We discussed the different species of toads in Florida and their identifying characteristics.

Friday, April 17, 2020
11:00 -12:00 60 min. -
Science:
TEAMS: - Map Scale -
Using the book: ‘Geography Skills for Life’, Yanuell and I reviewed the basic characteristics of maps in general. Yanuell was tasked with reading a section about absolute and relative location. We discussed how the face of the Earth has changed based on the relative location of resources and transportation. We read about how the relative location of three things (advances in drilling technologies, discovery of oil in Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico) made Houston a major hub for the oil industry in America. We learned how to use a grid to find things on a map.

Today, our pet lizards joined us for class. Ben had his crested gecko, and I had my son's bearded dragon. We talked a bit about their differences and similarities, and different behaviors we have observed in them. We then looked at some snake species and talked about the difference between keeled scales and a smooth scales. Some snakes have keeled scales, while some have smooth scales, and we discussed how that can be yet another identifying characteristic one can use to positively ID species of snakes.

We discussed snake species, and Ben took a snake identification quiz. The quiz was 6 photos of different venomous and nonvenomous species that he had to positively identify.

Student Absent.

We explored a website called Reptilesmagazine.com to get some ideas of articles to read and topics for study. We talked extensively about coral snakes, and why the "coral snake identification rhyme" is not the best way to ID these snakes due to aberrant color patterns that occur in the wild from time to time, the fact that it is only mostly accurate for species in the US, and the fact that people commonly remember it incorrectly. We also talked extensively about our local species of Leopard frogs, and listened to audio of their calls.

We discussed a condition called Ourobouros that happens, although rarely, where a snake will bite and/or swallow its own tail. The term comes from an ancient Greek term and iconography from several ancient cultures where the symbol of a snake biting it's own tail, forming a circle, could be a significant symbol of cyclical renewal, the cycle of life and death, and even fertility. The physical condition happens under several circumstances in snakes, mostly in captivity. It does rarely happen in some species in the wild. The main causes are: instinctive reaction to extreme hunger, sickness or pain, too small of a habitat causing a reaction to tail movement mistaking it for a threat or predator, or a neurological problem where the snake cannot recognize its tail as its own. We discussed all of these causes and possible remedies, most of which involve taking the snake to a veterinarian.

We looked at several species of snakes from the south central part of the US, noting their identifying characteristics and their differences from the species found in Florida. We also looked a little more in depth at the differences between the sub species of ribbon and garter snakes.

We discussed the definition of herpetology and that it is a subset of study in zoology that focuses on the study of reptiles and amphibians. We talked about the different classes of reptiles as basically being lizards, snakes, turtles, and tortoises, and amphibians being frogs, toads, and salamanders. Moving forward, we will look at each of these broad classifications and choose a few subspecies from each to study in greater depth. We spent some time looking at pictures of different local snake species and noting the different identifying characteristics of each of them.

Christopher watched a video on Mars and the possible evidence that Mars might have, some time in the past, had living beings on the planet. He learned that scientists have found evidence that there was once water on Mars, of a volcanic eruption on Mars and that the environment on Mars used to be milder. We talked about what it might be like to go to Mars. Christopher does not have any interest in going to Mars. He says Earth is his home.