By Herp News
Many pterodactyls, such as the ones depicted in Jurassic Park, were huge, but the dino-era airborne beasts evolved from a tiny flying reptile. Continue reading →
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Tiny Flying Reptile Ancestor to Giant Pterodactyls Found
Two New River Turtle Species Described
By Herp News
The alligator snapping turtle is the largest river turtle in North America, weighing in at up to 200 pounds and living almost a century. Now researchers from Florida and the University of Vermont have discovered that it is not one species — but three.
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How the media is getting the Gaboon viper story terribly wrong
Nothing must ever happen in South Carolina, given the insane levels of hype over a supposed stray Gaboon viper roaming its streets. So with all that free time and dearth of current events to report on, you’d think the media could, you know… investigate? Or maybe just hit Wikipedia? Anything other than what they’ve been doing.
From the Charleston Post Courier:
Michelle Reid, of Animal Rescue and Relief, removed the traps and gear Monday after learning that the nearest any antivenin can be found is Africa, and the antivenin can’t be brought to the United States until the Federal Food and Drug Administration approves it. She is trying to get that approval.
We thought this seemed implausible, so we checked with Jim Harrison over at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. This is what he had to say:
Unfortunately, the media did no research on the subject. At the very least, two facilities carry South Africa polyvalent antivenin . They are Riverbanks Zoo and Alligator Adventure. We at Kentucky Reptile Zoo have over 30 vials at the moment of the antivenin. Further more, their experts are lacking as well with their information on trapping as well as the natural history of the Gaboon. It appears they may have spent their time watching Animal Planet rather than researching the real husbandry of the the species.
There’s a few facts for you, South Carolina media. You’re welcome.
Photo: Wikicommons, released to public domain …read more
Read more here: King Snake
Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund Announces Distribution Strategy Update
By Herp News
Tortoise Capital Advisors today announced a distribution strategy update for the Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund . Under the new distribution policy, sharehol
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Employees sue deli where lizard head was found in salad
By Herp News
A Manhattan deli chain that was recently accused of serving a severed lizard head was slapped with a lawsuit Tuesday by its staffers, who claim they’ve been cheated out pay…
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Snake venom cuts wait for critical medical tests
Venom from Australian snakes is helping save human lives. Seriously ill patients are benefiting from shorter turnaround time on critical blood tests, thanks to the coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and the Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis).
From ABC Australia:
The bites of eastern brown snakes and coastal taipans are dangerous because their venom causes a victim’s blood to coagulate.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have pioneered a way to use snake venom to speed up the processing of blood tests of patients who have been given anti-coagulants.
Dr Goce Dimeski says tubes infused with snake venom are producing faster and more accurate results.
“From a clinical perspective, results will be available in a shorter time,” he said.
“There’s a potential to decrease the length of stay for patients, increase patient throughput and in the end could lead to saving lives.”
Photo: Denise Chan/Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. …read more
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Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. Announces Release of 2014 First Quarter Stockholders’ Reports for Closed-End Funds …
By Herp News
Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C., the adviser of NDP, NTG, TPZ, TTP, TYG, TYN and TYY announced today the release of 2014 first quarter stockholders' reports for each of these fun
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Tens of thousands of reptiles die in French warehouse blaze
A fire in a Savannah Reptiles Planet warehouse in France killed between 20,000 and 30,000 reptiles and another animals.
From Prensa Latina:
The flames destroyed around 4,000 square meters of the facility and killed a large number of snakes, iguanas, chameleons, lizards, amphibians, rabbits, rats, and insects.
Only eight turtles, between 60 and 100 kilograms, were saved, when rescuers poured water on their shells.
Image: France TV …read more
Read more here: King Snake
Spider eats lizard
By Herp News
ARACHNOPHOBICS beware: This spider article is not for the faint hearted.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Turtle Trouble: 20-year study finds large decrease in green turtle catch rates
By Herp News
Sea turtle populations have been exploited for hundreds of years, and even though conservation efforts have increased substantially in modern times, populations still suffer across the globe. In fact, according to conservation scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Florida, over-fishing is to blame for more than 170,000 green turtles deaths between 1991 and 2011.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Turtle Trouble: 20-year study finds large decrease in green turtle catch rates
By Herp News
Sea turtle populations have been exploited for hundreds of years, and even though conservation efforts have increased substantially in modern times, populations still suffer across the globe. In fact, according to conservation scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Florida, over-fishing is to blame for more than 170,000 green turtles deaths between 1991 and 2011.
