By Herp News
‘Mama, I wanna be a toxic caterpillar,’ says the little bird. ‘Okay,’ mamma answers, ‘but first you gotta study your Batesian mimicry.’ Meet the cinereous mourner, an ash-colored, Amazonian bird that looks rather hum-drum compared to many other birds found in the region. Yet, scientists have discovered something special about the birds: its newborn babies look and move like a neon orange, toxic caterpillar.
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By Herp News
Police sought the public's help Monday to locate the owner of a Tegu lizard that was found in the front yard of a residence in Fontana.
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By Herp News
New information about the relationship between symbiotic microbial communities and amphibian disease resistance has been gained through a new study. A frog-killing fungus known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, has already led to the decline of more than 200 amphibian species including the now extinct-in-the-wild Panamanian golden frog.
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By Herp News
Every winter, sea ice in the Arctic expands, providing vital habitat for birthing seals, hunting polar bears, and foraging walruses. But as the Arctic has warmed faster than any place on the planet—due climate change caused by burning fossil fuels—sea ice is not expanding as far as it once did.
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By Herp News
Following the success of the Lazzarini-designed Jet Capsule mini yacht, a lighter and faster version called the Reptile has been launched. It's 500 kg (1,102 lb) lighter than its predecessor and is equipped with a 570 hp Ilmor MV8 high performance marine engine that powers the compact vessel to maximum speeds of 50 knots – that's over 90 km/h (57.5 mph)… Continue Reading Jet Capsule's Reptile …
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By Herp News
This is the shocking moment an explorer was forced to flee the onslaught of a horny giant tortoise. Documentary filmmaker Paul Rose was on an island in the Seychelles for a National Geographic segment when he spotted two of the 250kg reptiles doing the nasty. After disturbing their intimate moment, Rose was relentlessly chased by the 0.17 mph beast for more than 400 yards around Assumption …
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If there were such a thing as a category for “Best Actor in the Reptile World,” the eastern hognose snake would certainly be a nominee.
The eastern hognose snake, Heterodon platyhinos, is a denizen of sandhill and other xeric habitats of the eastern U.S. The snake has an upturned rostral scale it utilizes as a digging tool to help search for its principle prey of toads.
These snakes can be variable in coloration with reds, yellows or gray mixed into their pattern, and also can commonly be solid black. Besides its upturned snout, which gives it an almost comical look, this snake is best known for being an extremely good actor.
We recently encountered two specimens of eastern hognose snake in the wild. When we first approached one specimen, a near three-foot long female clad in beautiful golden yellow and black, she began to spread her neck very much like a cobra and hissed as she swayed her head back and forth. To the uninitiated she may have appeared to have been quite dangerous! However, this “act” did not work on us, so it was on to act two!
When hissing, spreading, and bluffing did not work, she then proceeded to simply roll over onto her back and writhe around with her mouth wide open and her tongue hanging out, then went completely limp. She pretended to die. What an act that was! She was better than any cowboy in any old western movie I have ever seen.
After we took a few photographs to preserve the encounter, we hiked another fifty feet where, to our surprise, we encountered another eastern hognose snake, this time an adult male clad in gray and silver with a slight pattern. He did not display the way the female did, but instead immediately went limp and “died.” What an incredible find! Two hognose snakes, within fifty feet of one another and both looked completely different!
Their “acting” behavior alo makes them one of the most interesting snakes to encounter in he field in North America. …read more
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Fences designed to protect woodland habitats in Canberra are having unintended consequences for the herp population.
From ABC Australia:
Lead author Bruno Ferronato said more than 100 animals died because the fence restricted their natural movement patterns.
“Usually they will move to other ponds, usually during springtime, looking for ponds to feed,” the University of Canberra researcher told 666 ABC Canberra.
“The fence is interrupting with the migratory habits of turtles. When they’re trying to move between ponds they’re hitting the fence and some of the animals are dying there.”
Read more here. …read more
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This Teratoscincus scincus is “wondering” where her next tasty treat is in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti!
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By Herp News
REPTILE lover Garry Sippel is on a mission.
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By Herp News
Scientists have turned to the opossum to develop a promising new and inexpensive antidote for venomous snake bites. They predict it could save thousands of lives worldwide without the side effects of current treatments.
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Our Herp Video of the Week is the arrival of a new Iguana named Phoenix to the family.
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
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Cute as a button is how we would describe this aquaflame collared lizard featured in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eve!
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By Herp News
Mr. T is a rebel and a trail blazer, but we’re not talking about the Mohawk wearing, gold chain-ado
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By Herp News
A valley veterinarian is giving checkups to more than 100 desert tortoises, it's a pretty huge task.It's all in preparation of the Arizona Game and Fish Department's massive tortoise adoption where dozens of tortoises need new homes.
