The Significance and Symbolism of Turtles and Tortoises in the Chinese Culture

A great deal of turtle mythology derives from the Far East. The word “turtle” in historical literature commonly refers to both turtles and tortoises. People from the Far East began to view the turtle as a symbol of both heaven and earth. The shell of the turtle represented the heavens and the flat bottom represented the earth for these people. The Chinese viewed these creatures as more than just a symbolism of heaven and earth but also as a symbol of wisdom, endurance, wealth, and long life. They chose the turtles to represent such traits because they are one of the world’s longest enduring animals. The Chinese culture also believes that turtles have the secret of heaven and earth within their body. It was for this reason that the shells of tortoises were used in ceremonies during China’s Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BC) to predict the future. The mere fact that these animals can go without food for more than a year, while rarely contracting a disease merited reason for the Chinese culture to think that they have some supernatural powers. 

The Feng Shui turtle is one of the most popular and significant turtle figurines in Chinese cultures. This turtle is one of the four guardians of the compass. The image of a turtle with a snake coiled around it, known as the Dark Warrior, rules the North. In many of the homes of Chinese people you may see pictures of turtles or turtle figurines lying around. A picture or a figurine of one turtle is thought to bring and add support, prosperity, and wealth to the family. The Feng Shui turtle is used as an energy enhancer and a protection when placed at the back of your house. However, in order to make sure the turtle affects one positively they should orient the turtle so that the head is pointing toward the North. This orientation is thought to add support in one’s career and business projects.

                Similar symbolism is currently present, here, on Miami Universities Campus. The Sundial at the top of Central Quad has several Feng Shui turtles around it (see picture below). The Sundial is a part of Miami University’s traditions and it is thought that a student would gain good luck if he or she rubbed the head of one of the turtles. Based on the significance of the Feng Shui orientation in Chinese culture, Miami University students may want to rub the head of only the turtle facing North if they want the best luck for say an exam.

Herp massacre

There's a low water crossing near my house that, in the last 20 hours, has produced 4 flattened Apalone spinifera guadalupensis, 1 smashed Pseudemys texana, and 1 dead Nerodia rhombifer (below).  Any thoughts about why so many herps might be crossing this single spot in such a short time span?

The Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus)

Australia is home to many unique and fascinating organisms who have adapted to the dry and humid landscape.  A critter I find eccentric is the thorny devil (Moloch horridus)  meaning a dreadful Canaanite god.  The spiny reptile was first discovered by John Gould in 1840. They are distributed throughout the arid inland of Australia, specifically on sandy soils and some stony soils.  Living in such a dry environment applies selective pressures to the wildlife.  The thorny devil has a very unique method of acquiring water from his skin.  They are able to do this because of their hygroscopic grooves in their skin which lead to the corners of its mouth.  When it rains or dew has collected on the back of the lizard, the lizard can lift its rear end and cause the water to drip into its mouth or absorb the water through capillary diffusion.  The thorny devil diet consist of only ants, making it an obligate ant specialist, in one meal it can consume over 1500-2000 ants. 

How does this small slow moving lizard protect itself from scavenging monitors and lizards?  It uses its second head.  The thorny devil has a 'false head' on the back of its neck which is used when the lizard is in danger.  It tucks its head in between its forelegs and hopefully the predator will bite its spiny 'false head'.  The thorny devil can also inflate itself like a puffer fish and use its spine to prevent itself from being bitten or eaten.  

Adult females are larger than adult males; females can range from 80-110 mm from snout to vent and weight from 30-90 grams.  Males are all under 100 mm and rarely weigh more than 50 grams.  The females usually lay 3-10 eggs during the spring-summer months and are buried 30 cm deep underground.  Some have been found to live for more than 20 years.  

Although they are poorly studied because of they are difficult to be found, they are magnificent creatures who have adapted uniquely to the unforgiving, arid inland of Australian.  Make sure to keep your eyes open to spot their tracks.

