This young yellow rat snake (or chicken snake, if you prefer) is blotched instead of marked with stripes as are the adults. Why is there such a difference in coloration of adults and juveniles? Camouflage for the young snakes is served by the blotches, whereas predators find it difficult to strike with the fast movements of the adults and their longitudinal stripes.Â
The red morph of the mangrove salt marsh snake is rarely seen and provides (with the darker blackish morphs) another example of color and pattern variation presumably linked to camouflage against the variable colors of the mangrove swamp.Â
I have seen very few non-native black iguanas during the winter. Clearly they estivate (it’s like hibernating, but not quite) during cold weather and are now becoming quite active. These two adults in my front yard were fighting by biting each others’ jaws, presumably in a contest over territory.Â
I have seen several Florida softshell turtles basking to elevate their body temperatures above that of the water. This would improve digestion and likely speed up development of the eggs in females.
This young yellow rat snake (or chicken snake, if you prefer) is blotched instead of marked with stripes as are the adults. Why is there such a difference in coloration of adults and juveniles? Camouflage for the young snakes is served by the blotches, whereas predators find it difficult to strike with the fast movements of the adults and their longitudinal stripes.Â
Photo by Bill Dunson
The red morph of the mangrove salt marsh snake is rarely seen and provides (with the darker blackish morphs) another example of color and pattern variation presumably linked to camouflage against the variable colors of the mangrove swamp.Â
Photo by Bill Dunson
I have seen very few non-native black iguanas during the winter. Clearly they estivate (it’s like hibernating, but not quite) during cold weather and are now becoming quite active. These two adults in my front yard were fighting by biting each others’ jaws, presumably in a contest over territory.Â
Photo by Bill Dunson
I have seen several Florida softshell turtles basking to elevate their body temperatures above that of the water. This would improve digestion and likely speed up development of the eggs in females.
Now that we are clearly into springtime, various new natural events are occurring that mark the warming temperatures.
Many of the most visible changes happen to our plant life. The blooming of lupines and tar flowers in scrubby pine flatwoods habitat is a momentous occasion. Water lilies have just begun flowering. Leaves of sea grape and some mangroves have recently been falling stimulating new leaf growth.
Bill Dunson is Professor Emeritus of Pennsylvania State University, thanks to a career spent entirely at that institution, teaching and doing research. Always curious about nature, Bill has dedicated his life to learning and sharing his knowledge with others. Contact him at WDunson@comcast.net.
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