City Stroll

One warm night I decided to take a stroll through the city of Charleston seeing if I could find any reptiles or amphibians. As I rounded a corner of one of the buildings I caught a flash of movement on the building wall and I went in for a closer look. What I found was a pale looking lizard which I later identified as a Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus). These lizards are not native to the U.S. and its speculated that they got here inadvertently on cargo ships. This one I caught was about 4 inches. These lizards have large eyes and broad toe pads that extend almost the whole length of their toes. They are usually a paler color with bumpy, rough skin. After identifying him I placed him back on the wall and continued on my walk. Next I headed over to Stern center gardens. As I was walking through the gardens I heard a rustle in the leaf litter. I shined my flashlight in that general area where I heard the noise. And after a quick scan I found the culprit: An American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). I identified it as an American toad because it had two large warts in each of its largest dark spots and because its parotoid gland was connected to the eye ridge by a spur. This individual happened to have a light middorsal stripe which may or may not be present in this species. After a few pictures, I released the toad in the same area where I found it. (Alex Hovey, SC)