IMG

  

Herps in Society and Culture- Rattlesnake Roundup

Rattlesnake Roundups is bipartisan debate in which some people, if not most, believe that what they are doing is ok and where others know that it is wrong. Roundups are when hunters go out and find as many rattlesnakes as they can and then they bring it back to an arena and there the rattlesnakes are milked for their venom and then killed. The biggest rattlesnake roundup is the Sweetwater, Texas rattlesnake roundup where more than 5,000 pounds of snake is collected and killed. The roundups first started in 1959 when farmers first needed the rattlesnakes to be taken out of their farms, so they contracted hunters to remove them. Over the years the roundups have become popularized through media and have become an event in which parents bring their kids. They spend the day their buying rattlesnake skin boots, belts and other accessories while also watching how the snakes are milked, killed, and skinned they also have areas where you can skin your own snake. The hunters believe that they are doing the public a service by controlling the population and believe in the roundups because they cook or sell every part of the snake and because the milking is sent to facilities to find cures for diseases. The truth is that although the snakes were once overpopulated there has been a tremendous decrease in population and they may one day become endangered. Also, in the roundup video below, Herpetologist Carl Franklin states that although they believe the venom is used for research, it actually cannot be used because of the unsterile conditions in which the venom was extracted and so it must be tossed away. Also in the video they interviewed a worker and asked if he was scared of the snakes and his response was yes, because of fear and greed these roundups are supported by many people and will be a hard thing to regulate. Although I could not find the video, there was a show on natural geographic that depicted these roundups and many researches feared that through human selection the snakes would be selected to have quitter rattles. The researchers believed this because the hunters are going out and listening for their rattles so therefore you would expect that the snaked with the loudest rattles are going to be captured first thus selecting for quitter rattling since those will not be captured and will be able to copulate and transfer the genes for quitter rattling to their offspring. If the selection pressure is high enough then we can also suggest that the rattle itself may be selected against and soon we would have snakes without rattles. This means that not only are these rattlesnake roundups a problem for rattlesnake populations and inevitably the food chain in which they are a part of but also that this could be a danger to the human population because the rattlesnakes will give less warnings to when they might strike and this will increase number of people bitten per year. As the graph shows the number of bites has been increasing over the years as the fatalities have stayed relatively constant and this may be due in part by the roundups through the proposed mechanism. Hopefully this blog has informed readers about the potential problems that lie ahead if we continue the rattlesnake roundups and since it is a popular trend that has increased and crossed over into many states the problem itself may be far greater and growing much faster than we may have anticipated.

For more information and some short videos visit these sites:
http://www.kingsnake.com/roundup/ - information against sweetwater round up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkiA4Hhrjuo –video mentioned in text
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/culture-places/american-festivals-project/rattlesnake-roundup/ -roundup video
http://www.rattlesnakes.us/ -graph source originally from
Walter, F.G. Stolz, U. Shirazi, F. & Mcnally, J. Epidemiology of severe and fatal rattlesnake bites published in the American Association of Poison Control Centers Annual Reports. Clinical Toxicology 47, pp. 663-669 (2009)
http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/festivals/rattlesnake/rattlesnake.htm -Sweetwater roundup informational page
Pictures:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqC7RK90Tz0VhpSlzQyCivEFA6X1r6hnkwnDn2d9Crt3zyiZijmOyyWmtmRvnmWHYbhFUfq45ZY-6laG39A4AJQ0Xvbofo11S51CE-sDmc925-10wk4TSilfNtullMibXciR7zt9-Atuzg/s320/2009_03_13RattlesnakeRoundup+029.jpg
http://www.motofoto.cc/RattlesnakeRU.jpg

Venomous Snakes in Ohio?

Growing up in northeast Ohio I can remember being out with my friends in the woods looking for “cool critters”.  While we would collect tadpoles and catch frogs, we never stumbled upon a snake. Yet, as I patrolled off the trail in our woods into the unknown, my 9 year old self worried about an encounter with the deadly venomous snakes I had seen on Animal Planet and The Discovery Channel.  Such fears, I was told by parents, teachers, and other 9 year olds, were unfounded because “there aren’t venomous snakes in Ohio!  They’re all down south and out west!”. 

Myth:  There are no venomous snakes in Ohio.

