Northern California Herps

[Namio]

Hi fellow frog lovers. I would like to share some of the cool herps and critters that I have come across in northern California early this year. The specific location where these wonderful animals were found was in a place called the Angelo Reserve in the Mendocino county of California, about 7 miles inland from the Pacific coast.

First night out, we located a scorpion underneath a rock. Thank goodness that my friend Ryan had a black light on him (how random, I know, but I was glad that he did), and the scorpion GLOWED under the black light. So cool! The second picture is the very same scorpion under regular lighting.



Then the next day we found several western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) sun bathing in a rocky area next to a river.

Looks like a male... Here's a closeup for the post anal scales


The only native turtle species here locally, western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), was found over wintering on land under an oak tree. I swear normally it's a good looking turtle... when it's clean swimming in water.


I lumped all the snakes together...

Lets start with a garter snake (Thamnophis spp.) that looks like an T. elegans, but could be the common garter aka
T. sirtalis
A juvenile racer (Coluber mormon), and my friend Adam was holding it.
I was holding a cute sharp tailed snake (Contia tenuis)

and a full grown ring necked snake (Diadophis punctatus)
when your a snake this small, I guess you can always eat slugs... yes, this snake is a slug specialist


On a rocky slope, is where black salamanders (Aneides flavipunctatus) were found



a male ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii)was also found with his cute puppy face



Here're western skinks (Plestiodon skiltonianus), unfortunately one dropped its tail (second photo) when we startled it, but it's a good example of autotomy, the broken piece seriously wiggled for a couple of minutes.


My friend Adam, caught a southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata), and it was huge and feisty. Adam stands 6"4' and has a big hand, so the lizard actually appeared smaller than what it'd look in real life.


Pacific chorus frogs (Pseudacris regilla) are always a welcomed sight


Foothill yellow-legged frogs (Rana boylii), this first individual is a HUGE female yellow-legged. They don't really get any bigger than this girl.

A little staged picture
That's right, I'm a frog whisperer. Shhh, it IS still alive!

Here's a juvenile yellow-legged
Can you find the yellow-legged frog?

I found a big western toad under a BIG log near where we camped.


A shrew mole. Drowned.


Here's a "newt ball," basically a mating event of the rough skinned newts (Taricha granulosa), during mating seasons these terrestrial newts become fully aquatic. These mating events can go on for hours, I'm talking about for hours and hours... they are NOt in a hurry...

Here's a fully aquatic aka slimy male I picked out of the water


An unken reflex, a defensive posture showing me that the bright orangeness = deadly tetrodotoxin. When I poke it then he unkens so I could snap a shot real quick.

Look at the swollen vent, indicating sexual maturity

Baby rough skinned newts, fully terrstrial

Thank for watching! I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

[John]

Very nice finds! I was in your neck of the woods in March. Saw much of what you found and a few other things. Saw tons of migrating Taricha (torosa, rivularis and sierrae).

[Namio]

Very nice finds! I was in your neck of the woods in March. Saw much of what you found and a few other things. Saw tons of migrating Taricha (torosa, rivularis and sierrae).

Nice! I see you pulled a little Taricha hat trick! May I ask where were you specifically, John?

[John]

For the Taricha? The Torosa and rivularis were Sonoma County I believe. The Sierrae were somewhere east of Oroville or Chico.

[UncleChester]

Thanks for sharing!

I don't know much about lizards, so I'm wondering what's the purpose of the surprisingly bright blue scales on the underside of that otherwise drably fence coloured fence lizard?

[KingCam]

Awesome finds, and great photos! Thanks for sharing. Gave me the itch to get out in the woods soon :P

[numpty]

Great pics of some nice finds. Wish I had access to the range of salamanders and newts that you have over there in the States!

[Namio]

John, you were everywhere, man. That's some ground you covered during your time in California. I hope you had some good wine in Sonoma county

Thanks for sharing!

Hey Brian,

I don't know much about lizards, so I'm wondering what's the purpose of the surprisingly bright blue scales on the underside of that otherwise drably fence coloured fence lizard?

I don't really know either, but my guess would be sexual selection? By having a brighter blue belly attracts more female attention? Although female Sceloporus also have the same pattern and coloration, they are not as striking. But it's strategically located in the underbelly so aerial/other predators can't see it while the lizard can choose to show it whenever it wants to, so perhaps natural selection played some role in it as well.


Cam, you should make your way up Pacific northwest when you get a chance. For a cooler place, you'll surprisingly see a plethora of herptofauna. I mean, besides nature there are many other excuses to come, too

[Namio]

Great pics of some nice finds. Wish I had access to the range of salamanders and newts that you have over there in the States!

