Reptoman

see reptiles diffenetly

   Jan 27

Fun as a barrel of barred monkey frogs

Where there once was a seasonally flowing stream there is now a reservoir several acres in size. In this newly formed water body there are spectacled caiman, giant arapaima, neotropical water snakes, and a vast number of giant monkey frog tadpoles.

And somewhere on the far side of the reservoir, well away from the station’s buildings, perhaps in the shallows of the reservoir itself or maybe in a remote puddle, pond, or water-filled hollow log, there are probably barred monkey frog tadpoles, Phyllomedusa tomopterna.

At least there should be, for we have found several adults of this beautiful medium-sized hylid vocalizing from perches in reservoir-side shrubs and trees on the far banks.

Phyllomedusa tomopterna attains a length of about 2 inches. At adulthood, males are the slightly smaller sex. Although variable, the dorsum is often a forest green. The throat and chest are white(ish) and the belly is orange. The sides are a richer orange than the belly and bear broad vertical bars of purple-black. Each heel bears an easily noticeable calcar (heel spur). The soft clucking notes of the males do not have much carrying power.

These frogs are always eagerly sought on our tours and the search for them invariably introduces us to numerous other rainforest denizens. In fact, as you read this Patti and I will again be looking for this hylid in the rainforest of Amazonian Peru.

Wish us luck.
Continue reading “Fun as a barrel of barred monkey frogs” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 27

Herp Photo of the Day: Baby Crested Geckos!

Baby Crested Geckos, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MOC_Reptiles

It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MOC_Reptiles!

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 found.


   Jan 27

Tourist turtle washes up in Donegal

By Herp News

A loggerhead turtle that washed up on a County Donegal beach is being treated for hypothermia at Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry, County Down.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 27

Myanmar’s bird species count jumps to 1114

By Herp News

Myanmar is home to at least 1,114 bird species after researchers identified 20 previously undocumented species during recent surveys.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

What Is The Lizard Squad? Malaysia Airlines Website Hacked By Xbox Hack Group

By Herp News

The official website of Malaysia Airlines was hacked Monday by a group claiming to be from the “Lizard Squad,” which has previously taken credit for past denial-of-service attacks, including the takedown of the Xbox Live and Sony Playstation Network last month.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

Malaysia Airlines denies Lizard Squad compromised data

By Herp News

UPDATE: Malaysia Airlines has had its website targeted by a group called “Lizard Squad”, which made references to the Islamic State.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

'Lizard Squad' hackers target Malaysia Airlines website

By Herp News

The Malaysia Airlines website was commandeered Monday by hackers who referenced the Islamic State jihadists and claimed to be from the “Lizard Squad”, a group known for previous denial-of-service attacks. The website's front page was replaced with an image of a tuxedo-wearing lizard, and read “Hacked by LIZARD SQUAD — OFFICIAL CYBER CALIPHATE”. The Lizard Squad is a group of hackers that has …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

Malaysia Airlines Hit by Lizard Squad Hack Attack

By Herp News

Message “404 — plane not found” was temporarily plastered on website.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

A gray rat snake by any other name…

One of the advantages of living on a farm in rural Southeast Alabama is we often find snakes right here at the house.

One such snake is the gray rat snake, currently known by taxonomists as Pantherophis obsoletus spiloides and “oak snake” or “chicken snake” by locals.

We typically see rat snakes in the rafters of our barns, in our well pump house, or, more often than not, inside our chicken coupe coiled somewhere off the ground waiting for one of the hens to lay a fresh clutch of eggs. They’re also a species regularly seen crossing roads late on a hot summer evening, and are one the most common large snakes found in our region.

Gray rat snakes range over much of Alabama, South Georgia, and North Florida, and one color phase from Northern Florida dubbed the “white oak” gray rat snake by herpers can be extraordinarily light in coloration and is quite beautiful.

Gray rat snakes are constrictors, and are also excellent climbers. They feed on a wide variety of small mammals, birds, and their eggs, and will often take refuge high above the ground in tree hollows. We sometimes see a gray rat snake sticking its head out of an old bird house in an oak tree at the back of the property, where it will usually flick its tongue out a few times in response to our presence and then draw its head inside.

We enjoy finding and seeing them here, and although we may lose an occasional chicken egg or two, we don’t mind because the service they provide by ridding us of countless rodents makes up for it! …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 26

Frogs prove ideal models for studying developmental timing

By Herp News

Thyroid hormone receptor alpha plays an important role in hind limb development in frogs, scientists have found. With new gene mutation technology, researchers were able to successfully mutate the gene in the tadpole models, discovering the value of tadpoles as ideal models for studying the role of hormones in development because of the timely metamorphosis from tadpole to juvenile frog, and because that transition is completely dependent on hormones.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

UK man finds snake in his shopping bag

One man got more than he bargained after he discovered a live snake in his grocery bag.