Fact: There are three known species of venomous snakes native to Ohio.

It wasn’t until I took Herpetology at Miami University that I learned that there are three venomous snake species native to Ohio:  the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), the eastern massausaga snake (Sistrurus catenatus), and the northern copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix).  I thought it might be useful to give a brief overview of each species.

Family:  Viperidae

Scientific:  Agkistrodon contortrix

Common Name:  Northern copperhead

Counties found in Ohio (since 1976): Adams, Scioto, Jackson, Meigs, Vinton, Athens, Hocking, and Washington.

Description:  The northern copperhead can be easily identified by its reddish, copper-colored head followed by a pink-light brown body with a dark brown hourglass pattern. As with all poisonous snakes, it has a triangulated head with elliptical eyes and a heat sensing loreal pit.  Its average size varies between 24-36” long.  

Habitat:  The copperhead thrives in a number of areas including: oak-hickory hillsides with plenty of rock crevices, swamp boarders, and foundations from old, abandoned buildings.  They show a strong preference to moist habitats.

Diet:  Primary food is mice.  However, they will consume small birds, frogs, and other small snakes.

Behavior:  The copperhead is a “social” snake in that it will overwinter in communal dens with both its own kind and other species.  These overwintering dens are usually near a rocky ridge on a south-facing slope.  As with most snakes, copperheads are generally not aggressive, and their bites are rarely fatal.  They are most active during their two mating seasons: Late February-April and Late August-October.

Conservation Status: Least concern

Family: Viperidae

Scientific: Crotalus horridus

Common name: Timber rattlesnake

Counties found in Ohio (since 1976):  Adams, Scioto, Pike, Jackson, Gallia, Vinton, Hocking, and Ross.

Description:  The average adult timber rattlesnake in Ohio is around 38-40” long, although they have been recorded to be as long as 60”.  They experience two distinct color phases: the young are typically yellow with a black and brown “chevron-like” pattern, while the adults typically will have much darker, almost black, skin, but still with the brown “chevron like” pattern.  As with all poisonous snakes, it has a triangulated head with elliptical eyes and a heat sensing loreal pit.  As characteristic of a rattlesnake, its tail has a rattle, which begins to develop after the first time it sheds its skin, that it uses to warn trespassers of its presence.

Habitat: Timber rattlesnakes require rocky hillsides with underground crevices for overwintering a “summer” habitat consisting of mixed deciduous forest with lots of leaf-litter, some fallen trees, and a mostly closed canopy for cover.  The average home range for males, females (barren), and pregnant females has been reported to be around 160, 42, and 9 acres, respectively.

Diet:  Timber rattlesnakes are “sit and wait” predators.  Their venom works by causing massive hemorrhaging (bleeding) in their prey.  They will let their prey escape and bleed to death.  Then, using chemosensory cues, it will follow the scent trail to its meal.  Timber rattlesnakes have been known to eat shrews, moles, bats, mice, rats, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and birds.

Behavior:   Generally considered relatively docile and will prefer to escape rather than attack.  However, if provoked it will attack/behave aggressively.  However, due to already low population numbers and their secretive nature, the chances of running into one of these snakes is very low.

Conservation Status:  Endangered. Timber rattlesnakes don’t reach maturity until later in life (around 11 years) and females only reproduce a few times in life.  Combine this with habitat destruction and you have a recipe for population decline.

Family: Viperidae

Scientific:  Sistrurus catenatus

Common Name: Eastern massausauga

Counties found in Ohio (since 1976): Warren, Clark, Champaigne, Licking, Wyandot, Wayne, Trumbull, and Ashtabula

Description: Small (18-24”) and stout bodied, the eastern massasauga snake varies in color from brownish gray to black with dark blotches running the length of the body.  In addition to the 29-50 dorsal blotches, three smaller rows of dark spots can be seen on both sides of the body.  As with all poisonous snakes, it has a triangulated head with elliptical eyes and a heat sensing loreal pit. As with the timber rattlesnake, the eastern massasauga has a rattle.

