Whitewater Falls, NC

Over spring break I had the chance to do some hiking around my ole' stomping ground in upstate South Carolina. I stayed on Lake Hartwell, which can be a beautiful lake when the water level is adequate, and traveled mainly around the Clemson, Seneca, and Wahalla areas that weekend. On a beautiful Friday I decided to return to Whitewater Falls to do some hiking, one of the largest free flowing water falls east of the Mississippi.

Whitewater Falls is located on the Whitewater River, and is immediately beyond the South Carolina line into North Carolina. The views are awesome, and the hiking is even better, especially when you go in the off season when no body is around.

The trail at Whitwater Falls ties into the Foothills trail and eventually turns into the Palmetto trail, which runs from the upstate to the coast. The trail can be somewhat treacherous, especially after rains, but if you take your time you can utilize the trail for herping, as I did this day.

The area around Whitewater Falls is a typical foothills/mountain ecosystem, composed of many small mountains and hills, with waterfalls, seepages, and creeks. As I mentioned, the water was definitely flowing, so I knew where to look to try to find some salamanders. My target was really any salamander, but I was looking for a species from the family Plethodontidae. This family has many species that inhabit these mountainous areas, and they can be found in seepages with flowing water, hidden under rocks and substrate.

To my surprise it took me about a minute to find a salamander! They are awful hard to catch, but when you do catch one it makes it worth the effort. I immediately knew this individual was in the genus Desmognathus by noticing its large, robust back legs in comparison to its fore legs. After closer inspection I narrowed it down to either a seal salamander (Desmognathus monticola) or a mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus). The mountain dusky salamander can have a huge variation on color, so it appeared almost impossible to be able to correctly ID one from this species. However, the seal salamander is greenish grey to brown, with wavy worm-like marks on its back, with a pale belly. Also, the posterior half of its tail is keeled, and laterally compressed. This description matches my catch very well, and I found it in a habitat known to have seal salamanders, so I was SOLD, it's a seal salamander (Desmognathus monticola).

Unlike other species in the family Plethodontidae that are direct developers, this species actually has an aquatic larvae stage. Another interesting fact, the mother will guard the eggs until they hatch. This poor guy seems to have lost his front left foot in a battle, but I'm sure it won't slow him down.

(Ryan M. Wenzel, Charleston, SC)

Spring Peeper

This past Tuesday March 22, 2011 our herpetology lab class went on a field adventure into Francis Marion National Forest. Once we arrived at Francis Marion, we explored the Ion Swamp Trail. Everyone split into different areas/paths in trying to find the many diverse reptiles and amphibians the forest is home to. I searched the forest grounds by turning logs over and when I did spot a salamander or small frog they all escaped fairly quickly before I got a chance to grab it or even get a good look at them. Even though I was unable to catch any reptiles or amphibians of my own, I was fortunate to see some from my fellow classmates who had a better talent at catching these quick herps. A fairly cute and light brown Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer was found in the area. You can tell its a Spring Peeper by its dark cross that squiggles to form roughly an X on its top back. They are small chorus frogs and their calls are fairly high-pitched, resembling the sound of holiday bells. Their body length can be less then 1 inch up to 1.5 inches. They are widely spread all along the east coast of the United States vary in body colorations from tan, brown, gray, and even olive green. They tend to live in forest areas (such as the forest where we found it) and tend to be near areas containing swamps or ponds due to needing water to support its aquatic lifestyle for its eggs and tadpoles. You can see that these frogs do not have webbing on their feet, but instead large toe pads, indicating their ability to be well climbers, however, they can be largely found along the forest floors (such as this one was). Due to its beautiful body pattern, coloration, its small and delicate body size, the Spring Peeper is one of my favorite frogs that I find to be so pretty and cute. Glad to see one in its own natural habitat.

