Ok, weirdo. This is a Pipa pipa (Surinam Toad) I photographed in Peru a couple of weeks ago – there were a lot of them! They’re entirely aquatic, and have a crazy reproductive process. After mating and eggs are ready, the male squishes them into swollen tissue on the back of the female (those white […]

A boldly patterned, small Florida Cottonmouth spotted in suitably swampy habitat in Florida a couple of years ago. This pattern will likely fade quite a bit as it ages, but not to the same nearly uniform appearance of their northern relatives. And no, they don’t chase anyone. Let’s all grow up.

A thunderstorm materialized while I was hiking in a canyon in southern Arizona, so I ducked into a grove of suitable trees to wait it out and not be the tallest thing in the area. While waiting, I saw scales … though not many. It was a Banded Rock Rattlesnake that had emerged from nearby […]

An Arizona Black Rattlesnake we spotted on a late-night search near Phoenix. These higher-elevation snakes are common in the central Arizona, where they are often misidentified as “Timber Rattlesnake”, though no timber rattlesnakes live anywhere in the Western US.

We were shown these amazing little primates, the smallest in the world; Western Pygmy Marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea). Each is only about the size of a hand, with the smallest we saw likely comfortable curling up in a donut. They stay in one tree and have a tiny home range, excavating holes in bark to get […]

An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in southeastern Arizona. These small rattlesnakes are found in bunchgrass and oak leaf litter at elevations above around 4,500′. Though they may be locally abundant, most of the long-term locals asked in the area about them have no idea it exists. Buontempo, M. J. (2024). Evolutionary history of a specialized and […]

Sonoran Desert Tortoises are very active in the early Spring, getting out there to much on all the new green stuff all over. If you live near wild spaces and see a native Desert Tortoise out there, please don’t assume it’s someone’s pet. Far too often, we see people pick up native tortoises and making […]

A tiny green-blue arboreal viper I saw in trees at around eye level on a night hike in Peru a couple of weeks ago. This Two-Striped Forest Pitviper was only about as long as a hand, and as big around as a ballpoint pen.

The Sonoyta Mud Turtle is only found in small parts of Sonora, Mexico, and a single small pond in extreme southern Arizona – a stone’s throw from the border. Here is one of several seen on an afternoon visit to this pool, swimming around just under the surface, going after insects and poking through clumps […]

On this relatively small desert island off the coast of Baja California Sur, there is little to worry about from predators. A variety of ocean-going birds nest here as a result, right in the open on the ground in large numbers. This leaves every rock in the area covered in endless strata of bird poop […]