Herptilies

Herptilies

1. Fast Facts

   • The highest diversity of reptiles and amphibians are found in the Southeastern corner of Alberta in the grasslands, where it is warmest. Herpitiles are very diverse in tropical regions, and this diversity is lost VERY quickly the further North you go.

2. Amphibians

   • Salamander
     • Tiger Salamander
       • These are the most common salamander in Alberta. They can be up to a foot long. They are a member of a group called the mole salamanders - they were given this name because they burrow through the dirt. A salamander's moist skin is very tough. These salamanders can such their eyes into large eye cavities to protect them when they are digging. 
     • Long - Toed Salamander
       • These live in the mountain regions of Alberta, usually in mountain lakes below the treeline. Generally, these are smaller than tiger salamanders, and have slightly different markings. They were once considered rare, but truly, they are just difficult to find.
       • These two salamanders live in Alberta
     • Neotonic adults
       • The larvae of salamanders have the same body form, but have gills to allow gas exchange from water. Lungs develop when the gills are re-sorbed into the body. A neotonic adult occurs when the larvae does NOT turn into an adult at 8cm long. These mature sexually, but keep the larvae form. This usually occurs when the salamanders live in a very moist spring that has extremely dry soil all around it, for example.
     • Lungless Salamanders
       • These salamanders do not develop lungs when they leave the larval form. Instead, they breathe the air through their skin. Their thin, moist skin has a lot of blood flow near the surface, so they conduct gas exchange right through the skin and lining of their mouth. They force air in and out of their mouth to supplement this process, but it is not really "breathing."  These are most diverse near Appalachian mountains of eastern US - not near the equator, as one would think.
   • Frogs
     • Dorsolateral fold is a ridge of skin in the dorsolateral position that distinguishes some families. 
     • As frogs shed their skins they eat them.
     • Wood Frog
       • Most common frog in Alberta. Dorsolateral fold distinguishes this family. Have a black line through their eye like birds, and are most active at moist/wet times, even though they are capable of living far away from water. Extremely variable in colour. Eggs are produced in a large clump in a gelatinous coating which protects the eggs from predators and pathogens. Many wood frogs come to the same place to breed.
       • Only make sounds in late April and early May for a brief time. 
     • Gotta catch 'em all
       • Pitfall trap
         • A plastic tub is level with the ground and the frog will fall in. The frogs are unable to climb up the sides and are stuck. A stick is placed in the trap so insects can get out so they don't harass the frog. 
       • Pit fence
         • A pit fence is placed right along the ground and it guides frogs into a trap. 
       • Quadrat
         • May be used to count clutches in the water, etc. 
     • Northern Leopard Frog
       • Bigger than wood frogs. Also have dorsolateral stripes. Mostly a southern Alberta species, numbers suddenly declines 25-30 years ago and nobody really knows why. 
       • Sound like a tractor starting up.
     • Columbia Spotted Frog
       • Lives in mountain habitats similar to that of the long-toed salamander. The adults of this species do not go high above the waterline like other species do. These frog
       • Will call underwater, sounds like a distant helicopter.
     • Boreal Chorus Frog
       • Hillidae. Only one species in Alberta. Does NOT climb trees, even though its part of the tree frog family - in the tropics, these frogs live in trees and only come down to lay eggs. Little black eye mask and NO dorsolateral folds. 
   • Toads
     • Toads are a lot bumpier than frogs - toad really just means "bumpy frog." The bumps on toads are not true warts. Feet are NOT palmate (unlike frogs) but they can still swim.
     • Bufonidae
       • True toads are a member of this family. We have three species in AB. 
       • Canadian Toad
         • Cranial Crest forms a vase between the eyes. Nowadays, these are only found in areas with deep sand and they are much rarer than they once were.
       • Great Plains Toad
         • Prairies species down by Drumheller and Medicine Hat. They can wait underground for many many years for the right weather to come out to lay their eggs. 
       • Boreal Toads
         • Found in boreal forests. Do not have a cranial crest. 
     • Structures
       • Tarsal Fold
         • Thickened ridge of skin on the hind foot of the toad. 
         • Nerither of these structures are seen on frogs
       • Metatarsal tubercules
         • Hard, kerotinous structures on the foot used for digging.
       • Parotoid Gland
         • Particularly large bump behind the eyes over the back of the shoulders that produces a toxin when the toad is grabbed by predators. The toxin is white and tastes bad.
       • Cranial crest
         • Another thickened, raised area on the skull of the frog and the shape of the cranial crest can tell you what toad you're looking at. 
     • Plains Spadefoot
       • Family all of its own. Looks like a toad, but has no parotenoid glands. Spadefood because they have same digging tubercules as toads on hind feet. Live up in high prairies, lay eggs in shallow ponds, and its a race to see which tadpoles develop lungs the fastest - the tadpoles often become cannabalistic. 

