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Herps in the Grand Canyon

requin

requin

Kate
Okay, so last May, I went on a backpacking trip across the Grand Canyon with my parents, some family friends, and my boyfriend. I was just thinking about it the other day and I realized I got several pictures of different reptiles down there, so I figured I would share them here! Unfortunately I don't know what like, 98% of these guys are but they were definitely fun to look at.

First up is this cute little frog (toad?) that I found while resting in the shade:

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Here are a few different lizards (I think). They were hard to get pics of because they were fast! They also did this cute thing where they would do push-ups on the rocks.

I had to zoom in on this guy from several feet away so this pic isn't the best unfortunately:

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I loved the colors on these ones, I wish I had been able to get clearer pictures. Their undersides were kind of green/blue/yellow if I'm remembering right.

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This is the best lizard picture I got:

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And of course this post wouldn't be complete without rattlesnakes!


We thought this one must be fairly young because his rattle was so small:

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But we came across a bigger one later! (My dad took these last two since he has a better camera than I do.)

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And a close-up of his rattle:

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That's all I've got, I hope that wasn't too many pictures and I hope you all like them!
 
There's no such thing as too many pictures.... GREAT SHOTS!!! :) I just love the lizard pics. You're right about the colors. Sometimes the camera doesn't "catch" the true nature of the colors.
 
Awesome pictures! I love the collard lizards; their colors are so great. Herping was just about all I did when I went to the Grand Canyon ;D
 
Thanks guys! I wish I had taken more pictures of the lizards and such, but that was before I discovered the joys of reptiles. ;) We intend to plan another GC backpacking trip in the hopefully not-too-distant future, I'll have to keep on the lookout for more herps when we go again!
 
Cool Requin- where in the Canyon did y'all camp? I've never been there but it's on my to-do list in the near future. Did you see alot of herps in may? Thanks!
 
StrangeCargo said:
Cool Requin- where in the Canyon did y'all camp? I've never been there but it's on my to-do list in the near future. Did you see alot of herps in may? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sorry I missed this, I haven't been on here in a bit! We hiked from the north rim to the south rim on the North Kaibab (down)/Bright Angel (up) trails. We camped at Cottonwood on the first day down, stayed two days at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon, then camped at Indian Garden on our first day back up. It was amazing, I highly recommend it if you're in good shape!

I have to admit I wasn't really looking out for herps at that point (it was before I got my snake, after all ;) ), but I did notice quite a few of them - so I'm assuming there are plenty of them out and about around that time of year. :)
 
Good shots of the reptiles you saw!! I would love to go to the Grand Canyon one day.
Thanks for sharing!!
 
Great pictures Requin. The bridge at Phantom Ranch is the only place in the Grand Canyon that you can cross the river without swimming. I have done that hike a few times, beautiful way to spend the day. I like to put names on things, if you don't mind.

Picture #1: Colorado River Toad Bufo alvaris
#2 & #3: Desert Spiney Lizard Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus.
Note, only the subspecies cephaloflavus has the orange head.

#4: Small Scaled Tree Lizard Urosaurus microscutatus

#5,6, & 7: This is a Western Rattlesnake. Crotalus viridis abyssus
There are a whole bunch of subspecies of this snake but your's is the
ssp. abysus is the Grand Canyon Rattlesnake.
 
Awesome, wade, thank you!! I love putting names to faces, as it were. I have a feeling my parents will be excited to know the names too. I was especially curious about the toad because I didn't expect to see any amphibians down there.

I'm dying to go back and hike some of the other trails, especially now that I have an interest in herps!
 
That's a Canyon Treefrog. Colorado River Toads don't live in the Grand Canyon. Here's a Canyon Treefrog that I found in Utah:
canyonfrog2-1.jpg
 
It's okay wade, there's a first time for everything. ;)

Thanks for the ID on the frog, tspuckler...great pic too!
 
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