Amphibians and Reptiles
California Tiger Salamander
Ambystoma californiense
- 7/26: Laguna de Santa Rosa. I don’t remember the details of this sighting, but it was on a dip-netting trip out on the Santa Rosa Plain with some folks including Derek Girman and Dave Cook.
Black Salamander
Aneides flavipunctatus
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Found 2 specimens at the 1st Sheep Barn at Galbreath Preserve. One under a piece of a fallen tree (I found this one), and one under a wooden plank near the barn. Decided that both were “black” (rather than “arboreal”) based on the relative size of the head to the body. Captured a third specimen at the 2nd Sheep Barn site.
Mojave Glossy Snake
Arizona elegans candida
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen during a Kelbaker Road night drive. A very gentle, pretty snake, with a pattern reminiscent of a faded gopher snake. At 3.9 miles from the entrance sign.
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. I spotted this snake crossing the road on our last night drive on Kelbaker Road.
Tiger Whiptail
Aspidoscelis tigris
- 5/13: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA. Saw these lizards in the Dunes. On the whole, I think this was the most commonly seen lizard on this trip.
- 5/13: Mojave NP Mid Hills Campground, San Bernardino, CA. Saw these lizards at the Mid-Hills Campsite.
California Slender Salamander
Batrachoseps attenuatus
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Found on the hill near the Sheep Barn at Galbreath Preserve, under a rock.
Zebra-tailed Lizard
Callisaurus draconoides
- 5/13: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA. Saw several of these lizards with banding up the full length of the tail, and distinctive blue and black markings on the sides of the belly. Saw one large male in particular who began to display aggressively.
Western Shovel-nosed Snake
Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. I spotted this tiny, light and black banded snake on Kelbaker Road during a night drive, 3.9 miles from the entrance sign.
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Dead on road along Kelbaker Road. Collected for SSU museum collection.
Western Banded Gecko
Coleonyx variegatus
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. I spotted this gecko in the middle of the road during a night drive on Kelbaker Road. And usually-colored specimen: spotted with no banding. Found at 0.9 mi from Baker park sign.
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Found at 1.2 miles from the entrance sign during a Kelbaker Road night drive. This one exhibited “classic” banded coloration.
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Found 3 individuals during Kelbaker night drive. All had varying amounts of banding – a good example that the coloration of this species can be quite variable.
Western Yellow-bellied Racer
Coluber constrictor mormon
- 6/16: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Found while looking for nesting pond turtles.
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Found during Field Herpetology field trip.
Mojave Desert Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes cerastes
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen at 11.3 miles on Kelbaker Road during a night drive. Easy to see the “horns” above the eyes. Definitely the closest I’ve ever been to a rattlesnake before (to my knowledge, anyway).
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Nick located this snake when he almost stepped on it. It was curled up in the sand, out in the open. We viewed it for several minutes.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus
- 5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. This snake was located near the Microtower Road. A gorgeous snake, warm-tan colored. Rattlesnakes are cool!
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Crotalus oreganus
- 6/29: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. One of the most exciting sightings of the month: a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake tucked under some fallen wood very near the edge of the lake. One of the field assistants saw this snake under some fallen wood very near the edge of the lake I was thrilled to discover it was still in the same place when I was able to get to the spot with my camera. Such a magnificent snake! I wasn’t able to get any really good photos, but it was a great sighting, and I was pleased to have seen this snake without causing it to flee.
Great Basin Collared Lizard
Crotaphytus bicinctores
- 5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. (Originally listed as C. insularis). Saw this lizard only through binoculars. There seemed to be a dark band around the neck, and the color on the back looked greenish at a distance.
Ring-necked Snake
Diadophis punctatus
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Captured one of these lovely snakes in the rocks near the 1st Sheep Barn at Galbreath. It was the first time I had seen this species in the wild.
- 6/15: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake, CA. Found during field work.
California Giant Salamander
Dicamptodon ensatus
- 9/18: Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay. We visited two sites for California Giant Salamander: Purissima Creek and Sierra Azul. We walked the creek at both locations, searching for salamanders. We found several, and collected morphometric data and tail clippings for DNA analysis. I think this was my favorite trip of the class.
- 9/18: Sierra Azul, Santa Clara County. At this site, we found some very strange individuals – with kind of crinkly tails, very different from the ones we saw at Purisima. Derek’s hypothesis is that there is some sort of inbreeding happening in this population that is responsible for the strange phenotype.
California Alligator Lizard
Elgaria multicarinata
- 6/7: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve. Seen during the 2011 field season. (Not sure of the species, but this one is most likely).
