I found these in Ellicott City, MD. Photo by Andrea Staros

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

Southern Two-Lined Salamander I found in Ellicott City, Md

N. americanus I found in Ellicott City, Maryland

Northern water snake I found at the Patapsco River in Maryland.

Photo By Andrea Staros

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

The Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) is a large, nonvenomous, well-known snake in the Colubridae family that is native to North America. They are active during the day and at night. They are most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water’s edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water. The Northern water snake can grow up to 135 cm (4.4 ft) long. They can be brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. They have dark crossbands on their necks and dark stripes and blotches on the rest of their bodies, often leading to misidentification as cottonmouths or copperheads (Wiki.)

I found this Narceus americanus while looking around a stream in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Photo By Andrea Staros

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

Narceus americanus is a large North American millipede. It inhabits the eastern seaboard of North America west to Georgetown, Texas, north of the Ottine swamps. It has a nearly cylindrical gray body, reaching a length of 4 inches (100 mm). When threatened, they sometimes curl up or release a noxious liquid that contains large amounts of benzoquinones which can cause dermatological burns. This fluid may irritate eyes or skin. Many other millipedes secrete hydrogen cyanide, and while there have also been claims that N. americanus releases hydrogen cyanide, this is not true. They do however, excrete a substance that causes a temporary, non-harmful discoloration of the skin. (Wiki.)

Photo By Andrea Staros

My Black Mexican Kingsnake

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

The rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, is a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the U.S. states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Its range is rapidly expanding in North America, displacing native crayfishes in the process: it is known to have reached New England, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and even Manitoba. The rusty crayfish was first captured in Illinois in 1973, and has been collected at over 20 locations in the northern portion of the state. Rusty crayfish eat small fish, insects, and fish eggs. They also eat aquatic vegetation, damaging underwater habitat that is important for fish spawning, cover, and food. Females lay from 80-575 eggs!

ODB, My Black Mexican Kingsnake

Photo By Disposable City

Eastern American Toad in Columbia, Md.

Photo By disposable city

Checkered Garter Snake in Ellicott City, Md.

Photo By Andrea Staros

Eastern American Toad and Fowler’s Toad. Can you spot the difference?

The main way to tell the difference between the two is to see how many warts are in each dark spot on the back. Eastern American Toads have only one or two warts in each spot, while Fowler’s Toads have three or more warts in each spot. The toad on the left is a Fowler’s Toad, but they do hybridize with Eastern American Toads making it very hard to differentiate.

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

Fowler’s toad (Bufo fowleri) is a species of toad in the Bufonidae family found in North America. Fowler’s toads are usually brown, gray, olive green and rust red in color and have black edged dark spots on its back, with a light middorsal stripe. In each of the dark spots there are found to be three or more “warts”. Potential predators of B. fowleri include snakes, birds, and smaller mammals. One defensive behavior it will use is its coloration to blend into its surroundings (camouflage). These toads are able to do this because they tend to have coloration that is more natural, or earth toned. Another defense includes a noxious secretion that comes from the large warts on their backs. If attacked, this secretion will irritate the predator’s mouth and, if ingested, can be poisonous to smaller mammals. If roughly handled, B. fowleri will also lie still on their backs and play dead. (Wiki.)

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico. Chelydra serpentina have rugged, muscular builds with ridged carapaces (though ridges tend to be more pronounced in younger individuals). C. serpentina and its subspecies commonly weigh 4.5–16 kg (9.9–35 lb). Common snappers are noted for their belligerent disposition when out of the water, their powerful beak-like jaws, and their highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific name “serpentina”, meaning “snake-like”). Common habitats are shallow ponds, shallow lakes, or streams. Some may inhabit brackish environments, such as estuaries. Snapping turtles are omnivores, consuming both plant and animal matter, and are important aquatic scavengers; but they are also active hunters that prey on anything they can swallow, including many invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles (including snakes and smaller turtles), unwary birds, and small mammals. (Wiki.)