West Texas, June 2009


Jason Folt and I made a trip out to west Texas in late June, 2009. Here's a few things we saw:

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Black-necked Garter Snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis)

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Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii)

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Red-spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus)

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Big Bend Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis scalaris septemvittata)

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Presidio Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami longipunctatus), spotted out after dark.

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Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis), same snake as the above photo.

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Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)

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Chihuahuan Nightsnake (Hypsiglena jani)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)

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Carmen Mountains White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus carminis)

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Big Bend Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami annulatus)

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Checkered Gartersnake (Thamnophis marcianus)

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Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

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Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus), same snake as above.

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus), same snake as above.

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

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Marbled Whiptail (Aspidoscelis marmorata), in situ after dark.

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus), same snake as above.

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Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii)

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Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)

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Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus), same lizard as above.

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Big Bend Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus schmidti)

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Big Bend Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami annulatus)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis), in situ ~30' up!

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Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

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Check out the cuckoo bird on the sign!

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Scolopendra heros, around 7" long. They grow 'em big in Texas!

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Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

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Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). Same snake as above, checking each other out a little more closely.

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A marvel of modern highway and herpetological engineering.

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Merriam’s Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami merriami). We apparently saw all three U.S. subspecies of Sceloporus merriami on this trip. I wonder how well defined they are -- it seems like they just match the color of the local rocks...

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Merriam’s Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami merriami), same animal as above.

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Merriam’s Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus merriami merriami), same animal as above (male).

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Big Bend Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis scalaris septemvittata)

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Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)

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Great Plains Ratsnake (Pantherophis emoryi)

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Great Plains Ratsnake (Pantherophis emoryi), same snake as above.

There were also a couple of dead-on-the-road Lampropeltis observed on the trip which would have been nice to see alive:

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Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), Jeff Davis County (Limpia Canyon).

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Gray-banded Kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna), Brewster County (Christmas Mountains).

That's it.