Ensatina sp.

[zonbonzovi]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49007985@N04/4491787543/" title="Ensatina sp. by zonbonzovi, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4491787543_48beae673a.jpg" width="500" height="314" alt="Ensatina sp." /></a>

 

[cacoseraph]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49007985@N04/4491787543/" title="Ensatina sp. by zonbonzovi, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4491787543_48beae673a.jpg" width="500" height="314" alt="Ensatina sp." /></a>

Ensatina sp. by zonbonzovi, on Flickr





i fixed your tags. quotepost it and then i will pull it down

 

[zonbonzovi]

...and some other caudates

Thanks, Caco! Coding & such is as vexing to me as lycra tank tops & organized religion.

I'll just provide links for now(I could use a tutorial on tags):

Plethodon vehiculum:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49007985@N04/4491787349/
http://s604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/zonbonzovi/?action=view&current=plethodon1.jpg&newest=1

R. brevicaudatus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49007985@N04/4492255332/

T. granulosa

http://s604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/zonbonzovi/?action=view&current=DSC04551.jpg

The Ensatina sp. was a stowaway in some wood collected for beetle larvae food. The others were discoveries on recent hikes(well, except for the chameleon. that would be a pretty remarkable find for W. Wa. Enjoy!

 

[cacoseraph]

you know ensatina don't have lungs, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensatina

i've seen yellow side blotched and yellow eyed and one crazy arboreal species before





i'm actually afraid to search for posts by myself that include "i really need to make a"
=P

 

[Mack&Cass]

you know ensatina don't have lungs, right?

The Plethodon don't have em either. I love salamanders although I don't have any right now. We have lots of P. cinereus around here, may be time for a hike...
Mackenzie

 

[cacoseraph]

The Plethodon don't have em either. I love salamanders although I don't have any right now. We have lots of P. cinereus around here, may be time for a hike...
Mackenzie

indeed!

i didn't realize there was so many... kinda freaky little things, actually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plethodontid

 

[zonbonzovi]

:}

you know ensatina don't have lungs, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensatina

i've seen yellow side blotched and yellow eyed and one crazy arboreal species before





i'm actually afraid to search for posts by myself that include "i really need to make a"
=P

Yah, that is one of the more fascinating bits of info on them. I really like the pattern variability of the different locales, adult/juv/kidlet. Y'all have a large number of very distinct Ensatina ssp.(?) in CA, yeah? Some of them look airbrushed. Damn hippies and their spray paint.

 

[cacoseraph]

i don't know too much about them, but yeah, it was kind of my understanding that there are a lot of pretty different sub/species and that sub/species next to each other can intergrade and what not

i don't go to the right areas to see these things normally. all the ones i saw were on one trip with josh_r

 

[Galapoheros]

Coool. I've read some about those but I'm not real familiar with western US reps and amphs, I grew up on "the other" Peterson's guide. I camped out next to a lake in Oregon once on my way to the world expo in Canada, I think back around 86. I went with two other people during spring break, they weren't bug people at all and they thought I was nuts wading through the water after I saw salamanders crawling around under the ice, I caught two of them. I was so fired up, I didn't even get cold. I also found a couple of these, ...Ensantina? Is that what it is? The pic is bad, it's a film picture I had to scan, there were no digital cameras available back then.

The most common Plethodon around here(Texas) is the Slimy salamander(western), the only tx Plethodon I think. OK i stopped being so lazy and looked up sci name, P. albagula.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

I have 7 of these from WA state and 2 from my backyard from a little gardening I did a few weeks ago (here in Oregon). My hoe turned up a tiny one that was wriggling wormlike and colored as such, and still not-wormlike enough to actually be noticed. Last (late) summer 5 or 6 adults crawled out to celebrate the first real night of warm rain with me. I like to take a flashlight out on these nights to see what goes mostly unseen.

I do not mix the OR and WA species, by the way. My friend brought the WA's down for me, including a very nice tank with an assortment of club mosses and other plants and terrestrial bugs from their local habitat.

(Come on down and help yourself to some, Zon. You know the way. Sorry we missed you and K. at the Seattle show!)

 

[zonbonzovi]

Todd- hard to say for sure, but those bulging bug eyes look right for Ensatina. I *think* I see a constriction at the base of tail which is a dead giveaway. Yet another site specific(?) coloration as well. Central Oregon?

Peter- I'm guessing you have a lot of rotting wood(I find Ensatinas in decomposing maple, cedar & alder, the others in mossy talus or bedrocky areas) in your backyard? We'll have to visit soon

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Well, it's the Pacific NW. It's wet up here and lots of trees and foliage. There's a park nearby and we're pretty suburbish to begin with. I am sure the entire area is full of them as I've talked to neighbors and residents from the other side of town. They seem to be more common than I would have suspected (considering I never saw one in 27 years of living in more metro Portland).

 

[sharpfang]

Yep, Bulging Eyes - give it away

Here is a slender Salamander:

I have seen 1/2 a dozen Ensatina varieties as well.....Most are Protected 4 good reason......Very variable :razz: It is raining 2day....I'll try to find some tomorrow to photo.

- Jason