By Herp News
Adult sea turtles find their way back to the beaches where they hatched by seeking out unique magnetic signatures along the coast, according to new evidence.
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For sea turtles, there’s no place like magnetic home
Sea turtle navigates vast ocean to find beach where she was born: 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?
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Newly discovered frog species gives birth to live tadpoles
Think all frogs lay eggs? Think again.
From ScienceBlogs:
A new species of frog (Limnonectes larvaepartus) has been discovered in the rain forest of Sulawesi island in Indonesia. This species challenges the grade-school wisdom that taught us: ‘frogs lay eggs’. It looks like textbooks will need to be revised as this is the only known exception to that rule. Study author Dr. Jimmy McGuire (University of California, Berkeley) said the following as quoted in Reuters, “Reproduction in most frogs could not be more different from human reproduction. In this case, what is most interesting, ironically, is that the reproductive mode is more similar to our own.”
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Nose to nose with an alligator in the night
About a half a mile from our house there is a small drainage culvert that channels water from a small neighborhood lake and wetland, beneath a busy highway, and into the Paynes Prairie basin. Various herps at various times utilize this culvert to assuage their various needs. Patti and I occasionally visit the canal just to see what creatures happen to be present at different times.
Sometimes we’re surprised, sometimes we’re not. When the water is flowing strongly it may attain a depth of about a foot. More normally it is 8 inches or less deep. Sometimes the culvert is totally dry and during droughts it may remain dry for weeks or even months on end.
But when times are good and the water is gurgling through this tiny culvert, I am provided with as good a chance at seeing a greater siren, Siren lacertina, or a two-toed amphiuma, Amphiuma means, as any other locale I know. One night when Mike and I stopped by we were happy to see hundreds of bluefin killifish. A Florida banded water snake or two is not an unusual find.
Patti made what was probably the most unexpected and most memorable find . We were passing the culvert one night and decided to check it out. Patti, being much more nimble than I, clambered down the slope to the culvert to see what wonders of nature awaited her scrutiny. Headlight gleaming, she peered into the culvert, made an immediate exclamation and scurried back up the slope.
“What’s the hurry?” I asked. “
“Look over the edge,” Patti said.
I did and leaning as far forward as I dared I could barely see the tip of a rounded black object.
She had come nose to nose with a 10 foot alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, that was sheltering quietly in the culvert.
We both decided that we had enough of herping for the evening.
Continue reading “Nose to nose with an alligator in the night” …read more
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State to pick up abandoned tortoise
By Herp News
The tortoise that was discovered by Jonathan Hanks on his Oahu driveway on New Year's Day was scheduled to be picked up by the State Department of Agriculture Wednesday afternoon. Rep. John Mizuno's office received several calls from people claiming to be the owner of the tortoise. The state will be calling them back and referring them to the Department of Agriculture. The primary concern of …
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Herp Photo of the Day: Pitviper!
It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Neverscared!
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A happy ending to a tortoise story
By Herp News
A well-traveled tortoise is back where he belongs. Rarely does a tortoise become a top story, but a reptile has been been getting all sorts of attention after getting lost. Now, this tortoise story comes with a happy ending. The phone had been ringing off the hook at State Representative John Mizuno's office. Dozens of people wanted to talk about a large tortoise found on Oahu's Windward side …
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Tortoise found in Kaneohe reunited with owner
By Herp News
The story of a tortoise found roaming a Kaneohe neighborhood has come to a happy close, its ending not too far from where it all began.
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State to pick up abandoned tortoise
By Herp News
The tortoise that was discovered by Jonathan Hanks on his driveway on New Year's Day was scheduled to be picked up by the State Department of Agriculture Wednesday afternoon.
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Are all rattlesnakes created equal? No, maybe not
By Herp News
New research by a team of biologists has revealed that creating antivenom is a bit tricky. That’s because the type of venom a snake produces can change according to where it lives.
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Did palm oil expansion play a role in the Ebola crisis?
By Herp News
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa may have been the result of complex economic and agricultural policies developed by authorities in Guinea and Liberia, according to a new commentary in Environment and Planning A. Looking at the economic activities around villages where Ebola first emerged, the investigators analyzed a shift in land-use activities in Guinea’s forested region, particularly an increase in oil palm.