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake, CA. Field Herpetology field trip.
Long-nosed Leopard Lizard
Gambelia wislizenii
- 5/13: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA. Erika found this large, spotted lizard at Kelso Dunes.
Mojave Desert Tortoise
Gopherus agassizii
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted this tortoise crossing Kelbaker Road. An adult, ~35 cm. While we were watching it, a park ranger drove up and carried the tortoise across the road. Super cool!
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted a small (~5 inch) tortoise at 11.3 miles, and stopped to help it across the road. Shell was warm-colored, almost pinkish. We attempted to locate its burrow but were unable. We also spotted a large adult (~15 inch), and helped it across the road. 14.5 miles.
California King Snake
Lampropeltis californiae
- 6/21: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Gorgeous snake found during field work.
- 6/23: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA
- 6/28: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Later in the month, we had some cool, rainy days. On these days, we don’t expect the turtles to leave the pond to lay their eggs, but some of the other wildlife is still active. We found two gorgeous, HUGE California King Snakes. Usually, these snakes only barely tolerate being handled, but on this day, they seemed quite happy to hang out with me indefinitely (probably because I was warmer than the ambient temperature).
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA.
American Bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
- 6/15: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Heard a frog calling in the vernal lake.
Desert Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma platyrhinos
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Found two of these lizards during our Kelbaker Road night drive (3.0; 1.3 mi). They are not usually seen at night, so this seemed unusual. Both were found along the side of the road.
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted during Kelbaker night drive.
Spotted/Western Leaf-nosed Snake
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. I spotted this small (~60 cm) snake as it was crossing Kelbaker Road during a night drive. Found at 2.9 mi. Distinctive triangular patch on face.
Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer
- 6/7: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Seen during the 2011 field season.
Western Skink
Plestiodon skiltonianus
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. 1st Sheep Barn at Galbreath Preserve. At the 2nd Sheep Barn site, we spotted (but did not capture) a juvenile, showing a distinctly blue tail.
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Nice blue tail skink, found near the dry lake bed.
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA.
Sierran Tree Frog
Pseudacris sierra
- 3/24: Laguna de Santa Rosa main channel, Cotati. Heard 2 or 3 individuals during our walk along the creek.
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Found several specimens at wood Duck Pond at Galbreath Preserve. Variety of color variations, from green to brown. Found a very green-colored specimen at the 1st Sheep Barn. Also found one at the 2nd Sheep Barn site.
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA
Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
Rana boylii
4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve. We got to take a close look at this frog that had been captured by Emily while she was doing research on newts.
Western Patch-nosed Snake
Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis
5/14: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. An exciting find! This snake was spotted on Zzyzx Road from one of the vans, so we stopped. It initially hid into a medium-sized Sweetbush, but after several minutes, the snake came back into view. An adult male, with an orange belly.
Common Chuckwalla
Sauromalus ater
5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted this fantastic, large lizard on rocks along Microtower Road. A great sighting!
Western Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Captured a small (5 -6 cm) specimen on the rocks near the 1st Sheep Barn at Galbreath. Also seen at the 2nd Sheep Barn site.
- 5/22: Crane Creek, Sonoma, California, United States. We went on a short walk at this preserve near home specifically to look for lizards. We found this one on the little wooden footbridge on the way to the creek trail.
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA
Sceloporus occidentalis longipes
- 5/13: Mojave NP Mid Hills Campground, San Bernardino, CA. Found several of these lizards at the Mid-Hills Campground. This subspecies is much larger than the fence lizards we see commonly in Sonoma County. They are also arboreal here, and the ones we found were mostly on juniper trees. This population is receiving from the fire that burned this area a few years ago.
Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus uniformis
- 5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. This lizard was seen along Microtower Road. Beautifully colored, with green coloration on the chin and belly.
Rough-skinned Newt
Taricha granulosa
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Viewed individual captured by Emily Harvey at Galbreath Preserve. Also found several caught in traps at Wood Duck Pond. A small number (1 – 3) were seen at the Waterfall site.
- 9/18: Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay. We also saw Rough-skinned newts at Purisima Creek.
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. We found this relatively small newt under a rock near one of the manzanita bushes right near the main path to the grassy meadow next to the lake. This is the first time I’ve found a newt at this site, and it was so small and adorable! It also performed the characteristic aposematic display, letting us see the bright orange on its ventral side, advertising (truthfully!) toxicity.
