Herpetology B/C

[ScottMaurer19]

Am I missiong any key ID features for elaphe?

[rc2000]

Again, any tips for musk vs. mud and rosy vs. rubber? Painted vs. sliders? Cottonmouths vs. copperheads...sometimes the patterns look similar, other times different...

I had a lot of trouble with these, but this is what I've managed to narrow it down to:

Musk vs. Mud
Musk turtles have more of their hind legs exposed given that their plastron (bottom of shell) is smaller, whereas Mud Turtles have a more covering one. Mud Turtles have a more domed shell, and the bottom of their shell has overall bigger segments in general.

Rosy vs Rubber
Rosy boas have stripes that run down their body laterally, whereas rubber boas are always one color w/ a cream colored belly. Rubber Boas are a bit chunkier too.

Painted vs. Slider
This is the one that still throws me off a bit. What I've narrowed it down to is that sliders have a more modest coloration compared to the vibrant red seen on painted turtles. I've had painted appear on many of the tests Ive taken/ practiced with, and normally you are able to see the red on its plastron and neck area. Sliders only have the red behind their eye. Sliders also have black markings on Plastron.

Cottonmouth vs. Copperhead
The biggest giveaway is generally the way the pattern is. Copperheads generally have solid bands on darker brown (or in the case of the Trans Pecos Copperhead, a silvery band), which most of the time looks like a sort of "hershey kiss" shape. Copperheads also have a flatter head which is normally one or two solid colors. They look a lot "angrier" than Cottonmouths. Cottonmouths have scales that keel alot more, so you would notice a very pronounced ridge on the middle of their scale running laterally. Cottonmouths are also very dark in coloration.

Hope this helped!

Thank you so much - that's amazing! Unfortunately, it was a trial event last year (there are only a few invitationals online) and the last true event was in 2009 (there are a few, but not up to date).

For spadefoots (Anura), how different are Scaphiopus or Spea? There are just Northern and Western, I think. Can we just combine them into one fact sheet?

Also, the list hs Cryptobranchidae as Hellbenders, but they are really giant salamanders. Only one species of the genus Cryptobranchus (C. alleganiensis) is the actual Hellbender...so...?

For the Spadefoot stuff you're basically right. Scaphiopus is South/East, while Spea is west.

As for the Hellbender thing, I just looked into that, and had to revise my own notes/ binder also. It seems that Cryptobranchidae are the family Giant Salamanders which contains the genus Cryptobranchus which only has the lone Hellbender belonging to it. Remember not to get this confused with the family Dicamptodontidae, which are also called Giant Salamanders.

I remember it like this:

Cryptobranchidae are the true Giant Salamander family, which have a flattened body, are almost entirely aquatic, and are truly giant in size. Their family includes the largest amphibian, the Japanese Giant Salamander, whose flattened, mottled, and large appearance was the inspiration for the Japanese "Kappa" , which is considered a "cryptid". It's a really contrived way to remember, but it helps me.

Dicamptodontidae are called Giant Salamanders as well, but simply put, aren't all that big. I just remember them as being given the name, but not truly representing it. They only get like a foot long. I remember it by seeing the "dont" in the Diacamptodontidae, as in DONT get mislead by the name. Im sorry if that confused things more.

Also, I mentioned earlier that Mud Turtles have a more domed shell than the Musk turtle. That is incorrect, and it is the Musk Turtle that has more of a dome.

[dragonfruit35]

Would anyone mind sharing any C level tests? I can see if I can try to get my hands on some by next week to share.

There are a couple on the Test Exchange if you haven't already checked those out.

[matematika]

I had a lot of trouble with these, but this is what I've managed to narrow it down to:

Musk vs. Mud
Musk turtles have more of their hind legs exposed given that their plastron (bottom of shell) is smaller, whereas Mud Turtles have a more covering one. Mud Turtles have a more domed shell, and the bottom of their shell has overall bigger segments in general.

Rosy vs Rubber
Rosy boas have stripes that run down their body laterally, whereas rubber boas are always one color w/ a cream colored belly. Rubber Boas are a bit chunkier too.