(Michelle Hou, SC)

Carolina anole

Our class recently explored the Ion Swamp trail located in the Francis Marion Forest. As we made our way into the forest everyone began to split into many different directions in pursuit of herps. Many people had made it their goal to find a snake. I on the other hand, was perfectly fine finding any sort of reptile or amphibian. After searching high and low, I was unfortunately unable to find any herps. Even though I was unable to find any on my own, I luckily got to see all of the herps found by others. A Carolina anole, Anolis carolinesis, was caught about 6 feet off the trail near a log. These lizards have granular scales, long tails and are mostly arboreal. Carolina anoles are very common throughout the Southeast and are often spotted around our area, but I found this specimen to be extremely interesting. I was able to watch it change color from dark brown to light green. (The color change can be seen in the pictures. It is especially visible on the head and limbs.) This was something that I had never seen a Carolina anole do. These lizards change color for many reasons, mostly due to temperature and stress level. After examining the lizard futher, it was determined that it was an adult female due to its relatively small size, about 4 to 5 inches, and its lack of a dewlap. Other observed features included the gray and white splotches on the lizard. These markings indicated that it was molting, or shedding. After everyone viewed the lizard, it was released near its capture spot. Overall, it was a successful day in the forest. I was vary happy to have witnessed something that I never had before.

(Lauren Jindracek, SC)

(Slimy Salamander)

During our class's trip to th Ion swamp it wasn't long before people started finding various herps and my self included. We had only been there about 15 minutes and began spreading out in various directions looking for whatever we could find. About 20ft off the trail I was looking under logs and found a relatively small salamander hiding under a log about 5 inches in diameter. The salamander was determined to ecape trhough the leaf litter, but dispites it's efforts I was able catch it. Salamandar in hand I showed my catch to Dr. Welch my captive, although multiple people had also found other members of this species. We determined that all of the salamanders found were Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus). In the picture above the smaller of the two individuals is the one that I caught and once I was able to get it into the container I noticed that it only had three legs. Appearantly at some point in its life it had lost it's right fore limb all the way down to the shoulder, but didn't seem to hinder it's mobility. After releasing the salamander back under the log from which I found it, I then set out to find another herp. It wasn't but mabe another 30ft were I turned over another log with Vanessa waiting to grab any herps lurking underneath. At which point she was able to grab another Slimy (larger than the one I found) scurrying through the leaf litter. After taking some photos we moved on. I then set out on my goal to find a snake, personaly catching a snake would have made my day. Some time later I heard Vanessa yell that she found something, after rushing to help, I was disapointed to hear her say that it was lizard. Searching through the leaves of a small palm tree I was able to catch a glimps of a green Anole (Anolis carolinensis), but unfortunatlye we were unable to get a hold of it and it dissapeared into the leaf litter. I spent the remainder of the time in solitude, trapsing through the secluded parts swamp looking for a cottonmouth (probably not a good idea to be alone). Although I came up empty on my own serpent quest others had more luck, but at least I did get to see several herps.

(P.D. Inabinett SC)

Dwarf Salamander

On our recent trip to I'on Swamp, we found a variety of reptiles and amphibians amidst the thick grass or foraging on the bottom of small pools. This Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata) was found nestled in the moist leaf litter under a decomposing log. The 2.5-3" member of the family Plethodontidae attempted to scurry further beneath the leaves upon the disturbance of his humble home. We initially thought the specimen to be a Four-toed Salamander, (Hemidactylium scutatum) but we noticed the long, black horizontal stripe along its side which is absent in the latter.