Habitat:  The word “massasauga”  is derived from the Chippewa Indian language and refers to marshy areas associated with the mouth of a river.  Fittingly, today’s populations in Ohio persist in bogs, swamps, and wet praries.  They prefer low lying, poorly drained meadows.  They will overwinter in moist soil areas.  Their home range is relatively small (11,753 yards), and they only move around 30 feet per day.  They can be found resting under flat boards or other discarded material, and they bask in the sunlight in openings and clearings.

Diet:  Small mammals, other small snakes, frogs, salamanders, toads, and young birds

Behavior:  Very sluggish and will rarely make an attempt to bite unless they have been aroused.  Venom is extremely poisonous, but typical bites do not usually deliver enough to be fatal.  Both males and females are known to be most active at night.  They will also remain active in the day when the temperature is optimal.  They are most active and easily found in April, May, and October.

Conservation Status: Listed as endangered in Ohio.  These snakes were believed to have once inhabited all of the scattered prairies in Ohio, but extensive farming drastically reduced their numbers.

Snake Myths: Debunked

Myth:  You can tell the age of a rattlesnake by counting the rattles on its tail.

Truth:  Rattlesnakes add a new rattle segment to their tail each time they shed a layer of skin.  This being said, rattlesnakes may shed their skin several times a year.  Also, it is not uncommon for a rattlesnake to break off segments of the rattle due to various activities.  For these reasons, one cannot accurately determine the age of a rattlesnake by the number of rattle segments.  There is no definitive way to visually determine the age of a rattlesnake.

Myth:  Rattlesnakes always rattle before they are about to strike.

Truth:  The rattlesnake picks up the vibration of animals or humans close-by through the ground.  If the approaching animal or person comes too close for the snake’s comfort, a warning signal (the rattle) may occur.  However, if the human or animal is lighter in weight (such as a small child) or the snake did not feel the vibration, a warning rattle may not occur.  This could result in a surprise strike if the snake is too startled.

Myth:  Snakes always coil when they are about to strike.

Truth:  Absolutely not true!  A snake does not need to be coiled to strike and it can successfully strike from almost any position.  However, in a coiled position, the snake has a greater striking distance and accuracy.  In addition, a snake that is grabbed can quickly turn and make a strike at the hand holding it.  Always have caution while handling snakes.

Myth:  Female snakes hide their young inside their mouth for protection.

Truth:  North American water snakes (Nerodia spp.) and garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) have live births.  In this scenario, the juveniles do not emerge from eggs laid by the mother, but break free from placental sacs.  In some cases, the juveniles are stillborn, or are too weak to break out of the placenta, and as a result suffocate.  After giving birth, the female is in a weakened state and looks for any source of energy, including her own stillborn or deceased young.  The myth may have originated from people seeing stillborn juvenile tails sticking out of the mouth of the female.  Seeing the tails could have brought the conclusion that the mother was defending her young while they slithered into her mouth. 

eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius)

Myth:  You can tell a venomous snake from a non-venomous snake by the shape of its head.  A venomous snake will have an arrow shaped head.

Truth:  The shape of the head has nothing to do with whether the snake is venomous or non-venomous.  For example, the midland/northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) often has an arrow shaped head, but is in no way venomous.  In contrast, the eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) is a perfect example of a venomous snake with no arrow shaped head (see picture above).  This myth may have originated with the arrow shaped head usually associated with snakes in the family Viperidae.  This family consists of, but is not limited to, the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortix), the massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), and the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus).  These snakes all have a characteristic arrow shaped head and are highly venomous.  Confusion pertaining to the signature arrow shaped head of the Viperidae may have led to the false conclusion that all arrow headed snakes are venomous. 

More:

http://www.texassnakes.net/myths.html
http://www.reptilechannel.com/kid-corner/beyond-beginners/bad-snake-myths.aspx
http://www.oplin.org/snake/myths%20truths/mythstruths.html

Herps in Society and Culture: Snake Charming

Snake charming has been a way of life for many and a prominent feature of the culture in India, and is also found in nearby Asian countries as well as a few in North Africa.  The Hindu religion holds that snakes are sacred, and many depictions of the gods have them under protection of cobras.  In India the king cobra and other cobra species are frequently used for charming, and various vipers and pythons are less frequently used. Popular snakes used vary by country based on what is available. 

