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The article information on the geographical distribution of amphibians and reptiles from Central Georgia. Topics discussed include Ambystoma opacum specie salamander; Sternotherus minor specie turtle; and Lampropeltis calligaster specie snake. It also informs on snake species such as Carphophis amoenus.

The article evaluates the effectiveness of box trap arrays for capturing snakes and introduces a new trap design to address observed limitations. Topics discussed include the efficacy of traditional box traps combined with drift fences, the high escape rates of certain snake species, and the improved performance of the new "Knapp-Murphy" trap design in capturing a broader range of snake sizes.

• Species diversity was similar, but species composition differed. • Vertebrate occupancy was similar between stump holes and tortoise burrows. • Results underscore the importance of both habitat features in this ecosystem. In the fire maintained longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem, underground refugia such as gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows and stump holes may be important for animals to escape fire and extreme temperatures. Despite being documented as refugia for several species of concern including the black pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) and eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), longleaf pine stumps are commonly removed and harvested for rosin, eliminating associated underground habitats. We used trail cameras to examine the use of stump holes by vertebrates from September 2018 – May 2019. Each of 35 stump holes was paired with a nearby gopher tortoise burrow, a documented high value refugium type, to serve as a reference. We used Shannon Diversity Index to investigate species diversity differences and non-metric multidimensional scaling to investigate species composition differences between stump holes and tortoise burrows. We developed multi-season occupancy models to investigate reptile, amphibian, bird, and small mammal occupancy differences between tortoise burrows and stump holes. We documented 13 taxa unique to stump holes, 14 taxa unique to tortoise burrows, and 26 shared taxa. Although overall species diversity was similar between tortoise burrows and stump holes, species composition differed, with more reptile species associated with stump holes and more bird species associated with gopher tortoise burrows. Reptile, amphibian, bird, and small mammal occupancy was similar between stump holes and tortoise burrows and among stumps of varying decay states. Our research underscores the collective importance of tortoise burrows and stump holes as refugia and foraging sites for wildlife in the longleaf pine ecosystem. Additionally, our study demonstrates the importance of developing best management practices for stump removal such as retaining a proportion of stumps of different decay classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Crotalus horridus, the Timber Rattlesnake, and explores its hibernation behavior, specifically its communal denning habits in some parts of its range, including a previously undocumented instance of communal denning in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.