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Media Contacts
By Herp News
The island night lizard is back from the brink of extinction. After three decades of restoration efforts, the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed the small lizard from the endangered species list Monday.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Small monkeys take over when big primates have been hunted out in the Amazon
By Herp News
The barbecued leg of a spider monkey might not be your idea of a sumptuous dinner, but to the Matsés or one of the fifteen tribes in voluntary isolation in Peru, it is the result of a successful hunt and a proud moment for the hunter’s family. However, a spider monkey tends to have only a single infant once a year, which necessarily limits the number of adult monkeys available to subsistence hunters.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
The crocodiles and hippos had a party
There’s a pretty flipping cool photo spread of crocs in nature in the UK’s Metro. See it here.
You’re welcome.
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Read more here: King Snake
Turtle Bay readies for referendum fight
By Herp News
Museum and labor trades get their PACs and plans to sway public in gear.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Reptile breeder ordered to pay $190,000 in animal cruelty case
By Herp News
A man who owned an exotic reptile business in Lake Elsinore, where thousands of rats and reptiles were found in appalling conditions, has been ordered to pay more than $190,000 in restitution, prosecutors said Friday.
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Herp Video of the Week: Bearded Dragon VS Superworms!
Check out this video “Bearded Dragon VS Superworms,” submitted by kingsnake.com user Minuet.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users! …read more
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Attleboro zoo's new exhibit features a giant water monitor lizard
By Herp News
A new exhibit featuring a water monitor lizard will open today at Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro. (Staff photo by Mark Stockwell)
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Fitch Rates New Tortoise Closed-End Fund Notes 'AAA'; Affirms Existing Ratings
By Herp News
Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AAA' rating to the following notes issued by three closed-end funds managed by Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC. Fitch also affirms the existing notes and m
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Fitch Rates New Tortoise Closed-End Fund Notes 'AAA'; Affirms Existing Ratings
By Herp News
Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AAA' rating to the following notes issued by three closed-end funds managed by Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC. Fitch also affirms the existing notes and m
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Large Decrease In Green Turtle Catch Rates: Study
By Herp News
Wildlife Conservation Society A 20-year assessment of Nicaragua's legal, artisanal green sea turtle fishery has uncovered a stark reality: greatly reduced overall catch rates of turtles in what may have become an unsustainable take, according to conservation scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Florida. During the research period, conservation scientists estimated …
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Okapi-killing warlord shot dead in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
By Herp News
The head of an informal militia and poaching group, Paul Sadala a.k.a. ‘Morgan,’ was killed on Monday after surrendering himself to the army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A well-known elephant poacher and terrorist, Morgan became most famous for leading an attack on the Okapi Wildlife Reserve station in 2012.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
New relative of the ‘penis snake’ discovered in Myanmar
By Herp News
Scientists have discovered a new species of limbless amphibians, known as caecilians, in Myanmar. Dubbing the species, the colorful ichthyophis (Ichthyophis multicolor), the researchers describe the new amphibian in a recent paper published in Zootaxa. The world’s most famous caecilian is the so-called penis snake (Atretochoana eiselti) which was rediscovered in Brazil in 2011.
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Readin', writin', and Naja oxiana?
We’ve heard of snow days… but snake days?
A high school in Kyrgyzstan was closed down after they found at least 30 snakes in the building every day this spring. No ID was made of the types of snake, but media speculation has ranged all over the place, including the Caspian cobra, Naja oxiana.
Photo: Omid Mozaffari, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. …read more
Read more here: King Snake
Rexnord Acquires Green Turtle
By Herp News
Rexnord Corporation, a renowned water management products manufacturer, announced the acquisition of Green Turtle, a wastewater pre-treatment solutions provider.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Lizard ancestor of land herbivores
By Herp News
A small lizard-like creature that lived more than 300 million years ago is believed to be the earliest known ancestor of plant-eating mammals.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Declining catch rates in Caribbean Nicaragua green turtle fishery may be result of overfishing
By Herp News
A 20-year assessment of Nicaragua’s legal, artisanal green sea turtle fishery has uncovered a stark reality: greatly reduced overall catch rates of turtles in what may have become an unsustainable take, according to conservation scientists. Growing up to 400 pounds in weight, the green turtle is the second largest sea turtle species next to the leatherback turtle. In addition to the threat from overfishing, the green turtle is at risk from bycatch in various fisheries, poaching of eggs at nesting beaches, habitat deterioration and loss due to coastal development and climate change effects, and pollution.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Climate change likely culprit in coqui frog’s altered calls, say biologists
By Herp News
The abundant Puerto Rican coqui frog has experienced changes since the 1980s that are likely due to global warming, biologists report. The call of the male coqui became shorter and higher pitched, and the animal itself has become smaller. The study is the first to show the effect of temperature change on a species of frogs in the tropics over a period of more two decades.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Inside the Galapagos Islands’ Giant Tortoise Rehab Effort
By Herp News
You’re sailing from the Spice Islands across the open ocean to the South American port of Guayaquil, your financial motives rooted somewhere along a broad spectrum of morality and lawfulness. Several months have passed, and food stores and morale are low. Fortunately, you know a spot that will save the day, a cluster of […]
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
In search of a better way to treat snakebite
What if there was a disease that killed or crippled hundreds of thousands of people every year, but no one seemed to care?