The snake charming scene that typically comes to mind is one of the charmer playing a flute made from a gourd while sitting in front of a container housing the snakes, usually a pot or basket.  When a cobra is uncovered its response to the alarm is to rise up and extend its hood, its natural defense position.  Lacking ears, the snake is unable to hear the music played by the charmer, but may respond to its vibrations.  The swaying it exhibits are a response to its visual perception of the movements made by the charmer and instrument, and though cobras are colorblind their vision is better than most snakes.  Snakes may also be handled, placed in the mouth, etc. during charming performances. 

Cobras have a striking range of about one third its body length, so often charmers will sit just out of this range.  Cobras strike downward, such that charmers are safe when they engage in the common gimmick of kissing the snake on the head.  Behaviorally, cobras are not very aggressive and usually exhibit defensive tactics, relying on their indimidating posture to deter threats.  Charmers often train their snakes to enhance this passiveness, and may habituate them to the painful futility of biting the hard object presented in front of them.  It is widely reported that some charmers will remove or break off a cobra's fangs, or even sew its mouth shut to nullify the risk of being bitten.  The latter case prevents the snake from eating, and there are reports that some charmers don't feed their snakes at all, or feed them herb concoctions to make them lethargic.  These practices add up to a high mortality rate and animal rights groups suspect that charmers go through many snakes a year.

The practice of snake charming is declining significantly in India, mainly because it is illegal.  Interestingly, keeping snakes in India has been illegal since 1972, though it was hardly enforced and punishment was warded off by bribes.  This has changed as the Indian government has sent snake charmers to jail for multi-year terms for violating its Wildlife Act, under increasing pressure from wildlife activists.  In 2003 a program was created to grant amnesty to charmers that currently owned or were to inherit snakes, allowing them to have identifying microchips inserted in each snake.  This was devised to limit the taking of new snakes for the trade, and identify those charmers illegally taking snakes.  Compliance with this program was low, unsurprising given the deeply rooted traditions involved in the practice.

Snake charming is also declining due to the development of these regions, leading to decreased popularity of street performers.  Another reason charmers cite for their reduced popularity is the access the children have to nature shows, which may have lessened their awe of snakes or exposed some of the myths of snake charming.  As snake charming is discouraged in India, the government is working to convert these charmers into snake rescuers that benefit people and snakes alike by capturing and transporting dangerous snakes from urban and suburban areas back to the wild.   



For more:
http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/legendary-and-mysterious-art-of-snake-charming-revealed/weird-science
http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_6sch.htm
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/snake-charming-a-profession-of-little-charm-1.998823
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139086119/in-india-snake-charmers-are-losing-their-sway

    

Natural History: Chinese Water Dragon

Chinese Water Dragon

(Physignathus cocincinus)

Order: Squamata

Family: Agamidae

Location: The Chinese water dragon can be found within Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and in southern China. The Chinese water dragon can also be found in North American households as it is a popular pet people like to have in their homes. This is most likely due to its strikingly green skin and typically pleasant nature.


Habitat: The Chinese water dragon lives true to its name by preferring the banks of freshwater lakes and streams.  They are an arboreal lizard which means that they spend a lot of time in the trees or plants surrounding their aquatic habitats. Chinese water dragons also prefer relatively high humidity levels, average humidity levels they inhabitant are 40-80%. Temperatures in the regions they inhabitant ranges from 80-90 F. This isn’t surprising considering they are ectotherms and regulate their body temperature through their environment. The Chinese water dragon’s preference to be in close proximity to bodies of water allows for an easy escape if they feel threatened. When threatened they will drop from their resting place in the trees into the water and will either swim away or can submerge themselves for up to 25 minutes.


