Recently India has been facing a lot of weather and climatic changes. Sometimes it’s really hot in winter and sometimes it rains in summer. I usually avoid herping during the summers as the climate is very hot and humid, and the forests are dried up to a certain extent.

In my city, it rained many times in March. A group of herpetologist friends and I decided to go herping in some nearby hills. Four of us were all set for herping.

Me and my group of friends have been into rescuing, conservation, and study of snakes for the past five years, and all of them are part of a new generation of Indian reptile hobbyists. So I would like to introduce them: Akshay Parahalkar (Axy), metalhead and a snake rescuer and studying reptiles; Anirudh Rathod, a newcomer who has been doing great work in snake rescuing; Riyaz Khoja, who I mentioned in my previous article, a very good wildlife photographer and snake rescuer who always helps me with his magnificent photographs for my articles.

So coming back to my story, we started herping at 7 AM so we could see some of our reptilian friends basking in the sun. It did not take much time to find one.

Axy and Anirudh were the ones to spot this amazing snake called the common bronzeback tree snake, Dendrelaphis tristis, one of the beautiful tree snakes of India. The common bronzeback is thin and long with flat elongated head and large eyes with round pupils. A brown or bronze stripe runs along top of body from head to tail. The underside is yellowish, bluish-green, or light green.The upper lip scales are light yellow.The size varies from 3.5 ft to 5.5 ft, and is viviparous by nature.

After finding this beauty, Riyaz clicked these beautiful photographs and we continued with our herping.

Photos: Riyaz Khoja …read more
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By Herp News

In the beginning gods created lizard-man and man. Then lizard-man learned magic, and things pretty much go downhill from there in Son of Nor . Read more…

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A Canadian paleontologist identified the remains of several endangered species smuggled from Hong Kong.

From the Calgary Herald:

Don Brinkman, a paleontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, has been studying turtles for three decades and had assisted with previous investigations by Environment Canada.

But this case — which involved combing through a container with 945 turtle plastrons (bottom part of the shell), 2,454 turtle shells, and 52 bags of turtle fragments within 815 cartons, followed by a second container with 224 bags of fragments in 842 cartons — was the biggest Brinkman has ever worked on.

After three days in a Vancouver warehouse sifting through piece after piece, the lone scientist in a room full of officers, Brinkman helped bring the probe to a conclusion by identifying five endangered turtle species and three endangered tortoise species.

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In celebration of the Texas Rattlesnake Festival, we are kicking our week off with the most iconic of rattlesnakes. Crotalus atrox thanks those this weekend who hopefully prevented rattlesnakes from being tread on in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kevinjudd!

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By Herp News

It was a packed house, not just because of the spring-like weather, but also because of a new addition to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. “We have reptiles and amphibians representing the whole world,” General Curator at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, Richard Rosevear said. Those reptiles and amphibians are part of the zoo's new Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Center, also known as the RAD Center. From snakes …

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By Herp News

The Lehigh Valley Zoo held a sneak preview Thursday of its new indoor Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Center, which houses more than 50 snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, frogs and salamanders.

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By Herp News

The Lehigh Valley Zoo held a sneak preview Thursday of its new indoor Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Center, which houses more than 50 snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, frogs and salamanders.

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By Herp News

It turns out sea turtles, even at a tender 6-18 months of age, are very active swimmers. They don’t just passively drift in ocean currents as researchers once thought. Researchers say it’s an important new clue in the sea turtle ‘lost years’ mystery. Where exactly turtles travel in their first years of life, before returning to coastal areas as adults to forage and reproduce, has puzzled scientists for decades.

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By Herp News

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) announced today that 60 captive-raised Myanmar roofed turtles–a species once thought extinct–have been released into their native habitat in Myanmar.

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By Herp News

Turtle Beach (NASDAQ: HEAR ) has launched a line of PC gaming keyboards, mice, and mousepads to complement its PC/console gaming headsets. The products are “available at select North American retail outlets.”

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By Herp News

SAN DIEGO, April 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) announced today that its new lineup of PC gaming accessories, including gaming keyboards, mice and mousepads, is available at select North American retail outlets. Turtle Beach, the 40-year strong…

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By Herp News

Beaten-down Turtle Beach (NASDAQ: HEAR ) is “on the cusp of a multi-year new generation console super cycle,” says Charles Moscoe in an SA PRO column now out of embargo. “Only 19% of new generation console sales have been made.

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By Herp News

Turtle Beach Corporation (HEAR) was a big mover last session, as the company saw its shares rise nearly 13% on the day.

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By Herp News

Ben Hooper FORT WORTH, Texas, April 9 (UPI) — A Texas veterinarian has made viral stars out of her tortoise and dog with a video of the unlikely best friends playing chase in a yard.

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By Herp News

The Lehigh Valley Zoo held a sneak preview Thursday of its new indoor Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Center, which houses more than 50 snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, frogs and salamanders.

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By Herp News

Moving sea turtle eggs could be Fort Lauderdale's answer to a brighter beach.

