By Herp News As an environmental journalist covering stories from the great Arctic ice melt to the rhino poaching crisis in Africa, you’ll forgive me if sometimes in the morning—before I turn my computer on—I have a sudden desire to spend a few extra minutes in bed or have a leisurely breakfast with my daughter […]
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Jun 12
Jun 12
Evolution and venomous snakes: Diet distinguishes look-alikes on two continents
By Herp News On opposite sides of the globe over millions of years, the snakes of North America and Australia independently evolved similar body types that helped them move and capture prey more efficiently. Snakes on both continents include stout-bodied, highly camouflaged ambush predators, such as rattlesnakes in North America and death adders in Australia. […]
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Reptile Atlas a first for southern Africa
By Herp News It took seven editors and 26 authors nine years to compile the first ever Reptile Atlas for all reptiles found in the southern tip of Africa. This huge collaborative effort resulted in the 485-page Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland – a hardcover book launched […]
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Ancient Mayan Altars, Sculpted Artwork Discovered in Guatemala
By Herp News A team of archaeologists in Guatemala has discovered a council house dating back about 700 years with altars, incense burners and sculpted images of animals. Located at the site of Nixtun-Ch'ich' in Petén, Guatemala, the house has “two colonnaded halls constructed side by side. The halls were decorated with sculpted [reptile], parrot […]
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Little girl fights for frog in New York State Senate
Should the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, be the official amphibian of New York State? Nine-year-old Lili Winkelman thinks so, and Sen. John DeFrancisco wants to make it law. From the Democrat & Chronicle: Like several of the state’s recognized symbols, the beginnings of the wood frog push came in an elementary school classroom. Sen. John […]
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