Field herping in SoCal since Sept 2024. Occasionally posting about science, ecology, conservation, and the natural world when I encounter something new and interesting. Photos and thoughts are my own. Creatures stay in the wild.https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lzbkytblck2zA baby sidewinder's tracks tell the story of the last few minutes. First, an elegant change in direction and in sidewinding handedness, like the jibe of a sailboat. Then a startled squiggle as it realizes it's being followed. Mojave Desert Sidewinder - Crotalus cerastes cerastes #herps20 Sep 2025 14:17 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzbkytblck2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lysrglfzzc2fBanded Rock Lizard - Petrosaurus mearnsi Making it look easy. This lizard was found in the peninsular ranges of Southern California. Geologically and ecologically, these ranges can be thought of as the northernmost part of Baja California. #herps14 Sep 2025 17:02 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lysrglfzzc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lutoa4rnk22nThe western fence lizard hatchlings are out! First thing on the agenda? Eat some bugs! This one found a line of ants crawling on the branch of our palo verde and was happily snapping them up. Keep an eye out for little lizards! Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis July 2025 #herps 🦎 🐜26 Jul 2025 03:56 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lutoa4rnk22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lswux7527c25Nearly every riparian canyon near my home in Southern California has some of these these pretty chorus frogs (aka treefrogs), often sympatric with their cousins, the Pacific chorus frog, which have a much wider range. California chorus frog - Pseudacris californiae May 2025 #herps01 Jul 2025 23:44 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lswux7527c25https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3ls32m454y22uHere’s a special toad. The Arroyo toad is a federally listed endangered species. Do yourself a favor and listen to its mating call. It’s both beautiful and eerie, a reminder of a sound far more common in the not-so-distant past. Arroyo toad - Anaxyrus californicus #herps #FrogFriday20 Jun 2025 22:11 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3ls32m454y22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lqsibukwu226The mojave rattlesnake has strikingly large scales on the top of its head - an identifying feature. For some reason it has an undeserved reputation for being particularly fearsome. I wouldn’t pet it, but like all rattlesnakes, it just wants to be left alone. #herps 🐍04 Jun 2025 18:56 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqsibukwu226https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lpwhfyr2b22dUnbothered by hikers and hitchhikers, this juvenile rattlesnake basked peacefully by the side of a busy trail. Contrary to popular belief, baby rattlesnakes have full control of their venom delivery and deliver less venom than adults. Southern pacific rattlesnake - Crotalus helleri #herps24 May 2025 15:26 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpwhfyr2b22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3loyszxmbtc23The LA Zoo has a great reptile house with a whole room dedicated to local reptiles. Last weekend I took my kids to the zoo to see it (again). Then, an hour later and a mile or two away, we went and found one of these local species in Griffith Park, fulfilling a long time fancy of mine. 🐍 🐍 🐍12 May 2025 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3loyszxmbtc23https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3loknkfzbxk2hMost people in the US live within the range of the Ring-necked Snake. It’s harmless, but tries its best to appear otherwise. The result is beauty. Ring-necked Snake - Diadophis punctatus 🐍07 May 2025 05:19 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3loknkfzbxk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lobl73kis22iWho can blame this horned lizard for frowning when its favorite native ants are being replaced by highly invasive argentine ants? They just aren’t as tasty. Coast Horned Lizard - Phrynosoma blainvillii #herps03 May 2025 14:43 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lobl73kis22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3ln4bxdknkk2lTake a few moments to stare into the soul of this frog. Imagine yourself surrounded by the deafening calls of dozens of other frogs, each fighting for survival in a fragment of untouched habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains. Pacific Chorus Frog - Pseudacris regilla Happy #FrogFriday. 🐸18 Apr 2025 18:49 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3ln4bxdknkk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lmxqmmsfnk2yHere is a little legless lizard from LA County. People often ask, how come it’s a lizard and not a snake? It really comes down to genetics, but there are some big hints in its morphology: eyelids that blink, a tail that can detach. Southern California Legless Lizard - Anniella stebbinsi #herps 🦎16 Apr 2025 23:28 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxqmmsfnk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lmfuqslcas2ySpot the snake and name the species! Answer key in alt text #herps 🐍09 Apr 2025 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmfuqslcas2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llzl3xtf2s27I can see why they call it a red-spotted toad. And I’m a little surprised they could see it at all. Red-spotted Toad - Anaxyrus punctatus #herps #frogfriday04 Apr 2025 23:30 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llzl3xtf2s27https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llwtvstyqs2iRed Diamond Rattlesnakes are a CA Species of Special Concern due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and other pressures. They like using the same spaces we do. They also bask out in the open, like this one I saw last week, making them easy targets. Red Diamond Rattlesnake - Crotalus ruber #herps03 Apr 2025 21:29 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llwtvstyqs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llu3wih3j22iIt is uniquely awe-inspiring to witness simple acts of living in the wild, such as this slender salamander I observed recently munching on springtails in the San Gabriel Mts near LA. ♥️🌎 Black-bellied Slender Salander (Batrachoseps nigriventris) Springtail sp., likely Ptenothrix maculosa #herps02 Apr 2025 19:15 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llu3wih3j22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llfhtx72xc2nI lived in SoCal for years before I learned we have these adorable little newts in the area. Up north they are especially toxic, locked in an evolutionary arms race with garter snakes that have enough resistance to their tetrodotoxin to prey upon them. California newt - Taricha torosa #herps27 Mar 2025 23:38 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llfhtx72xc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llafjsfhq223Slender salamander from SoCal showing off its lonnnnnnnnnng tail. Black-bellied Slender Salamander - Batrachoseps nigriventris #herps25 Mar 2025 23:13 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llafjsfhq223https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3llad2vq7uk27We have been chosen! Excited to be watching this process unfold on our front porch. Mourning Cloak - Nymphalis antiopa25 Mar 2025 22:29 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3llad2vq7uk27https://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lknygdiqic2nYesterday we were admiring the bright breeding colors on this male Skilton’s skink. Skilton’s skink, Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus #herps18 Mar 2025 15:31 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknygdiqic2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lkkb53qzoc2iBig ol’ fence lizard. Always a satisfying catch. Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis #herps 🦎17 Mar 2025 03:56 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkkb53qzoc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lkiv6emonk2tIt’s nice when one of the most common snakes in the area is also one of the prettiest. Red-spotted garter snake- Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus Multnomah County, Oregon #herps 🐍16 Mar 2025 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkiv6emonk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3lkehtz5m322iA fine looking toad for my toad lovers out there. California Toad - Anaxyrus boreas halophilus #FrogFriday 🐸14 Mar 2025 20:40 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkehtz5m322ihttps://bsky.app/profile/squamate.bsky.social/post/3ljbdt7lmhk2xI have seen a lot of Pacific chorus frogs and the range of colors and patterns they have never ceases to amaze. The deep bronze on this one is particularly striking. The jaws of dead Western velvety tree ant are locked on its lip. I wonder how long it will stay there. #herps 🐸 🐜 #frogfriday28 Feb 2025 21:25 +0000at://did:plc:lmewal62lvn3dct2sshc33mo/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljbdt7lmhk2x