Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I rarely see the Baja specimens posted, would like to see more of those dark & aberrant beauties. Let the pageantry begin!

Especially after my trip to the cape of Baja last October, where I photographed many reptiles in a Wash, including Banded Geckos, Chuckwallas, juvenile Iguana & Baja Brush Lizards (so fast you only see the blur).

Only saw one standard Racer for snakes, damn it! If you are ever in Cabo San Lucas, drive northeast to just south of La Paz. The Cactus Sanctuary is well worth the stop. Photographed Red-spotted Toads there, even in late afternoon.

>>I rarely see the Baja specimens posted, would like to see more of those dark & aberrant beauties. Let the pageantry begin!

These are from the day I brought mine home, and with my old camera, so excuse the blurry shots .

To answer your question below, "nitidas" are known for having a melanistic trait, with a cinnamon to brown colored narrow stripe. Some early discriptions do say that some specimens have slight cinnamon colored banding particularly behind the head, but with the dorsal stripe following it. They're also described as always having solid black/brown bellies. Both conjuncta and nitida can be found within the same range in Southern Baja California Sur, and it's believed the same process that led to the striped and banded forms in San Diego County, Cal. also led to these two forms, but with both having the melanistic look. The conjuncta form is very similar in description to the yumensis forms of Arizona. It was Blanchard that seperated them as ssp.(conjuncta and yumensis) based on minor variations and they're differing ranges.
-----
Ace