New Mexico Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake, Crotalus willardi obscurus

A young Blacktailed Rattlesnake from the southeastern mountains of Arizona. When they are this age, they’ll often have subtle grey and black banding in the tail. This usually darkens to a solid black with age, but not always. Of the species of rattlesnakes in the state, coming across babies of this species out and about […]

The least likely thing we could have seen in Guatemala – The Torre de Guatel Arboreal Alligator Lizard. Spotted by the laser eyes of Jake Scott, moments after a discussion about how impossible this search was going to be.

A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake in ambush in a sandy wash on a very hot night. This sand is much cooler than the surrounding rock, with smaller particles that lose energy more quickly. While it’s easy to think of reptiles as ectotherms always looking for sources of heat, they’re just as often looking for ways to […]

One of the eyelash vipers we found on a family vacation to Costa Rica a year ago. It spent days in almost the same spot, only making a short move in the daytime to move under the nearest clump of moss.

Bassler’s Sheep Frog – one of the many tiny moving bits seen moving around the wet forest floor in Peru.

An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of the state. This is also our state reptile. Quiz time: This subspecies of ridgenosed rattlesnake is only found in Arizona and Mexico. There are two other rattlesnakes that are also only found in Arizona and Mexico. What are they?

cerastesA Sonoran Sidewinder that had just crossed a road west of Phoenix. These small specialist rattlesnakes are abundant in the right conditions. This is the reason that hikers will almost never come across one … the flat sandy habitat they need is nobody’s hiking destination. Leavitt, D. J., & Grimsley, A. A. (2019). Density, recapture […]

A young Arizona Black Rattlesnake resting outside its den, where several larger adults have yet to emerge for the day. In time, it will darken and its pattern will fade to be the familiar dark black with yellow bands common in the region. This same little snake, a year prior and a lot smaller, was […]