Pages

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

An Honorable Herpetologist

slender salamander  
I was sad to learn of the recent passing of the great herpetologist Robert C. Stebbins.  Long before I met him, I was fascinated with his descriptive and beautifully illustrated field guides to western amphibians and reptiles.  Matthew Bettelheim has posted information about Dr. Stebbins here and is inviting people to share their memories of him. The commentary there will be worth visiting in the next few weeks as Dr. Stebbins encouraged so many people to discover the fascinating world of reptiles and amphibians.  My thanks to his family, colleagues and friends for sharing Dr. Stebbins and his legacy.

Tonight, I think I will share some photos of my favorite times with California herps to say my goodbye. So many scaly and slimy adventures of learning and delight.


red-bellied newt who took me to Newtlandia
coast gartersnake with the kids 
red-legged frog eggs looking yummy
rattlesnake shed in tree hollow
giant salamander of shovel-head proportions
lizard tracks
crazy friend looking for herps and having a great day
 a fine alligator lizard rules the front yard
night snake to be rescued
California mountain kingsnake who stopped me from crying
Sierran treefrog whose name keeps changing
yellow-bellied racers who started me blogging
western toads have cute butts
slither slime
hanging out at a fav pond at night with red-legged frog whose rah-growl makes us giggle
predacious coast range newtlet on a pond prowl
the San Francisco Zoo shares a San Francisco gartersnake from Europe
juvie Santa Cruz gartersnake slides across weeds
goodbye Dr. Stebbins. even though you didn't know it, you were with me on many of these adventures and I will be your eager student forever.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments let me know to keep on sharing what's happening at the Dipper Ranch. You can either use an existing account or choose "Anonymous" by clicking the arrow after the "Comment As" box. Your comment will appear after a delay to allow screening of spam.