Amphibians and Reptiles of Cold Canyon

Cold Canyon is home to a fair diversity of amphibians and reptiles, as shown in the table below, but the secretive nature of these creatures makes it difficult for naturalists and hikers to appreciate them.  There are two other reasons why it might be difficult to observe particular amphibians and reptiles.   First, particular species may be active only during certain times of the year or are active at night.  All amphibians depend on moisture to prevent dessication, and as a result can often be seen in winter, but are much rarer in other seasons.  In contrast, most reptiles depend on the sun's warmth to maintain activity, and are therefore most active in late spring and early summer.  Similarly, many amphibians (and at least one reptile, the night snake) are nocturnal, and as a result go about their activities unseen by humans.  Second, some amphibians and reptiles live in restricted habitats of Cold Canyon, and are therefore difficult to locate.  For example, coachwhips and whiptails prefer the dense growth of chaparral, and thus do not come into contact with most humans.  Other reptiles are primarily fossorial - they live underground - and so rarely see the light of day.  As a result of these factors, some of the species in the list below are suspected to occur in Cold Canyon, but have not been confirmed with a positive identification.  These species are marked with an asterix.