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By Herp News
A new study has shown that the dottyback, a small predatory reef fish, can change the color of its body to imitate a variety of other reef fish species, allowing the dottyback to sneak up undetected and eat their young.
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Unlike the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern coral snakes have the same venom, no matter where they’re found.
From Genes to Genomes:
In a recent issue of GENETICS, Darin Rokyta and colleagues reported the results of a large survey of venom diversity across two snake species sharing nearly identical ranges and similar habitats in the southeastern United States. As expected, the mix in one species—the eastern diamondback rattlesnake—varied considerably from place to place. But the eastern coral snakes told a completely different story. In contrast to its rattlesnake neighbors, no matter where a coral snake came from, its venom was always the same.
Rokyta says the team was shocked by this lack of variation. “This is the first time anyone has looked at venom variation at this scale, and everybody has assumed that the co-evolutionary arms race would cause local populations to diverge quickly.”
The results not only challenge this assumption, they provide crucial information for rattlesnake conservation and coral snake antivenom development.
Read more here. …read more
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Unlike the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern coral snakes have the same venom mix, no matter where they’re found.
From Genes to Genomes:
In a recent issue of GENETICS, Darin Rokyta and colleagues reported the results of a large survey of venom diversity across two snake species sharing nearly identical ranges and similar habitats in the southeastern United States. As expected, the mix in one species—the eastern diamondback rattlesnake—varied considerably from place to place. But the eastern coral snakes told a completely different story. In contrast to its rattlesnake neighbors, no matter where a coral snake came from, its venom was always the same.
Rokyta says the team was shocked by this lack of variation. “This is the first time anyone has looked at venom variation at this scale, and everybody has assumed that the co-evolutionary arms race would cause local populations to diverge quickly.”
The results not only challenge this assumption, they provide crucial information for rattlesnake conservation and coral snake antivenom development.
Read more here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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The ringing peeps of a vocalizing ornate chorus frog, Pseudacris ornata, lack the upward slurring of the much more common spring peeper.
Although only one and one quarter inches in length, the ornate chorus frog, a heavy bodied species, looks larger. And this little frog of the southeastern United States, in some of its many colorations, is truly ornate. The ground color may vary from mud-brown, through russet, russet and green, to a clear pea green. There are often dorsal spots or stripes of a contrasting color. Black lateral and groin spotting is invariable and there is also a black eyestripe.
Despite its size, the ornate chorus frog can be perplexingly difficult to locate. It is ventriloquial to some degree, and a call that seems to be originating from close at hand may actually be originating from some distance away. On rare occasions, such as overcast, drizzly nights, ornate chorus frogs may sit on open muddy banks or float in the open while calling. But in most cases they call while tucked well away in tangles of blackberries or secluded in emergent grass clumps.
In some areas, such as its southernmost range on the Florida peninsula (the latitude of Lake Okeechobee), this frog is now present in reduced numbers (or extirpated). In fact, its current range in Florida may start well north of the Tampa Bay region. But in some more northerly areas it still seems common.
Take the time to look it up. It is a beautiful anuran.
Continue reading “Beautiful in sight and sound” …read more
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This male Cape gopher snake shows off some intense colors in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade!
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By Herp News
Climbing rats, seabirds and tropical gophers are among the 15 animal species that are at the absolute greatest risk of becoming extinct very soon. Expertise and money is needed to save them and other highly threatened species.
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By Herp News
Little is known about the oldest sea turtles that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago. The finding in the Baetic Cordillera, in Jaén, of the remains of a supposed new species of turtle, Hispaniachelys prebetica – considered the oldest in southern Europe – brought new clues six years ago. However, it was still not clear what group the primitive turtle belonged to. To resolve the matter, researchers studied the as-yet-unanalyzed fossils of the specimen, reinterpreted some of its features and provided new information on the morphology of these reptiles. The results marked a radical shift in fossil interpretation.
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The failure to reintroduce relic leopard frogs in a Nevada pond shows that conservation is a constant battle.
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
Clark County and the Nevada Department of Wildlife spent about five years trying to get the rare frog to thrive at a pond along the Muddy River. But nearly 2,000 frogs later, the county scuttled an agreement Feb. 3 with state wildlife officials after multiple failed efforts. It’s likely now that no frogs live at the pond, county officials say.
In a way, frogs and other amphibians are a barometer of an area’s overall environmental health. Their moist skin doesn’t take kindly to environmental hazards in the air. Nor will frogs survive if water, the lifeblood of their natural environment, disappears.
The relict leopard frog’s plight isn’t unusual in the amphibian world. Amphibians throughout the U.S. and worldwide are in decline, according to a 2013 federal report.