(Phillip Carson SC)

Broad-banded Watersnake

On this past Tuesday, we had the opportunity to trek into the I'on Trail in the Francis Marion Forest. Armed with rakes, dip nets, and a thirst for discovery, we set off into the mosquito-infested rice fields. Quickly, other students began to find various reptiles and amphibians. I, on the other hand, flipped over dozens of logs and searched high and low to no avail. As our time in the swamp reached a close, I had managed to spot a few ground skinks and one anole, but not the elusive snake. I nearly gave up and had switched to using the dip net. Standing on the edge of a flooded rice paddy, dipping my net in the water only to come back with leaves and mud, I noticed something unusual a few feet away from me. It was a water snake. At last, all my expectations were not in vain. Afraid that I would scare it off before I had a chance to get a closer look at it, I got Keith's attention and he quickly jumped into the mud and wrestled the snake into submission. It turned out to be a Broad-banded Water snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens. We came to this conclusion by first ruling out the venomous CottonMouth, Agkistrodon piscivourus, because the snake lacked a pit on its head, it had round pupils, and it had less of a triangular shaped head. It did, however, try to mimic the Cottonmouth by flattening its head to give it more of a triangular shape. Upon closer inspection, we could also see that it had keeled scales and a divided anal plate. This brought us to the family Nerodia. We then examined the banded pattern on its belly and concluded that it was a Broad-banded water snake because it had large, red square markings. Although the dark stripe across the eye is supposed to be one of the characteristics of this species, it was hard to identify. Because of its size, approximately one meter, this snake would appear to be an adult. After everyone had a good look at the snake, we safely released the snake back into the same area where we found it and it glided off in the water. Overall, it was a great day in the warm sun, enjoying our local herpetological wonders.

(Andrew See, SC)

Green anole at Francis Marion National Forest

Here is a picture of the green or Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) that I caught just as we were leaving Ion Swamp. Earlier I had missed a skink so I really wanted to catch a lizard before I left. I dove about 5 times before I finally caught it in the leaf litter under a tree (they are fast little buggers!) These arboreal lizards are very common within the Southeast and may be found both in the woods and in more urban settings on walls, sides of houses, trees, and bushes . You often see the males displaying for females by extending their pink dewlap as they do "push-ups" or head bobbing. This anole shown is probably female because of its small size (they range between 5-8 in snout-tail length, and this one was probably about 5 in) and inconspicuous dewlap. Although it is brown in this picture, these lizards are capable of changing color from bright green to brown for camouflage as well as when they are stressed. They also display tail autotomy, or voluntary tail loss, in encounters with predators so that they may escape while the tail distracts the predator. Green anoles typically forage for small insects like grubs, crickets, and moths.

(Carrie Umberger, SC)

Bronze Frog

Like Deena said, today we went to Francis Marion National Forest and looked around for herps in the Ion Swamp. As we started on our hike, I saw something that looked like a strange root near a tree stump out of the corner of my eye and quickly realized that it was actually a snake. I am too much of a chicken to actually grab it but someone else in the class did and that will probably be the subject of another post.

Instead of catching snakes, I decided to put my dipnet to use and went to some ponds on both sides of the trail. In my first few dips, I caught nothing but leaves and mud. Throughout the trip my dips were getting more promising. I caught a couple crayfish and then, from the same pond, got a large gelatinous egg mass and a salamander in the larval stage.After a few more dips with nothing but more leaves and mud, I decided to move on to another pond. I caught a few more larval salamanders and was lucky enough to catch some more developed than the one pictured. I dipped there for a while but decided to go to an area with a deeper (a few feet deep) body of water and some downed trees. On the trees I saw a young Southeastern Five-Lined Skink (Eumeces inexpectatus) which is known for its bright blue tail. I also saw a couple Green Anoles (Anolis carolinensis), one green and one brown. I was not able to catch any of these because they were all extremely fast.

While standing in the same spot I decided to do some more dip netting and after making one swipe, a frog jumped from the bank to hide under a log, close to where my net was. I got it in the net and concluded, with the help of my classmates, that it was a Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans clamitans).
The frog was about 2.5 in. long and had a brown back with a white venter that had dark markings. The dorsolateral ridges did not extend to the groin and, instead, ended on the body. It is known to live in swamps and take shelter in logs which greatly explains why I found it where I did.