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Loch Ness monster's ancestor? Early Scots reptile identified
By Herp News
London (AFP) – A giant prehistoric reptile that patrolled the waters off Scotland 170 million years ago has been identified by scientists, they said Monday.
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Radiated tortoises seized in Paris airport
Smugglers attempted to pass almost 200 baby radiated tortoises through Paris.
From PressTV:
The rare reptile species are known as “radiated tortoises” and found only in Madagascar, customs officials said. The one-of-a-kind pattern on their shell case makes them precious for collectors.
The baby reptiles, 15 of which had died, were discovered in a crate carrying sea cucumbers on December 14. The officials added that “particularly unsuitable conditions of transport,” was the cause of their death.
Those that have survived have been transported to Tortoise Village in France’s southeastern Var region.
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Herp Photo of the Day: Uromastyx !
It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user plietz!
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Lizard Squad and the DDoS-for-hire ecology explained by NexusGuard
By Herp News
Recently, Internet mayhem group Lizard Squad made news by ruining Christmas Day for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network users. Afterwards the group unveiled a distributed denial of service (DDoS) tool offered to the public that allows people to use the … Continue reading →
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Turtle Club Restaurant in Punta Gorda Celebrates Official Grand Opening
By Herp News
PUNTA GORDA, Fla., Jan. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The Turtle Club Coastal Tavern and Claw Bar holds its official Grand Opening Thursday, January 15, and the “Join us!” invitation is going out on social media, in e-mail alerts, and via general advertising, announced the historic restaurant in Punta Gorda. “We have been experiencing a fantastic 'soft launch' throughout the fall and winter …
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Crocodiles and alligators live together in the Keys
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The Lower Keys can now join the Everglades as home to breeding populations of both American alligators and crocodiles.
From Keys News:
If she and Cherkiss are correct, then the Lower Keys have joined the Everglades as home to breeding populations of alligators and crocodiles.
Unlike the Upper and Middle Keys, the Lower Keys have long been home to a small community of alligators. The famed Everglades denizen is one of the main draws at Blue Hole, an old railroad quarry in the Key Deer refuge that has evolved into a rainfall-fueled freshwater lake. Alligators also make homes on other parts of Big Pine, as well as surrounding Lower Keys islands, where the limestone bedrock is of a less porous variety than the keystone bedrock of the northern island chain. As a result, those islands retain enough freshwater during the dry season to provide acceptable, if not especially good, habitat for freshwater-dependent alligators.
Lower Keys promoters now can decide whether to follow the path of Everglades backers by promoting the fact the area harbors both alligators and crocodiles. After all, the area already focuses much of its marketing resources around its attributes as an ecotourist destination.
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Herp Photo of the Day: Chameleon!
It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user vinniem1210!
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Slick and slender snake beats short and stubby lizard in sand swimming
By Herp News
For swimming through sand, a slick and slender snake can perform better than a short and stubby lizard. That’s one conclusion from a study of the movement patterns of the shovel-nosed snake, a native of the Mojave Desert of the Southwest United States.
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Turtle Beach Updates Full Year Sales Outlook
By Herp News
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach Corporation (HEAR) today announced that, in spite of challenging overall market conditions, it expects net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 to be within its previously issued guidance range of $185 to $195 million, albeit at the low end of this range. “While industry conditions proved to be more challenging in 2014 than we …
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Casting for another job: will fishers take up a new livelihood?
By Herp News
Can alternative income programs save Fiji’s reef fish? Many implicate the failure of Fiji’s government to prioritize sustainable management over fisheries development projects, or suggest that Fijians’ mindsets must dramatically shift first.
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Disabled tortoise on the move again thanks to Lego wheelchair
By Herp News
Meet Blade, the little disabled tortoise who gets to keep on moving thanks to his custom-made Lego wheelchair.
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Brothers sculpt 12-foot-tall sea turtle from snow
By Herp News
Ben Hooper NEW BRIGHTON, Minn., Jan. 12 (UPI) — A trio of Minnesota brothers famed for their snow sculptures of sea creatures have unveiled their latest front yard creation, a 12-foot-tall sea turtle.
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New study: ‘Yeti’ hairs do not point to unknown bear species
By Herp News
A new study casts doubt on findings from 2013 that hairs from a purported Yeti belonged to an unknown bear species or polar and brown bear hybrid. Instead, two researchers—who took a fresh look at the DNA in question—say the hairs are simply that of a Himalayan brown bear.