Life History: Female Chinese water dragons become sexually mature at about one year of age and males become sexually mature at about eight months. During the breeding season the male will head bob and chase the female. When the male catches the female he will grab the female by the nape of her neck, twist his tail around her and insert one of his hemepenes. Sometimes mating can be real aggressive and the female can have her neck torn in the process of mating. About one or two months after copulation, a female will look for a suitable place to deposit her eggs. After finding a suitable habitant the female will then dig a hole and deposit her eggs. After a few months the eggs will hatch. The hatchlings are very small, about one inch from snout to vent.


Diet: The Chinese water dragon’s diet consists mainly of insects and sometimes they will prey upon small fish, mammals or reptiles.


Life Span: Chinese water dragons can live up to ten or fifteen years.


Personal Observations: I decided to do my natural history blog on the Chinese water dragon after our class went on a field trip to the Cincinnati Zoo and we were introduced to the Chinese water dragon by one of the Zoo’s animal caretakers. One of the first observations I made about the Chinese water dragon was how docile it was while being handled. Also, its green coloration paired with its pinkish throat made it a very attractive specimen to look at. I could tell fairly easily why this reptile is a popular pet to have due its large brown eyes and mild temperament.  


Interesting fact: The Chinese water dragon’s bodily features have some real unique functions. For instance, the Chinese water dragons not only use their tails for balance when climbing but also use it as a whip to lash out at potential predators.


Sources:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Asianwaterdragon.cfm



http://www.reptilechannel.com/lizards/lizard-species/wonderful-world-water-dragons.aspx



Herps in the News--Hawaiian Skink Declared Extinct

 I was looking at some articles online, and came across a couple about a skink that is no longer in Hawaii.  The copper striped blue-tailed skink (Emoia impar) was declared extinct in the Hawaiian Islands earlier this month by the U.S. Geological Survey.  The skink was a native, and was at one time a common animal on the islands.  E. impar can still be found on some other islands in the Pacific, however it has not been seen in over 40 years in Hawaii.  Last seen on the coast of Kauai, the copper striped blue-tailed skink is described in the article as having “polished scales, with a sky-blue tail.”  Surveys had been conducted throughout the Hawaiian archipelago from 1988 to 2008, and the skink was never found.

The copper striped blue-tailed skink
Picture is from reptilechannel.com

USGS Biologist Robert Fisher, who has done research on the copper striped blue-tailed skink, discussed that there is some evidence that the skink may have become extinct because of the introduction of the big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala). Fisher believes the ants were preying on the skinks, which could be useful information for other herps that are at risk in the Pacific islands.

Fisher also discusses in the articles that the extinction of animals living on any particular island are in similar situations, such as habitat loss due to urbanization and the native species being displaced by invasive species that are accidentally or purposely introduced.  For the copper striped blue-tailed skink, it is possible that invasive species in Hawaii can increase competition and predation on the natives.  E. impar may have also been affected by what Fisher explains as “cryptic extinction.”  In this situation, there is another species that the skink could be confused with, making it less noticeable to scientists when their population is in danger.  As a result, the animal can go extinct for years without scientists realizing it.  The other disadvantage for the skinks is that they’re small and cautious animals, making them less noticeable and human intervention is less likely to occur.  Other animals in the Hawaiian Islands, especially birds, are easy for humans to see and hear, and so scientists have more information on their populations.

Marcia McNutt, a director of USGS, commented on the loss of E. impar and stated “No other landscape in these United States has been more impacted by extinction events and species invasions in historic times than the Hawaiian Islands, with as yet unknown long-term cascading consequences to the ecosystem.”  It’s unfortunate that Hawaii is having environmental problems, especially with the exotic-looking animals like E. impar.

Here are the two articles:

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-news/2012/03/21/hawaiian-skink-now-extinct.aspx

http://www.kitv.com/USGS-Skink-Now-Extinct-In-Hawaii/-/8906042/9657796/-/9jw8kh/-/index.html

