Gotta love the up close head shot of this Tokay Gecko in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user The_Reptiles_Den ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for October, 2015
Oct 22
Oct 22
Love Potion Developed for Amphibians
Photo: Freshwaters Illustrated/Dave Herasimtschuk/USDA. In the race to save our dying amphibians, a fish endocrinologist developed “Cupids Syringe” also known as Amphiplex. The hormone based chemical helps to encourage better captive breeding. Trudeau knew that the hormone systems controlling mating were nearly identical in fish and mammals, and he reasoned that they should be similar […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
A Very Simple Terrarium for a Very Phat Phrog
Tank, sphagnum, light, and sturdy plants provide an easily built and maintained amphibian terrarium. All that is needed to make a very pretty terrarium for horned and other bulky frogs with limited leaping ability is the tank (ours is a 40 gallon), a complete cover (with horned frogs a cover may not be needed) but […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
Wildlife biology in the 21st century
By Herp News Mark Hebblewhite’s love of wildlife began paying off when he got a job as a Hudson Bay park ranger as an 18-year-old. Now an associate professor in the wildlife biology program at the University of Montana, Hebblewhite studies the delicate balance among predators, prey, the environment and humans. His work carries on […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
Partnerships are key to The Wildlife Conservation Society’s new plan to conserve 50 percent of the world’s biodiversity
By Herp News The Wildlife Conservation Society has a long, proven track record of environmental stewardship. So when the New York City-based group recently announced an ambitious new global conservation strategy, Mongabay got in touch with WCS president and CEO Cristián Samper to get more details. WCS has identified 15 of the world’s largest wilderness […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
Australian Legless Lizards are in Peril for RV park
Photo: Annette Ruzicka/Bush Heritage Australia The habitat of the Australian Legless Lizard population in Canberra is set to be razed in preparation to build an RV park for tourists to rest their weary heads. Conservationists from Bush Heritage Australia are working to save one of the last remaining groups of this species. To capture these […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
76-million-year-old extinct species of pig-snouted turtle unearthed in Utah
By Herp News In the 250-million-year evolutionary history of turtles, scientists have seen nothing like the pig nose of a new species of extinct turtle discovered in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
Herp Photo of the Day: Blood Python
The name says it all. Check out this stunning Cherry Bomb Blood Python in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user jsignoretti every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 21
German man arrested in Jakarta with eight earless lizards
By Herp News A German national was apprehended at the international airport in Jakarta as he tried to smuggle eight earless monitor lizards from Borneo out of the country. It was not the first indication of a German connection to the international trade in Earless Monitor Lizards (Lanthanotus borneensis), a small, orange-brown creature with beaded […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 20
Herp Photo of the Day: Clawed Frog
One of the most common amphibians out there, this Albino Clawed Frog is just hanging around in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user bradtort every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 20
Conjoined Twin Tortoises Separated
Photo: Inside EditionA pair of conjoined twins were able to be successfully separated by their breeder. “To my surprise, the reason the baby couldn’t exit was because it was attached to its twin,” he told INSIDE EDITION. “I helped them out of the egg and discovered they were joined at the yolk sac which is […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 19
The maleo: a success story for Indonesia’s strange pit-digging bird
By Herp News [dropcap]C[/dropcap]onservation success stories are rare. Too often we read of the losing battles: local extinctions and irreversible biodiversity losses, often at the expense of shortsighted exploitation-for-profit schemes. Refreshingly, the plight of the maleo is different. This story is one of conservation success. Maleos are, by all accounts, weird birds. They are chicken-like […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 19
Herp Photo of the Day: Nile Monitor
What better way to start out this week than with this cute Nile Monitor in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Mantafish every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 18
Alligator Loses Meal on Golf Course
Photo: The News-Press Despite being an apex predator, one unlucky Alligator learned there are things scarier than him, like a golf cart. The gator’s plan for a nice meal was all set in motion when the turtle found itself surrounded by the alligator’s teeth. The turtle remained incarcerated by the alligator’s gaping mouth until a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 18
Alligator Looses Meal on Golf Course
Photo: The News-Press Despite being an apex predator, one unlucky Alligator learned there are things scarier than him, like a golf cart. The gator’s plan for a nice meal was all set in motion when the turtle found itself surrounded by the alligator’s teeth. The turtle remained incarcerated by the alligator’s gaping mouth until a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 17
Pipeline has Potential Impact on Salamanders
Photo: StevenDavidJohnson.com and Wild Virginia A Virginia pipeline may need to change it’s route to avoid potential impact on two special of Salamanders, the Cheat Mountain salamander and the Cow Knob salamander. It recommends changing the route of the pipeline to avoid as much of the salamanders’ habitats as possible, possibly going south of South […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 17
Hip hop to fight climate change?