(James Helton, SC)

Tuesday Trip to Ion Swamp in the Francis Marion

Today the herpetology class traveled to the Ion Swamp in the Francis Marion National Forest. It was a warm 88 degrees when we got off the vans so we had hopes to sneak up on some herps basking in the sun.

I was lucky enough to stumble across a Redbelly Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster).

I had taken a step towards a small body of water and saw movement, when I looked down in the water I saw the snake. It had only moved slightly into the water. I kept an eye on it and called for Keith Hanson, our TA, because his specialty is snakes.

I knew if I tried to grab it, it would have gotten away. Keith miraculously pulled off a ninja move and pounced into the water, successfully grabbing the snake. It instantly musked him and tried to bite him several times, succeeding once. The snake was very agitated and was flattening its head so much, it appeared to have the triangular head shape that is associated with the pit vipers. It was obviously trying to imitate a cottonmouth in hopes that we would be afraid and put it back. We knew it was not a cottonmouth because it had round pupils, no pit, a pink mouth, and a very bright orangish-red belly. We concluded it was probably a female.

These snakes are between 30-48 inches long and lose their dorsal patterns as they age. This snakes had a pretty dark, un-patterned back.

(Deena Russell, SC)

South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital

Last Tuesday, March 1, the lab met at the South Carolina Aquarium where we were able to look around at the exhibits but also got a tour of the behind-the-scenes action, including the Sea Turtle Hospital. The “hospital” was the part of the aquarium I enjoyed the most because I love sea turtles. There were green turtles (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), and loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta).

We were told that the average length of stay of the turtles in the “hospital” is 7-8 months. They had turtles of all different ages and sizes, being treated for many different health issues. The largest turtle I remember there was a loggerhead weighing 80.9 kg (178 lbs). It had an injury to its front left flipper, prolapsed cloaca, and septicemia. This turtle was still considered to be a juvenile, as the weight range for this species is 170-350 lbs, with the largest recorded individual being 500+ lbs.

The only sea turtle I was able to get a good picture of was a juvenile green turtle listed to be about 10 lbs and may have been about 1 ft long. These turtles, as adults, have a weight range of 250-450 but have been recorded to be 650+ lbs. The green turtle’s range is said to be throughout the western Atlantic, from Massachusetts to northern Argentina. These turtles can be told apart from hawksbills by looking at the head plates found between the eyes. The green turtle has one pair between its eyes (which can be seen in the picture) and the hawksbill has two pairs between its eyes.

(James Helton, SC)

Caw Caw Nature & History Interpretive Center (Ravenel, SC)

My girlfriend and I went to the Caw Caw Nature & History Interpretive Center in Ravenel, SC on Sunday, February 20. It was a beautiful day in the low 60s. Caw Caw has a lot of paths through wetlands that used to be a rice plantation. We walked around on two of the trails the park has to offer and got to see many different types of wildlife, including ducks, alligators, and snakes.

We saw eight American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) and all were larger than 6 ft long with the largest appearing to be about 10 ft long. All of them were basking in the sun when we saw them but a couple of the smaller ones we saw jumped in the water away from us when we got closer to them.

After seeing the alligators, we headed back to the center so we could head back to Charleston. I, as usual, was not paying much attention to where I was walking and would’ve walked right onto/by the snake pictured had my girlfriend not seen it. The snake appears to be a young Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus). It had a pit on its head between the nostril and the eye (lower on the face than both of them) and had a vertical pupil. They typically live in swamps and rice fields which helped in the identification of the snake although it, thankfully, did not get angry enough to open its mouth and flash the bright white, cotton-color.

(James Helton, SC)

What's wrong with this comic?

Leave a comment telling me one thing that's wrong with this comic. Your contribution will be considered for extra credit.

You can also tell me what's wrong with the full version (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/herpetology.png). Be advised, the full version contains strong language and may not be suitable for all audiences. (Allison Welch, SC)