I love that book, so much information.

I have had the pleasure of visiting two of the islands in the Sea of Cortez. Amazing. They call that area the Mexican Galapagos or something to that effect. I hiked down one small cliff that is made up of a "staircase" of boulders. At the base of the cliff is an area known for speckled rattlesnakes and Baja California rattlesnakes, though neither were endemic to that island and occur on the mainland too. Unfortunately the snakes were not showing themselves that day, and night hiking in that terrain was not a smart idea.

Then, back at the mainland in Baja CA Sur, I visited the reptile collection at the Univ of La Paz. Nearly all of the specimens were found in a garbage dump nearby. The curator showed me the nondescript trash pile. Yep, it was a trash pile at the base of a hillside, and the hillside was not unique or interesting in its form, plant life or rocks - nothing like the islands. From the pile came Lichanura trivirgata, Crotalus enyo, Crotalus ruber, Lampropeltis getula and Bipes bipes among other things.
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Mark

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