Aneides aeneus

Had a short business trip to KY this week, so as usual I squeezed in a little herping. It was overcast, ~75F and drizzly with the remnants of Ivan moving inland (perfect!). I came across this excellent habitat for A.aeneus (note the cool shirt). <center> </center> I kid you not the very first crack I looked in look what was staring back. <center> </center> I coaxed it out and sure enough it was a juvy aeneus. <center> </center> I found several juveniles within a few minutes but strangely no adults. I finally came across this big male in a large vertical crack. <center> </center> Soon after I found this young female out in the open. Keep in mind it was only 4:30 in the afternoon! <center> </center> Not bad for an hour.

RUSS

Nice! So was this near the area I described? I knew it looked good. That's awesome.

You were on the money about this spot. Just a ton of awesome habitat. I'll drop you a note with more details when I get to the office.

RUSS

Thanks for "squeezing" these pics into the forum, Russ. Now I know that there's more than racehorses, bluegrass and bourbon in KY.

just out of curiousity, how did you coax them out of the rocks?

I carry a piece of clothes hanger with the tip folded back on it's self (I can never get that sharp edge off all the way). A couple I just touched with a pine needle. It doesn't take much to get them moving, they're very wiry and fast.

RUSS

You guys are magicians.