Isn’t this Jungle Carpet Python crazy looking?! It is one of a kind and a Super Form from what the Ball Python Crowd refers to as a, “Dinker Project.” I noticed that the mother of this snake looked just a bit odd when it was a baby. I bought her, bred her, and then bred […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for October, 2015
Oct 12
Oct 12
Rare Salamander Found in Guatemala
Photo: Robin Moore/ILCP Called the “Golden Wonder” by conservationists, the Jackson’s Climbing Salamander, Bolitoglossa jacksoni, has not been seen since 1977. This field report chronicles the search for the Golden Wonder, as well as many other great and rare amphibian finds. “When I spied that oh so familiar pose of a Long-limbed Salamander basking in […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 12
Herp Photo of the Day: Watersnake
This sassy lil watersnake had to stop and eat a toad in the yard before the photographer captured it for our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user dinahmoe ! 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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 10
Climate change could benefit northern lizards
By Herp News Higher temperatures result in Swedish sand lizards laying their eggs earlier, which leads to better fitness and survival in their offspring, according to new research. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 10
Climate change could benefit northern lizards
By Herp News Higher temperatures result in Swedish sand lizards laying their eggs earlier, which leads to better fitness and survival in their offspring, according to new research. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 09
Identifying and counting the wild orangutans of Borneo
By Herp News A recent article published in the journal Biological Conservation details a research study led by University of Wisconsin physical anthropologist Dr. Stephanie Spehar which utilized game camera traps to identify and estimate the numbers of orangutans in the Wehea Forest of East Kalimantan, Borneo. The researchers believe the cameras may provide more […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 09
Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
Happy Rattlesnake Friday! We are seeing red with this gorgeous shot of a Pygmy Rattlesnake our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tamers1 ! 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 the rest of this entry »Oct 09
India steps up efforts to combat wildlife trade
By Herp News In June, a unique graduation ceremony was held in the city of Bhopal in central India. Fourteen dogs and their 28 handlers performed brief drills to display their newly acquired skills at detecting illegal wildlife products during a parade held at the 23rd Battalion of Special Armed Reserve Forces’ Dog Training Centre. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 08
Queen of elephant ivory trafficking arrested in Tanzania
By Herp News A Chinese national dubbed the “Queen of Ivory” has been arrested in Tanzania. Yang Feng Glan, 66, was arrested after returning from Uganda to Tanzania. She has been charged with smuggling 706 elephant tusks with a street value of $2.5 million and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Tanzania […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 08
Rough Greens
We occasionally see adult Florida rough green snakes in the cat briars along the fencelines. I was creeping along on the riding mower a few afternoons ago when just ahead of the right front tire I notices a lengthy piece of grass make a shivery-sinuous movement. Hmmmmm. Either the grass was reacting in a frightened […]
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Florida Wildlife Commision to revoke lost cobra owners permit
Just days after capturing the once-missing king cobra from a local garage, Florida wildlife officials on Friday confirmed their intent to revoke the owner’s license to own the venomous snake in a revocation letter, sent a day before the king cobra was captured. “Allowing you to continue to possess your venomous reptiles after three escapes […]
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Missing Orlando Cobra Found Under Neighbors Clothes Dryer
A missing King Cobra that went on walkabout over a month ago has turned up underneath a clothes dryer at a neighbors house a half mile from it’s cage. Found Wednesday night Orange County Animal Control officials and the wife of the snake’s owner confirm the snake is the one that escaped 35 days ago […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 08
Herp Photo of the Day: Chameleon
Is there any thing more classic than this chameleon tongue shot in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun ! 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 »Oct 08
Scientists learn to listen when it comes to assessing rainforest health
By Herp News In the fight to protect the extraordinary biodiversity of Papua New Guinea’s rainforests, some conservationists are collecting a unique set of data: the sounds of the forest. Scientists with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Princeton University are using acoustic sampling recorders in the Adelbert Mountains, a remote range on Papua New Guinea’s […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
Hundreds of new species discovered in fragile Eastern Himalayan region
By Herp News A sneezing monkey, a walking fish and a jewel-like snake are just some of a biological treasure trove of over 200 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayas in recent years, according to a new report by WWF. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
Marines Release Tortoises
Photo: Lauren Kurkimilis/Marine Corps via AP Near Twentynine Plams Marine Corps Base, 35 Desert Tortoises were recently released in an effort to repopulate the Mojave Desert at a ceremony with Marine Corps officials, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and researchers from the University of California Los Angeles. Biologists have […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
[AUTOSAVED] Marines Release Tortoises
Photo: Lauren Kurkimilis/Marine Corps via AP Near Twentynine Plams Marine Corps Base, 35 Desert Tortoises were recently released in an effort to repopulate the Mojave Desert at a ceremony with Marine Corps officials, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and researchers from the University of California Los Angeles. Biologists have […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
A big house on the prairie: assessing prairie dog colonies for black-footed ferret habitat
By Herp News How can species reintroduction projects ensure success? One way is to accurately monitor the target species and their habitat. A team working to bring back the endangered black-footed ferret to the plains of western North America is deploying unmanned aircraft systems (UASs, UAVs or drones) to strengthen monitoring of the species’ habitat. The World […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
Night calls reveal two new rainforest arboreal frog species from western New Guinea
By Herp News Tracked by their calls at night, two species of narrow-mouthed frogs have been recorded as new in a research that took place in the Raja Ampat Islands, western New Guinea. During the examinations it turned out that one of the studied specimens is a hermaphrodite and another one represents the first record […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 07
