Pennsylvania Herping

[bludaffodils]

Greetings Herpers!

I'm interested in any advice on PA herping. I've got lots of books, but I'm sure there are more great tips out there. Hearing from real people is much more fun than reading.

I've been herping in Huntingdon, PA so far this season and I've found Wood turtles, snapping turtles, painted turtles, Northern Red Sala, Four toed Sala, Spotted Sala, Jeffersons Sala, Red Spotted Newts, Dusky Sala, Spring Sala, Pickerel frog, wood frogs.

Does anyone have a good handle on how to differentiate the Northern Dusky from the Mountain Dusky? I am guessing by where we found them they're Northern, but I'm struggling to tell the difference. Pictures are attatched. I also have photos of dusky larvae.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[creekcritter]

book

Congrats on finding some of our hidden jewels. I would suggest
Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania by Hulse, McCoy, and Censky. It is a great addition and must have for a herper in the state. I am on my 2nd copy now!

Thomas

 

[cecalak]

Without having the animal in hand, it can be hard to differentiate between ochropheus and fuscus, but one of the best ways to distinguish them is counting costal grooves. I don't have a field guide with me right now to double check this, but I believe that fuscus/conanti have more costal groves (14-15) than the ochropheus group (12-13). Before you quote me on that, you may want to check out Petranka's Salamanders of the US and Canada to make sure.

 

[sean n dad]

Hi,
I am in Bucks County. My son & I started looking here also. We have 200 acers of conservency land behind our home to search for stuff. I have found a few salamanders, but we need to find out more information on where to look for these guys.
Where can we find information on this?
Ed
Sean n Dad