New Additions in 2024

These are some of the new pictures, sounds, and video that I have added to the site in 2024.
Most of these were generously contributed by photographers other than myself. I'm too lazy to list every new or improved thing that I add myself. The pictures and videos are listed under the month when I added them to the site, not necessarily when they were taken or donated.

The links lead to pages which include thumbnails and other links to the new content. You will have to search the page to find them, but most of them are usually put at the bottom of the gallery of thumbnails of the featured animal.
The most recent additions to the site are on top of the list below.
A list of some of the new additions to the site in 2023 can be seen here.




December


Laura Baker contributed a picture of two hatchling Ensatinas found under the same log, one with yellow coloring and one with orange.

Faris K contributed a picture of a California Mountain Kingsnake with some cool irregular bands.




November

I have changed Coluber back to Masticophis, except for Coluber mormon, so all the coachwhips and striped racers and whipsnakes on the site are now Masticophis.



October


Faris K contributed pictures of several species of Bay Area snakes: Common Sharp-tailed Snake, Forest Sharp-tailed Snake, Santa Cruz Gartersnake, and Diablo Range Gartersnake.

Annette Herz contributed pictures of a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake with green coloring.

Ryan Singer contributed photos of two snakes found in a previously unrecorded location in San Luis Obispo County where they are typically found on the Carrizo Plain - California Glossy Snake and Long-nosed Snake.

Star Creek Farm, Napa County contributed pictures of a juvenile albino Pacific Gophersnake found in their garden in Napa Countuy.

Yuval Helfman contributed a picture of a defensive Pacific Gophersnake.



September


Blaine Mazzetti contributed some great pictures of two rare snakes - Common Gartersnakes from San Diego County, called the South Coast Gartersnake by the CDFW.

Chris Hansen sent a link to a YouTube video of two Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes doing the rattlesnake tango.

Ryan Sikola contributed pictures of a Great Basin Collared Lizard from Inyo County.

Faris K contributed pictures of some hard-to-find snakes found this spring - a California Nightsnake from the Sierra Nevada and one found in the Santa Cruz Mountains next to a California Mountain Kingsnake; a Long-nosed Snake found in the Diablo Range, and a Western Black-headed Snake from Santa Clara County.

Kyla Garten contributed a short video of a Black Toad eating ants with its big pink tongue.

Yuval Helfman contributed pictures of a Pacific Ring-necked Snake.



August


Chris Evelyn contributed a link to a very cool YouTube video showing two adult male Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes in a combat dance.

Laura Baker contributed a picture of a possibly-melanistic Coast Gartersnake.

Regan Sikola contributed pictures of an unusually-pigmented California Treefrog tadpole.

Mike Pecora contributed pictures of a beautiful albino Southern Pacific Rattlesnake that was unfortunately killed on a road.

Janet Hardin contributed pictures of a Western Painted Turtle shedding its scutes.

Betsy Howland contributed a great picture of Mediterranean Gecko eggs, information about where they were laid, and a picture of one of the unborn hatchlings which proves what kind of eggs they are.

Ryan Sikola sent in pics of a Great Basin Spadefoot from Mono County.

Garth Weals contributed pics of a climbing Great Basin Gophersnake that lives on his property.



July


Connor Stone contributed a picture of a Great Basin Rattlesnake from Mono County.

Don Cain contributed pictures of an apparently axanthic Lassen County gophersnake.

Guntram Deichsel, a friend in Germany, sent me pictures of a Common Toad - Bufo bufo - parasitized by Toadfly eggs. After the eggs hatch, the larvae enter the toad's nostrils and start eating it alive, like something out of a horror movie.

In 2023, Sonhi Yaylian contributed pictures of Arboreal Salamander eggs and hatchlings found in an irrigation box. This year in early July, more eggs were found in the box along with an adult and juvenile salamanders.

Yuval Helfman contributed another great shot of a stretched-out Forest/California Alligator Lizard along with a very yellow Pacific Gophersnake and a Rubber Boa.

Marlon Harrington contributed pictures of a presumed Coast Gartersnake he photographed on Santa Rosa Island, where the species has not been well-documented or photographed.



June


Don Cain contributed pictures of two California Kingsnakes from Shasta County with high band counts and a chain-line pattern on its lower sides.

Eric DeLeon contributed pictures of some of the Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes he has relocated in Topanga Canyon.

Joel Germond contributed pictures of a California Kingsnake and some Southwestern Pond Turtles.

Kenny Elliott contributed pictures of a Great Basin Rattlesnake from Mono County, a hard place to find them.

Kay Fuhrmann contributed pictures from Santa Cruz Island - an Island Fence Lizard and a Santa Cruz Island Fox preying on a Santa Cruz Island Gophersnake.

Ryan Craig contributed a picture of a Red Racer in the desert with a very pale tail.

Yuval Helfman contributed pictures of a California Kingsnake in Santa Clara County, California Whiptail, and a Pacific Gophersnake.

Connor Stone contributed pictures and video of two possibly-leucistic Arboreal Salamanders found near the elevation record for the species.

Ryan Sikola contributed pictures of a Smith's Black-headed Snake from Inyo County and a baby Tehachapi Slender Salamander.

Regan Sikola contributed a picture of a Diablo Range Gartersnake from Monterey County.



May


Kristen Bartelt contributed a picture of a very light-colored Moorish Gecko.

