Observations by caseymcmurtry

Even though there was a chorus of dozens of these calling, locating one individual to photograph was very hard due to how tiny they were... smaller than ones I had encountered before. This one was conveniently located on a rock but his coloration was so cryptic against the rock, I only saw him because of the shadow he threw from my flashlight. I had to hold the flashlight at angles to get these pictures.

Agkistrodon piscivorus caught and processed at Barton Creek Habitat Preserve. Specimen was measured in a squeeze box, weighed, blood sample taken, PIT tagged, and released.

Photo credits Ellen Airhart and Ian Wright.

Found in the parking lot of the hotel as we were leaving in the early morning! The weather was chilly (for Texas) and this specimen was cold.

Observe the posture in the photos. When I approached the frog, he looked like he wanted to hop away, but instead only stood up in the manner shown here. I haven't seen anything like this and I wondered if it might be a defensive posture to make himself look bigger without having to expend the precious energy (or overcome torpor) to hop away.

I relocated him to the safety of the grass before departing.

Because there is a confluence of three different ssp of Acris crepitans listed in Peterson right at this location in Texas, and because I was able to get audio only and no specimen, I am unsure if it is possible to determine which ssp this is. Help is appreciated.

Note time and location. It was also a cooler night, with a strong thunderstorm having passed through earlier that day.

The Hyla cinerea are reported separately.

This snake was also found DOR not far from the Intercostal Waterway bridge between Winnie and High Island. Bodies of water can be observed on both sides of the road, so it's probably not uncommon for snakes to cross here and get hit.

The longer tail and thinner body indicate this as Nerodia, and the patterning on the ventral side indicate N. cyclopion.

In spite of this DOR missing its head, the dorsal and ventral patterning and coloration, as well as the generally thick body and short tail, indicate this as a Cottonmouth. This specimen was hit just a short distance from the Intracoastal Waterway bridge between Winnie and High Island.

"Olive brown dorsal with a gold stripe" from Peterson, plus the range here indicates Gulf Coast ssp.

This snake was photographed within a few feet of my last Gastrophryne audio recording. I have little doubt that he too was listening intently to their calls and trying to find them.

Photo courtesy Miriam Reyes.

This is another case of not being sure which Gastrophryne due to overlap of range in this area. In this audio recording, it is possible that we are hearing both olivacea and carolinensis, in fact. This was recorded within a foot or two of where the frog was hiding, but due to barricade ropes I was not able to actually see or handle the specimen(s)

Help in identifying the species calling here would be appreciated.