Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. It’s worth acknowledging all the positive changes that have been enacted over the last 50 years – the enacting the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, endangered species like the bald eagle have rebounded from the brink of extinction, rivers are no longer on fire and don’t run the color of whatever the upstream dye factory happens to be producing on a given day, and renewable energy options…
The green frog (Rana clamitans, aka Lithobates clamitans) is one of the most common frogs in Massachusetts, and can be found in all types of freshwater wetlands. Their coloring varies from green to olive to brown, although according to one guide book I consulted, regardless of body color they tend to have a green upper lip. Green frogs look somewhat similar to bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), but green frogs have a pair of dorsolateral ridges that extend the length of their…
Although red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) exhibit color polymorphism, the color variation that is most common in eastern Massachusetts is true to their name. Here you will likely find individuals with a red, or at least reddish, colored dorsal band running down their midline from the head to the tail (the alternative color variation is sometimes referred to as the “lead-backed” form and is darker in coloration, lacking most or all of the distinctive red pigmentation). The sides of their bodies…