Hannah Cooper contributed a picture of a Southern Long-toed Salamander from Shasta County.

Brian Hubbs contributed a picture of a juvenile Northwestern Pond Turtle.

Kong Tran contributed pictures of an unsually orange Foothill Yellow-legged Frog, missing its dark pigment.

Brad Sillasen contributed several of Laurie Van Stee's pictures that he has posted on the C.N.A.H. database - a likely South Coast Gartersnake, and two Santa Cruz Island Gopher Snakes, including one eating a deer mouse.

Nathan Kudla contributed pictures of a California Treefrog egg, the first for the site.

Yuval Helfman contributed a great shot of stretched out Forest/California Alligator Lizard.

Mark Baskin contributed a few pictures of Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes.

Ryan Sikola contributed pictures of a ring-necked snake from an unusual location - the east side of the Sierras, and a periscoping Western Yellow-bellied Racer.

Kevin Hintsa contributed pictures of a Blainville's Horned Lizard and a Western Side-blotched Lizard from Contra Costa County.

David Fong contributed Randy Schwartz's picture of an unusual purpleish and pink Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from Orange Co.

Kenny Elliott contributed pictures of a Coast Mountain Kingsnake from Mt. San Jacinto.



April


Rob McLennan contributed pictures of Panamint Rattlesnkes, including a strange dark one, a Northern Mohave Rattlesnake, lots of Mohave Desert Tortoises from the Arizona Strip, and Long-nosed Leopard Lizards.

Brian Hubbs contributed pictures of a Coast Patch-nosed Snake on the crawl and another one constricting a San Diegan Tiger Whiptail, and a Yellow-Backed Spiny Lizard from Ventura County.

Micharl Van Zandt contributed photos of a pair of mating Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes, a defensive San Diego Gophersnake, and a dark California Lyresnake.

Yuval Helfman contributed a great picture of two calling male American Bullfrogs.

Kenny Elliott contributed pictures of Southern Rubber Boas, a Coast Mountain Kingsnake, and some dark Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes from desert lava fields.

Holly Lane contributed pictures of a Sierra Gartersnake and habitat.

Mark Kroenke contributed pictures of several herps from Ventura County - a leucistic California Kingsnake, a San Diego Nightsnake, a California Striped Racer, a juvenile Southern Pacific Rattlesnake, Baja California Treefrogs, and a California Treefrog.

Tom Mills contributed pictures of the uncommon black and white phase of the Variable Ground Snake.

Alden Lovaas contributed two short videos that show Northern Desert Iguana mating behavior.

Scott Jett contributed pictures of a Northern Mohave Rattlesnke with atypical tail bands.



March


Jeremiah Easter contributed picture of a juvenile Gilbert's Skink from the Granite Mountains.

Guntram Deichsel contributed a picture of an odd mismated pair of male frogs observed in Germany - a Common Toad and a Common Frog in venter to venter amplexus.

Zach Cava contributed a picture of a Couch's Spadefoot from California.

Yuval Helfman contributed a nice picture of a floating Sierran Treefrog, a Skilton's Skink, a Coast Range Fence Lizard, and a California Toad.

Mark Gary contributed pictures of Sierran Treefrog and eggs in a native American bedrock mortor full of water along with a Sierran Treefrog in amplexus with a California Newt. I'll bet he was embarassed when he found out his mistake.

Ariel Starr contributed pictures of a bucket full of California Newts photographed during a road mortality survey, and Santa Cruz Black Salamanders also photographed on a survey.

Emile Bado contributed pictures of a very cool red and patternless San Francisco Alligator Lizard.

Faris K contributed pictures of a California Red-sided Gartersnake, Pacific Ring-necked Snakes, and a California Mountain Kingsnake.

Ryan Sikola contributed pictures of a Monterey Ensatina found farther east than expected at the westsern edge of Kern County, Kings River Slender Salamanders, and a very yellow Northern Pacific Rattlesnake from eastern San Luis Obispo County.

Anicka Kratina-Hathaway contributed pictures and video of some albino Western Spadefoot tadpoles. I've got pictures of alibno frogs on the site, but these are the first albino tadpoles.

Sohni Yaylian contributed pictures of an Arboreal Salamander in an irrigation box guarding a cluster of eggs, then of the hatchlings three months later.




February


Jenet Ellis contributed pictures of a very colorrful juvenile Desert Banded Gecko.

Ryan Sikola contributed a picture of a Common Sharp-tailed Snake and a Greater Brown Skink.

Yuval Helfman contributed pictures of an American Bullfrog and habitat in Alameda County.

Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg contributed pics of several California snakes and salamanders - Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander, Rough-skinned Newt, Yellow-blotched Ensatina, Gregarius Slender Salamander, California Giant Salamander, a neonate Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, Red Diamond Rattlesnake, San Bernardino Ring-necked Snake, and a Coast Patch-nosed Snake.




January


Brett Badeaux contributed pics of a tiny juvenile Skilton's Skink in hand to show the size.

Ryan Sikola contributed pictures of a Hell Hollow Slender Salamander, a Limestone Salamander.

The new fishing (and herping) regulations are out January 1st. You can find a link to the CDFW document on my herping regulations page. They're labled 2024-2025, but I'm not sure if that means they will not be updated until January 1st 2025 or 2026. I like that they now start in January instead of March.

Yuval Helfman contributed pictures of male and female American Bullfrogs.

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