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Fitch Ratings assigns 'AAA' ratings to the following senior unsecured notes issued by Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp :

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Turtle Rock will offer free DLC if the community can complete a special in-game challenge this weekend.

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When I started with my studies on Indian snakes, I was really surprised when I read that India has five species of coral snake. I used to believe these highly beautiful snakes were only found in American countries.

I can find a few in my area, but I have to be lucky enough to get one, and never got a chance to rescue any. Whenever I go herping, I always tell my fellow companions that for a particular period of time they have to search only for coral snakes.

The striped coral snake is very rare to find as compared to other venomous snakes, and very shy by nature. I have never seen an aggressive coral, and to be frank I still don’t know how coral snakes attack because I haven’t seen any of them attacking.

That’s why, despite being venomous, coral snakes are not included in the “Indian Big Four” as they are not highly harmful as compared to vipers and cobras.

The striped coral snake, Calliophis nigrescens, is thin, very long, and has a cylindrical body with short tail. The body is blackish-blue, bluish-purple, or reddish-brown. There are 3-5 stripes on their body, but they are extremely faint in blue and black individuals.

The head is black with a light streak behind the eyes. The underside is red and the scales under tail are partly white.

Striped coral snakes are found mainly under dried leaves. They curl up their tail as a threat display when they are disturbed. They feed mainly on other snakes and viviparous by nature. These snakes are endemic to certain parts of western hilly areas of India.

I have encountered this snake only twice on my herpings. When I found the striped coral snake ,it was really unbelievable and I forced my companions to pinch me so I could believe I’d really found this beautiful creature.
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This is what our community is about, our love of the animals. Happy weekend! We hope you enjoy you like your reptile pets as much as this boy likes his snake in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tom_AF_Guy!

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Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more
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By Herp News

Last month, Australia became the world’s first country to ban the import or export of lion trophies, often taken from so-called canned hunting where lions are raised solely to be shot by foreign hunters.

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Four Days Before Christmas, and all through the ‘hood,

The rain was torrential, conditions were good.

Jake said, “It’s the night. We really should go.”

I checked the computer, barometer’s low.

So off in the storm, wipers on high,

The rain still fell in sheets from the lowering sky.

Traffic was heavy on roads, wet and black,

But for 50 long miles we stayed right on track.

We turned toward the pond, it had been a long ride,

But the “sallys” were active. We’re both glad we tried!

Road herping central Florida style with Jake: December 21, approximately 67 degrees Fahrenheit, and heavy rain.

Species seen: mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum; tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum; spring peeper, Pseudacris crucifer. Also seen: southern toad, green treefrog, and southern leopard frog.
Continue reading “‘Twas a great night for herping” …read more
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Remind your friends in Florida to leave nesting sea turtles alone, and avoid using bright lights near the turtles.

From WINK News:

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) asks people not to get too close, shine lights on, or take flash photos of nesting sea turtles.

Spring is the beginning of sea turtle nesting season in Florida. From now through the end of October, thousands of sea turtles will land on Atlantic and Gulf coast beaches to lay their eggs. With Florida hosting one of the largest loggerhead nesting aggregations in the world, this becomes an opportunity for residents and visitors to play an important role in conserving these long-lived reptiles. People can help by taking turtle-friendly precautions on the beach.

“Take care when you’re on a Florida beach at night and do not disturb the nesting sea turtles,” said Dr. Robbin Trindell, who leads the FWC’s sea turtle management program. “People can help save threatened and endangered sea turtles by giving them enough space and privacy to safely and successfully lay their eggs. It’s as simple as keeping your distance and avoiding shining lights or taking flash photos of the nesting sea turtles.”

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Two species that have been in the news as of late, anaconda and reticulated python, together as pets in their home share the spotlight in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user hansbury!

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By Herp News

Of the world’s six species of great ape (not including us), it’s safe to say that bonobos (Pan paniscus) are the least studied and least known publicly. But a new organization, the Bonobo Project, is hoping to change that. To the untrained eye, a bonobo looks little different from their closest relative, the chimpanzee. But the differences between these two cousins are actually quite large.

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The gopher tortoise is a land animal and cannot swim, officials noted.

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As winter fades back into a dormant state until next year, spring means herps are on a journey to find the perfect mate for breeding season in the southeast. This means several things to different species that will all be simultaneously doing the same thing at once: moving.

We were traveling to southwestern Mississippi from Alabama in search of black pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) on a late March afternoon, and decided to stop at a rest area to stretch out our legs for a few minutes.

While walking around in this coastal lowland and surrounded by shallow swampy marsh habitat type, we stumbled upon a pair of Gulf Coast box turtles (Terrapene carolina major) breeding, with the female completely flipped over on her back and the male upright, which apparently is nothing out of the ordinary.

Reaching sexual maturity anywhere between 7-10 years, box turtles breed in the spring and females start seeking out nests June-July to lay a single clutch of 3-8 eggs at a time. It is also more than very likely that the same Gulf Coast box turtle we came across will lay her eggs near the water she was found around, and nest several different times this year with more clutches.

