Rattlesnake Hill

Now that my lizard habit has been quelled for the time being, I am focusing my efforts into finding another group of organism: Lizards. But not just any lizards. Snakes. But not just any snakes. Rattlesnakes. Technically speaking, all snakes are lizards, for the same reasons that birds are actually reptiles. And we are fish. If you don't understand, you can go get a degree in biology and learn what a paraphyletic group is. Alternatively you can figure it out from the below diagram or Wikipedia. Either way, you'll be a hit at your next dinner party.

Note the position of birds and snakes.

Taken from Suh et al. 2014; A Semantically Correct Vertebrate Tree of Life.

Unfortunately, my new lizard quest was off to a rocky start. Not only was the mountain I was trying to get to presumably full of minerals and ores, I got lost driving there. Eventually a combination of cursing the country backroads and Google maps led me to my destination. Finally, I could hike up to the trail named "Rattlesnake Hill" which I hoped was named for its abundance of rattlesnakes. Or maybe it's a hill that's shaped like a rattlesnake. I wouldn't know because I got lost again and ended up at a reservoir instead of this mystical landmark. But the trouble didn't end there.

Right before I walked towards the body of water to sulk I crossed paths with a rampant dog. This was a relatively harmless dog, besides the fact that it was a dog, and I left unscathed. But this was only the beginning. I sat down by the lake, angry at the lack of rattlesnakes on my hike, when suddenly I was surrounded by a pack of five dogs. Five wet dogs who decided to shake off their dank fur right next to me while trying to steal my sandwich. Of course, the two owners of this vile horde just said "Oh, they're just so friendly!" and that instantly excuses these vermin to do whatever they want.

Needless to say, I was pretty discouraged at this point. If you don't know me, I should explain. Not that I'm biased or anything, but I don't have much love for mammals, especially untrained, overly-affectionate canines. Anyway, while recovering from that traumatic event I noticed this thing in the water:

I wonder if he knew he would end up on the internet.

An eastern newt! I mean, Notophthalmus viridiscens. They're basically water lizards. They were extremely abundant too, flitting around beneath the surface and resting on rocks. I even watched the pictured male try to mate with another newt. Males develop enlarged hindlimbs, visible above, which they use to lovingly strangle the female newt. Newts sure like it rough. There have been way too many boring facts in this post so I'll end with pictures of hatchling painted turtles that were also in the reservoir.

So cute!

While my current obsession is with lizards, I still firmly believe that there is nothing cuter than a baby turtle. And there is nothing cuter than a whole swarm of five of them going about their day between the shallow water pond vegetation.

Still cute!

All in all a good day. But I'll be back for the rattlesnakes. Remind me to wear dog repellent. 

Lizard Quest: Round 2

If you've ever read this blog you may know that I like lizards. If you really love me and actually read this blog, you might remember how I tried to find them in my native homeland of seemingly lizard-less New York state last summer. I never finished the "thrilling conclusion" to that subpar story" to find introduced Italian wall lizards, but long journey to a cemetery in Queens short: I found them. Here is photographic proof:

Wow! Look at that Podarcis sicula in its "natural" habitat.

That's all for this charming lizard for now, but you haven't seen the last of him. I'll make a trip back to the graveyard soon to see if he is still there.

It is cool to see a lizard from Rome all the way out here, but what about the lizards that naturally occur in New York? It turns out there are three native species of lizards here, two of which are within relatively close proximity to me. I planned on committing to a prolonged and arduous expedition that would span the entire summer to find these reptilian gems, but I ended up finding both of them yesterday. So instead of an extensive account here are some pictures that I wished turned out just a little bit sharper. I guess I'll have to go back. Oh the horror!

No touching!

First up, we have the eastern fence lizard, or more commonly known as Sceloporus undulatus. It's a widespread lizard found throughout most of the United States, but there are five disjunct populations at its most northernmost range in New York where it is threatened. This means I cannot collect every last one and start my own lizard zoo. Darn.

How babby is formed.

I only managed to find four of them, including two large gravid females ripe with eggs and a single cute juvenile that was probably one of last year's babies.

So cute! 

While my appetite was satiated with a single species of lizard, I managed to find a bunch of male five-lined skinks as well. Males develop reddish heads during the breeding season because they are so angry and fight each other, and apparently ladies might find the color red attractive. But not a single lady skink was in sight. I would guess that the females are all being good mothers, but I'll save my breath and let this popular nature man explain it to you more eloquently.

Plestiodon fasciatus, because I know people read this blog mainly for scientific names. 

Before leaving I was outwitted by a juvenile skink with its pretty blue tail, but I have no picture to show you, so who knows if it really happened. I also encountered a milk snake, but alas no pictures. Looks like I'll have to go back.

We have to go back. 

Leafhopper? Spider?! I barely...

Welcome back. I've been busy graduating from college, but fear not! I have not acquired one of those pesky "jobs" so in between my allergy medication-induced naps I plan on spending as much time outside being a naturalist and improving my photography skills. I've got some exciting ideas around good ole upstate New York, but yesterday I stayed close to home. Literally. Due to my fatigued state (and lack of a car), I spent a good chunk of time running around my yard and lying in the tick infested grass, taking pictures of whatever I could find. Here are a few pictures of what I found.

