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Polychridae is but one of the spelling errors on the national list... Add in the outdated Genera and Families and we're way back in 1979, or 2003, depending on the sources used to create the list.

dvegadvol wrote:Polychridae is but one of the spelling errors on the national list... Add in the outdated Genera and Families and we're way back in 1979, or 2003, depending on the sources used to create the list.

That's what I figured. Thanks for clarifying.

Two questions:
1. Ramphotyphlops is on the list (Brahminy blind snake). But when you search up Brahminy blink snake, you get Indotyphlops braminus. Plus, Ramophotyphlops braminus is the Brahminy blind snake. Ramophotyphlops is a genus. What's the difference?
2. How do you identify between slender blind snakes/thread snakes and blind snakes (Typhlopidae and Leptotyphlopidae)? They're almost identical in pictures.

matematika wrote:Two questions:
1. Ramphotyphlops is on the list (Brahminy blind snake). But when you search up Brahminy blink snake, you get Indotyphlops braminus. Plus, Ramophotyphlops braminus is the Brahminy blind snake. Ramophotyphlops is a genus. What's the difference?

So the list may have some things different than other sources, but you should go by the list.
Also, the list only lists up to the genus.

Thank you. I'm a bit confused now. On the handout and old tests, apparently you need to distinguish between different species, but in the FAQ, you really don't need to. Plus, you need to relate species with similar distributions, categorize into venomous vs. nonvenomous, some special features. But where do they get this information? For some of the snakes there is barely any information on the internet. Apparently there was herpetology last year. Can anyone give me a summary of what really goes on in the test (Regionals first, please), and what to really study? I don't quite understand.

What do people find to be the most distinguishing characteristics of salamanders? Some of the classifications are so broad that the pictures you find look exactly like another specimen from another group. Any advice?

ScottMaurer19 wrote:Anyone figure out the difference between polychridae (what's on the list) and Polychrotidae (what shows up when polychridae is googled)?

Sorry for all the questions

The former is a typo while the latter is no longer a family but a subfamily.

To add onto this thread, what would people recommend writing as the answer if you have to identify by family? Some test admins are harsh on spelling and might have the typo on their key; should you write the correct spelling and put "(list has typo)" afterwards?

nuki989 wrote:

ScottMaurer19 wrote:Anyone figure out the difference between polychridae (what's on the list) and Polychrotidae (what shows up when polychridae is googled)?

Sorry for all the questions

The former is a typo while the latter is no longer a family but a subfamily.

To add onto this thread, what would people recommend writing as the answer if you have to identify by family? Some test admins are harsh on spelling and might have the typo on their key; should you write the correct spelling and put "(list has typo)" afterwards?

Has anyone put in an FAQ on this?

matematika wrote:Thank you. I'm a bit confused now. On the handout and old tests, apparently you need to distinguish between different species, but in the FAQ, you really don't need to. Plus, you need to relate species with similar distributions, categorize into venomous vs. nonvenomous, some special features. But where do they get this information? For some of the snakes there is barely any information on the internet. Apparently there was herpetology last year. Can anyone give me a summary of what really goes on in the test (Regionals first, please), and what to really study? I don't quite understand.

You SHOULD NOT have to distinguish between species and give info about them.
For info, I recommend field guides, they have lots of info in one place.
The test is usually stations (there was no herpetology last year), so if you have done invasive species or any other ID event, it should look like that.
If you look at the rules, it tells you what to study.

Froggie wrote:

matematika wrote:Thank you. I'm a bit confused now. On the handout and old tests, apparently you need to distinguish between different species, but in the FAQ, you really don't need to. Plus, you need to relate species with similar distributions, categorize into venomous vs. nonvenomous, some special features. But where do they get this information? For some of the snakes there is barely any information on the internet. Apparently there was herpetology last year. Can anyone give me a summary of what really goes on in the test (Regionals first, please), and what to really study? I don't quite understand.

You SHOULD NOT have to distinguish between species and give info about them.
For info, I recommend field guides, they have lots of info in one place.
The test is usually stations (there was no herpetology last year), so if you have done invasive species or any other ID event, it should look like that.
If you look at the rules, it tells you what to study.

The westlake test was the Islip invite test from last year that I happened to have taken the night before... Both Sylvania NV and Westlake were stations with pictures just like invasive or a Rocks test with pictures