By Herp News
The total number of turtles that came ashore to nest on Boca Raton's beaches fell off this year after two record-breaking years in a row.
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Sea turtle nesting numbers down in Boca
Paleontologists unearth bizarre 'fish lizard,' the oldest of its kind
By Herp News
Scientists in China have discovered a remarkably well-preserved fossil of a primitive ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that first appeared some 250 million years ago.
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What a difference a croak makes
The Big Apple is home to a small frog with a very distinctive croak.
From Wired:
The new species, which biologists are calling the Atlantic Coast leopard frog, was hiding in plain sight. Besides its croak, the new species is nearly indistinguishable from several other frog species living in the area. As detailed today in PLoS ONE, the researchers were able to make the identification after comparing the DNA, appearance, and croaking noises of hundreds of frogs.
The authors, led by Jeremy Feinberg of Rutgers University, first announced their suspicions of the new species in 2012, when they reported that familiar-looking frogs with unfamiliar croaks were hopping around the wetlands near Yankee Stadium. Although the coloration of the Atlantic Coast leopard frog is very similar to that of other leopard frogs, its distinctive croak, which sounds like a simple, repeated “chuck,” sets it apart.
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Sea turtle nesting on Boca's beaches: 'It's been much better'
By Herp News
The total number of turtles that came ashore to nest on Boca Raton's beaches fell off this year after two record-breaking years in a row.
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NSW reptile park calls for funnel webs
By Herp News
A NSW reptile park is calling for people to catch deadly funnel web spiders and donate them so antivenom can be made.
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Forensic DNA test conclusively links snake bite marks on people to species
By Herp News
Starting with a simple DNA swab taken from fang marks on people bitten by snakes, an international research team correctly identified the species of the biting snake 100 percent of the time in a first-of-its-kind clinical study.
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Ichthyosaur fossil solves reptile riddle
By Herp News
For nearly 150 million years, they were apex predators of the ocean — streamlined sleek-snouted carnivores called ichthyosaurs. To the casual observer, ichthyosaurs would have looked a bit like long-nosed tuna. According to theory, their forebears were land-loving reptiles which adapted to the sea after the world was struck by a mass extinction. “It is a milestone,” said study co-author Da-yong …
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Ancient Reptile Is Smallest and Oldest-Known 'Fish Lizard'
By Herp News
A 248-million-year-old fossil of an ancient reptile found in China is the oldest known member of a well-known group of marine reptiles, and may have lived both on land and in the sea. The specimen is a primitive type of ichthyopterygian, a group related to ichthyosaurs, which are large marine reptiles that dominated the world's oceans after the Permian-Triassic extinction. In that event, which …
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Ancient Reptile Is Smallest and Oldest-Known 'Fish Lizard'
By Herp News
A 248-million-year-old fossil of an ancient reptile found in China is the oldest known member of a well-known group of marine reptiles, and may have lived both on land and in the sea. The specimen is a primitive type of ichthyopterygian, a group related to ichthyosaurs, which are large marine reptiles that dominated the world's oceans after the Permian-Triassic extinction. In that event, which …
…read more
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Yangtze River fossil may have been first reptile to live in and out of water
By Herp News
A prehistoric fossil has been found at the Yangtze River near Shanghai. An expert says it could be the first amphibious ichthyosaur (illustrated) reptiles that could live both in and out of the water.
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Genesis of genitalia: We have one. Lizards have two. Why?
By Herp News
When it comes to genitalia, nature enjoys variety. Snakes and lizards have two. Birds and people have one. And while the former group’s paired structures are located somewhat at the level of the limbs, ours, and the birds’, appear a bit further down. In fact, snake and lizard genitalia are derived from tissue that gives rise to hind legs, while mammalian genitalia are derived from the tail bud. But despite such noteworthy contrasts, these structures are functionally analogous and express similar genes. Researchers have now discovered how functionally analogous genitalia can arise from divergent tissue.
