The latest clutch of Gray’s monitor lizards hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo is just the second time Gray’s monitors were born in captivity in the Western Hemisphere. From My News LA: Gray’s monitor lizards had long been considered extinct in the wild until some were discovered in 1975 on islands in the Philippines. The […]

It isn’t shocking that movie’s have taken inspriation for dinosaurs from our reptiles. This frilled dragon in our herp photo of the day is a prime example, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frilly! Be sure to tell frilly you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see […]

By Herp News Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting […]

By Herp News A new update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized the West African population of lions—which is considered genetically distinct and separate from East and Central African lions—as Critically Endangered. Based largely on a paper in 2014, the researchers estimate that there are only 121-375 mature lions in […]

On a rainy April night Jake and I were out road-hunting in Columbia County, up in northeastern Florida. It had been a warm day but an afternoon rain cooled both the temperature and the road surfaces. But what the heck – the alternative was to sit at home and write blogs, so we elected to […]

In just one year, researchers discovered 176 new species living in India. From Mid-Day News: According to official records by ZSI responsible for animal taxonomy under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, 176 new species were discovered, described and reported from all over India last year. Insects, which escape attention due to […]

This female Spencer’s monitor is catching some rays in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mariamoon! Be sure to tell mariamoon 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 products […]

By Herp News A deadly fungal infection afflicting snakes is eerily similar to the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, researchers report. Although the snake fungus and the bat fungus inhabit different ecological niches and thrive at different temperature and humidity ranges, the fungi share basic traits that allow them to persist across a […]

Can naturally occurring bacteria on the skin of some frogs offer protection from chytrid fungus? From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The chytrid fungus (Bd) has been linked to amphibian decline and even extinction in more than 200 species worldwide. Now, a new report adds to growing evidence that the key to beat this fungus may […]

When you visit the Northern Himalayan States of India, I am sure you will see these creatures basking on the rocks. The Himalayan rock agama or Kashmir rock agama, Laudakia tuberculata, is a very common species of agamid lizard found in North India (Kashmir, Uttarakhand and the western Himalayas). I’m from Uttarakhand, where you can […]

Dinosaurs, Schminosaurs. We have crocodilians! Still very prehistoric, this Nile is keeping her eye on you in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user CDieter! Be sure to tell CDieter you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read […]

By Herp News Humans are wiping species off the plant at a rate at least 100 times faster than historical levels, providing further evidence that we’re in the midst of a sixth great extinction, concludes a new study based on ‘extremely conservative’ assumptions on past and current extinction rates. Go to Source …read more Read […]

By Herp News Families across the United States are today celebrating Father’s Day. But this Sunday is extra special because it is also World Giraffe Day. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News A number of conservation groups have partnered up to deliver a full day of rainforest wildlife viewing via social media. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

By Herp News ‘One percent of the world’s population,’ veterinarian Zulfi Arsan says as he nods towards Bina, a 714-kilogram, 30-year-old female Sumatran rhinoceros leisurely crunching branches whole. A gentle and easygoing rhino, pink-hued Bina doesn’t seem to mind the two-legged hominids snapping pictures and awing at her every move at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. […]

The seven surviving offspring of the Leucistic Boa Constrictor smuggled by reptile breeder Jeremy Stone have been repatriated to Brazil, nearly a year after Stone plead guilty in federal court. The original boa, as well as one of the offspring, died, but the remainder returned to Brazil, which claimed ownership because the original specimen had […]

Not all monitor lizards are giant. The recently discovered Dampier Peninsula Goanna gets it’s time in the spotlight at the Western Austrailian Museum. 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 Read more here: King […]

The most distinctive of all crocodilains, the gharial, helps us kick off the weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Majorpat! Be sure to tell Majorpat 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 […]

By Herp News Do you know where your study animals are? How fast have they travelled over the past day or week? How far are they from a river, or from a highway? Previously, wildlife biologists had to estimate the locations of their study subjects, using either triangulation from two or more receiver locations or […]

In Columbia County, Florida yellow rat snakes, Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus, are not apt to be yellow. And many fail to have the 4 prominent lines so typical of the subspecies further south. In fact, although some may be prominently striped, the rat snakes in this mentioned region are more apt to be brownish yellow and […]

A biodiversity survey in the Philippines found species unseen for decades: the Malatgan River caecilian and Palawan toadlet. From National Geographic: When the expedition finally stumbled across the serpentine amphibian, it was at the end of a road and a seven-hour hike beyond that from the nearest village. The area is known as Cleopatra’s Needle. […]

