Tailed frogs are interesting from a number of perspectives. They are the only species within the family Ascaphidae, the males have a small “tail” that is actually a part of the cloaca (common opening for waste/sperm), they lack the ability to vocalize, they have a greater number of vertebrate than other frogs, and they have […]
Coastal Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei) Read More »
“I’ve often thought there ought to be a manual to hand to little kids, telling them what kind of planet they’re on, why they don’t fall off it, how much time they’ve probably got here, how to avoid poison ivy, and so on. I tried to write one once. It was called Welcome to Earth. —Kurt
Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans)/Poison Oak (Rhus diversiloba) Read More »
Otherwise known as bull snake, this is a common snake of western deserts, shrub, and forests. In Washington it is found east of the Cascade Mountains. Its range extends from southern British Columbia to Indiana and south through western North America to northern Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas in Mexico. Pituophis – pitys (Greek) meaning pine; ophis (Greek) meaning
Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer) Read More »
the frogs are croaking in the swams and marhes; their notes do not differ from those of the Atlantic States; they are not found in the salt marshes near the entrance of the river. Merriweather Lewis, March 29, 1806. Near Deer Island (likely Sauvie Island), along the Columbia River. Also referred to as the Pacific tree frog,
Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris regilla) Read More »
A loaf of bread,’ the Walrus said,‘Is what we chiefly need:Pepper and vinegar besidesAre very good indeed —Now if you’re ready, Oysters dear,We can begin to feed.’ Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter. This is a very large flippered marine mammal found in the arctic and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. How large?
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) Read More »