Subject: Gopher Snake found unresponsive in street
Location: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, March 21, 2015 11AM
Late Saturday morning, Bettie called to say hikers were poking a snake with a stick in the street. We immediately picked up the unresponsive snake which “yawned” and then started to quiver over parts of its body. It hasn’t moved in two days but we thought it might be coming out of hibernation. This poor lethargic Gopher Snake, probably a female, and fully four feet long, has been kept in a cabbage crock by our editorial staff until this evening. Greg Pauly from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, who we spoke with at length this evening, asked us to put it in the freezer to preserve it for the museum because based on our description, Greg determined it was dead.
Alligator Lizards in Mount Washington
Subject: Alligator Lizards
Location: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
July 5, 2014 & July 12, 2014
While these are not the largest Alligator Lizards we have seen, the two individuals were between 10 and 12 inches long. The first individual was repelling down the logs and the second larger individual was sunning in the late afternoon rays.
Related posts:
Mount Washington Alligator Lizard
Alligator Lizard hiding in the hydrangeas
Location: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Abel and Temple wanted to take some photos today, and they were inspecting the garden. Abel spotted this impressive Alligator Lizard and I had trouble getting a photo while it was hiding in the hydrangeas.
Related posts:
Alligator Lizard
Subject: Very Handsome Paso Robles Alligator Lizard
Location: Paso Robles, California
April 18, 2014
we estimated 9-10”. and much lighter in colour than the southern california cousins.
c.
The editorial staff at What’s That Bug? encountered a nice Alligator Lizard last week while moving wood around in the wood pile. Alas there was no camera handy.
Related posts:
San Bernardino Ring Necked Snake found in Mount Washington!!!
San Bernardino Ring Necked Snake found in the Street!!!
Location: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
April 8, 2014 approximately 7 PM
Yesterday, after a long day and stressful day at work, we decided to finish planting tomatoes, but all the junk mail that was in the mailbox caused us to detour to the recycle bin which was already on the street for collection. We asked the woman who was rooting through the neighbors blue recycle bin to replace all the items she was placing on the curb in her search for the neighbors discarded soda and beer cans. Our recycle bins are never that attractive to trash scavengers since we never drink soda and we like our beer in bottles which are heavier than cans. We headed back to the garden and spied a wriggling snake in the street, which we quickly caught. We were immediately impressed by the brown critters bright orange belly, and the other significant feature was a ring right behind the head. We quickly put the sweet little guy [gal] in a 12 gallon sauerkraut crock, empty of course, so we could grab the camera and call Julian Donahue for an identification, which is much more fun and interactive than doing the internet research.
While on the phone with Julian we multitasked on the computer and we independently established the species, Diadophis punctatus, for the Ring Necked Snake, which is found across North America according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Julian did mention the subspecies, but we forgot which third name he attached to the species name. We didn’t really have time for writing down what Julian said because we at least knew the species, and since the light was waning, we wanted to try to get some decent photos.
We suspect that the tail curling is some type of defensive action, perhaps a distraction to predators that would be attracted to the bright coloration and make a much less lethal strike at the tail, ignoring the more important head region. After taking a few more photos, we released this colorful guy into the wood pile. The subspecies which ranges in Los Angeles is the San Bernardino Ring Necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus modestus. For more information on the seven California subspecies of Ring Necked Snakes, turn to CaliforniaHerps.com.
Related posts:
Slow Worms in the UK
Subject: Slow Worms
Winchester, UK
April 1, 2014 7:47 PM
my sister and friends have “slow worms” in winchester.
they are all excited!
i’m not sure how i can send you a photo from FB…?
this photo is from our friend wendy, who is a very accomplished artist and excels in beautiful paintings of flora and fauna.
http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/slow_worm.htm
c.
Dear c.
Thanks for sending us your photo. We hadn’t heard of Slow Worms before, and the link you provided is of great assistance. According to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK link you provided: “The Slow-worm is often mistakenly thought to be one of our native snakes. Slow-worms have very few markings other than the vertebral stripe of the female. This is thin and straight and not similar to the indented zigzag stripe of the Adder (Vipera berus). The Slow-worm has a noticeably blunter tail than any of the native snakes and the head is quite indistinct from the body. They have very small, highly polished scales, giving a glassy appearance. On very close examination, it might be seen that the Slow-worm has eyelids, a typical feature of lizards. Another typical feature of lizards displayed by them, is the shedding of the tail when captured. The shed tail falling to the ground and thrashing makes a very effective decoy to predators, whilst the Slow-worm makes for cover. The Slow-worm is a harmless creature, please remember, whether it is a Snake or Legless Lizard, it is a criminal offence to kill or injure any of the UK’s native reptiles.” Since the UK Slow Worm, Anguis fragilis, is in a different genus than our local California Legless Lizard, they are not that closely related.
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