Alvin Breisch presented a fascinating talk about snakes, salamanders, turtles and lizards in NY state. Who knew that there are an estimated 14 billion redback salamanders who lay their eggs on land instead of in water, and that they are the most abundant vertebrate in the eastern deciduous forests. Or that there used to be a bounty of $2 on rattlesnakes in the north country, which led to them to become endangered, that they come in yellow and black, and their rattles get tagged with magical markers by biologists. Or that the sex of turtles is determined by the incubation temperature of their eggs. These and many more interesting facts about the herpetofauna in NY made for a highly educational evening.