Painted vs. Slider
This is the one that still throws me off a bit. What I've narrowed it down to is that sliders have a more modest coloration compared to the vibrant red seen on painted turtles. I've had painted appear on many of the tests Ive taken/ practiced with, and normally you are able to see the red on its plastron and neck area. Sliders only have the red behind their eye. Sliders also have black markings on Plastron.

Cottonmouth vs. Copperhead
The biggest giveaway is generally the way the pattern is. Copperheads generally have solid bands on darker brown (or in the case of the Trans Pecos Copperhead, a silvery band), which most of the time looks like a sort of "hershey kiss" shape. Copperheads also have a flatter head which is normally one or two solid colors. They look a lot "angrier" than Cottonmouths. Cottonmouths have scales that keel alot more, so you would notice a very pronounced ridge on the middle of their scale running laterally. Cottonmouths are also very dark in coloration.

Hope this helped!

Thank you so much - that's amazing! Unfortunately, it was a trial event last year (there are only a few invitationals online) and the last true event was in 2009 (there are a few, but not up to date).

For spadefoots (Anura), how different are Scaphiopus or Spea? There are just Northern and Western, I think. Can we just combine them into one fact sheet?

Also, the list hs Cryptobranchidae as Hellbenders, but they are really giant salamanders. Only one species of the genus Cryptobranchus (C. alleganiensis) is the actual Hellbender...so...?

For the Spadefoot stuff you're basically right. Scaphiopus is South/East, while Spea is west.

As for the Hellbender thing, I just looked into that, and had to revise my own notes/ binder also. It seems that Cryptobranchidae are the family Giant Salamanders which contains the genus Cryptobranchus which only has the lone Hellbender belonging to it. Remember not to get this confused with the family Dicamptodontidae, which are also called Giant Salamanders.

I remember it like this:

Cryptobranchidae are the true Giant Salamander family, which have a flattened body, are almost entirely aquatic, and are truly giant in size. Their family includes the largest amphibian, the Japanese Giant Salamander, whose flattened, mottled, and large appearance was the inspiration for the Japanese "Kappa" , which is considered a "cryptid". It's a really contrived way to remember, but it helps me.

Dicamptodontidae are called Giant Salamanders as well, but simply put, aren't all that big. I just remember them as being given the name, but not truly representing it. They only get like a foot long. I remember it by seeing the "dont" in the Diacamptodontidae, as in DONT get mislead by the name. Im sorry if that confused things more.

Also, I mentioned earlier that Mud Turtles have a more domed shell than the Musk turtle. That is incorrect, and it is the Musk Turtle that has more of a dome.

Thank you!

Do they ask for origin of the genus/family/order/etc. name?

[Froggie]

[quote=“matematika”]Do they ask for origin of the genus/family/order/etc. name?[/quote]
Sometimes, I have it in my binder just in case.

[matematika]

Yeah, I will do that last if I have time.

Plus, for Trachemys (I'm finally going back to this one), there are too many species to write on, can I just use the red-eared one? Is it representative of the whole genus (other than physical description, of course)?

[Froggie]

Yeah, I will do that last if I have time.

Plus, for Trachemys (I'm finally going back to this one), there are too many species to write on, can I just use the red-eared one? Is it representative of the whole genus (other than physical description, of course)?

Yup, that’s what I did.

[Asdfqwerty1234]

Again, any tips for musk vs. mud and rosy vs. rubber? Painted vs. sliders? Cottonmouths vs. copperheads...sometimes the patterns look similar, other times different...

Cottonmouths are usually darker and the insides of their mouth are white. Copperheads have an hourglass design on their backs, unless they are not an eastern variety. They will be lighter than cottonmouths. Cottonmouths will never have the hourglass design.

[matematika]

How to ID map turtles, western pond turtles, painted vs. cooters!!!!!! (AH)?

[hmath729]

Asking for a teammate, not in this event myself...

Does the event cover both Western/Northeastern species (if it does/doesn't, is that in writing anywhere? can't find in rules)? What field guide would you guys suggest?