By Herp News The latest weird effect from climate change [Washington Post] Climate change is affecting wildlife in a lot of serious, and sometimes even weird, ways. Scientists have revealed another weird effect: climate change may be disrupting the sex ratio among baby sea turtles. Is this planned killing of 18,000 necessary? [Mongabay] The government believes […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 16
Mauritius to kill 18,000 threatened native bats in ‘disgraceful’ cull
By Herp News The government of Mauritius has announced its plans of culling 20 percent of the endemic and vulnerable Mauritius fruit bat (Pteropus niger) population on the island. The government hopes that fewer bats will help reduce damages to fruits like mangoes and litchis in orchards and boost revenue for fruit farmers. The culling […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 16
Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! All venomous snakes need our support! This Cottonmouth is screaming it from the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user BowieKnife357 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 16
Annual Snake Bites Underestimated Worldwide
Photo: Fox News Despite their best attempts to track global venomous snake bites, many Asian countries are unable to properly count the number of people envenomated annually. Due to the lack of available health care in some regions as well as the inability to pay for it leads many bites to not be counted. Citing […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 15
Cupid’s syringe: A love potion for troubled amphibians
By Herp News [dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Dale McGinnity rushed to the Nashville Zoo at 3 a.m. one morning in 2011, it was to witness the culmination of a six-year effort. One of the zoo’s eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) was finally laying eggs. These giant salamanders, along with the other hellbender subspecies, the Ozark hellbender (C. a. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 15
Sex and sea turtles: New study reveals impact of climate change, sea level rise
By Herp News Because sea turtles don’t have an X or Y chromosome, their sex is defined during development by the incubation environment. Warmer conditions produce females and cooler conditions produce males. The shift in climate is shifting turtles as well, because as the temperature of their nests change so do their reproduction patterns. Go […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 15
Herp Photo of the Day: Mud Snake
Hope you enjoy a little something out of the wild with this Mud Snake in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Godfrey every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 15
Blanding's Turtles Reintroduced in Massachusetts
Photo: Don Lyman Despite being listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, the Blanding’s Turtle is not federally protected in the US, although some states have regulations in place. Biologist Jared Green of Assabet River National in Hudson, Massachusetts, however wants to help increase their numbers in his state. The program hit a major […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 15
A Desert Salamander
Beautiful in any setting, this Inyo Mountains slender salamander seemed especially so against the desert background. “Next right” Gary said. “It’s just a mile or two up the road.” ”OK. Whoops you mean here?” “Yes. I guess we’ll have to roll the boulders.” So we huffed, puffed, strained, and somehow moved the huge rocks just […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
Illegal logging decimating birds in Ghana: ‘These numbers are shocking’
By Herp News A black Kite flies over burned forest in Ghana. Photo by Nicole Arcilla. Thousands of studies have measured the impact of logging on tropical biodiversity, but few have looked at illegal logging. This, despite the fact that illegal logging represents anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of total timber harvesting in tropical […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
Genetic Super Banded Paradox Albino Ball Python
This cultivar is a Super Genetic Banded Paradox Albino Ball Python (Python regius). I had the honor of hatching the first example of this new morph earlier in 2015. People who know me and follow my posts here, on my site, and on social media are aware that I have been hatching a whole lot […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
Seized: $4 million worth of ivory, rhino horn and bear paws
By Herp News In a major wildlife trafficking crackdown, the Beijing Forest Police have confiscated around 1,773 pounds of ivory, 24 pounds of rhino horn and 35 bear paws, worth about $4 million, according to a statement by TRAFFIC. They have also arrested 16 suspected members of the involved wildlife smuggling ring. Beijing Forest Police confiscated […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
Herp Photo of the Day: Ratsnake
