>>There are definately meahllmorum at Pollywog Pond, Terry, as well as many other herp species. It is such a good habitat that they are very difficult to find there! haha! That area is very similar to Oso Creek and it's little tributaries on the south(southwest Corpus, technically, but eastern Nueces County) side of C.C. My dark, large meahllmorum pair came from developing areas pretty close to that area, and the female was captured in a large drainage ditch that actually does empty into Oso Creek.
>>
>>-Toby


Thanks for the additional info, Toby. This is definitely going to be a fun problem to work on. Wish I lived closer so I could spend some time looking for various habitats. I really think that's the key and that you have a good variety of habitats in your area.

In my area I study the Eastern massasauga somewhat and the species has a huge range of ground color from deserty light to almost melanistic. I think it's because some of the babies utilize the thick, dark habitat, like cedar swamps, and others utlize the deserty, open habitat, like in the coastal areas of Lake Huron. ASAMOF, I think your massasaugas are the desert massasauga on the barrier islands, like Padre Island, and the Western massasauga more inland and around C.C. (according to Jim H.) That might indicate a big difference in habitat.

PS: My LaSalle Co. meahllmorum came in last night, and now I have three locales to compare (four with your Nueces). They are big babies and look like they will be growing fast. I'll try to get some pics soon.

Terry

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