This subspecies of North American box turtles is one of six others that exist, and also un-mistakenly the largest. They are generally described as being matte brown or almost black in coloration with a distinct yellow stripe down their backs, but can also have thin or thick blotches .

It is also noted that if you happen to see one trying to cross the road, please feel obligated to help it do so safely but to also not relocate it so that it doesn’t get back into the road trying to go to where it was originally traveling to! …read more
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Chytridiomycosis is present in frogs from Madagascar, but for some reason they haven’t developed the disease.

From QZ.com:

Madagascar has the 12th highest rate of amphibian species richness in the world, with more than 400 species, 99% of which are indigenous to the region. But this biodiversity hotspot is already under severe pressure—a quarter of its species are under threat, according to the latest Global Amphibian Assessment. It’s rightly feared that the arrival of Bd, as reported in the journal Scientific Reports, could bring about mass amphibian decline—and even extinctions—as has been seen elsewhere.

Testing of the samples of the Bd fungus found in Madagascar reveals the strain is closely related to BdGPL, the hyper-virulent lineage behind all the known outbreaks of the chytrid fungus pathogen that have decimated amphibian populations. However, what’s interesting is that the rate of infection is extremely low and there’s no clinical signs of chytridiomycosis—the frogs have the fungus, but they haven’t developed the disease.

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This Retic is keeping his eye on us in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eschmit04!

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By Herp News

Although well known as one of the most iconic dinosaurs, Brontosaurus (the ‘thunder lizard’) has long been considered misclassified. Since 1903, the scientific community has believed that the genus Brontosaurus was in fact the Apatosaurus. Now, an exhaustive new study by palaeontologists from Portugal and the UK provides conclusive evidence that Brontosaurus is distinct from Apatosaurus and as such can now be reinstated as its own unique genus.

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Scientists confirm that ectotherms — like reptiles and amphibians — do follow “Bergmann’s rule”. The 19th-century naturalist posited that animals inhabiting colder climates have a larger body size.

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By Herp News

New research has shed light on the complex challenge facing scientists battling one of the world’s most devastating animal diseases. Chytrid fungus is thought to be behind the decline or extinction of at least 200 species of frogs. It is also one of the reasons why 31% of amphibian species are currently listed as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

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For decades, attempting to ascertain whether this little Jamaican/Cuban gecko, Sphaerodactylus argus, has been extirpated from or remained extant in Florida has been problematic.

The ocellated gecko was first seen on Key West in 1944. It was probably introduced to Florida in produce or construction shipments. But from its first sighting until 2005, it was seen so infrequently that its continued presence here had been questioned by biologists. So infrequent were the sightings – in some cases the hiatus between sightings was nearly 2 decades – that in at least 2 cases it was surmised that the lizard had been extirpated from America’s herpetofauna.

But we now know it’s here, and there is a fairly robust population.

On Key West in 2005, I collected a half dozen adult ocellated geckos and several eggs that I only knew to be a Sphaerodactylusof some species. When the eggs hatched, I had 2 ashy geckos and several ocellated geckos.

Later in the year, another friend saw a dozen adults and a third person collected a large number for the pet trade. Within the last 2 years many more have been seen. It seems that for the better part of 7 decades this little lizard has been hiding in plain sight.
Continue reading “Hiding in plain sight: The ocellated gecko” …read more
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Wildlife experts suspect this python became too much for its owner to handle, so he or she released it into the English countryside.

From Sky News:

“There are specific offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and Animal Welfare Act in relation to releasing a python and we would urge anyone with any information as to where the python came from to contact us.

“It is a possibility that the python may have outgrown its home and owners can contact Pip Reptile Rescue if they require any help or advice about caring for or rehousing reptiles.

“Similarly, we would urge anyone thinking about getting rid of their pets, particularly those which may pose a risk to the public, to contact an animal charity for advice so that they can be rehomed safely and responsibly.”

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The beauty of the anaconda is the spotlight of our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Flboy21283!

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By Herp News

Colorful, spiky and only a few inches long, three new lizard species discovered in the Andes may be the cutest dragon stand-ins on Earth

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By Herp News

Colorful, spiky and only a few inches long, three new lizard species discovered in the Andes may be the cutest dragon stand-ins on Earth.

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By Herp News

The three new species were found in the cloud forests of Peru and Ecuador, an international research team reported today (April 6) in the journal ZooKeys. The team, led by Omar Torres-Carvajal of the Museo de Zoología QCAZ in Ecuador, also ferreted out the five other woodlizard species recorded in recent years.

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By Herp News

The three new species were found in the cloud forests of Peru and Ecuador, an international research team reported today (April 6) in the journal ZooKeys. The team, led by Omar Torres-Carvajal of the Museo de Zoología QCAZ in Ecuador, also ferreted out the five other woodlizard species recorded in recent years.

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By Herp News

The females of a reclusive endangered lizard species may be increasing their chances of finding a mate by engaging in unusual behaviour which attracts males from up to 100m away.

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