’ western field guide. Like many herpers, I’ve been thinking about that snake ever since my first glimpse. To…
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It’s a long way from my house to Hays, Kansas. Eleven hours behind the wheel is enough to make one wobbly, wild-eyed and weary, but the annual meeting of the Kansas Herpetological Society was worth it. A big part of the KHS meeting are the presentations that occupy the daytime…
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The rainy season paid no attention to the calendar and the downpours continued. The water was high at the Madre Selva field station, high enough to reach the steps of the kitchen tambo, and to leave the station’s generator on its own island. The boats were tied up close to…
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…was a frog. Or rather, a dozen frogs. Recently, Tracey Mitchell and I made one last trip to the southern portion of Illinois, in hopes of finding a few more serpents before the door slammed for good on the season. Temperatures the previous night had dropped into the lower thirties,…
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I arrived a day later than the rest of the 2013 expedition to Baja Sur, in order to save myself $250 on the plane ticket. Consequently, I missed out on the first day’s catch, including a large calling congress of Spotted Toads (Bufo punctatus), and several Cape Aquatic Garter Snakes…
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