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First Amphibious "Sea Monster" Found; Fills Evolutionary Gap
By Herp News
Cartorhynchus lenticarpus, a dinosaur-era sea reptile, had a body built to live in two worlds, a new study says.
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'Missing link' found for spectacular ancient sea reptiles
By Herp News
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ichthyosaurs were a hugely successful group of marine reptiles that flourished in the world's oceans for more than 150 million years, with many looking much like today's dolphins and some getting even bigger than a sperm whale. But the extensive ichthyosaur fossil record had not included any of the earliest forms representing the transition from their land …
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Reptile 'adapted for land and sea'
By Herp News
An ancient marine reptile with seal-like flippers may have been adapted to life on the land as well as in the sea, scientists believe.
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Audubon Zoo Hatches Pair of Rare False Gharials
By Herp News
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — These are fertile – and historic – times at the Audubon Zoo Reptile Encounter. In recent weeks, Zoo staff has welcomed the first-ever births of critically endangered false gharials at Audubon. Gharials, a freshwater crocodilian native to Southeast Asia with a very thin and elongated snout, have been housed at Audubon Zoo since the mid-1980s. Two gharials …
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Bearded dragon rescued from fire
Unlike a mythical dragon, bearded dragons and fire don’t go together.
From The Daily Mail:
Crews were called to a terraced house in Bolton, Greater Manchester, just before 11am this morning when a fire began behind the fridge-freezer.
When firefighters arrived they found a woman outside with her two husky dogs, who told them her pet lizard was still inside as smoke poured from the kitchen.
They found the bearded dragon in its tank and took it out to the fire engine where medics treated it with oxygen therapy.
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Discovery Channel's new snake show makes us embarrassed to be human
Just when you thought the Discovery Channel couldn’t sink any lower. Just when you thought reality TV couldn’t get any stupider. Along comes “Eaten Alive,” wherein the Discovery Channel will dress a man in a “snake-proof suit” and lett an anaconda eat him alive.
It’s not just stupid, it’s cruel to the snake. It’s not like we don’t know what the insides of an anaconda look like, so there’s no scientific value.
In fact, the only thing they’re “discovering” is how low their audience will go.
Photo: kingsnake.com user mjf …read more
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Feds: gray wolf may have returned to the Grand Canyon after 70 years
By Herp News
Over 70 years since the last gray wolf was killed in Grand Canyon National Park, the top predator may be back. Tourists have reported numerous sightings—and taken photos—of a wolf-like animal roaming federal forest land just north of the park. Agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now intend to capture the animal to determine if it is indeed a wolf or perhaps a wolf-dog hybrid.
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One hundred years of incalculable loss
It may be possible to estimate the number of extinctions in the past 100 years, but this photo collection shows that it is hard to truly quantify the damage done when a species disappears.
From Pixable:
Below, take a look at every animal (except insects, which are extremely difficult to catalogue but which you can find here) that went extinct in just the last 100 years. The list is based on research provided by the Sixth Extinction, a website created to “enhance free public access to information about recently extinct species,” and in order of their approximate date of extinction. We’ve included all the animals confirmed extinct by the IUCN, and added a few more declared extinct by other credible individuals and organizations.
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90 million-year-old turtle found in New Mexico
By Herp News
Brooks Hays TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.H., Nov. 3 (UPI) — Paleontologists have unearthed a 90-million-year-old fossilized turtle in southern New Mexico, near the town of Truth or Consequences.
