Road Cruise Amphibian and Reptile Survey

Had a good time on the road last night with Andy and Margaret.  We found a Hopi (Prairie) rattlesnake, several gopher snakes and a Chihuahuan night snake.  Unfortunately several of the gopher snakes and the rattlesnake were mortally injured by cars and needed to be put down — very disappointing.  We also found numerous small live Plains spadefoot toads and a Mexican spadefoot.  We saw several squashed horned toads (which are actually lizards).  Andy collected environmental data at the start, turnaround and end for this ongoing study.  Various live traps and other studies supplement this information.  We left at dusk and returned after a full circuit of the park road around 11 pm.The gopher snake was the most commonly found snake last night. It looks similar to the night snake but can be readily distinguished because the nightsnake has spots behind the eyes.

The spadefoot toads have spurs on their hind legs that they use to burrow backwards into the soil during the winter.  They can puff themselves up to convince predators not to eat them.  Altogether a very enjoyable and interesting night.

 

 

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