Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake USFWS Photo by Jim Rorabaugh Arizona Ecological Services Field Office All images are for public use, but please credit the photographer and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Crotalus atrox From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Common names: western diamondback rattlesnake, Texas diamond-back, Crotalus atrox is a venomous pitviper species found in the United States and Mexico. It is likely responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico and the second greatest number in the USA after C. adamanteus. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Adults commonly grow to 120 cm in length. Specimens over 150 cm are infrequently encountered, while those over 180 cm are very rare. The maximum reported length considered to be reliable is 213 cm (Klauber, 1972). Males become much larger than females, although this difference in size does not occur until after they have reached sexual maturity.

The color pattern generally consists of a dusty looking gray-brown ground color, but it may also be pinkish brown, brick red, yellowish, pinkish or chalky white. This ground color is overlaid dorsally with a series of 24-25 dorsal body blotches that are dark gray-brown to brown in color. The first of these may be a pair of short stripes that extend backwards to eventually merge. Some of the first few blotches may be somewhat rectangular, but then become more hexagonal and eventually take on a distinctive diamond shape. The tail has 2-8 (usually 4-6) black bands separated by interspaces that are ash white or pale gray. There is a postocular stripe that is smoky gray or dark gray-brown and extends diagonally from the lower edge of the eye across the side of the head. This stripe is usually bordered below by a white stripe running from the upper preocular down to the supralabials just below and behind the eye

Found in the United States from central Arkansas and southeastern California, south into Mexico as far as northern Sinaloa, Hidalgo and northern Veracruz. Disjunct populations exist in southern Veracruz and southeastern Oaxaca. The type locality given is "Indianola" (Indianola, Calhoun County, Texas, USA).

In the United States it occurs in the following states: central and western Arkansas, Oklahoma excluding the northeast, north-central region and the panhandle, Texas excluding the northern panhandle and the east, southern and central New Mexico and Arizona, extreme southern Nevada, and in southeastern California on either side of the Chocolate Mountains. Records from extreme southern Kansas (Cowley and Sumner Counties) may be based on a natural occurrence of the species, while multiple records from near Kanopolis Reservoir in Ellsworth County seem to indicate a viable (although isolated) population.

In Mexico it occurs in the following states: Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, extreme northeastern Baja California (state), northern Sinaloa, northeastern Durango, Zacatecas, most of San Luis Potosí, northern Veracruz, Hidalgo and Querétaro. Specimens have been collected in the mountains, northwest of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca on numerous occasions, but have not been reported there since the 1940s.

This species has also been reported on a number of islands in the Gulf of California, including San Pedro Mártir, Santa María (Sinaloa), Tíburon and the Turner Islands.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Crotalus atrox

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Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Gila Monster USFWS Photo by Jim Rorabaugh Arizona Ecological Services Field Office All images are for public use, but please credit the photographer and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Disclaimer from US Fish and Wildlife Service: Most of the images on our Web pages are in the "public domain," (THIS IMAGE)

which means they have no copyright restrictions. If an image on one of our sites is not restricted and does not say it is copyrighted, then you can assume it is in the public domain. You may download and use these copyright-free images in your print and electronic publications.

There is no fee and no need to get permission from the Service for using them. Images in the public domain may credit the artist or photographer, or identify the source (example: Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Robert Wilson). This does not mean the image is copyrighted. But please credit the artist or photographer and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if at all possible.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Gila Monster From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gila Monster (pronounced /ˈhiːlə/, HEE-la), Heloderma suspectum, is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a heavy, slow moving lizard, up to 60 cm (2 feet) long, and is the most venomous lizard native to the USA. Its skin has the appearance of black, pink, orange, and yellow beads, laid down in intricate patterns. These beads are small bony plates that form scales, and are known as osteoderms. Until very recently, it was thought to be one of only two species of venomous lizard, the other being its close relative the Mexican beaded lizard. However research at the University of Melbourne, Australia and Pennsylvania State University has revealed that in fact many lizards in the iguanian and monitor families have venom-producing glands.

The name "Gila monster" refers to the Gila River Basin in Arizona. The generic name for Heloderma is from the Greek words Helos coming from the head of a nail or stud, and derma for skin, therefore Heloderma means studded skin. Suspectum comes from Cope's notion that the lizard might be venomous due to the grooves in the teeth.

Unlike snakes which use hollow upper teeth (fangs), the Gila monster injects venom into its victim through grooves in the teeth of its lower jaw. The teeth are loosely anchored, which allows them to be broken off and replaced throughout their lives. The Gila monster produces only small quantities of its neurotoxic venom, which is secreted into the lizard's saliva. By chewing its prey, however, it tries to put as much of the venom into the bloodstream of its victim as possible. The Gila monster's bite is normally not fatal to humans (there are no confirmed reports of fatalities), but it can bite quickly and holds on tenaciously. When Gila Monsters bite, they hold on tightly and chew. This helps them work their venom into the bite. Gila Monster bites are not deadly, but it is important to see a doctor if bitten.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Gila Monster

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Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)

Texas Horned Lizard USFWS Photo by Jim Rorabaugh Arizona Ecological Services Field Office All images are for public use, but please credit the photographer and the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Disclaimer from US Fish and Wildlife Service: Most of the images on our Web pages are in the "public domain," (THIS IMAGE) which means they have no copyright restrictions. If an image on one of our sites is not restricted and does not say it is copyrighted, then you can assume it is in the public domain. You may download and use these copyright-free images in your print and electronic publications.

