Herpetology

[Darbi]

On 11/26/2020 at 9:37 PM, Thomas.Dodson said:

Correct. I did index of biotic integrity surveys using fish surveys when I worked in Georgia. It was a great job for fossils as well as herps.

Hehehe, I have done this kind of stuff for stream surveys. I would hunt briefly for fossils in the stream, while on a lunch break out in the field.

 

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) during our stream surveying in northeast Iowa in 2019.

 

[PFOOLEY]

Social learning by imitation in a reptile (Pogona vitticeps)

 

(clockwise) Mango, Echo and Fossil

 

[PFOOLEY]

The first scaly creatures of Spring...

 

 

[Thomas.Dodson]

A cute short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi) from Bowman County North Dakota.

[PFOOLEY]

Q&A: How Lizards and Snakes Got Their Skull Shapes

 

 

 

 

Ecomorphological diversification in squamates from conserved pattern of cranial integration

 

[PFOOLEY]

Oh how we enjoy those reptiles and amphibians...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... .

 

[Jesuslover340]

Interesting thread; I will have to keep an eye on it. Anyone keep snakes still? We are headed into spring here in Australia so have to keep an eye out for red-bellied blacks and eastern brown snakes.

[PFOOLEY]

 

The venom gland transcriptome of the Desert Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii): towards an understanding of venom composition among advanced snakes (Superfamily Colubroidea)

[PFOOLEY]

Our first lizard of 2022!

 

[Ludwigia]

Friendly looking beast.

[PFOOLEY]

Fig 6

 

The comparative anatomy of the skin of the limbs of extant turtles.

(A) the testudinid tortoise CAS 165598 Psammobates oculifera, an inhabitant of deserts. (B) the trionychid turtle CAS 65705 Apalone spinifera, an inhabitant of rivers. (C) the emydid turtle CAS 13889 Chrysemys picta, an inhabitant of ponds. (D) the cheloniid turtle CAS 8478 Chelonia mydas, an inhabitant of oceans.

 

 

 

From: 

 

Walter G. Joyce, Matthias Mäuser and Serjoscha W. Evers (2021)

 

Two turtles with soft tissue preservation from the platy limestones of Germany provide evidence for marine flipper adaptations in Late Jurassic thalassochelydians

 

Abstract

Late Jurassic deposits across Europe have yielded a rich fauna of extinct turtles. Although many of these turtles are recovered from marine deposits, it is unclear which of these taxa are habitually marine and which may be riverine species washed into nearby basins, as adaptations to open marine conditions are yet to be found. Two new fossils from the Late Jurassic of Germany provide unusually strong evidence for open marine adaptations. The first specimen is a partial shell and articulated hind limb from the Late Jurassic (early Tithonian) platy limestones of Schernfeld near Eichstätt, which preserves the integument of the hind limb as an imprint. The skin is fully covered by flat, polygonal scales, which stiffen the pes into a paddle. Although taxonomic attribution is not possible, similarities are apparent with Thalassemys. The second specimen is a large, articulated skeleton with hypertrophied limbs referable to Thalassemys bruntrutana from the Late Jurassic (early Late Kimmeridgian) platy limestone of Wattendorf, near Bamberg. Even though the skin is preserved as a phosphatic film, the scales are not preserved. This specimen can nevertheless be inferred to have had paddles stiffened by scales based on the pose in which they are preserved, the presence of epibionts between the digits, and by full morphological correspondence to the specimen from Schernfeld. An analysis of scalation in extant turtles demonstrated that elongate flippers stiffed by scales are a marine adaptation, in contrast to the elongate but flexible flippers of riverine turtles. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Thalassemys bruntrutana is referable to the mostly Late Jurassic turtle clade Thalassochelydia. The marine adapted flippers of this taxon therefore evolved convergently with those of later clades of marine turtles. Although thalassochelydian fossils are restricted to Europe, with one notable exception from Argentina, their open marine adaptations combined with the interconnectivity of Jurassic oceans predict that the clade must have been even more wide-spread during that time.

[PFOOLEY]

Well, spring has finally sprung in the desert. I chased a few lizards with no luck on photographs. As I meandered down the dirt road, my first snake of the year! 