It’s not a disease, but as Dr. Matthew Lewin wrote in the New York Times Sunday Review last weekend, snakebites kill 94,000 people and cripple 400,000, mostly in impoverished parts of the world.
So where are the telethons, the philanthropic dollars? Where are new developments other than costly, mostly unavailable anitvenin? How about drugs, or a snakebite EpiPen?
Photo: Naja annulifera by kingsnake.com user Neverscared …read more
Read more here: King Snake
Gut capacity limits bird’s ability to adapt to rapid climate change
By Herp News
An ornithologist has found that the capacity of a bird’s gut to change with environmental conditions is a primary limiting factor in their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing climate. And he believes that most other animals are also limited in a similar way.
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Rexnord Acquires Green Turtle
By Herp News
Today Rexnord announced that it has acquired Green Turtle Technologies Ltd., Green Turtle Americas Ltd. and Filamat Composites Inc. . Based
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Malaysia imperils forest reserves and sea turtle nesting ground for industrial site (photos)
By Herp News
Plans for an industrial site threaten one of Malaysia’s only marine turtle nesting beaches and a forest home to rare trees and mammals, according to local activists. Recently, the state government of Perak approved two industrial project inside Tanjung Hantu Permanent Forest Reserve. But activists say these will not only cut into the reserve, but also scare away nesting turtles from Pasir Panjang.
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Man gapes at gator, gets nailed by cottonmouth
Did you hear the one about the man who got out of his car to get a closer look at an alligator… and got bitten by a water moccasin?
No, it’s not a joke. It’s a true story from WTSP in Tampa. Read it here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake
The-Lizard-RNLI-lifeboat-launches-to-rescue-a-child-whod-fallen-from-cliffs
By Herp News
Byline: The Lizard lifeboat was launched just after 5pm yesterday afternoon (13 April) to a report of a 13 year old male fallen from cliffs at Bass Point, The Lizard. Page Content: Falmouth Coastguard requested The Lizard lifeboat crew launch at 5pm yesterday afternoon after they received a 999 call from a party of adults and children coasteering at Bass Point reporting a 13 year old male with a …
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Riddled with tumors: another blow to the Sumatran rhino species
By Herp News
Conservation for Sumatran rhinos suffered another blow last week, only days after Suci—one of only ten rhinos in captive breeding efforts—died at Cincinnati Zoo. Scientists in the Malaysian state of Sabah revealed that a newly captured female, Iman, suffers from an assortment of tumors in her uterus, hugely complicating reproduction efforts.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Does germ plasm accelerate evolution?
By Herp News
Scientists have challenged a long held belief about the way certain species of vertebrates evolved. They found that genes evolve more rapidly in species containing germ plasm. The results came about as they put to the test a novel theory that early developmental events dramatically alter the vertebrate body plan and the way evolution proceeds.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
Ancient snapping turtle won't end up as soup
Some people in a Mississippi town might have had turtle soup on their minds when they rescued a huge snapping turtle from a storm drain, but they quickly changed their minds and decided to save him, instead.
Read the story at KPTV.com.
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Read more here: King Snake
Who is poaching the world's deadliest snakes?
Are poachers stealing and selling the golden lancehead pit viper (Bothrops insularis) from an island off the coast of Brazil?
That was the topic of last night’s Nightline Prime:
One poisonous bite from the Golden Lancehead pit viper is enough to kill a grown man within a few hours. It’s fast-acting venom will burn through flesh and cause its victim to bleed to death.
Rogerio Zacariotti, a researcher with the Cruzeiro Do Sul University in Brazil, travels to “Snake Island” regularly to monitor the Gloden Lancehead population. He is convinced poachers are stealing the snakes from the island and selling them on the black market.
Zacariotti allowed “Nightline Prime” to accompany him and his team on one of his research trips to “Snake Island,” where ABC’s Dan Harris had some too-close encounters with the deadly snakes.
Read more and watch the video… …read more
Read more here: King Snake
Lizard Island cops Ita’s brunt
By Herp News
SO OFTEN a tropical haven for cashed-up honeymooners and celebrities, Lizard Island is now a disaster zone.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com