Natural History: Thamnophis sirtalis

The other day, I received a phone call from my mom, frantic, because there was a snake by the garage. She described it to me and sent me a picture, and I recognized it as an Eastern Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). This snake is from the family of Natricidae, the harmless live-bearing snakes (although that didn't give my mom much comfort!) I couldn't get the picture she sent me off of my phone, but this specimen is a close match:

source

source

The snake was described as about a foot long and a thumb's width in diameter. Typically, garter snakes are 18-26 inches, so this one is likely to be young. She said it was black with yellow stripes, but its belly was yellow with black stripes. In addition, T. sirtalis has black lines around its mouth, which differs from T.sauritus, the Eastern Ribbon Snake (look closely in the above photo to see the mouth stripes). Another way to tell garter snakes from ribbon snakes is that garter snakes have their lateral stripes on scales rows 2 and 3; ribbon snakes have them on rows 3 and 4. Thamnophis have single anal plates and keeled scales. Garter snakes typically eat frogs, toads, and salamanders, with the occasional earthworm or fish. They may give off an odor from their cloaca when caught, in an attempt to turn predators away; they can also bite, but it, too, is harmless to humans.

This snake was seen in the upstate of SC, sunning itself on a stone, mid-afternoon, on a sunny day, with a high temperature around 80 degrees F. There are ponds within a mile of my home, as well as lots of dense foliage/trees.

To breed, garter snakes form mating balls, in late March until early May. They give birth to live young in the summertime.

source

At least my mom did not see one of these!

Natural History of the Gharial: A very unusual and rare reptile

For this blog I chose to do a reptile that is very rare and is probably one I will never see in person... The Gharial.

Taxonomy
Order: Crocodylia
Family: Gavialidae
Genus/species: Gavialis gangeticus

Common name: Gharial or Gavial

About the Gharial

The Gharial is know for its very long and narrow snout which will become shorter and thicker as it ages. In mature gharial, a growth will form on the tip of the male's snout called a "Ghara" which is the indian word for pot and is where this reptile gets its name. Though not too much is know about the "Ghara," two possible functions for it are thought to be: it is a vocal resonator which produces a buzzing noise when it tries to communicate and it is a visual sign for female gharial. The gharial mainly feeds on fish and is one of the largest species of crocodilian. Males can reach a maximum size of 20 to 23 feet in length. The gharial's body structure suggests it is strictly designed to live in water. They are very good swimmers, their tails are well developed and flattened for swimming and their feet are extensively webbed. However, their movement on land is very poor. The structure and musculature of their legs are not suited to allow the gharial to raise its body off of the ground so when it is out of water it pushes its body across the ground while sliding on its stomach. There can be as many as 110 teeth in the gharial's snout. They can live 40 to 60 years in the wild.

An example of a male gharial with the "Ghara" on it's snout

HabitatsGharials are found in the rivers of the northern India subcontinent, in Bangladesh, Bhutan (possibly extirpated), India, Burma, Nepal and Pakistan. They are found within the river systems of the Brahmaputra (Bhutan and India), the Indus (Pakistan), the Ganges (India and Nepal), and the Mahanadi (India), with small populations in the Kaladan and the Irrawaddy in Burma. They prefer to live in calmer waters of deep rivers and will usually only leave the waters to make nests and lay eggs or bask, both of these activities take place on the sand banks so the gharial do not move too far away from the rivers.

Distribution of the Gharial

Diets

Early on in the gharial's life it will feed on small insects, small invertebrates and small fish. As it matures it will eventually eat larger fish. Sometimes adult gharials will eat small mammals trying to cross rivers as well. The gharial hunts by either actively swimming around the water and catching fish or by sitting in rushing water with its mouth open and waiting to feel a fish swim into its snout. Large animals are unable to be eaten by the gharial due to the structure of it's snout. A gharial is unable to attack larger animals for it would damage even snap its long and narrow snout which is why it mainly sticks to fish and also helps to address a myth about the gharial which will be discussed later.

Reproduction

Males and females reach sexual maturity around 8 to 9 feet. This is also when the males "Ghala" starts to form. The male and female will mate for as long as thirty minutes during the mating season which last about two months during December and January. Then nesting occurs from March to May. During this time the females go on to shore and unlike other crocs, create hole nests. The females may make many false holes before selecting the right one. They then lay about 60 eggs. The gharial's eggs are the largest of all crocs. The female will guard the eggs for 80 to 90 days and then help the hatchlings into the water.