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Malta approves public referendum of bird hunt that kills over 15,000
By Herp News
Malta’s Constitutional Court has upheld a public referendum to decide the fate of the country’s controversial spring bird hunt, which kills over ten thousand migrating birds every year. The Constitutional Court threw out objections by Malta’s powerful hunting lobby, and instead sided with the 11 conservation groups who organized the referendum, known as the Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting—gathering 40,000 signatures from Maltese voters.
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Evolve PC Requirements Revealed
By Herp News
2K and Turtle Rock announce minimum and recommend PC specifications for upcoming monster-hunting game.
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New year, new viper rescue!
As I was preparing for my new year, I received a call from an unknown number, requesting me for a rescue for an unidentified snake.
Based on the area and the weather I presumed it was a Russell’s viper, but according to the description of the person who called me, it was a rat snake or a grass snake. I called up my friend and picked him up on the way as I never go alone on rescue calls, so there will be someone who can drive me to hospital in case any accident occurs.
When I reached the spot it was in the downtown area. The snake was coiled up in a corner surrounded by 20-25 people. As I started the onerous task of rescue, the crowd panicked and took a step or two back. I shined the flash light toward the snake; it was a Russell’s viper indeed.
My friend kept an eye on the snake till the time I arranged a snake sack. The viper was around 5 ft. in length, a good sized snake. I directed the snake toward the sack with the help of my snake stick and tied the mouth of the sack.
The rescue was successfully completed. I was, however, disturbed that the people who had surrounded the viper were not at all aware it is one of the deadliest creature on the earth and that it could be fatal if the viper had bitten any one of them. So after the rescue I took 20 minutes to make the people aware, as I always do.
The feeling was so good after rescuing the snake, and I really want to thank that viper for maintaining a cool temper even after he was surrounded and disturbed by huge number of people.
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Florida's seven wonderful water snakes
Florida is home, at least in small part, to seven species of water snakes of the genus Nerodia.
One species, the Mississippi green water snake barely enters the state on extreme western tip of the panhandle. The midland water snake, a subspecies of the northern water snake, is found from the central panhandle to the western tip. Two subspecies of plain-bellied water snakes (the yellow-bellied and the red-bellied) are also panhandle species.
One or another of the three subspecies of the salt marsh snakes may be found along almost all of Florida’s extensive coastline, but are absent from St. Augustine northward on the Atlantic Coast. Two of the three subspecies of the southern water snake, the Florida and the southern, occur in suitable habitats throughout the state (save for the Florida Keys).
The southern subspecies is restricted in distribution primarily to the state’s panhandle. Except for a small area in northeastern Florida you may happen across the Florida green water snake. But of them all, the seventh species, the brown water snake, Nerodia taxispilota, is the only one to occur throughout all of mainland Florida (the possible exception being a narrow strip along the state’s extreme environmental nightmare, the southeastern coastline).
All too often, the brown water snake is mistaken for a cottonmouth (“water moccasin”). This is sad; other than each having a feisty disposition, the two are not even vaguely similar. Having a heavy body and a verified length in excess of five and a half feet, the brown is one of the larger water snakes. The three rows of dark brown markings are usually square in shape and unless the snake is unusually dark or the pattern is obscured by a patina of mud, the markings are evident throughout the snake’s life.
The brown water snake utilizes a variety of habitats: canals, swamps, and rivers among them. The snake may often ascend several feet above the water surface to seek a basking spot in an overhanging tree.
Continue reading “Florida’s seven wonderful water snakes” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Florida's seven wonderous water snakes
Florida is home, at least in small part, to seven species of water snakes of the genus Nerodia.
One species, the Mississippi green water snake barely enters the state on extreme western tip of the panhandle. The midland water snake, a subspecies of the northern water snake, is found from the central panhandle to the western tip. Two subspecies of plain-bellied water snakes (the yellow-bellied and the red-bellied) are also panhandle species.
One or another of the three subspecies of the salt marsh snakes may be found along almost all of Florida’s extensive coastline, but are absent from St. Augustine northward on the Atlantic Coast. Two of the three subspecies of the southern water snake, the Florida and the southern, occur in suitable habitats throughout the state (save for the Florida Keys).