It's quite alright, Taiwan has plenty of cool subtropical anurans that we don't have in the North America. Luckily I'm making my way to Taiwan in late December for my own wedding but I really don't know where the frog hotspots are. Any pointers for me, Numpty? I will be in Taipei from December 27th til February. It's a little shameful of me because I grew up in Taiwan....

[numpty]

Luckily I'm making my way to Taiwan in late December for my own wedding but I really don't know where the frog hotspots are. Any pointers for me, Numpty? I will be in Taipei from December 27th til February. It's a little shameful of me because I grew up in Taiwan....

Firstly, congratulations!

Do you read Chinese? There are a couple of books giving info on Taiwan's frogs and good places to see them. Can't remember the titles though ... and they might be out of print. Okay, forget that ...

I can PM you more exact details closer to the date, when I'm better organised, but there are a few good places either in or very close to Taipei. FuYang Eco Park, near the Linguang MRT stop on the brown line, has at least eight species. The Taipei Green Tree Frog should be breeding there during your visit (it breeds through the winter; most others only start in February or so). There's also a good spot halfway between XinDian and WuLai that I forget the name of, which has loads of cool stuff (ornate narrow-mouthed frog, emerald green tree frog, Taipei green tree frog, Eiffinger's tree frog, etc etc) ... I can send more details later on. There are also lots of good spots in YangMingShan National Park, which is easily accessible and well worth a trip in its own right.

If you have time to get out of Taipei, you could also visit Taroko Gorge NP and other protected areas further south, which gives you the chance of seeing species that don't live in the north. All the salamanders live high in the Central Mountains, around 3,000 metres asl.

As I say, I'll send you more stuff later on. Honest!

[Namio]

Firstly, congratulations!

Do you read Chinese? There are a couple of books giving info on Taiwan's frogs and good places to see them. Can't remember the titles though ... and they might be out of print. Okay, forget that ...

I can PM you more exact details closer to the date, when I'm better organised, but there are a few good places either in or very close to Taipei. FuYang Eco Park, near the Linguang MRT stop on the brown line, has at least eight species. The Taipei Green Tree Frog should be breeding there during your visit (it breeds through the winter; most others only start in February or so). There's also a good spot halfway between XinDian and WuLai that I forget the name of, which has loads of cool stuff (ornate narrow-mouthed frog, emerald green tree frog, Taipei green tree frog, Eiffinger's tree frog, etc etc) ... I can send more details later on. There are also lots of good spots in YangMingShan National Park, which is easily accessible and well worth a trip in its own right.

If you have time to get out of Taipei, you could also visit Taroko Gorge NP and other protected areas further south, which gives you the chance of seeing species that don't live in the north. All the salamanders live high in the Central Mountains, around 3,000 metres asl.

As I say, I'll send you more stuff later on. Honest!

Thank you so much Numpty! Yes, I'm fluent in Mandarin and can read & write (not so much anymore). You are getting me very excited because I have not been back for a couple of years and in the past I would just stuff my face with food... now I have a brand new goal! I just have to drag my wife along lol she's not a big fan of cold and slimy frogs but she's been getting better at it. I am nowhere close to the photographer you are but I'm hoping to take some decent photos, too. Ah I wish I can smuggle some frogs back to the States... if it were that easy, haha!

This reminded me of something: The last time I visited my mom in Taipei, Wan Fan District, I saw big lime green toad with no stripes, dots or any other patterns, at night. Would you have any clue on what that species may be. Unfortunately I do not have a photograph of it, and my memory of it is also fading. I just remember a big green toad I saw, about 12-15cm SVL. I found it hopping on the sidewalk next to a community garden in the Wan Fan District (not sure if I spelled it correctly).

[numpty]

This reminded me of something: The last time I visited my mom in Taipei, Wan Fan District, I saw big lime green toad with no stripes, dots or any other patterns, at night. Would you have any clue on what that species may be. Unfortunately I do not have a photograph of it, and my memory of it is also fading. I just remember a big green toad I saw, about 12-15cm SVL. I found it hopping on the sidewalk next to a community garden in the Wan Fan District (not sure if I spelled it correctly).

Well, there are only two toads native to Taiwan ... Bufo bankorensis and Duttaphrynus melanosticus. Both get into the size range you mention, but I've never seen either in a lime green colour. I seem to remember reading that male D. melanosticus can be greenish during the breeding season, but on the other hand this toad has "spectacle" markings around the eyes, and it sounds like you didn't see anything like that. Maybe Google the above species and see if anything grabs you. Good luck!

By the way, I take all my pictures with a fast-deteriorating Casio compact. Strictly point-and-shoot stuff. Decent picture quality is purely accidental and due only to the beauty of the frogs. But thanks anyway!