The Missouri Herpetological Association held its third annual spring field trip on the weekend of 25 - 27 April 2008 at Saint Francois State Park, Saint Francois County, Missouri. The original field trip announcement will be retained for historical purposes.
Seventeen members, representing five different institutions, caught more than 543 individual reptiles and amphibians, representing a total of 32 species. Several photographs are available of members and animals but more are welcome! Most collecting activity occurred on Sat 26 April 2008, but some individual animals were caught on Fri or Sun. The entire weekend was characterized by cool evening temperatures and warm and sunny daytime conditions. The high temperature on Sat approached 70oF. Habitats searched included roads, ponds, spring-fed streams, fens, rocky wooded hillsides, forest, grassy areas, and glades.
During the survey, a simple datasheet was used to record all finds and a list of guidelines and target species was provided to each of the participants. Copies of those documents are in the standard portable document format (PDF) created by Adobe. You must download and install the Adobe Reader to view them. Since some documents are large, we recommend that you download each to your hard drive (right-click, save file) and open it from there.
Several new localities were documented for Saint Francois State Park, including an "open circle" county record (i.e., previously reported record that lacks a supporting voucher) (Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)) and six new county records: Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum), Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis), Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps), Northern Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys aestivus), Rough Earthsnake (Virginia striatula), Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata). The total species list along with numbers of individuals can be seen below. Some amphibian species' numbers were augmented with eggs, larvae, or calling males (e.g., Central Newt, Spotted Salamander, Marbled Salamander, Cricket Frog, Spring Peeper, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green Frog, etc.). In these cases, actual counted individuals are represented in the count and an unknown number of additional animals are represented with the plus (+) sign. For Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), the number listed is a count of egg masses (not individuals) plus one adult. DeKay's Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) was represented by a single dead individual.
Photos from the weekend will be posted as they become available. Please send photos from the field trip! It is also acceptable to post photos on sites such as photobucket.com. We can provide a byline and a link to a personal site if you wish. Also, photos should be submitted for photo specimens so they can be included in the next atlas update.
The MHA would like to thank the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for providing permission to use state park property for the field trip. Special appreciation is extended to Jamie Hubert for her hospitality and for leading the hikes to the glade and fen.
| Species | Common Name | Number | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salamanders (Caudata) | |||
| Ambystoma maculatum | Spotted Salamander | 106+ |  |
| Ambystoma opacum | Marbled Salamander | 9+ | |
| Notophthalmus viridescens | Central Newt | 48+ | |
| Eurycea longicauda | Long-tailed Salamander | 12 | |
| Eurycea lucifuga | Cave Salamander | 3 | |
| Plethodon albagula | Western Slimy Salamander | 75 | |
| Plethodon serratus | Southern Red-backed Salamander | 37 | |
| Frogs (Anura) | |||
| Anaxyrus americanus | American Toad | 3 | |
| Hyla chrysoscelis | Cope's Gray Treefrog | 5+ | |
| Acris crepitans | Northern Cricket Frog | 7+ | |
| Pseudacris crucifer | Spring Peeper | 5+ | |
| Lithobates catesbeianus | American Bullfrog | 1 | |
| Lithobates clamitans | Green Frog | 84+ | |
| Lithobates sphenocephalus | Southern Leopard Frog | 4 | |
| Lizards (Lacertilia) | |||
| Crotaphytus collaris | Eastern Collared Lizard | 4 | |
| Sceloporus consobrinus | Prairie Lizard | 75 | |
| Plestiodon fasciatus | Common Five-lined Skink | 9 | |
| Plestiodon laticeps | Broad-headed Skink | 1 | |
| Scincella lateralis | Little Brown Skink | 10 | |
| Snakes (Serpentes) | |||
| Carphophis vermis | Western Wormsnake | 1 | |
| Coluber constrictor | North American Racer | 2 | |
| Diadophis punctatus | Ring-necked Snake | 15 | |
| Nerodia sipedon | Northern Watersnake | 1 | |
| Opheodrys aestivus | Northern Rough Greensnake | 1 | |
| Storeria dekayi | DeKay's Brownsnake | 1 | |
| Thamnophis sirtalis | Common Gartersnake | 2 | |
| Virginia valeriae | Western Smooth Earthsnake | 1 | |
| Virginia striatula | Rough Earthsnake | 2 | |
| Turtles (Testudinata) | |||
| Chelydra serpentina | Eastern Snapping Turtle | 1 | |
| Terrapene carolina | Three-toed Box Turtle | 14 | |
| Terrapene ornata | Ornate Box Turtle | 1 | |
| Apalone spinifera | Spiny Softshell | 3 | |