Diario del proyecto Herps of Virginia

I am not a fan of the triple exclamation point, but this deserves it! Breakout the balloons and confetti, because as of last weekend, we reached 30,000 observations on our project. Thank you to everyone who submitted and I would like to give a special thanks to our top 10 observers @mjwcarr @imasongster @seigmond @kbeza31979 @easpears @usmcfiremedic @krosenthal @katharinab and our top observer, with 2,370 at the time of this post, @lucareptile .

There are hundreds of notable observations, including county records, but we will mention some of the best ones since my "20,000 Observations" post back in June.

Cuban Treefrog: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36349501

Literally every Oak Toad in VA: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27015525
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27326513

First Tiger Salamander: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38434264

First Mole Salamander: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38562346
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38565503

Midland Mud Salamander: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/34782249

Second Southern Dusky: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41737924

Eastern Hellbender: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31018960

Two-toed Amphiuma: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28579910

Afghan (Russian) Tortoise: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41673325

Piedmont Spotted Turtles: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/40568726
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41329610
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41637551

Mississippi Map Turtles: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27047148
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27994960

Out-of-place Spiny Softshells: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36775377
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32538675

New population of Green Anoles in Virginia Beach: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28818788

Brown Anole: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/30458993

First Eastern Glasslizard: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31057678

Farthest Western Cottonmouth in VA: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31365369

Gray Ratsnake: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29463941

Scarlet Kingsnake: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37708957

Maybe the first Northern Scarlet Snake: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33643552

Smooth Greensnake: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/34340009

Garden Tree Boa: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26491949

I really have to thank all of the wonderful Project Admins:
Luca Catanzaro (@lucareptile)
Bobby Fingers (@bobbyfingers)
Evan Spears (@easpears)
The Lerad (@lerad)
Anthony Brais (@syrherp)

You guys are great!

We are growing exponentially, so get out there (at a safe distance) herp those finds... err, umm... find them herps. Maybe we can get to 50,000 by the years end. Thanks to all again, and if you need me, feel free to find me!

P.S.
I am trying to come up with fun challenges. Maybe, for example, a Herp of the Week. I can put out an article, and we can all look, and whoever has the most observations that week, wins the week. Whoever wins the most weeks by the end of the year, wins a prize. We all learn, fill in range maps, and have fun. If you like this idea, or have one of your own, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!

Howdy-doo all,

Quick question, have you used the "Annotations" feature on iNat? I am a very "scientific observer", and like to document all notes possible. Doing this allows me to pick up on things that might not be well documented. So, I love iNats "Annotations" feature, and encourage everyone to use it. It has come to my attention though, that there may be some completely understandable confusion with in the iNat community as far as what these are. So, here are some pointers on how to ID these Annotations. For this post, I will focus on Frogs, as these are the majority of what I am seeing.

-AGE-

I will keep this simple...

Egg = Egg mass

Larvae = Tadpole

Juvenile = Froglet until sexually mature
Examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38573192
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33167999

Adult = Clearly sexually mature
Example: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41769085
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39764546

-SEX-
Any frogs calling are going to be males. This does not include the squeaks many frogs do when scared though. Also, in amplexis, the male is the frog on the back, and the female is being clutched. But there are other ways to sex frogs.

Treefrogs and Allies, Toads, Narrowmouths, Spadefoots:
These guys are easy to sex just by looking at their chins. Males have vocal sacks on their throats, so the throat is a darker than the belly. Examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41906835
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41780696
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31154953

True Frogs:
Adult Greens and Bullfrogs can be sexed by their tympanum (eardrum). Males will have tympanums larger than their eyes. Examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22443093
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22443092

Other True Frogs can be tricky. Males have vocal sacks between the tympanum and shoulder. In breeding season, the males stretch these, causing them to sag significantly. They also tend to be different colors. Examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/40585034
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/40585098

-DEAD OR ALIVE-
This is self explanatory. No description really needed.

So, I hope this clears up some questions. Thank you all for your submitting observations, and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments.