virginia herps!

[somuchforendings]

I don't know why I never thought to post any of my pictures to this community until today, but… I figured I'd share



[disclaimer: I am a professional. Do not put your local salamanders in plastic bags for funsies and don't mess with snakes unless you really know what you're doing (for the animal's sake more than yours), etc.]



All of the salamanders in this post are red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), which are not actually always red-backed! The main identifier for them is actually their venter/belly, which is why I feel like someone should spear-head a movement to rename them as "salt-and-pepper salamanders".





There are two main morphs--the red and the lead-back--which have distinctive behaviors (the lead is much flightier). But they really can be any color under the sun. My area has a lot of yellow.



And the best camouflage award goes to… (I moved a leaf out from under her tail; she was almost invisible before!)



This is a rare iridescent lead-back. I was really excited to find her; the camera doesn't do justice to her sparkle.



Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).



I believe this is an eastern king snake (Lampropeltis getula), but I could be mistaken.



Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctuatus): slightly venomous, but docile, rear-fanged, and tiny mouthed. I'm sad I can't find a picture of the venter to share with you all: they're pretty strikingly red and yellow.



Eastern worm snake (Carphophis amoenus amoenus). They try to burrow into your hands when you pick them up.



Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon).



Wood frog (Lithobates or Rana sylvaticus; ymmv) tadpoles! They have a coppery belly, but I just happened to know that's what they were. They're being monitored for Ranavirus.



Cope's gray tree frog (Hyla chrysoscelis), which is practically indistinguishable from the gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor). I'm just assuming this guy's species based on calls I've head in the area.



American toad (Anaxyrus or Bufo americanus, your mileage again my vary… being involved in amphibian taxonomy is apparently dramatic) amplexus. *sexy music plays*



A male eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) being shy.



Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) from a distance.

Comments

[spiralsheep]

Thank you for sharing.

[somuchforendings]

No problem :)

[loligo]

Thanks for posting! My kids are crazy for herps.

[somuchforendings]

No problem! Most kids are. I feel like any time I'm out herping, any kid within a half a mile will suddenly appear and start asking me questions. (Which I don't mind at all, but parents are often much less keen haha)

[weaverbird]

So cool! Thanks for the great shots.

[somuchforendings]

You're welcome and thank you! :)

[lavendertook]

Thank you! I'd love to see salamanders around here. Where in VA is this? I'm in Greenbelt, MD and am enjoying the return of the herps at Greenbelt Lake this past month. The five striped skinks made their first appearances last week, and we've got some huge old snappers, and plenty of red eared sliders, painted turtles, bullfrogs with an amazing amount of tadpoles this year (last year I saw a lot more adult frogs by this time), and saw a snake last weekend with 2 babies in tow last weekend, but am not sure on the species--I will ask you when I post pics of them here. My neighbor spotted a tree frog in Upper Marlboro last week--I've never seen one around here.

[somuchforendings]

You're welcome!!! I'm currently in NoVA, right along the Potomac River (so not too far from you!). I love huge old snappers. The C&O Canal has some absolute behemoths that are gloriously cranky and fun to watch.

The salamanders in this area tend not to be out in the open so much--all of these were under cover boards placed for the surveys and usually you can find them under logs in moist areas--but in the mountains (all up and down the eastern seaboard), I've seen salamanders skittering over the leaves and hanging out on plants. If you want to see salamanders out and about, the best time to do it is their spring migration (usually February 'round these parts, but it varies… it was late this year, for obvious St. Patrick's Day snowfall reasons)… you'll get to see them out in large numbers and you also will see salamanders that generally hide themselves very well. Also, keep a look out for vernal pools! (= areas that are dry for parts of the year, but have water in them throughout spring and sometimes summer) You'll probably see some cool stuff there: frogs, if nothing else, but larval salamanders will be in there as early as March and I've caught adult spotted & marbled salamanders and eastern newts in them, too.

Bullfrog tadpoles can overwinter--and sometimes stay tadpoles for years (there are some two year-old tadpoles at the park I did my surveys at)--so you're probably seeing multiple generations + this winter & spring have been so cold, ones that would've developed into adults by now haven't yet since their development is temperature-dependent. That, or there was a Ranavirus outbreak, but I like to keep things positive!! lol But the wood frogs, which usually develop in a very short time span, are usually MUCH further along by now. The adults also came out of hibernation late this year, too.

Ask away! I'm happy to help. Though, if you haven't already seen it, Maryland's DNR has a pretty great site, which has field ID tricks and range and stuff for any future herping you may do.

And, re:tree frogs. They're sneaky little buggers, but I bet you anything that you've been hearing them call to each other any time you've been in a forested area. I was down by the river today and I heard both Cope's and common gray tree frogs, but couldn't find a single one. I have a MUCH easier time with pond frogs haha. I tend to go "ear herping" for tree frogs more often than not.

(I wrote you a novel. Oops.)

[just_ann_now]

I LOVED YOUR NOVEL PLEASE WRITE MOAR PLEASE *hee*

[just_ann_now]

Wonderful! Thank you!

[somuchforendings]

I'm glad you enjoyed! :)

[foxfirefey]

Salamanders!!!! I AM SO JEALOUS!

[somuchforendings]

They're pretty awesome! I'm doing a study up in the mountains this summer, so I hope to have more salamander pictures to share with you guys at some point!

[blackmare]

Oh, ring-necked snakes are my favorite. Such pretty creatures, and I would pick them up when I was a kid in Florida. Never knew they had any kind of venom!

I've seen salamanders only a handful of times in my life, at least in the wild. Thanks for the photos; I would never have guessed that these were all the same species.

[somuchforendings]

They're one of my top five snakes, too. They generally don't use their venom on people (or any predators, apparently); it's all for their prey. I don't know of anyone who's been bitten, but I can't imagine their bite does much more than make a rash.

Yeah, I've only seen a few when I haven't been actively looking for them (as in, checking under things and/or netting ponds and streams); they're very good at hiding. And no problem, I'm glad you liked them :)