Wow! Look at those antennae! 

And we're off to a good start. Apparently that monstrosity is called a fishfly. The description in my field guide states that "these large insects are easy to capture because they fly so slowly and are so poorly coordinated." Poor guy. He was probably last pick in gym class.

This is a leafhopper nymph. I wish this photo was just a little bit sharper, but it's pretty cool how the lawn looks like a forest of its own. One day that little guy will grow up to be the slightly less tiny insect shown below.

Actually, I'm not entirely sure if those are the same species, but the first picture is definitely an immature individual. You may have not seen these bugs this close before, but you have definitely seen them if you've ever walked across a lawn and noticed a small swarm fleeing from your footsteps.

Before you get bored or creeped out by all the weird things, here's a less offensive insect.

Everyone loves butterflies!

Followed by one of the most reviled arthropods: a spider surrounded by all its leftovers. 

Everyone's favorite animal, second to snakes.

Thus begins my journey to document the fauna of the exciting temperate northeast.

I'm famous!

The widely read, critically acclaimed, and constantly deleted mass-emailed spam, BU Today, has written a piece on my herpetology class' spring break field trip to Florida! In addition to this already wide coverage, apparently eminent herpetologist Harry Greene posted it on his Facebook along with Allen Salzberg, the man who runs Herp Digest. Wow. If you have no idea who these people are, then you are probably a normal human being.

While the written article does not mention me specifically, they used a bunch of my photos along with some great shots from a classmate of mine (more of her pictures). So that should be some nice exposure and proof that I am now a professional photographer, having my work featured in such a hard hitting news outlet. Journalism truly is the life of kings.

The fun doesn't end there. I was lucky enough to make an appearance in the final cut of the video where I eloquently state "I really like lizards..." within my second sentence. Dressed in doofy field gear, nonetheless!

READ IT HERE!

Betrayal; Apology

I am sorry to inform you guys that I have betrayed the Derpetologist brand name by writing a guest post for "BU Culture Shock." I know how many of you depend on content from this blog to ruin your more exciting lives and the fact that I would write anywhere else while leaving this site dormant for nearly five months is unacceptable.

In my defense, it was in response to a post by my friend Evan (READ THIS FIRST). I was unhappy with his over-romanticized take on an event that I happened to be present at, so I quickly formulated my response here (READ SECOND). 

The guy in the red hat is Evan. 

So there you go. Hopefully my attempt at writing that is riddled with only 30% sarcasm is somewhat enjoyable. You can find a humorous foreshadowing of the event from back in the day HERE.

Wow, look at that tongue/teeth/saliva. 

I wish I could tell you that it ends there, but it doesn't. I wrote a post about the lovely lizard you see above for a blog all about anoles. While less exciting, depending on your opinion of lizards, there is a video and videos are always fun. Read here.

Next: More Florida

Florida: Land of Dreams

Hello everyone. I am back from the wonderful state of happiness that is anywhere with an abundance of lizards. Unfortunately I've returned to the freezing reptile-free northeast where I am now depressed because it's cold and there are no lizards running around outside of my bedroom. My therapist tells me that I should find an outlet to express myself (and also to find a new hobby) which is why I am writing here today.

Some typical Floridian avian fauna. 

Nonetheless, I am back from Florida with a few adventures to share, a surplus of subpar photographs, a handful of decent photographs, and the common cold. Everyday was packed to the brim with class activities which meant going to sleep late and waking up early leading to sleep deprivation and my current infected state.

Watch out, National Geographic! There's a new photographer in town.

But I have no regrets! I spent every waking moments lizarding and trying to figure out how to take fancy pictures with my new camera. While I still think I managed better with my beloved old Samsung point-and-shoot (RIP), the DSLR has more potential and should eventually let me take super-human macro pictures once I amass the skills and large sums of money for the necessary equipment. 

Here are a few things to look forward to:

• A decent picture of a crocodile
• A bad picture of a chameleon 
• A potentially humorous video (within the next year)

Goodnight everybody!

Welcome back.

Welcome back loyal readers, all two of you, to the revamp of your favorite nature/lifestyles/interior design blog. If you noticed the large font above, I'm going to Florida (but I still went to Ecuador)!

One of these circles is Florida and the other is Ecuador. I went to one of them. 

Unfortunately we're not going to the cesspool of invasive species that is the heart of the Everglades/Miami, which is sad because the native "pristine" ecosystem is all messed up, but also pretty cool if you want to see reptiles and amphibians from all over the world without paying to go all over the world. I'd sacrifice a few boring native bird species for Burmese pythons and tegus. Glass half-full or half-empty of exotic species; it's all about perspective.

This lizard (Plica plica) will not be in Florida, but blogs without pictures are boring. 

Anyway, we're going to a field station a bit further north of the Everglades, but there will be lizards and gopher tortoises and alligators, oh my! So be on the lookout for all your favorite derpetologist.blogspot.com features in the upcoming weeks: blog posts, videos, merch, branded lunchboxes, and more, coming soon to a theater near you.