Cross Country Trip
In August of 2024 I accepted a wildlife biologist position with the Gila River Indian Community. For a while I had been dreaming of living in the southwest so when the opportunity finally presented itself I jumped on it. I packed up my light load of earthly belongings to begin my indirect road trip all the way to Arizona. Before beginning the trip I planned out a number of lifelist herp species to try to locate. The first leg of my journey was just a hardcore drive from southeast Pennsylvania all the way to St. Louis, Missouri. The next morning I woke up early to make my way down to southwest Missouri. The day was devoted entirely to subterranean salamander hunting. In total, I had 5 caves mapped out that were to give me the best chances of turning up 4 lifer salamander species.
Western slimy salamander (Plethodon albagula)
Dark-sided salamander (Eurycea melanopleura)
The salamander hunt was a grand success. I turned up all 4 salamander species I set out to find. In the 5th cave that I checked, I scuttled through a tight creek bed- crawling on all fours much like a salamander would. A cold stream fed water through this corridor keeping the temperature much cooler than the rest of the cave. All along the walls were several western slimy salamanders. Once I had finally made it a disconcertingly far distance into the passage I came across the holy grail. A grotto salamander in all of its glory was affixed to the ceiling above me. As uncomfortable as I may have been in that tight smelly corridor, I was so happy to be able to just sit there and observe such an amazing creature.
Aberrant cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
Cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
Northern grotto salamander (Eurycea nerea)
After finishing up my salamander hunt, I made my way further west. As the sun was setting, I began cruising some hilly roads through glade country with the hope of turning up a western pygmy rattlesnake. The first one I found that night was moribund and unfortunately very nice. Not long afterwards I was able to find two nice healthy adults on the road.
Western pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius)
Western pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius)
The next morning I made my way to the redhills region of Kansas. I was thoroughly impressed with the astounding beauty of this landscape. During the day I did some exploring through some pastures in hopes of turning up some diurnal snake species- no luck. As the temps began inverting for the day, I got back out onto some dirt roads to begin my evening shit of cruising. As I was taking my last pass down a dirt road, I came across my main target for this region, the western massasauga.
Western massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus tergeminus)
Lined snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)
Red hills region of Kansas
Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Cruising after dark didn’t end up being terribly productive. I found a few brown snakes, 1 astoundingly colorful garter snake and a lined snake. As plain as lined snakes are superficially, I was very excited to finally see one of these. This species is the only member of its genus and resides most prevalently in association with prairie habitat.
Following my day in Kansas, I prepared myself for a pretty demanding drive day. I arrived in northern New Mexico in the afternoon and spent some time exploring some awe-inspiring slopes. Ultimately, I didn’t turn up any herps but still felt very satisfied having spent some time in that area. In the evening I worked my way further south in New Mexico. I ended up roadcruising my first plains black-headed snake (Tantilla nigriceps).
Eastern blacktail rattlesnake (Crotalus ornatus)
Central New Mexico
Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus virdis)
Plains black-headed snake (Tantilla nigriceps)
Banded rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus)
New Mexico treated me very kindly. Early in the morning, I got a nice eastern blacktail rattlesnake. Shortly afterwards I made my way up into a canyon and was pleasantly surprised to very quickly come across 3 banded rock rattlesnakes. The first two got away before I could even grab cell shots but the third was enormous and hung around for some decent photos. Afterwards, I climbed to some high elevation to look for the Sacramento mountain salamander. Aneides sp. are without a doubt my favorite salamander genus in the US. As the sun began to set, I cruised up on a nice young prairie rattlesnake.
Sacramento Mountain salamander habitat
Sacramento Mountain Salamander (Aneides hardii)
While I still did some more herping in AZ on my way to my new residence, I will save this for the beginning of my Arizona album.