Herp Photo of the Day: Common Toad
This great shot of a pair of Bufo bufo in the middle of amplexus helps ring in this Wednesday in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Krallenfrosch ! 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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 06
Sandhills Phase Pygmy Rattlers
Note the difference in blotch size of these 2 Sandhill pygmys. Back and forth. Back and forth. North 10 miles. South 10 miles. Than over again—and again. Occasionally we changed our route to an intersecting sand road for a few miles. We had only one night left on this trip and we were on a […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 06
Giant carnivorous rat with long pubic hair discovered in Indonesia
By Herp News Researchers have discovered a species of rodent in the mountainous interior of Sulawesi, a Indonesian island known for its high rates of endemism. The new species, dubbed Hyorhinomys stuempkei, is noted for its especially long urogenital hairs — better known as pubic hair — according to a description published in the Journal […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 06
Herp Photo of the Day: Vogel's Pit Viper
This stunning Trimeresurus vogeli is just hanging around in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user Vittorio_K ! 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: King Snake No […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 06
Pet store owner critically injured by python
A python, reported to be 20 feet in length, critically injured a pet store owner in Newport Ohio in an apparent feeding mishap. According to media reports store owner Terry Wilkins was feeding the snake when it latched onto his arm and wrapped around his head, neck, and torso. Wilkens was not breathing when officers […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 05
Black Pine Snakes Added to Threatened and Endangered Species List
In what is likely to be the first of a number of reptilian additions the Black Pine Snake, Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi, has been added to the USFWS Threatened and Endangered Species List. Found in southwestern Alabama through southeastern Mississippi into eastern Louisiana, Black Pine Snakes are the only melanistic pine snake, ranging in coloration from […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 05
Amazing but overlooked bettongs: the case for Australia’s small hopper
By Herp News Most people know and love marsupials like kangaroos and koalas, but some members of this infraclass are virtual unknowns — despite facing similar extinction threats — and being just as cute. One example is an underappreciated group of small wallabies called bettongs, rabbit-sized bouncers once widespread across Australia but now reduced to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 05
Protection on the way for Massasaugas
Photo: Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press Despite being up for consideration of listing on the Endangered Species Act since 1999, the Eastern Massasauga has remained unprotected. Now it appears that will change. Known for their docile nature, the massasauga rattlesnake has it’s greatest known population density in the state of Michigan, but as with most […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 05
Herp Photo of the Day: Bearded Dragon
Is it any wonder that Bearded Dragons are still one of the most popular pets in the reptile community? Not when you see this cute guy in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user JFKDragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 04
Hidden cameras, prosecutions, and passion: confronting the corruption at the heart of Africa’s illegal wildlife trade
By Herp News Tackling the illegal trade in wildlife requires tremendous concern for the welfare of other species and a passion for change. Ofir Drori, founder of EAGLE (Eco-Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement), embodies both of these traits. Mongabay recently interviewed Drori about how his organization strives to combat corruption and save species endangered […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 03
HORN looks at rhino poaching through a different lens
By Herp News HORN sheds light on South Africa’s rhino poaching crisis from a different angle In 2011, filmmaker Dr. Reina-Marie Loader had an unforgettable, close encounter with three rhinoceros in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Dr. Loader was acutely aware rhinoceros poaching rates were increasing in South Africa and, with her experience in documentary […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 03
Are the blueprints for limbs encoded in the snake genome?
By Herp News The shared patterns of gene expression in the limbs and phallus are generated in part by a common set of noncoding DNA, also called ‘elements’ or ‘enhancers,’ which act to control gene expression in both of these structures, argues a new study. These conclusions stemmed from an initial observation that many limb […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 02
Herp Photo of the Day: Rattlesnake Friday!
A great shot of a live (as they should be) Pygmy Rattlesnake on concrete in the field in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user JARHEAD1969 ! 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 01
The Egyptian Tortoise
This is an adult pair of Egyptian tortoises. It was about 35 years ago when Chris invited me to check out a few tiny tortoises that he had just received. They were, he said, Egyptian tortoises, Testudo kleinmanni. I had to do some scrambling to familiarize myself with this taxon but I was able to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 01
Genetics Prove Kauffeld Right
Photo Credit: Matthew Schlesinger, New York Natural Heritage Program Carl Kauffeld believe there were two very different species of Leopard Frogs, but he did not have the means to prove it. Thankfully we now do! With the help of a geneticist, a team of researchers recently proved Kauffeld’s belief to be true and named the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 01
Trafficked tropical animals: the ghost exports of Venezuela
By Herp News The hunters ransack the vulnerable nests of tropical birds in richly biodiverse but poorly patrolled Venezuelan rainforests. Wildlife merchants brazenly display young fledglings, monkeys and other animals, right next to main roads throughout the forest. Many captives will travel a difficult path — an exhausting, often fatal journey covering thousands of miles, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 01
Frog tongues: Sticky strips of pure muscle
By Herp News Scientists have shown, for the first time, what happens when a frog’s tongue makes contact with a surface. They discovered similarities to conventional adhesive tape. Like sticky tape, the tongues form lots of little threads (fibrils) when being removed from a surface, which break one at a time before the contact disconnects. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Oct 01
Herp Photo of the Day: Painted Turtle
This gorgeous closeup of a Painted Turtle also shows a bit of old fashion home grown cage decor in our herp photo of the day uploaded by kingsnake.com user trachemys ! 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 […]
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