Conservation Status

The gharials are listed as critically endangered and are severely threatened due to habitat loss from human destruction. In the 1970s the gharial population was nearly extinct and has since made some recovery but it is still very threatened. There are many plans being carried out to help save the few populations left.  One major problem is the gharial is not wide spread and has not been studied too much so until more research is done on them, conservation efforts will not be as effective as they need to be.

Myth: Human hunters

A common myth about the gharials is that they hunt humans. As stated earlier, the structure of the gharials snout severely inhibits its ability to attach large prey. A bite from them could cause flesh wounds but a gharial though dangerous and potentially deadly, would not hunt humans because it could mean certain death for them if their snout were to be rendered ineffective after an attack. A gharial could probably do more damage with its tail which could be used as a whip and break bones. There have been less than five documented gharial attacks on humans (obviously some attacks may not be documented due to the development of some places people may live in along rivers) and these attacks were due to people getting too close to nests, not the gharials hunting. A reason why this myth may have been started is because human valuables and remains have been found in the stomachs of gharials such as clothing and jewelry. But a simple explanation for this is that in India and Pakistan something done frequently is corpses are sent down rivers as practiced by the Hindi religion. Corpses will likely have clothing and jewelry on them as they are sent down the rivers toward the habitats of gharials. A gharial can still be very dangerous but all evidence shows that they do not intentionally hunt humans.

A young boy stands on a sand beach near 4 gharials

Sources

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Gharial.cfm

http://reptilis.net/crocodylia/gavies/gavialidae.html

Herps in the News: Lake Erie Water Snake

Tracking Lake Erie Water Snake in Fight Against Invasive Fish

Jeremy Caseltine 

Lake Erie Water Snake

Lauren Flick, who is a senior at the University of Cincinnati, along with a few other colleagues have been using a new type of research method called Lotek Archival Tags (LAT). They have been using this method on the Lake Erie water snake whose habitat has been taken over by invasive fish. Before the use of LAT the primary method of tracking snakes was with a radio transmitter, where the researcher would attach a small transmitter to the snake and hope that they could stay within range so that they could receive the signal. The great thing about the LATs is that they record and store data about the snakes over time so tracking them isn't that necessary anymore. I believe that this will lead to a better understanding of hero behavior and can become a great research method to use. 

The Round Gobi Fish 

What Lauren and her fellow researchers did, was they caught two Lake Erie water snakes and had the LATs implanted into them. The rest of the work was up to the snake, because the use of the LATs allowed the snake to move about in its natural environment without having to be disturbed. Lauren had commented in the article saying, "For a study like ours, it's harder and less effective to rely solely on using the traditional radio transmitter on a water snake moving in the depths of the Great Lakes. And even when using the average transmitter with a ground snake, you have to stay within about 50 meters for the tracking technology to work. That kind of close tracking could also serve to disturb the very habits a researcher is hoping to observe". 

Lake Erie Water Snake eating a fish. 

The Lake Erie water snake is only found in the western half of Lake Erie on both the Ohio and Canadian side and was just recently removed from the federally endangered list. They were endangered because humans would kill them but also because of loss and degradation of the shorelines and islands in which they lived. "It's important to understand how the species is faring in terms of foraging, maintaining body temperature and finding appropriate mating, resting and hibernating environments because the LEWS are a major player in combating the invasive round gobi fish" Lauren said. The round gobi fish, a bottom dwelling fish, is detrimental to the native ecosystem because they will eat just about any fish in the lake. However the results of the LATs have showed that the Lake Erie water snakes, which were thought to forage only about 7 percent of them time have now been recorded at about 20-25 percent of the time. Since the main diet of the Lake Erie water snake is the round gobi fish this fairs very well for the ecosystem of Lake Erie. It has led to proposals of conserving the species to save the habitat. With the better understand of the behavior of the Lake Erie water snake more should be done to help save this specie. The consequences of losing it are much worse than sacrificing to keep it because once its gone, Lake Erie's ecosystem could potentially be lost. The work that they have accomplished so far can be used as an example of hopefully what is to come, and that would be better understanding of all aspects of herps. 

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120319111825.htm