A few more images of the tiger beetle (Carabidae, Cicindelinae, Pseudoxycheila tarsalis) commonly found in Las Cruces.
Cristian braves handling it—the serrated jaws pierce his skin. There is a horn extending from the labrum that is also serrated.
The “before” photograph at the large fig of field mentors, coordinators, and students working in this summer’s REU at Las Cruces.
We discovered a few Short Horned Lizards, Phrynosoma douglassi, on Mormon Mountian south of Flagstaff, Arizona (my best guess at the identification) while hiking around.
Many Phrynosoma are capable of squirting blood from their eyes—a defensive mechanism that deters predators, such as small dogs and cats, from killing the lizards in a substantial percentage of encounters, according to a discussion with George Middendorf I had after meeting him in a diversity workshop at Las Cruces Biological Station. George has quantitatively characterized and reviewed the gruesome squirting!
While I didn’t get a chance to observe the squirting, and I didn’t provoke the animals with that purpose, they also flatten out quite a bit when handled!
A pair of green anoles, Anolis carolinensis, mating on the fence outside of my home.
A common rain frog throughout much of the mid-elevations in Costa Rica, Craugastor underwoodi is abundant in Las Cruces.
The setting sun from a new camera at the dock associated with my apartment complex on Wilmington Island.
We camped on the small hammock just west of the beach.
Mike, Kevin, and Amos enjoy the fog over Tybee Creek and Bull River.