- 12/4: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. The final Field Herpetology trip of the semester took us to Galbreath Wildlands Preserve in Mendocino County, primarily to look for Rough-skinned Newts. The trip did not disappoint: we found adult males in various stages of transformation into their aquatic stage and preparedness for mating in both Wood Duck Pond, as well as a nearby seasonal pond. We collected two specimens and took them back to the research shed to run them through a Y-maze trial, similar to the experiments performed by Emily Harvey for her master’s thesis research. Emily also demonstrated data collection on a newt specimen, showing us how they would be measured and toe-clipped for recapture identification.
Red-bellied Newt
Taricha rivularis
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve. Viewed specimen captured by Emily Harvey at Galbreath Preserve. Found these newts in abundance at the Waterfall site, along the sides of the stream and in small pools. We saw dozens of individuals and they were easy to catch and examine in hand. Clearly different coloration from T. Granulosa; T. Rivularis has a distinctly red belly.
Aquatic Garter Snake
Thamnophis atratus
- 7/26: Santa Rosa Plain. Seen during a dip-netting excursion.
Terrestrial Gartersnake
Thamnophis elegans
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. I have this snake in my notes, but unfortunately did not get any photographs to verify the identification.
Valley Gartersnake
Thamnophis sirtalis fitchii
- 6/16: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA.
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. This gorgeous snake was found near the edge of the (currently dry) lake, in the little meadow where turtles usually exit the water. We had a great close-up look at this gorgeous snake. Identified by labial scales, and proportional size of the eyes.
Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard
Uma scoparia
- 5/13: Kelso Dunes, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted several of these lizards, ID’d by the spotted back, banding at the distal end of the tail, and black spots on the sides of the lower belly.
Western Sideblotched Lizard
Uta stansburiana
- 5/13: Mojave NP Mid Hills Campground, San Bernardino, CA. I only caught a brief glimpse of one of these lizards, which was orange in color, at the Mid-Hills Campground.
- 5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. Spotted an individual with a light and dark “scaly” pattern sunning itself on a rock near the base of the Microtower Road.
Mammals
Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys merriami
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. A kangaroo rat was seen during our night drive; I wasn’t able to get an ID, but this one of the common species in the area.
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Lepus californicus
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Several of these large rabbits crossed the road in front of the cars during our night drive on Kelbaker Road.
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen during night drive.
- 6/7: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Seen during the 2011 field season.
Striped Skunk
Mephitis mephitis
- 6/7: Jellystone Camp, Lake County, CA. Skunks were regular visitors to our campsite in the middle of the night. While I don’t remember the date, I have a very clear memory of waking up in the middle of the night, and backlit by one of the streetlights that lit up the campground, the shadow of an extremely floofy tail was cast on the side of my tent. I was able to watch for a while as the skunk wandered around our campsite – super cute!
Sonoma Chipmunk
Neotamias sonomae
- 6/7: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Seen during the 2011 field season.
Desert Woodrat
Neotoma lepida
- 5/12: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. Saw several woodrats in the rocks near the BBQ/patio area at Zzyzx. Apparently, they are nesting nearby.
Columbian Black-tailed Deer
Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
- 6/7: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Seen during the 2011 field season.
- 6/7: Jellystone Park, Lake County, CA. Seen near our campsite.
California Ground Squirrel
Otospermophilus beecheyi
- 4/15: Safari West, Sonoma, CA. Saw several of these at Safari West. All of them had a dark colored, triangular patch of fur on their shoulder area, a marking I do not remember seeing on individuals in the East Bay, CA.
Western Gray Squirrel
Sciurus griseus
- 6/7: Jellystone Park, Lake County, CA. Seen near our campsite.
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Mendocino, CA. Large areas of earth near Wood Duck Pond were torn up and turned over, by the feral hogs that have invaded on the preserve.
Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii
- 5/12: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen on Kelbaker Road during night drive – at least 6 individuals, at different places along the road.
- 5/12: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen on the path just past the Zzyzx swimming pool. White tail was good ID mark.
- 5/14: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. Seen during morning walk on Zzyzx property.
Botta’s Pocket Gopher
Thomomys bottae
- 5/14: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA. Saw a gopher while driving up the Microtower Road. Not sure of the species, but this is the most common in the area.
- 6/7: Jellystone Park, Lake County, CA. Seen near our campsite.
Grey Fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
- 5/12: Desert Studies Center. This fox is apparently a regular visitor to Zzyzx. I spotted it near the swimming pool at dusk.