 

 

 

Pituophis catenifer affinis

 

Molecular Systematics of New World Gopher, Bull, and Pinesnakes (Pituophis: Colubridae), a Transcontinental Species Complex

 

Molecular Systematics of New World Gopher, Bull, and Pinesnakes.pdf

 

@Bullsnake

[Top Trilo]

That first snake picture is amazing! The second one is too but I really like the first one. Excellent photography! Don't be that brave with a Rattle snake!

[PFOOLEY]

14 hours ago, Top Trilo said:

That first snake picture is amazing! The second one is too but I really like the first one. Excellent photography! Don't be that brave with a Rattle snake!

 

Thank you @Top Trilo! Here is one of my favorite shots of a rattlesnake...

 

 

... .

[Top Trilo]

That's a beautiful picture of a beautiful animal, stay safe out there.

[Bullsnake]

@PFOOLEY

Looking forward to reading that paper on the snake.

Thank you, Mike!

[PFOOLEY]

The anatomy, paleobiology, and evolutionary relationships of the largest extinct side-necked turtle

 

 

Abstract: 

 

Despite being among the largest turtles that ever lived, the biology and systematics of Stupendemys geographicusremain largely unknown because of scant, fragmentary finds. We describe exceptional specimens and new local-ities of S. geographicus from the Miocene of Venezuela and Colombia. We document the largest shell reported for any extant or extinct turtle, with a carapace length of 2.40 m and estimated mass of 1.145 kg, almost 100 times the size of its closest living relative, the Amazon river turtle Peltocephalus dumerilianus, and twice that of the largest extant turtle, the marine leatherback Dermochelys coriacea. The new specimens greatly increase knowledge of the biology  and  evolution  of  this  iconic  species.  Our  findings  suggest  the  existence  of  a  single  giant  turtle  species  across  the  northern  Neotropics,  but  with  two  shell  morphotypes,  suggestive  of  sexual  dimorphism.  Bite  marks  and punctured bones indicate interactions with large caimans that also inhabited the northern Neotropics.

 

 

 

 

sciadv.aay4593.pdf

 

[PFOOLEY]

Some short evening rains brought our first toads of the year!

 

 

We were leaving a jobsite the other night and when she noticed it had rained, she looked to me and gleefully said "toad hunt!"...

 

...I love that.

 

 

Woodhouse toad nature guide

[PFOOLEY]

An exciting first-time encounter with a Western Patch Nosed snake...

 

 

...the desert never ceases to amaze me.  

 

 

HR481SalvadoraSullivWeins.pdf

[PFOOLEY]

Bullfrog!

 

[Bobby Rico]

On 5/18/2023 at 2:15 PM, PFOOLEY said:

Some short evening rains brought our first toads of the year!

MrsR and I always think It is a wonderful life you and your little one share, exploring the desert. You are photographing such a beautiful documentation of her childhood. 
 

When you  going to make a coffee table book of your photographs? 
 

BTW great thread.

 

cheers Bobby 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Bobby Rico

[Fossildude19]

Saw this little guy on my fence yesterday evening, when putting the trash cans out by the street.

Eastern Gray Tree Frog.

 

 

[PFOOLEY]

On 6/13/2023 at 6:07 AM, Bobby Rico said:

MrsR and I always think It is a wonderful life you and your little one share, exploring the desert. You are photographing such a beautiful documentation of her childhood. 
 

When you  going to make a coffee table book of your photographs? 
 

BTW great thread.

 

cheers Bobby 

 

Thank you, Bobby...this made my day.

 

I am thrilled to have a seven-year-old who brings out my inner seven-year-old. We have a lot of fun as a family roaming in search of plants and creatures (and fossils!) and I have a great compilation of photos from those adventures. One day, Bobby, there will be a book...and as I have said before, you will be the first to get one.  

 

Thank you again.

[PFOOLEY]

14 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

...Eastern Gray Tree Frog...

 

What a cool frog! I remember cruising the backroads of Northern Michigan after a rain and finding a similar type on the roads.  

 

Good times.

 

[Bobby Rico]

16 hours ago, PFOOLEY said:

Thank you, Bobby...this made my day.

You are definitely one my favourite photographers ,