Reptiles and Amphibians

This has no digestive organs, and gets no food but from the fire, in which it constantly renews its scaly skin. The salamander, which renews its scaly skin in the fire,—for virtue.  — Leonardo da Vinci. These are large, brightly colored salamanders found along the east coast of the U.S.  They are rather stout and about […]

Science and art should be mutual pathways to understanding: We need something to confront sensually, something about which to feel, in order to place value on nature; we need the opportunity to interpret, to reflect on our own experiences and those of others in the context of new details and new perspectives. –Dr. Harry W. Greene;

Naked is the best disguise.  Jeanette Winterson The Uroplatus genus contains 14 species that are endemic to Madagascar.  As with many genera on Madagascar – it represents a stunning range of ecological expansion and biodiversity.  Having been isolated from mainland Africa for over 60 million years, speciation has had time to peg the meter in Madagascar.  This

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

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