Hat tip to the green iguana! The animal that brought so many of us to the cold-blooded side deserves center stage in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user knoxville! Be sure to tell knoxville you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could […]

By Herp News Have you seen a video where a slow loris—a small, cute, big-eyed primate from Asian rainforests—gets tickled? Here’s the real story of how that slow loris got there. It was stolen from the wild by poachers, who probably took it from its mother—after killing her. Then its teeth were torn out with […]

Little turtle frogs have some unusual behavior, from the way they give birth to the way they dig. From io9: The turtle frog is not something that, on sight, you would automatically call a frog. For one thing, if you see it, you’re probably in the middle of the Australian desert. The frog prefers living […]

Whenever I am in the wild searching for some snakes on trees, most of the times I end up finding these beautiful frogs. My passion of herping has brought me down to this conclusion that, though being so beautiful and tender these frogs are very obvious to be seen in woods. The common Indian tree […]

Today’s herp photo of the day reminds us to always flip that tin! This five-lined skink was found with her eggs under a paving stone, uploaded by kingsnake.com user CDB_reptiles! Be sure to tell CDB_reptiles you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured […]

By Herp News When it comes to trafficking rhino, elephant, and tiger parts the biggest players are China, Kenya, India, Vietnam, South Africa and Thailand, according to a new paper in PNAS. Examining news media reports aggregated by HealthMap: Wildlife Trade, researchers were able to pinpoint the most important countries for exporting, moving and importing […]

Lava from a volcanic eruption in the Galapagos is flowing away from the only known habitat of pink iguanas. From Newsweek: Isabela is a mostly uninhabited island that, along with the rest of the Galapagos, lies about 560 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. It’s home to the incredible diversity of life that […]

As Jake and I started southward towards Okeechobee County, Florida, the conditions seemed perfect. A low pressure system with scattered thunderstorms was forecast at our destination for the evening hours, forecast temperatures seemed ideal, and almost exactly a year earlier Josh had found our target snake, a South Florida mole kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata. Seemingly […]

You know it is going to be fun when you start out the day with an Eastern coachwhip in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jodscovry! Be sure to tell jodscovry you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured […]

By Herp News A new survey last month put the number of wild Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) at 523 individuals, a rise of 27% from the previous survey in 2010. Once roaming across much of Central and Western Asia, Asiatic lions today are found in only one place: Gir Forest National Park and surrounding […]

The Beddome’s keelback, Amphiesma beddomei, is the smallest member of the keelback family I have encountered. Its maximum length is 69 cm and it is named after Richard Henry Beddome, a British officer and botanist. I recently met this snake during my trip to Western Ghats. Calling this post “Happy Ending” might have worked, too, […]

Using genetic profiling, the University of Georgia is tracking loggerhead turtle females, including where they nest and lay eggs. From phys.org: Traditional methods call for researchers to attach a tag to turtle flippers to track them, but studies show that flipper tagging can miss up to 20 percent of all females that nest on a […]

We love everything that rattles, but today we give the spotlight to this baby timber rattlesnake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jameswv! Be sure to tell jameswv you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read […]

By Herp News In this commentary, Fred Bercovitch, wildlife conservation biologist at Kyoto University, confronts the conservation community with an unconventional approach to stopping the ivory trade and illegal elephant killing. The views expressed are his own. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

It is summer, so we start our week off with something a lil hot with this photo of a Lansberg’s hognosed pitviper (Porthidium lansbergii) in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user neverscared! Be sure to tell neverscared you liked it here! Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, […]

This week’s Herp Video at least gives the fisherman proof of the one that got away! This angler loses his big Northern to the original fisherman in this lake, a giant snapping turtle! 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 […]

This week’s Herp Video at least gives the fisherman proof of the one that got away! This angler loses his big Northern to the original fisherman in this lake, a giant snapping turtle! 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 […]

By Herp News Wolves use their noses to track their quarry by its scent. Now a scientist is turning the tables, building a handheld device to study endangered Mexican gray wolves based on the odor of their scat. Go to Source …read more Read more here: herpetofauna.com No products found. Amazon Auto Links

Collected by biology students visiting Cuba, then introduced to Florida, this species has thrived! Hearkening back a half century or so, I can remember standing at the Hialeah Racetrack with Jerry Fine in the early 1960s and wondering if we ever would see one of the (then) rather newly and deliberately introduced knight anoles. Although […]