I have collected these miscellaneous cold blooded creatures together, as they are so often in the branch of zoology called herpetology.
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- Juvenile Diamondback Terrapin, native to the brackish waters of eastern and southeastern coastal marshes and swamps.
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- They do not possess flippers like the sea turtles, but their webbed feet make them strong swimmers.
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- An adult Diamondback Terrapin, this is Myrtle the Turtle, in residence at the Coastal Discovery Museum..
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- The name Diamondback refers to the pattern on the carapace (shell). The pattern, as well as the coloration of the terrapin’s skin, can vary widely, but is always beautiful.
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- Yellow-Bellied Sliders sunning themselves on the bank of a freshwater lagoon.
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- Peek-a-Boo.
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- They have, unfortunately, become habituated to people and being fed.
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- These sliders are a land and water turtle native to the southeastern U.S.
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- A common sight on the island, alligators live in the fresh water lagoons and wetlands of the island interior. If left alone, alligators present no great danger to their human neighbors.
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- If fed, alligators become habituated to people and will expect to be fed. A fed alligator become not only a nuisance, but a danger to people and themselves. Nuisance alligators were formerly relocated, but due to their internal GPS that directs them home, they are now destroyed.
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- American Green Tree Frog, native to central and southeastern U.S.
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- The dusk and night song of the Tree Frog is one of the sounds I associate with the island.
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- Usually nocturnal, daytime sightings are not rare, especially around bodies of water (like a swimming pool, as here).
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- Carolina Anole, a small lizard native to the southeastern U.S. Although the colors morphs between brown and bright green, these are not chameleons. An Anole with a pink throat (dewlap) is male, and they puff up the dewlap to attract females and scare off competing males.
