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| Roundtail Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) |
This summer, I fulfilled an undergraduate dream of taking a
class at the Texas Tech University - Junction Field Station in Junction, Texas.
I went into a great debate to select a class and based myself as to “What I
wanted to be when I grew up”. Of the classes offered: mammalogy, ornithology,
herpetology, ecology, entomology, and ichthyology, I decided to take
herpetology mainly because my parents never let me have any sort of herp as a
pet(or rather I was unsuccessful).
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| Michael and Brandon working up a Trans Pecos Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortix pictigasler). |
My earliest memory of a herp in my life, was when I was
around 10 years old in Encinal, Texas. My cousins and I had been running all
over town during summer, when I came across a Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) who had been run
over and was slowly being eaten by its major food source of harvester ants. I
remember being confused, to what I now attribute to, a change in tropic levels
and its morphological features of having horns on its head and its body. The
next herp experience I remember happened in my backyard of Laredo, Texas. We
had just moved into a new housing development, which was close to a creek. After
a big rain, Gulf Coast Toads would “swarm” my yard (Imagine a 12-year old Masi
freaking out over maybe ten toads!) and I would try to catch as many as I could
keep in my bucket. I was always highly unsuccessful because I never put a lid
on the different containers I used to catch the toads, which would inevitably
jump out.
My first scientific experience with herps was collecting
data from drift fences and road surveys on the Chaparral Wildlife Management
Area in Cotulla, Texas. I got to get up close and personal with a variety of
animals. My favorite herp, hands-down, is a Texas Horned Lizard.
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| Myself, posing with a Bullsnake (Pituophis cantenifer). |
The Junction Intersession started mid-May, but I had a bit
of a bumpy start. I had driven from Lubbock, Texas to San Antonio, Texas to
spend a couple of days with friends. Before heading to Junction, I stopped at
Academy Sports and Outdoors because I needed some last minute field items. After purchasing my items, I returned to my
truck and noticed it was a lot cleaner than I had left it. It was then that I
realized my truck had been broken into and all my field gear was stolen. I
cursed and I cried, “Who would ever steal my pants! They are hemmed to only fit
me! Who would steal my sleeping bag that I’ve had for over ten years and took
to my first Brigades Camp? Who would steal my leather gloves that fit my petite
hands so perfect?” The list goes on as to what was stolen and the emotions and
memories tied to each item. Of course, I felt personally victimized, as though
they had gone through all my stuff and decided they needed everything that was
in my truck. I’m sure the perpetrator didn’t see it like that, but decided to
take as many backpacks, coolers, and other items before getting caught. I was
most upset about them stealing the years of field gear I had accumulated and
stealing my brand new Osprey backpack I was given just three days earlier.
Luckily, I had enough in saving to replace the items I needed to be a
herpetologist for the next two weeks.
I continued on to the Junction Field Station, arriving after
classes had begun, but still excited to learn as much as I could about
herpetology. Unlike other classes, we had the opportunity to travel around
Texas to go herping. It was an exciting opportunity to travel around Texas, as
we visited two properties belonging to The Nature Conservancy: Independence
Creek Preserve and Dolan Falls, and private ranches in Kimble County, Texas. Being a former GLOBE intern with The Nature
Conservancy in New Mexico definitely heightened my appreciation for the
opportunity to go herping on Nature Conservancy Properties. Collectively as
class, we caught over 40 different species of herps during our two week
intersession!
My favorite activities were getting to go road cruising,
flipping rocks, taking blood from different snakes, and learning natural
history of the variety of reptiles and amphibians in herpetology, of course
getting to go herping in different bodies of water didn’t hurt either(via
swimming, kayaking and tubing). This experience deepened my understanding of
herpetology and love of conservation. Many times, species who are categorized
as herps, do not receive the adequate funding needed to study because they are
not “warm and fuzzy”. I do not see myself growing up to become a world renowned
herpetologist, mainly because, I lack the adrenaline needed to catch venomous
snakes. However, my herping skills have definitely improved, from catching
nothing at all, to catching small lizards and even a small unidentified turtle
from a kayak! In catching these different species, comes the data collection
that goes along with science. I have included a list below of the different
species caught throughout the course.
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| Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) |
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus
ornatus)
Easter Spotted Whiptail (Asipidoscelis
gularis)
Little Brown Skink (Scincella
lateralis)
Texas Rat Snake (Pantherophis
obsoletus)
Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus
collaris)
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris
crepitans)
Western Diamondback (Crotalus
atrox)
RedStripe Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis
proximus)
Plains Flathead Snake (Tantilla
nigriceps)
Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis
emoryi)
Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus
lepidus)
Mountain Patchnose (Salvadora
grahamiae)
Western Coachwhip (Masticophis
flagellum)
Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynsoma
cornutum)
Roundtail Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma
modestum)
Canyon Lizard (Sceloporus
merriami)
Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus)
Short Lined
Skink (Fumeces tetragrammus)
Trans Pecos
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortix pictigasler)
Black –
tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
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| Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus) |
Bullsnake
(Pituophis cantenifer)
Blotched
Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster)
Rio Grande
Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi)
Mediterranean
House Gecko (Hemidactylus turicus)
Pond Slider
(Trachemys scripta)
*SW Earless
(Cophosaurus texanus scitulus
Greater
Earless (Cophosaurus texanus)
Gulf Coast
Toad (Bufo nebulifer)
Rough Green
Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
Texas Banded
Gecko (Coleonyx brevis)
Red Spotted
Toad (Bufo punctatus)
Eastern
Narrow-mouthed Toad (Gastrophyrne
carolinensis)
*Blind Snake
(Leptotyphylops dulcis)
Variable
Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)
Flathead
Snake (Tantilla gracilis)
Cliff
Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus
marnockii)
Diamondback
Watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer)
Texas Map
Turtle (Grapetemys versa)
Texas River
Cooter (Pseudemys texana)
I would like to thank Dr. Lou Densmore for being an
exceptional professor that encouraged us to go out herping. Equally Stephen
Roussos and Michael Sager for being our chauffeurs, guides and walking
herpetology book throughout and after the course. Most importantly, my
classmates that made it an enjoyable and at times comical experience.
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| Texas Tech University - Junction Summer Intersession, Herpetology 2014 |