From the Chronicle Live:

Dean thinks the snake may have been curled up in a pair of thick socks which he had also bought on Saturday’s shopping trip.

He added: “I think it’s maybe been keeping warm in them before coming out once I arrived back.”

Wayne Mailer, who runs Dragons Den Exotic Pets in Newcastle, said: “Looking at the picture, this appears to be an Amery Corn Snake.

“I think it’s probably only a hatchling maybe only a few weeks old . At the minute it doesn’t appear to be in the best of health, probably due to the cold weather.

“More than likely, it is an escapee pet.”

Read more here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 26

Herp Photo of the Day: Corn Snake!

Corn Snake, uploaded by kingsnake.com user steveroylance1

It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user steveroylance1!

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 found.


   Jan 26

Malaysia Airlines attacked, big data dump threatened

By Herp News

The Malaysia Airlines website has been attacked and the Lizard Squad, one of the groups that claimed responsibility on Monday, threatened to soon “dump some loot” found on the airline’s servers. The airline said in a statement on its Facebook page that its Domain Name System (DNS) was compromised and as a result users trying to access the URL www.malaysiaairlines.com were being redirected to a …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 26

‘Lizard Squad’ hackers target Malaysia Airlines website

By Herp News

It also carried the headline “404 – Plane Not Found”, an apparent reference to the airlines' puzzling loss of flight MH370 last year with 239 people aboard.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 25

Ancient Knife-Toothed Reptile Is Crocodile Cousin

By Herp News

It's unclear where the reptile, Nundasuchus songeaensis, falls on the evolutionary tree, said Sterling Nesbitt, an assistant professor of geology at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The researchers announced their findings yesterday (Jan. 20) in a statement.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 24

Warming seas decrease sea turtle basking

By Herp News

Green sea turtles may stop basking on beaches around the world within a century due to rising sea temperatures, a new study suggests. Basking helps the turtles regulate body temperature and may aid their immune system and digestion. By analyzing six years of turtle surveys and 24 years of satellite data, researchers have found the turtles bask more often when sea surface temperatures are lower. This vital behavior may cease globally by 2102 if global warming trends continue.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Courier no longer ships reptiles in UK

International courier company TNT has announced it will no longer ship live reptiles in the UK for what it calls “health and safety reasons.”

Although the original announcement was made in October of last year, it was made so quietly hat many reptile hobbyists and businesses are only finding out about the change in policy now, when their packages are returned to them the following day by TNT drivers telling them that their depot was “no longer handling reptiles.”

I’m not sure what aspect of the reptile shipping service could be considered unhealthy or dangerous, but then I doubt if this is the real reason for the company’s change of policy. Whatever the reason, to those of us who understand reptile transportation protocols, the decision is crazy. I’ve written several magazine features about transporting and packing reptiles safely based on my experience of shipping many thousands of reptiles over several decades. To me it seems like a dumb decision, whichever way you look at it.

According to a piece in UK pet trade publication PBW News, a TNT spokesman said, “The company has made the decision not to transport any animals due to health and safety reasons. As a result, we are not taking on any new customers in this area.”

In response to queries from Pet Business World about potential health and safety issues with transporting reptiles, Judith Hackitt, chairman of the Health and Safety Executive, said, “I see this time and time again, companies using health and safety as a blanket excuse and it’s got to stop. It is misleading for members of the public to constantly read headlines blaming non-existent health and safety laws for stopping people for going about their everyday business. It detracts from the real business of health and safety.” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 23

North Carolina reptile ban hype, not reality

An article about a supposed reptile ban has been making it’s way around social media. It has a headline designed to frighten any herper: “BREAKING NEWS: NC Reptile Ban Legislation! HSUS to Push for Dangerous Wild Animal Legislation in NC; Boas, Pythons and Venomous at Risk.” Sounds really ominous, doesn’t it?

The article was based on information posted on the website of Carolina Tiger Rescue (CTR), stating CTR will join with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to introduce a bill that “bans bears, non-human primates, and wild cats.” It further states this “legislation has nothing to do with farming practices. It is about bears, nonhuman primates, and wild cats. Not pigs. Not chickens. Not cows.”

Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped speculation by voices intent on inflaming the community with messages saying things like “this legislation may cover more than big cats. The HSUS model Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) legislation, for which they received the stamp of approval from the American Bar Association (ABA) Animal Law Committee in 2014, includes large constrictors (even boa constrictors) and venomous snakes.”

It should be noted that the above referenced model legislation has not been adopted by the ABA; but is merely a recommendation by a committee.