3. Reptiles

   • Most reptiles lay eggs with shells - the shells allow the eggs to be laid on land, unlike amphibians, whose jelly coated eggs must remain wet at all times. Not all reptiles will lay the eggs, though. Sometimes the eggs develop from their own distinct yolk sac inside the mother and emerge live, but they are not placental. 
   • Testudines
     • Emydidae (pond/box turtles)
       • Painted Turtle
         • Only turtle that truly lives in Alberta. Found in Southernmost part of Alberta near milk river and introduced near Lethbridge. 
       • Family characterists
         • Diverse family that normally lives around water. Streamlined, good swimmers with semi-palmate feet. Omnivourous, though they eat more and more vegetation as they get older. 
       • Red Eared Slider
         • These look very similar to painted turtles, except that the shell is a bit more dome shaped and there is an orange patch on the ear. These are from the southeastern US and are kept as pets. They are found in the wild as released pets, but they don't breed in sustainable populations here. 
       • Common Snapping Turtle
         • One roadkill sample represents all the snapping turtles ever found in Alberta. They are large and tough.
         • These three examples are not truly Albertan turtles.
       • Atlantic Ridley Sea Turtle
         • Found in Lake Athabasca, likely transported in a large fishing boat.
     • Ecology
       • Female turtles are larger than male turtles, but there is not a lot of colour difference. The shells are divided into separate plates, which are called "scutes."
     • Field Work
       • "Basking traps" are commonly used to catch turtles. They will climb up a small ramp and "bask" in the sun and when they are done they will jump off and find themselves in a cage. When they are collected they will be marked with a PIT tag (PIT = passive induced responder), which is injected into the back leg under the loose skin that is found there. Notches or markings may be made on the shell as well for identification of individuals upon re-capture. 
       • Nest Examination
         • Processing a hatched nest cage entails counting the babies, measuring them, and weighing them.
   • Squamata
     • Lizards
       • Greater Short Horned Lizard
         • Found only in the Southernmost part of Alberta in dry, sparsely vegetated areas. They are insect eating (NO vegetable matter). They squirt their bad tasting blood from behind their eye to ward off predators. 
     • Snakes
       • All snakes are predators and all snakes have forked tongues, which they use to smell the air. Their tongues can be coloured and therefore used in display to either predators or potential mates. Snakes are more common in lush areas than in the badlands because they eat vegetation. Most of the reptiles that live in Alberta are actually snakes. 
       • Snakes give viviparous birth.
       • Hibernaculum: where the snakes hibernate. A common hibernaculum will be inconspicuous, and snakes will return to the same hibernaculum year after year. Winter accumulations of up to 8000 hibernating snakes are common in the North - this is not something that occurs in the tropics. 
       • Colubrid snakes
         • Non-venomous.
         • Red-Sided Garter Snake
           • Most common snake in Alberta. The stripe pattern is meant to fool predators into not being able to tell where the beginning and the end of the snake is, so they grab too far behind and miss it. Lives all the way up into the NWT.
         • Plains Garter Snake
           • Garter snakes are a subgroup of snakes that love water; in water they hunt for fish and tadpoles and on land they hunt for mice and voles
         • Wandering Garter Snake
         • Bullsnake
           • Largest snakes we get in Alberta. VERY good climbers. Often will climb trees to hunt birds.
         • Western Hognose Snakes
           • These are very rare. They are called hognose snakes because their snout is turned up at the end, sort of like a pig. This snake is a digger and moves through soil to find prey. 
         • Eastern Yellow Bellied Racer
           • Only found in Southern most part of Alberta near the Milk River Valley
       • Pit Vipers
         • Venomous
         • Prairie rattlesnake
           • The "pit" in the name comes from the second pit on its face, which is below the nostril and is a heat-sensing organ that can be used to form a vague image, even in the complete absence of light. Because of this, they typically only eat warm-blooded animals. Differentiated from bullsnakes because they have very keeled and rough scales, while bullsnakes have smooth scales. 
       • Field Work
         • Radio transmitters are inserted under a snake's skin for tracking. Snake sticks may be used to pick them up.