Mojave Ground Squirrel
Xerospermophilus mohavensis
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road/Bajada. Saw on crossing Kelbaker Road in front of the car. A small squirrel (6 – 7”), hold tail up when running.
- 5/14: Microtower Road. Seen while driving up the Microtower Road. These were seen pretty commonly on this trip.
Fishes
Tui Chub
Siphateles bicolor
- 5/13: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. Took a late-afternoon walk to the small spring-fed pond where this population of fish lives. There were several fish in the pond, ranging in size from about 1.5” to 6” in length. Difficult to see details because of reflections on the water, but they were thin, basically fusiform fish with a reddish tinge.
- 5/14: Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, San Bernardino County, CA. Dr. Girman led us on a walk to the pond to make sure the entire class was able to view the chubs.
Invertebrates
Threeband Slugs
Ambigolimax sp
- 10/11: Cotati, CA. I was able to watch a pair of slugs in what I assume was some mating behavior on my back porch.
Cross Orbweaver
Araneus diadematus
- 10/12: Cotati, CA. I noticed this spider clinging to the outside edge of my car window, hanging on for dear life while I was driving on the freeway (I think it had been resting on my rear view mirror or something before I started). So, I pulled off the freeway at the next offramp, and put this little friend in some blackberry bushes. I figured that would be much nicer than probably getting blown off by the wind on the freeway. (Possibly Spotted Orbweaver).
- 10/17: Cotati, CA
- 10/22: Cotati, CA. This was an interesting sighting over an extended period of time. This Cross Orbweaver had constructed her web just above head-height on my front walkway, so I was able to watch her at my leisure for several days. During part of this time, she was being courted – very carefully – by a male hoping to mate with her (and get away with his life, I’m guessing). Mostly, he stayed near the edges of the web, tentatively tapping on threads. then he would move slowly toward her, testing the thread along the way, clearly ready to retreat if she became aggressive. It was super cool to watch. I wasn’t able to watch long enough to see the outcome, but hopefully things worked out.
- 9/29: Cotati, CA. Had some great views of a couple of gorgeous Cross Orbweaver near my house. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get some nice photos. (I was pleased with the results).
Button’s Banana Slug
Ariolimax buttoni
- 6/15: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve
- 6/19: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve
- 9/18: Sierra Azul, Santa Clara County
California Banana Slug
Ariolimax californicus
- 9/18: Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay. Saw a few of these gorgeous, GORGEOUS slugs at Purisima Creek. Such a pretty bright yellow color!
Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus
- 10/24: Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA. I took a short walk through the Environmental Technology Center garden. I took some photos of the ornamental plants, but also got some nice photos of a couple of gorgeous Fiery Skippers.
European Mantis
Mantis religiosa
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. A photogenic specimen found near the start of the trail to the small meadow.
Signal Crayfish
Pacifastacus leniusculus
- 9/18: Purisima Creek, Half Moon Bay, CA. Found and pulled out of the water by Derek.
Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus
- 5/13: Kelbaker Road. Seen in the morning along Kelbaker Road.
Thinlegged Wolf Spiders
Pardosa sp
- 10/1: Arbor Court, Cotati. I found this little friend in the house.
- 10/10: Arbor Court, Cotati. Seen wandering around on the water surface and plants in my barrel pond.
Hawk Wasp
Tribe Pepsini
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road/Bajada. I watched a Wandering Spider being attacked by a Hawk Wasp.
Wandering Spider
Syspira longipes
- 5/14: Kelbaker Road, San Bernardino County, CA. We saw this spider in the Bajada near the road, being attacked by a Tarantula-hawk Wasp.
Western Forest Scorpion
Uroctonus mordax
- 4/8: Galbreath Wildlands Preserve. This seems the most likely ID for the scorpion I found under a rock near the restroom. Dark-colored, ~3 cm in length.
- 9/24: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. I assume this is the right species based on the body shape, but I’m not sure why it’s so blue. Pretty sure this wasn’t taken with a black light.
- 10/22: Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve, Lake County, CA. Found this cutie pie near where we were excavating a turtle nest.
Fungi and Algae
Puffball
Calvatia pachyderma
- 3/21: Laguna de Santa Rosa main channel, Cotati. A good-sized oval-shaped Puffball (10 cm diameter) in the grass near some trees (possibly Calvatia pachyderma). The overall shape was oval, and the top was “cracked” open.
Mica Cap
Coprinellus micaceus
- 10/12: Raymond Burr Greenhouse, Sonoma State University. Seen growing in one of the containers in which we were growing some experimental thistles. Quite small and adorable.
Let me know what you think!