A simple phone call to the executive director of CTR, Pam Fulk, immediately answered the speculation as to whether the legislation included or would include reptiles or amphibians. Fulk responded that such speculation is “absolutely untrue.” She said the legislation is in its final process of review, adding, “People are already making things up.”

When a group has any association with HSUS, USARK is vigilant to verify their statements to us. USARK has mechanisms in place to identify legislation introduced in all 50 states, including amendments to existing laws that would affect the herp community. Let’s not speculate, and waste our energy and activism, when we can verify, and focus our efforts on confirmed threats.
…read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 23

Sea turtle finds her way back to birth beach, but how?

By Herp News

It's a sea turtle mystery that has stumped scientists for decades: How does the female sea turtle, which travels across thousands of miles of open ocean each year, still manage to navigate back to the same beach where she hatched to lay her eggs?

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Turtle freedom

By Herp News

A 22.5-kilo olive ridley sea turtle measuring almost 2 feet long is released in the waters of the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City last Thursday by a team led by Dr. Westley Rosario of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and joined by local and Korean members of the Lions Club. (Jojo Riñoza)

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Warming seas decrease sea turtle basking

By Herp News

Green sea turtles may stop basking on beaches around the world within a century due to rising sea temperatures, a new study suggests. Basking helps the turtles regulate body temperature and may aid their immune system and digestion. By analyzing six years of turtle surveys and 24 years of satellite data, researchers have found the turtles bask more often when sea surface temperatures are lower …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Rare turtle washed up on Cumbrian beach dies

By Herp News

A rare turtle found washed up on a Cumbrian beach and being cared for at a county aquarium has died.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Warming seas decrease sea turtle basking

By Herp News

Green sea turtles may stop basking on beaches around the world within a century due to rising sea temperatures, a new study suggests. Basking helps the turtles regulate body temperature and may aid their immune system and digestion. By analyzing six years of turtle surveys and 24 years of satellite data, researchers have found the turtles bask more often when sea surface temperatures are lower …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Turtle savior is on a mission

By Herp News

Dr. Paul Gibbons, managing director of the Behler Chelonian Center in California, is on a mission to save endangered turtles from extinction.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Lizard Squad: Our DDoS Attack Service Wasn't Hacked, We Handed Out Customer Passwords

By Herp News

One of the key members of Lizard Squad tells Forbes an insider was to blame for the database leak of an attack service the crew is offering, not an outside hacker, contrary to previous reports. The group was handing out the database, he claimed, indicating customers of the Lizard Stresser service have already had their online accounts comrpromised by the Lizards.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Lizard Squad: We Weren't Hacked, We Were Handing Out Customer Passwords

By Herp News

One of the key members of Lizard Squad tells Forbes an insider was to blame for the database leak of an attack service the crew is offering, not an outside hacker, contrary to previous reports. The group was handing out the database, he claimed, indicating customers of the Lizard Stresser service have already had their online accounts comrpromised by the Lizards.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. Announces Release of 2014 Annual Reports for Closed-End Funds (NDP, NTG, TPZ, TTP …

By Herp News

Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C., the adviser of NDP, NTG, TPZ, TTP and TYG announced today the release of 2014 annual stockholders’ reports for each of these funds.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 23

Herp Video of the Week: Giant Waxy Monkey Frog Tadpoles Hatching!

Check out this video “Giant Waxy Monkey Frog Tadpoles Hatching!” submitted by kingsnake.com user mjnovy.
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 Snake

No products found.


   Jan 23

Herp Photo of the Day: Eastern Painted Turtles!

Eastern Painted Turtles, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nategodin

It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user nategodin!

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 found.


   Jan 22

Excessive rainfall harms tropical leaf litter frogs

While some species are suffering due to drought, leaf litter frogs are struggling with too much rainfall.

From the University of New Mexico Newsroom:

Using four different species of leaf litter frogs, they replicated and sampled 10 plots per year, using a plot survey technique of total leaf litter removal within each plot. They measured and sampled annual species diversity and community composition once a year during March, during the dry season, at the Organization of Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station in southern Costa Rica.

Their findings were surprising in that strictly terrestrial frog species (i.e., they do not breed in water) can be influenced by extreme rainfall events much like their aquatic-breeding counterparts. The researchers discovered that species diversity and the community structure changed negatively in dramatic fashion from the two pre-La Niña years compared to the onset of the La Niña event in 2010.

The altered community structure due to extreme rainfall lasted for over 20 months. During that time, all four leaf litter frog species declined in number and several measures revealed marked changes in the community structure in terms of both plot diversity and occupancy.

Read more here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 22

Nothing comes between a man and his bush viper

Back in 1970, while scanning a pricelist from Hank Molt, the name Mt. Kenya bush viper, Atheris desaixii, caught my eye. I was familiar with several species in the genus, but A. desaixii was one that I didn’t know.

