This is an adult male Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana from the Miami population.Yes, it does seem that unwanted critters come in threes to Florida—three boa species, 3 python species, and 3 iguana species.

When mentioned at all, the subject of iguanas in Florida usually refers to the omnipresent Green Iguanas of the southern peninsula and the Keys. This is understandable for these are the most easily seen as they display in the trees, on abutments, on canal banks, and just about everywhere else. But besides this attention grabber, there are 2 other species that are actually present. These are both Spiny-tailed Iguanas, ground dwellers, very efficient burrowers, speedsters, climbers if necessary, and of very similar appearance. Both species are predominantly herbivorous but will accept animal matter if hungry.

In name they are the Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura pectinata, and the Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, C. similis. Despite the reference to color, C. similis is very similar to C. pectinata. Both are big gray lizards with darker crossbands. Both are capable of considerable color changes, being lightest overall when warm and content, and assuming darker colors when being combative or cold. The actual difference can only be ascertained by the presence or absence of small scales between the dorsal spines and spiny tail whorls. Hatchlings are green, lack a dorsal crest, but caudal spines differentiate them from the green iguana.The presence of both is, like their green relative, the result of escapees or releasees.



If you see a big (4 feet long) gray lizard basking atop a wall or rock in southern FL, you are probably viewing a spiny-tailed iguana. Say “Howdy” for me.

Adult male Florida Box Turtle
Of the 4 subspecies of Eastern Box Turtle, the Eastern, the Gulf Coast, the Three-toed, and the Florida, it is the latter that differs most in appearance from the other 3. While its relatives tend to have carapaces that are flattened dorsally and to be rather round when viewed from above, the Florida subspecies, Terrapene carolina bauri, is rather elongate and highly domed. Additionally, the carapace is usually black with precise elongate yellow rays radiating downward on each dorsal plate and a complete or interrupted yellow vertebral line. The head is black dorsally and olive in the temporal areas. Hatchlings are less precisely marked than the adults, but do usually have a complete vertebral stripe of yellow. Hatchlings are about an inch in length; adults may attain 6 inches. Like other box turtles, this beauty is omnivorous when adult but primarily carnivorous when a hatchling. Earthworms, insects, and arthropods are all eagerly consumed.


This pretty, terrestrial turtle with the hinged plastron was once common on peninsula Florida from the Georgia state line to the southern Keys. Today it seems a bit more difficult to find. Although not entirely protected, it cannot be commercialized in the state and a limit of 2 in your possession is strictly enforced.

No matter what the nomenclatural whiz-kids choose to call it, a Yellow Rat Snake is still a Yellow Rat Snake.As I write this in early February, I’m basing my comments on memories of old, of those time when I was roaming the hills and dales of Massachusetts’ Connecticut Valley, of times back when I could flip a flagstone in the yard and come face-to-face with an Eastern Worm Snake, Carphophis a. amoenus (when was the last time you saw one of these?), when Timber Rattlesnakes, C. h. horridus, were a northern subspecies and Canebrake Rattlers were the southern subspecies, C. h. atricaudatus, when Black Rat Snakes were Black Ratsnakes, back then Elaphe o. obsoleta, when Fowler’s Toads were a subspecies of B. woodhousei, the former being B. w. fowleri, and…well you get it. Back when field biology was a recognized study subject, when genetics were seldom spoken of, before those who have used genetic studies to cause nomenclatural turmoil, in most cases for the “publish or perish” concept, or simply because they could make change, and not because change was needed.

Annoying though these name changes may be, the recipients, the snakes in this case, really don’t care what they are called, and we, those of us who are interested in nomenclature, are under no mandate to use the newly suggested names. In other words, a Canebrake Rattlesnake can still be a Canebrake instead of a Timber, and a Yellow Rat Snake does not have to become an Eastern Rat Snake. Your choice.

Tropes, formerly called Dwarf Boas, are high on the lists of herps we hope to see. This is Tropidophis melanurus.
The beautiful Island Nation of Cuba. A mere 90 miles away, yet Cuba, with a climate about identical to our southern Florida Keys, but with a wonderfully different herpetofauna and avifauna, remains an “unknown” to many, if not most, Americans. But Patti and I are two of the lucky ones. We have each been to our neighboring island several times. And it is probable that as you read this, Patti and I, and a few other participants, are again in the air on an airliner, heading southeastward from Tampa.

But let me explain.

The previous times we’ve visited Cuba have been on birding trips. Despite this designation, we were able to get a bit of herping in. But this time, we’re have broadened our view a bit and designated our quests as both herping and birding. And if this trip goes well, we may attempt a later trip specifically for herping (but we’ll also look for birds) to a different destination. Just a thought at the moment, but the far western peninsula, Guanacahabibes, seems to be calling strongly to us. We’ll keep you posted both about our current and future trips.