There is no fee and no need to get permission from the Service for using them. Images in the public domain may credit the artist or photographer, or identify the source (example: Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Robert Wilson). This does not mean the image is copyrighted. But please credit the artist or photographer and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if at all possible.

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Texas horned lizard From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is one of 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards. The Texas species ranges from Colorado and Kansas to northern Mexico, and from southeastern Arizona to Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas is the heart of its range. There are also isolated, introduced populations in the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern Florida.

The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad," "horny toad", or "horned frog," but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard's rounded body and blunt snout, which give it a decidedly toad-like or frog-like appearance.(Phrynosoma literally means "toad-bodied." Cornutum means "horned.") The lizard's horns are extensions of its cranium and are composed of true bone.

The Texas horned lizard is the largest-bodied and most widely distributed of 8 species in the United States. It grows to a maximum length of 4-6 inches. Although its coloration generally serves as camouflage against predation, when threatened by a predator, a horned lizard puffs up its body to cause its spiny scales to protrude, making it difficult to swallow. The Texas horned lizard, along with at least three other species, also has the ability to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet. This not only confuses would-be predators, the blood is mixed with a chemical that is foul-tasting to canidae predators such as wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs.

About 70% of the Texas horned lizard's diet is made up of harvester ants, though they supplement these with termites, beetles, and grasshoppers. In recent years, the Texas horned lizard has declined in about 30% of its range, though there is some indication it may be making a comeback. The decline is usually blamed on overuse of pesticides and the spread of non-native, but highly aggressive and fiercely territorial, Brazilian fire ants. Both eradicate harvester ant colonies, destroying the horned lizard's principal source of food. The Texas horned lizard is now a protected species and it is illegal to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit.

Some Native American peoples regarded horned lizards as sacred. The animal is a common motif in the art of many Native Americans in the Southwestern U.S. and in Mexico.

The horned lizard is the state reptile of Texas and, as the "horned frog", is the mascot of Texas Christian University (TCU).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Texas horned lizard

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Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis)

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Leopard Tortoise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Leopard tortoise(Geochelone pardalis) is a large and attractively marked tortoise which has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, including recorded localities in southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eastern Africa (including Natal), Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and Southwest Africa. This chelonian is a large, grazing species of tortoise that favours semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats.

It is, however, also found in some regions featuring a higher level of precipitation, although some leopard tortoises have been found in rainier areas. In both very hot and very cold weather they may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or anteater holes. Leopard Tortoises do not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. Not surprisingly, given its propensity for grassland habitats it grazes, extensively upon mixed grasses.

It also favours the fruit and pads of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.), succulents and thistles. It grows to quite a respectable size, with adults reaching 16 - 18 inches (40 - 50 cm) and 40 pounds (18 Kg). Large examples may be 60 cm (over 2 feet) long and weigh about 80 lbs. They generally have a life span of 50 years.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Leopard Tortoise

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Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora aurora)

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Creator: Hayes, Marc P. Source: WO5410-26. Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Northern Red-legged Frog From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Northern Red-legged Frog, Rana aurora aurora, is a protected species of amphibian, whose range is the coastal region stretching from Northern California to southwest British Columbia. As a member of the genus Rana, this species is considered a true frog, with characteristic smooth skin and a narrow waist. This frog requires still waters for breeding and is rarely found at any great distance from its breeding ponds or marshes.

Rana aurora aurora adults may attain a length of eight centimeters; they have a dark facial mask and a characteristic light stripe along the jawline. The Northern Red-legged Frog has long, powerful legs well adapted to significant leaps; in fact its proximate species, R. draytonii, is considered to be that depicted by Mark Twain, in the famed tale of the Leaping Frog of Calaveras County. It is one of two amphibian species classified as Red-legged Frog, the other species being termed California Red-legged Frog; however, the latter species is found primarily from Marin County southerly to Baja California. These two genetically distinct species are believed to intergrade in the counties of Marin and Sonoma. In some systems of taxonomy, this species is classified as Rana aurora aurora.

The Northern Red-legged Frog is found in every coastal county of California from Mendocino County northward and including coastal Oregon. While it occurs primarily in the Northern California coastal mountain ranges, it is not found above an elevation of 1200 meters. It also occurs somewhat less commonly in the southern Cascade Range. The species is thought to intergrade with Rana draytonii in Marin County and Sonoma County, California, but has been observed as far south as San Mateo County.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Northern Red-legged Frog

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