And the CofC Herpetology Class Mascot is....

Congratulations to our new class mascot, Hyla cinerea, our abundant and charismatic green treefrog!


Hyla cinerea was selected to serve as our class mascot because it's a local, lowcountry species that we've seen in the field and, in many cases, outside of class.


In the event that Hyla cinerea is unable to complete its duties as class mascot, its term will be completed by the first runner-up, Alligator mississippiensis.


Alligator mississippiensis is another species we've had the pleasure of seeing in the field. Alligators are our only crocodylian species and a conservation success story.


Thanks for all of your entries, thanks for a great semester, and happy future herping! (A. Welch, SC)

I am KING....Eastern Kingsnake that is. Mascot is mine.

I say the Eastern Kingsnake should be our mascot! Snakes throughout history have been used as a symbol for many things in many cultures and in many different countries. In Pharmacology, a snake is seen on its symbol to demonstrate healing. In Hinduism, snakes are a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Through evolution, snakes have been able to form a limbless body that is unique among many animals, yet being limbless does not impair it to be useless but instead are quiet talented in using its body for many physical movements. Another is, they are one of the few species that pretty much can be found in all continents except for the North Pole and Antarctica, meaning it has the ability to survive very well in many diverse environment. Many physicists have studied a variety of snakes to better understand their ways of landing when falling from great heights without any injuries and their ability to be excellent swimmers, in order to help apply these mechanisms to the human world. In the Fashion World, they are seen as being exotic, beautiful creatures, with many of the top designers sculpting fine and luxurious costume-jewelry depicting bodies of snakes. It is a "mysterious" creature that is often misunderstood by a lot of people, but has many powerful and strong talents within it, as well as, having such a rich symbolic history in its past and even in present day.

Now, of course we could use any snake species, but I have a high respect for the Eastern Kingsnake in particular due to it being a non-poisonous snake and has the ability to eat Copperheads and other rattlesnakes. Its body is immune to the venom of pitvipers and that is just astonishing. So ha power to the Eastern Kingsnake!! (Michelle Hou, SC)

Class Mascot

As much as I think captain planet here should be our mascot, I have to pick the American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) instead! I think this should be our mascot because they are a common SC species and really guys, who doesn’t love a little green tree frog? They also show a lot of things that we learned this semester. For example, cutaneous respiration, toe pads, posture to reduce water loss, waterproof waxing, legs for jumping and climbing, and many other adaptations that we learned about this semester. I think the green tree frog is a great candidate because it is local and most people recognize it.

Jeremy Frank

Campaign for Class Mascot

For those of you who were in lab with me you may have picked up on the fact that ambystomatid salamanders are my favorite herps, and I'm certain Dr. Welch knows this for sure. My bias runs deep with these extraordinary animals, so it seems fitting that I nominate one of them as our class mascot.

The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) would make an excellent mascot, and was adopted as the state amphibian of South Carolina in 1999.

Since its inception into this illustrious position, the spotted salamander has been showing up all over the state providing children with lessons in science, grad students with thesis projects, and other amphibians and reptiles with fashion advice and gossip about the best local hangouts, such as the Francis Marion National Forest and Santee State Forest. Their ancestral life history and biphasic life style gives them the knowledge of both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, making them the most obvious well rounded candidate in this campaign.

Vote for the spotted salamander!

(Ryan M. Wenzel, Charleston, SC)

Our class mascot should be the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta. This large oceanic turtle would be the perfect mascot because it's often thought of as being wise due to its long life. Loggerhead sea turtles can live from 30-62 years. This class has made all of us wiser when it comes to the field of herpetology. Plus, this turtles is totally stoked about being the mascot, just look at his face!

(Lauren Jindracek, SC)

Tiger Salamander

My uncle is an ecologist and about a year and half ago he was doing a study on Barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium) in Oklahoma. While he was there he was able to get me a larvae which I have now had the pleasure to watch metamorphosize and grow into a now large 8 inch adult. These guys have a black and yellow pattern that extends upward from the belly to the back. Like all mole salamanders they like to remain in burrows or under things and are rarely seen except during breeding season. These salamanders have huge appetites and feed mostly on worms and grubs, however I’ve found anything that they can fit in their mouth is fair game, mine has even taken baby mice. (Alex Hovey, SC)

black racer

It was a sunny, warm day when we took our class field trip to Ion Swamp trail in Francis Marion State Park. And within 10 minutes someone spotted a black racer (Coluber constrictor). Being familiar with these snakes, I knew it would not be there for long because they are extremely fast. So I quickly grab it by the tail and reeled it in, while managing to get a nice bite. Black racers are quite common to the area. These snakes are predominantly black both on their ventral and dorsal sides with a white chin. (Alex Hovey, SC)

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)

Extra-credit deadline: Wed noon

Any comments or new posts appearing before noon on Wed, May 4, will be considered for extra credit (as described in previous posts).

Good luck wrapping up the semester!
-AW

GO GATORS GO!--The American Alligator: Class Mascot

In my opinion, I think that the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) should be our classes mascot. It makes perfect sense--they are strong and determined animals, possessing unique adaptations for their environment, and were once a federally endangered species until they recovered and came back in numbers. To add on to this already fascinating list, these reptiles can exceed 60 years--longer than alot of humans. While they may be territorial and aggressive animals, they are an extremely important part of the environment in which they live. These gators have a tendency to dig holes that hold water during droughts obviously making them "Green" or conservation friendly, pretty neat if you ask me!

Fun facts you ask? When Spanish sailors visited the New World they thought that the alligator was a huge lizard, naming it el lagarto meaning 'the lizard." English sailors took this name as allagarter and over time it became the name we know today--alligator!

While it may seem as though alligators have an extremely slow metabolism due to large body size, these magnificent animals can exceed speeds of 3omph that come and go in short bursts--WATCH OUT!

(Samantha Reeves, Charleston SC)