Arizona has a state reptile that most people will never see, and relatively few know it exists. The Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake. An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of Arizona. They’re small rattlesnakes, with most that I’ve encountered being less than two feet long. They’re not in the desert, but live in higher elevation […]

A San Lucan Gecko from the southern end of Baja California Sur, Mexico. This species is endemic to the Cape region, where it does well in the rocky cliffs that you’ve probably seen as a backdrop in countless vacation photos. Blair, C., Méndez-de la Cruz, F. R., Ngo, A., Lindell, J., Lathrop, A., & Murphy, […]

We found this relatively large Central American Eyelash Viper (Bothriechis nigroadspersus) on a family trip to Costa Rica a few years ago. Unlike many of the vipers I work with back home, this one just wanted to escape upward, showing off those supraocular “eyelash” scales.

A Banded Tree Anole (Anolis transversalis) on a night hike in Peru a few years back.

I ran into this little Banded Rock Rattlesnake on a search for samples in the Sky Islands earlier in the year. It was found right where expected, in an isolated rock pile that gets a little more sun than the rest of the ground in the area. When it saw me, rather than rattle, it […]

An Arizona Black Rattlesnake hanging out at the entrance of her den. She, and several other pregnant (gravid) females, remain here all summer. When it’s time for the babies to be born, they will be right where they need to be several weeks later when temperatures cool and it’s time for their first hibernation.

An Indian Star Tortoise cruising around the grassy scrub of Karnataka while we kept our heads on a swivel for sloth bears.

A Sonoran Gophersnake moving to cover for the day can be difficult to spot. It’s chaotic pattern can quickly disappear in the noise of high-contrast shadows and filtered light. All it needs to do is hold still for a few moments, and most will walk right by it without ever knowing there was a snake […]

I found this Tiger Rattlesnake on a survey of a county park on a ridiculously hot night. Not many snakes were out, but I did manage to find several of these, as well as a few other odds and ends. The geology of the mountain is interesting and changes quite a bit from one tip […]

A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake found in the bootheel of New Mexico many years ago. The diamondbacks in this area have some interesting traits that make them a bit different than those found in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. They’re often pink or rose colored, with a diminished pattern that can fade to a minimal look […]