Tag: reptiles

Crotalus helleri

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JR3
rattlesnake

It was a snakey day in the Park today! Greg Nemes kicked off the Junior Ranger program with a session on snakes. We didn’t see any live specimens that hour, but he found a toad to show the kids.

A short time later, Ranger Allison was removing a rattler from the bridge over Stokes Creek, and throughout the afternoon at the VC, lots of visitors came in to report rattlesnake sightings. (Also seen that day: a bobcat and a mountain lion!)

crawling

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Phrynosoma blainvillii

Horned lizards’ first line of defence is to stay very still; this, along with their excellent camouflage, makes them difficult to spot on the trail. But I know where they hang out along the Musch Trail, so if we look very carefully, and if they crawl just a little bit, we may be rewarded with a sighting.

Phrynosoma blainvillii

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Alli and I explored a back route into Topanga State Park this morning, then hiked the familiar and much-loved Musch Trail. (Who was Musch? I’ll have to ask Suzanne, she’ll probably know.) We spotted a Blainville horned lizard close to where I saw one (my first!) last year. Nice!

Aphyllon franciscanum

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This week in the PerpJo—according to Milt McCauley (Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains), two species of the Broomrape family are native to the SMM, but very rare. Clustered broomrape (Aphyllon franciscanum) is found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. It has fleshy stems 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) high, covered with soft hairs, and bell-shaped flowers 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 cm) long. Broomrape is parasitic on the roots of other plants like chamise, sagebrush and buckwheat.

Big thanks to Annette for spotting this rarity. Actually, she also spied the horned lizard this week last year. I’ll have to be sure to hike with her in week 16 next year too. Who knows what she will find for us then!

Lampropeltis californiae

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Spotted this handsome striped reptile out on the trail. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) is endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats, including woodland chaparral, grassland, deserts, marshes, and even suburban areas. It is non-venomous, and kills its prey by constriction.

Wild California kingsnakes are typically encountered at a length of 2.5-3.5 feet (76 – 107cm), though they can grow larger. This one was smaller, maybe 18 inches / 45cm long.