What a great shot of this clutch of subocs in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user pecoskid ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read more here: King Snake No […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
Creating wild edges on fields boosts wildlife numbers and crop yield
By Herp News A leafcutter bee, one of the species benefiting from wildlife-friendly farming. Photo by Brigit Strawbridge. Commercial farms can benefit from creating exclusive spaces for wildlife on field edges, a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B has found. “It is possible to achieve BOTH wildlife conservation and maintain […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 14
The Mechanics of a Frog's Tongue
Photo: A photo obtained from the Christian-Albrechts-Universitat of Kiel shows a South-American horned frog (genus Ceratophrys), waiting for its prey Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-06-super-sticky-frog-scientists-tongue-tied.html#jCp It was previously thought that a frog’s tongue got it’s stickiness from the saliva, but recent research suggests something completely different. “The experimental data shows that frog tongues can be best […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 13
Scientists turn to DNA from Sumatran elephant dung to aid conservation
By Herp News Warning: Some images below may contain graphic content. At best numbering roughly 2,800 individuals, the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is critically endangered. Yet population data has been notoriously difficult to gather due to the rarity of sightings and the small size and isolation of the areas in which the elephants live, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 13
Humans are ‘super-predators’: unique and unsustainable
By Herp News We hunt for food, and we hunt for fun. But we are unlike other natural predators, according to a study recently published in Science. We are “super-predators”, researchers say. Cape Buffalo Trophy. Photo by Lord Mountbatten, Wikimedia Commons. Most natural predators on land — like lions, bears and tigers — prefer to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 13
Herp Photo of the Day: Chameleon
Everyone feels just like this little chameleon does here in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun every once in a while! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more Read […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 13
Turtle Swimsuit to Teach About Sea Turtles
Photo: The News-Press University of Queensland has decided turtles look good in clothes. They have altered the design of rash vest to fit both hatchling and adult sea turtles to learn a bit more about the dietary needs of Loggerheads by collecting a full fecal sample. Mr Coffee said the information could be used to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 13
Red Pygmy Rattlesnakes
The red pygmy rattlers of Hyde County, NC are among the world’s most beautiful snakes. It was exactly 5:45PM and the temperature was 84F when we turned from the pavement onto a secluded dirt road in Hyde County, NC. It was a sunny mid-August afternoon and the humidity was high. Moments earlier we had photographed […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 12
Zebrafish may hold key to heart regeneration
By Herp News Thanks to a thin layer of tissue that covers the heart called the epicardium, zebrafish are able to regrow damaged cardiac tissue. New research has shown that the epicardium is able to heal not only the heart, but also itself, when damaged, and it revealed the signaling molecule responsible for initiating the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 12
Zebrafish may hold key to heart regeneration
By Herp News Thanks to a thin layer of tissue that covers the heart called the epicardium, zebrafish are able to regrow damaged cardiac tissue. New research has shown that the epicardium is able to heal not only the heart, but also itself, when damaged, and it revealed the signaling molecule responsible for initiating the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 12
New study argues ‘land sparing’ is better for the birds
By Herp News What’s the best way to save life on Earth? Should we set aside huge blocks of wilderness and intensively farm the rest or should we create a mosaic ecosystem – i.e., a quilt-like mix of farms, forests and everything in-between? Conservationists, ecologists and farmers have been passionately debating this dichotomy – what […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 12
The Muriqui: Brazil’s critically endangered “hippie monkey” hangs tough
By Herp News Northern muriqui monkeys from the wild population in RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala, previously known as the Estação Biológica de Caratinga. This privately owned ranch is the site of the longest-running large mammal research project in Brazil, led by University of Wisconsin-Madison anthropologist Karen Strier for 33 years. Photo courtesy of Carla B. […]
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