In those days there was no Google to turn to for information. Even the word computer was seldom heard and if heard it was not thought about as belonging to a magazine-sized entity that would reside in average homes, schoolrooms, backpacks, and vehicles.

But we did have telephones. And back then we dialed the number of the person we hoped to talk with. Since there was no caller ID to alert them that it was a pest calling, they almost always answered the phone. So I called Hank. Hank answered, and a few moments later he was describing a Mt. Kenya bush viper to me. It seems that the snake was primarily black, had yellow tipped scales, and its venom composition was basically unknown. Hank said it was a beautiful snake, really, really pretty.

Sounded pretty to me, so I asked Patti “Do I need a Mt. Kenya bush viper?” She looked at me like I had just stepped off a spaceship, and said “no” (and it was an emphatic no).

So I called Hank back, told him that Patti couldn’t wait to see the viper, and to ship it ASAP. Two days later I was getting acquainted with my first Mt. Kenya bush viper.

And Hank had been right. It was a beauty.
Continue reading “Nothing comes between a man and his bush viper” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.


   Jan 22

Herp Photo of the Day: Leucistic Western Hognose!

Leucistic Western Hognose, uploaded by kingsnake.com user motorhead

It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user motorhead!

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 found.


   Jan 22

Hacking Group Lizard Squad Hit With a Cyberattack on Its Own Network

By Herp News

© Dado Ruvic/Reuters People pose in front of a display showing the word “cyber” in binary code. The hacker cohort Lizard Squad, who gleefully shut down the Xbox Live and PlayStation networks over the holidays, has been hit with a cyberattack on its own network.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

Sundarbans still reeling from effects of December oil spill

By Herp News

Last month, an estimated 350,000 liters of fuel oil spilled into the Sundarbans delta on the Bay of Bengal. An oil tanker that had collided with a cargo vessel on December 9th sank into the Shela River, spilling its oil into a protected sanctuary for the rare and endangered Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) and the Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica).

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

Video: clouded leopards and elephants grace drowned forest in Thailand

By Herp News

Camera trap video from Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Thailand has revealed an impressive array of wildlife, including scent-marking clouded leopards and a whole herd of Asian elephant. The camera traps were set by HabitatID, an organization devoted to using remote camera traps to prove to government officials that wildlife still flourishes in forgotten places.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

Video: clouded leopards and elephants grace drowned forest in Thailand

By Herp News

Camera trap video from Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Thailand has revealed an impressive array of wildlife, including scent-marking clouded leopards and a whole herd of Asian elephant. The camera traps were set by HabitatID, an organization devoted to using remote camera traps to prove to government officials that wildlife still flourishes in forgotten places.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

Climate change threatens 30 years of sea turtle conservation success

By Herp News

A new study is sounding the alarm about climate change and its potential impact on more than 30 years of conservation efforts to keep sea turtles around for the next generation. Climate change is causing sea-level rise, and how coastal communities react to that rise could have dire consequences for sea turtles and other wildlife that rely on an unobstructed beach for survival, researchers say.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

Climate change threatens 30 years of sea turtle conservation success

By Herp News

A new study is sounding the alarm about climate change and its potential impact on more than 30 years of conservation efforts to keep sea turtles around for the next generation. Climate change is causing sea-level rise, and how coastal communities react to that rise could have dire consequences for sea turtles and other wildlife that rely on an unobstructed beach for survival, researchers say.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

PSN and Xbox Live "Xmas Hackers" Are Hacked

By Herp News

Lizard Squad's “boot-for-hire” service compromised, with more than 14,000 names revealed.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

No products found.


   Jan 21

The superhero salamander who never grows up

Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are a neotenic aquatic salamander that lives exclusively in central Mexico in Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. Axolotls regrettably are as good as extinct in the wild due to their habitat being highly polluted and many invasive fish being introduced to their lake.

Although listed as as a “critically endangered” species on the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species, it does not do much good if their environment is not protected alongside with the species.

In addition to axolotls’ uniqueness of remaining in larval form their entire lives, they are also known for their regenerative abilities. They can grow back entire limbs, damaged lungs, cut spinal cords, vital organs, and even pieces of their brain.They are also 1,000 more times less likely to get cancer than most mammals. Scientists are investigating a biological technique to introduce these genes to humans in hopes that within the next 20 years we will be able to grow our own new limbs.

Axolotls can easily be obtained in captivity and can come in many different color variations. A single axolotl can be kept quite successfully in a ten-gallon aquarium feeding on earthworms, bloodworms, waxworms, salmon pellets, and occasionally beefheart. They can be a very rewarding, long-lived pet you never have to worry about growing up. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

No products found.