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| West Texas herp trip 1,
September 2020 |
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| We rolled up to the first location and were able
to find this crevice spiny lizard (Sceloporus
poinsettii) |
These giant vinegaroons were common throughout
West TX. While they look a bit intimidating, they are
harmless |
Male tarantulas were on the move looking for
females. They were quite commonly observed on this trip. |
We flipped this eastern patch-nosed snake (Salvadora
grahamiae) under a large rock |
A crevice spiny lizard living up to his name. The
nice blue patches showed off nicely. |
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| I believe this to be a hatchling southwestern
fence lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi) |
Don't mess with Texas toad (Anaxyrus speciosus) |
The only Crotalus we saw on the trip was this
dark WDB (Crotalus atrox). This is the darkest
one I have seen. |
This beautiful greater earless lizard (Cophosaurus
texanus) was probably my favorite find of the
trip. |
Here is the GEL in the habitat where it was
found. |
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| This guy was fairly bod and let me get pretty
close. He would arch his zebra-striped tail up flashing
the pattern off. |
The colors and pattern of the greater earless
lizard are incredible! |
This gray-checkered whiptail (Aspidoscelis
tesselatus) was found moving along the wall of a
narrow canyon. |
An enigmatic Couch's spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus
couchii) |
This Chihuahuan night snake (Hypsiglena jani)
was found on the road just outside of Big Bend state
park. |
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| A very beautiful gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) was found just up the road from the night snake. | This young Texas alligator lizard (Gerrhonotus infernalis) crossed our path as we hiked up the lost mine trail in Big Bend National Park. | The view from the top of the lost mine trail was amazing! | A nicely colored crevice spiny lizard was found along the sheer cliffs at the top of the lost mine trail. | The Couch's spadefoots have such beautiful coloration and pattern! |
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| Eric, Rob and Owen are great herpers and we had a great time herping WTX despite cold temps and low snake activity. | This beautiful coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) was a little worse for the wear, but we were able to get it to sit still for photos. | Close-up of the coachwhip. Such high-octane snakes. We saw two others, but this was the only one we were actually able to get hands on. | ||
| West Texas herp trip 2, June 2021 | ||||
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| An invasive Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus
turcicus) found on a cut near Langtry that we hit
on the first night on our way west. |
Millipedes were the most common invertebrate
observed on both trips to West Texas. Some were bright
yellow, like this one, while others were black. |
This Texas banded gecko (Coleonyx brevis)
is a beautiful species that appears too delicate to live
in the harsh deserts of WTX. |
Some cool birds were seen in Sanderson at the
Outback Oasis hotel. This curve-billed thrasher had
caught a tasty snack. |
We started on a hike that was too exposed and too
blasted hot, but we did get to see this greater earless
lizard that was very light colored to reflect the heat. |
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| We hiked the lost mine trail in Big Bend NP
again, but this time, we saw a mother bear and her cub
very close to the trail. She was not happy with me
taking pictures. |
This night snake was found on my favorite cut
near Alpine, TX. The rocks are so variable and cool
looking. |
Tarantulas were quite commonly observed on the
cuts. |
The property around the air-bnb had a nice trail and some resident common spotted whiptails (Aspidoscelis gularis) were observed zipping around. | I was very happy to see several Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) near Marfa, TX. Such an amazing species of lizard! |
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| The crew of Rob, Eric, Justin Smith and Phil Wolf
were happy to be photographing horned lizards |
This male had some amazing coloration and posed
nicely for us. |
This photo shows the habitat where these lizards
were found. |
This female had recently laid eggs and headed for
a burrow after we took some pictures of her. |
A gorgeous eastern black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus ornatus) was found near Fort Davis, TX along a nice cut. |
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| Such a great looking snake! | Another highlight for this trip! I was really
hoping to see this species. |
This WDB appeared to be unable to rattle its rattle. The tail looped around and the snake did not rattle like a typical member of its species. | This Marcy's checkered gartersnake (Thamnophis marcianus) was found next to the air bnb in Alpine. | Another highlight of the trip was this Central TX
whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus girardi) from
the Davis Mountains. |
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| This snake was one of the most beautiful snakes I have seen. It was fairly patient and let us take photos before gliding off. | A pair of crevice spiny lizards were found under the same rock that the patchnose from the previous trip was found under. | A small
patchnose from the Davis Mountains was found near
where the Central TX whipsnake was found. |
A beautiful sunset in Big Bend State Park. | A
fairly large scorpion was observed as it made its way
through the desert. |
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| A juvenile Texas toad
was found on a night hike near some springs in Big Bend
SP. |
I almost stepped on
this well-camouflaged western diamondback rattlesnake. |
An interesting
grasshopper blended in very well with the rocky ground. |
A very nice
red-spotted toad (Anaxyrus punctatus) was found
near a pool of water. |
This juvenile
gray-checkered whiptail was exhibiting some nocturnal
behavior. |
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| When staying in
Sanderson, you meet a lot of herpers at the few hotels
in town. One lucky herper had found this western milk
snake (Lampropeltis gentilis) |
Several canyon
lizards (Sceloporus merriami) were observed
climbing around on the cuts near Sanderson. |
This tiny
southwestern blackhead snake (Tantilla hobartsmithi)
was found while searching a cut. It had a brilliant
orange belly. |
Several diamondbacks
were found out on the roads north of Sanderson. |
This relatively calm WDB was also nicely patterned and behaved well for photos. |
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| A large coachwhip was
seen at our last air bnb before we headed home. |
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| Species
List: |
Trip 1 (herps seen) Sceloporus poinsettii Salvadora grahamiae Sceloporus cowlesi Anaxyrus speciosus Crotalus atrox Cophosaurus texanus Aspidoscelis tesselatus Scaphiopus couchii |
Hypsiglena jani Pituophis catenifer Gerrhonotus infernalis Masticophis flagellum Trip 2 (unique species) Hemidactylus turcicus Coleonyx brevis Aspidoscelis gularis |
Phrynosoma cornutum Thamnophis marcianus Crotalus ornatus Tantilla cucullata (DOR) Masticophis taeniatus girardi Anaxyrus punctatus Sceloporus merriami Tantilla hobartsmithi 23 species total |