But don’t count out this particular frog just yet. Officials aren’t giving up on the tiny 2-inch frog, believed to be extinct in the 1950s.
The county hasn’t put all of its frogs in one pond.
Read more here. …read more
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This Rhino iguana is doing his best impersonation of a dog in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cycluracornuta!
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By Herp News
Conservationists and scientists have managed to catch-and-release what could be the world’s biggest freshwater fish ever for an upcoming episode of Ocean Mysteries. Naturalist and host of the show, Jeff Corwin—along with wildlife veterinarian, Nantarika Chansue, and the tourist fishing group, fishsiam.com—managed to reel in a giant freshwater stingray.
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By Herp News
Release the magicTurtle ninja racing ,from the developer “ANDROIDGAMER”——————————————-Join Turtle ninja…
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By Herp News
Release the magicTurtle ninja racing ,from the developer “ANDROIDGAMER”——————————————-Join Turtle ninja…
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The grass snake, or green keelback, (Macropisthodon plumbicolor) is a common snake found in india and a beautiful one indeed. As I mentioned in my previous vine snake post, I’m attracted to green-coloured snakes, so without any doubt I can call this one of my favourites.
Grass snakes are relatives of the familiar garter snakes found in the United States. Grass snakes are also called “green cobra” by few local rescuers in India because the young ones raise their hood like a cobra — and trust me, they look awesome in that position.
When you hold a grass snake in your hand you can feel its rough scales, which are why it is called a keelback. Grass snakes are toad lovers, so I guess these snakes are more eager for rainy season than any other animal. The sad part about their toad-loving habit is that many times grass snakes have been seen eating larger toads as relative to their length, and they die due to over-consumption of prey. Although grass snakes are non-venomous, their saliva is toxic to frogs and toads, so even if a frog or toad escapes from the mouth or jaws of a grass snake it will die in a short span of time.
The grass snake’s body is green and stout with keeled scales and a short tail. It has large green golden eyes with black pupils. Adults are green in color and sometimes have white spots on the fore body. Young ones have a black inverted ‘v’ mark on the head, and blue-black bands on the body that disappear as the snake grows.
Grass snakes are found in grasslands and forests, and also in densely-populated cities like Pune. They are very shy and do not bite. I have never seen an aggressive green keelback, but it can be capable of giving a painful bite, although it rarely does. It is a viviparous snake and lays 6-7 eggs between March and June.
This was one of the snakes I used to handle during my early days of snake rescuing because it never used to bite and it helped me to elminate my fear of snakes. I’m always very grateful to these snakes.
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Have you seen this amazing picture of a frog riding a beetle? The photographer tells the story of how he captured the incredible images.
From GMA News:
No, this is no camera trick: this frog is indeed riding this rhinoceros beetle, cowboy-style.
Indonesian wildlife photographer Hendy Mp captured the scene near his house in Sambas in Kalimatan Barat in Indonesia, UK’s Daily Mail reported.
The Daily Mail report said the “rodeo”—in which the Reinwardt’s Flying Frog jumped on top of the woodboring beetle and put its front leg in the air—lasted no more than five minutes.
Read more here. …read more
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These elfin spirits of woodland and prairie care not whether you call them peepers, chorus frogs, or treefrogs. They are the various species of the genus Pseudacris, a genus comprised of about a dozen species.
They include in their ranks the smallest frog of the United States, the southeastern little grass frog, P. ocularis, that is adult at only 5/8ths of an inch and the giant of the genus, the Pacific treefrog, P. regilla, that may be a full 2 inches long.
The majority of the species, however are adult at about 7/8ths inch to about 1 1/8th inches in length. In other words, all are diminutive.
Most of the chorus frogs have a vocalization that sounds like a fingernail being run along the small teeth of a plastic pocket comb. The pulse rate is slower and the frog’s color darker when temperatures are cold. The trill is faster and the colors brighter when the frog is warm. Those that don’t have an apparent ratcheting trill produce peeps. Truth be told though, if the pulse rate of the peeps were slowed you would again be listening to a very apparent ratcheting.
Even where populations of chorus frogs are producing boisterous choruses, the little frogs, usually clad in camouflage colors and patterns, can be difficult to see. More often than not they position themselves in a clump of grasses emerging from the shallows of an ephemeral pond (or roadside ditch), nose pointing almost straight upward, and when so positioned are almost invisible. If searching, it is often the inflated and vibrating vocal sac that is most apparent.
Of all chorus frogs, spring peepers, P. crucifer, and little grass frogs are the most arboreal. They may call from almost any available vantage position from water’s edge to several feet high in vegetation.
I wish you happy hunting and much luck as you search for these little frogs. You will probably need it.
Continue reading “The little frogs with big voices” …read more
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! You can’t get more green than this wonderful chondro in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bsuson!
