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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz’s desert tortoise). scute dysecdysis/scute sloughing

Desert tortoises with scute injuries due to fire or disease related processes can result in loss of the scute. These animals appear to function normally, and can replace the scute material with a keratinized layer that covers the bone. This paper describes a tortoise with severe scute loss from a wildfire in 2005, and an animal that lost its scute for unknown reasons. Both animals appeared to be healthy in all other aspects, and lived for many years afterward.

Herpetological Review↗
USGS2012

Northwestern salamanders Ambystoma gracile in mountain lakes: record oviposition depths among salamanders

Oviposition timing, behaviors, and microhabitats of ambystomatid salamanders vary considerably (Egan and Paton 2004; Figiel and Semlitsch 1995; Howard and Wallace 1985; Mac-Cracken 2007). Regardless of species, however, females typically oviposit using sites conducive to embryo development and survival. For example, the results of an experiment by Figiel and Semlitsch (1995) on Ambystoma opacum (Marbled Salamander) oviposition indicated that females actively selected sites that were under grass clumps in wet versus dry treatments, and surmised that environmental conditions such as humidity, moisture, and temperature contributed to their results. Other factors associated with ambystomatid oviposition and embryo survival include water temperature (Anderson 1972; Brown 1976), dissolved oxygen concentration (Petranka et al. 1982; Sacerdote and King 2009), oviposition depth (Dougherty et al. 2005; Egan and Paton 2004), and oviposition attachment structures such as woody vegetation (McCracken 2007; Nussbaum et al. 1983). Resetarits (1996), in creating a model of oviposition site selection for anuran amphibians, hypothesized that oviparous organisms were also capable of modifying oviposition behavior and site selection to accommodate varying habitat conditions and to minimize potential negative effects of environmental stressors. Kats and Sih (1992), investigating the oviposition of Ambystoma barbouri (Streamside Salamander) in pools of a Kentucky stream, found that females preferred pools without predatory Lepomis cyanellus (Green Sunfish), and that the number of egg masses present in a pool historically containing fish increased significantly the year after fish had been extirpated from the pool. Palen et al. (2005) determined that Ambystoma gracile (Northwestern Salamander) and Ambystoma macrodactylum (Longtoed Salamander) eggs were deposited either at increased depth or in full shaded habitats, respectively, as water transperancy to UV-B radiation increased.

Herpetological Review↗
USGS2013

Co-occurrence of invasive Cuban Treefrogs and native treefrogs in PVC pipe refugia

The Cuban Treefrog ( Osteopilus septentrionalis ) was first introduced to Florida at Key West. Since this introduction, Cuban Treefrogs have spread to Miami and are now established throughout most of peninsular Florida. Cuban Treefrogs can become very abundant in areas they colonize. Several reasons contribute to their success, including a generalist diet, high fecundity and the ability to reproduce year-round, and use of disturbed or human-modified habitats. Scientists and managers are concerned that Cuban Treefrogs may contribute to the decline of native treefrogs. Cuban Treefrogs may exclude native treefrogs through both competition and predation. Because the evidence from our study and others suggests that Green and Squirrel Treefrogs do not alter their behavior to avoid Cuban Treefrogs, there is cause for concern that sampling with PVC pipes may increase the vulnerability of the native species to predation. This possibility needs further research, including whether other species of native treefrogs sympatric to where Cuban Treefrogs have invaded are also naïve to the possible threat posed by these frogs, and also if native treefrogs eventually learn to avoid Cuban Treefrogs.

Florida↗
USGS2014

Aspidoscelis deppii (black-bellied racerunner). Predation by turkey vulture.

Aspidoscelis deppii is widely distributed from Veracruz and Michoacan, Mexico, to Costa Rica (Köhler et al. 2006. The Amphibians and Reptiles of El Salvador, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 238 pp.). Neotropical lizards are abundant and common prey to all classes of terrestrial vertebrates, and bird predation of lizards is well known. The Turkey Vulture (Carthartes aura) is widely distributed from southern Canada south to South America and is present throughout the entire range of A. deppii, where it occupies a variety of open and forested habitats and feeds opportunistically on a wide range of wild and domestic carrion. While almost exclusively a scavenger, this species is known to rarely kill small animals or invertebrates (Kirk and Mossman 1998. In A. Poole [ed.], The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca; accessed 15 August 2013). An adult Turkey Vulture was collected during avian control to minimize wildlife hazards at the Aeropuerto Internacional de El Salvador (ca. 50 km SE of San Salvador, 13.4408°N 89.0556°W; datum WGS84) on 10 July 2012 and subsequently cataloged (USNM 646876) in the Bird Division at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, DC. Dissection during preparation of the bird as a museum specimen revealed a male A. deppii (ca. 56 mm SVL) in the stomach. It was cataloged at the NMNH in the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles (USNM 580989). Tissue samples were removed from both the lizard and the bird and deposited in the biorepository at the NMNH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented record identifying A. deppii as a prey item of the Turkey Vulture.

Aeropuerto Internacional de El Salvador↗
USGS2014

Aspidoscelis deppii (Black-bellied Racerunner). Predation by Great Egrets

Aspidoscelis deppii) is widely distributed from Veracruz and Michoacan, Mexico to Costa Rica (Köhler et al. 2006. The Amphibians and Reptiles of El Salvador. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, Florida. 238 pp.). Neotropical lizards are abundant and common prey to all classes of terrestrial vertebrates, and bird predation of lizards is well known.

Herpetological Review↗