The southern subspecies is restricted in distribution primarily to the state’s panhandle. Except for a small area in northeastern Florida you may happen across the Florida green water snake. But of them all, the seventh species, the brown water snake, Nerodia taxispilota, is the only one to occur throughout all of mainland Florida (the possible exception being a narrow strip along the state’s extreme environmental nightmare, the southeastern coastline).
All too often, the brown water snake is mistaken for a cottonmouth (“water moccasin”). This is sad; other than each having a feisty disposition, the two are not even vaguely similar. Having a heavy body and a verified length in excess of five and a half feet, the brown is one of the larger water snakes. The three rows of dark brown markings are usually square in shape and unless the snake is unusually dark or the pattern is obscured by a patina of mud, the markings are evident throughout the snake’s life.
The brown water snake utilizes a variety of habitats: canals, swamps, and rivers among them. The snake may often ascend several feet above the water surface to seek a basking spot in an overhanging tree.
Continue reading “Florida’s seven wonderous water snakes” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Australia home to miniature Komodo dragon
A fraction of the size of its cousin the Komodo dragon, a recently identified Australian goanna could fit in your hand.
From the Scientific American
Lizards don’t get much bigger than the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), which can reach three meters in length and may weigh as much as 70 kilograms. But not every member of the Varanus genus is a giant. Scientists in Australia last month unveiled the newest Varanus species and it’s as small as the Komodo is large. The newly discovered Dampier Peninsula goanna (V. sparnus) is just 23 centimeters long and 16 grams in weight. That’s about the size of a human hand, which would barely count as a nibble for a hungry Komodo dragon.
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Australia home to minature Komodo dragon
A fraction of the size of its cousin the Komodo dragon, a recently identified Australian goanna could fit in your hand.
From the Scientific American
Lizards don’t get much bigger than the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), which can reach three meters in length and may weigh as much as 70 kilograms. But not every member of the Varanus genus is a giant. Scientists in Australia last month unveiled the newest Varanus species and it’s as small as the Komodo is large. The newly discovered Dampier Peninsula goanna (V. sparnus) is just 23 centimeters long and 16 grams in weight. That’s about the size of a human hand, which would barely count as a nibble for a hungry Komodo dragon.
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Herp Photo of the Day: Boa Constrictor!
It’s our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user BoaZilla!
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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New species of marine reptile found
By Herp News
A new species of marine reptile that lived about 170 million years ago is identified from fossils found on the Isle of Skye.
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New species of marine reptile found
By Herp News
A new species of marine reptile that lived about 170 million years ago is identified from fossils found on the Isle of Skye.
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Ancient Scottish Sea Reptile Not 'Nessie,' But Just As Cute
By Herp News
It was 15 feet long, with a snout shaped like a dolphin's. This newly identified meat-eater swam the seas near the Isle of Skye in the time of dinosaurs.
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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Ancient Scottish Sea Reptile Not 'Nessie,' But Just As Cute
By Herp News
It was 15 feet long, with a snout shaped like a dolphin's. This newly identified meat-eater swam the seas near the Isle of Skye in the time of dinosaurs.
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Prehistoric monster discovered in Scotland
By Herp News
Scotland has its very own prehistoric marine reptile—and, no, we're not talking about Nessie, the mythic Loch Ness monster.
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Move over Nessie, Scotland gets a new prehistoric marine reptile
By Herp News
By Will Dunham (Reuters) – Scotland has its very own prehistoric marine reptile – and, no, we're not talking about Nessie, the mythic Loch Ness monster. Scientists have announced the discovery of the fossil remains of a dolphin-like seagoing reptile on Scotland's Isle of Skye that lived about 170 million years ago and was about 14 feet (4.3 meters) long. The creature, named Dearcmhara shawcrossi …
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Move over Nessie, Scotland gets a new prehistoric marine reptile
By Herp News
By Will Dunham (Reuters) – Scotland has its very own prehistoric marine reptile – and, no, we're not talking about Nessie, the mythic Loch Ness monster. Scientists have announced the discovery of the fossil remains of a dolphin-like seagoing reptile on Scotland's Isle of Skye that lived about 170 million years ago and was about 14 feet (4.3 meters) long. The creature, named Dearcmhara shawcrossi …
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Fossils of large ocean reptile discovered on the coast of Scotland
By Herp News
Thor Benson ISLE OF SKYE, Scotland, Jan. 11 (UPI) — An amateur collector named Brian Shawcross has discovered fossils of Scotland's first known ichthyosaur.
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