A field herping magazine

Look. Shoot. Conserve.

speck. is a print magazine for field herpers, built on ethical field practice, conservation spotlights, and trip reports from herpetologists and enthusiasts alike.

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A Sonoran coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus) with bold red, cream, and black bands resting on sandy desert soil, its glossy black head in focus. — Sonoran coral snake (*Micruroides euryxanthus*)

Two dark, banded cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) raised up and twisted together in combat among leaf litter and branches on the forest floor.

Featured · Conservation Spotlight

What 5,000 sightings say about Snake Road

Fifty years after the first closure, citizen science and a few decades of weather data show where the calendar and the snakes have drifted apart.

Read the feature

Also coming to speck.

A broad-banded copperhead (Agkistrodon laticinctus), red-brown with wide pale bands, coiled on pale ground.

Trip Report · Coming soon Rock Cuts and Border Patrol Three nights of herping the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

A dark climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa sp.) on green moss.

Trip Report · Coming soon Ghosts in the Clouds Searching for climbing salamanders in the highlands of western Panama.

An Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi willardi) coiled against lichen-covered rock.

Field Notes · Coming soon Why Arizona Wins the Rattlesnake Lottery How mountains, deserts, and time made Arizona the best place in the country to find a rattlesnake.

Field Ethics · Coming soon Herping etiquette 101 Nobody writes down the rules of field herping. Here they are, written down for once.

A dark-sided salamander (Eurycea longicauda melanopleura), orange with black spots, crawling over a mossy rock at night. — Dark-sided salamander (*Eurycea longicauda melanopleura*)

Field Ethics

How to herp without hurting what you came to see. Locality protection, handling, habitat care, and a discussion on where our community needs improvement.

A Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) seen from above, its beaded orange and black skin crossing rocky desert ground. — Gila monster (*Heloderma suspectum*)

Conservation Spotlights

What’s threatening herps, who’s doing something about it, and how you can help.

Smallwood's anole (Anolis smallwoodi)

Trip Reports

Stories from herpetologists and enthusiasts from around the world.

From the field

First issue in the works

The cover is open to readers. Send us your best shot and it could front Issue 01.

Submit a cover photo

Feature Why Arizona Wins the Rattlesnake Lottery
More rattlesnake species pile up in Arizona than anywhere else in the country. The geology, climate, and speciation behind the jackpot. Coming soon
Feature Chasing Silent Fate
A search for Lachesis, the bushmaster. Coming soon
Trip Reports Reports from the field
Trips and photos from herpers across the country. Yours could be in it.

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One email when Issue 01 drops, plus the occasional note from the field. No spam.

Send us your trip report

Went somewhere good? Send your photos and the story behind them, or a single shot you think deserves the cover, to submissions@speckmagazine.com.

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