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By Herp News
Eric Hopton for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online While not exactly in the Bambi league when it comes to cute, wild baby giant tortoises are a rare and exciting find. So, when scientists working in the Galapagos on the second Pinzón Island Giant Tortoise Survey found the first young Pinzón tortoises on the island for the first time in 100 years they were delighted. The find represents a major …
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In India, the ornate flying snake, Chrysopelea ornata, is also called the “ornamental flying snake” because of its unique and beautiful colour combination.
There are five species of flying snakes found around the world. All of them are found in Asian countries and belong to the chrysopelea family. India is home to two of those species: the ornate flying snake and the paradise flying snake (Chrysopelea paradisii).
While the paradise flying snake is found in the eastern parts of India, the ornate flying snake is found in some parts of Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka, as well as some central and north eastern parts of India.
Many people think that this snake flies like a bird, but the truth is this snake does not fly, it glides from higher heights to lower heights. It is not able to fly from lower heights to higher.
I am seriously in love with the colour of this snake. Its body is greenish-yellow with black bands and red spots between the bands. The head is black with yellow bands on top. The underside is pale green. The size of the snake varies from 150-175 cms, and it is oviparous by nature.
I was the luckiest guy on the planet the day I found this snake while herping in the jungles of Karnataka with my friend Riyaz Khoja, a wildlife photographer and snake rescuer.
We were walking in the jungle around 8 AM and saw thin branches move like something had fallen on them. We ran to the tree and were surprised to see a good-sized ornate flying snake. I was so excited, I shouted like I had just won the lottery, and my voice echoed through the jungle.
We lifted the snake from the branches and kept him in a relaxed position on the tree. After Riyaz clicked these beautiful photographs, we left the snake where we found it.
The memory of finding this snake brings a smile to my face every time I think about it. There are not words enough to express how beautiful they are. …read more
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A soldier assigned to a Kenya naval station was killed last month by a venomous snake, reports military newspaper Stars and Stripes.
Pfc. Bailey Jerome Swaggart, 25, of the 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died Feb. 19, a month after he was deployed to Manda Bay Naval Base. He was assigned to guard an air strip and got out of his Humvee to investigate a small brush fire nearby and was bitten.
The military treats more bite victims than many realize. According to a 2013 U.S. Army Research study , 17 cases of venomous snakebite, most in Afghans but including two U.S. service members, were brought to three U.S. military medical units in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011; all survived after treatment. The median time between being bitten and receiving treatment was 2.8 hours.
East Africa has a wide variety of venomous snakes, including puff adders, cobras, vipers and mambas. Though it was unclear which type of snake killed Swaggart, it was thought to have been a viper or a black mamba.
We all know members of the military are exposed to the hazards associated with a war zone, things like snipers, ambushes, and IEDs. It may not always occur to us hey’re also subject to the normal hazards of daily life, like car accidents, workplace accidents, and snake and insect bites. However, these dangers occur often enough to produce a significant casualty rate on their own, and often in areas of lesser or no conflict are the main cause of injury among service men and women.
To read more, check out the complete article on the Stars and Stripes website.
Black mamba photo by site user 1sun. …read more
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Hundreds of toads in the UK die as they try to cross roads during migration, so volunteers for Toad Watch are getting ready to help them out.
From itv.com:
A training workshop is being held today in Midhurst in collaboration with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust. The free raining will be provided on a number of aspects of toad conservation.
Common toads are very particular about their breeding sites, often returning to ancestral breeding ponds each year from hibernation areas. They will follow the same migratory route, often moving as an entire colony, which will inevitably lead to having to cross roads.
Read more here. …read more
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Always watching, always waiting, is the Gaboon viper in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user 1Sun!
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By Herp News
Last November, at the annual G-20 summit – for the 20 wealthiest of the world’s nations – in Brisbane, Australia, a staggering commitment was made to invest $60 to $70 trillion worldwide in new infrastructure over the next 15 years. This is akin to doubling the current value of all global infrastructure put together.
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Our Herp Video of the Week is a tribute to Elvis and Priscilla, a pair of tree frogs.
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
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By Herp News
More than 11 square miles of private land and prime habitat in eastern San Bernardino County have been set aside for the desert tortoise – which is sliding toward extinction – to offset the impacts of future renewable energy projects and other…
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By Herp News
A huge sea turtle found stranded on a remote South Carolina beach over the weekend was returned to the wild today (March 12). The nearly 500-lb. (215 kilograms) leatherback turtle was rescued Saturday (March 7) on Yawkey-South Island Reserve, a barrier island near Georgetown, suffering from low blood sugar and exhaustion. The rare leatherback shuffled back into the Atlantic under its own power …
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