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Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. Provides Unaudited Balance Sheet Information and Asset Coverage Ratio Update as of Oct. 31, 2014
By Herp News
Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Oct. 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.4 billion and its unaudited net asset value
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Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. Provides Unaudited Balance Sheet Information and Asset Coverage Ratio Update …
By Herp News
Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Oct. 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $444.5 million and its unaudit
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Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. Provides Unaudited Balance Sheet Information and Asset Coverage Ratio Update as …
By Herp News
Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Oct. 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $467.0 million and its unaud
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Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. Provides Unaudited Balance Sheet Information and Asset Coverage …
By Herp News
Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Oct. 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $258.4 million and
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Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. Provides Unaudited Balance Sheet Information and Asset Coverage Ratio Update as …
By Herp News
Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. today announced that as of Oct. 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $4.5 billion and its unaudited ne
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Palmerton woman speaks at Exotic Animal Club
By Herp News
Special to the TIMES NEWS Christina Obrecht, owner of Christina's Reptile & Sanctuary in Palmerton, holds one of her alligators as part of her speaking engagement earlier this month at Penn State University's main campus in State College.
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Someone's making a new NES game. About a lizard
By Herp News
Bored of Destiny ? Is Assassin's Creed no longer cutting it? Perhaps your gaming tastes require something a bit more classically inspired, such as Lizard , the latest game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Targeting the must-have powerhouse console of 1985, Lizard is the brainchild of Canadian developer Brad Smith, who is currently Kickstarting its release. Described as “a …
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Fossilized Turtle Excavated in Southern New Mexico
By Herp News
Fossilized turtle believed to have lived tens of millions of years ago excavated in New Mexico
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Egyptian sarcophagus fit for a snake
Have any mummy trick-or-treaters this year? What about mummified snakes?
From io9:
Ancient Egyptians didn’t prepare only human bodies for the afterlife; cats, baboons, crocodiles, canines, and birds have all been found mummified. But there’s something particularly delightful about this long and skinny coffin for snake.
This coffin is part of the Brooklyn Museum’s collection and it’s dated 664-30 BCE, sometime during the Late Period to the Ptolemaic Period.
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Turtle Rock Wants To Stress Test Evolve's Servers Today
By Herp News
Evolve's alpha is still going strong, but Turtle Rock wants to push it to its limits before pulling the plug. In an e-mail sent to alpha participants, Turtle Rock thanked everyone for helping to test the servers, but also asked that everyone sign on today to help push the servers harder. Today, Sunday, we want you to return to Shear and the join the hunt for Turtle Rock Studios, who'll be …
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Sea turtle nesting season ends in Volusia, Flagler
By Herp News
A sea turtle hatchling faces huge odds against survival from the moment its mother plops her soft eggs into their sandy cradle on Volusia and Flagler county beaches.
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USFWS proposes adding snapping and softshell turtles to CITES Appendix III
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed including the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox), smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica), and spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or Convention), including live and dead whole specimens, and all readily recognizable parts, products, and derivatives. ThFish and Wildlife Services feels that listing these four native U.S. freshwater turtle species (including their subspecies, except Apalone spinifera atra, which is already included in Appendix I of CITES) in Appendix III of CITES is necessary to allow us to adequately monitor international trade in these species; to determine whether exports are occurring legally, with respect to State and Federal law; and to determine whether further measures under CITES or other laws are required to conserve these species.
To read the USFWS proposal in it’s entirety and to file a response please review the USFWS announcement at the Federal Register website. Comments on this proposed rulemaking action must be submitted by December 29, 2014 for consideration.
Gallery photo by kingsnake user d156156156
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Native lizard hangs tight with rapid evolution
By Herp News
Anybody who has lived or played in Florida likely has been called out by a finger-long lizard that taunts people with bold stares, push-ups and throat flexing.
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Female frogs modify offspring development depending on reproduction date
By Herp News
Global warming is altering the reproduction of plants and animals, notably accelerating the date when reproduction and other life processes occur. A new study has discovered that some amphibians are capable of making their offspring grow at a faster rate if they have been born later due to the climate.
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Emerging disease could wipe out American, European salamanders
By Herp News
A fungal disease from Asia wiped out salamanders in parts of Europe and will likely reach the US through the international wildlife trade in Asian newts sold as pets, say US experts. Scientists report the fungus arose in Asia 30 million years ago and is lethal to many European and American newt species. It has not yet been found in North American wild amphibians.
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A Big Comeback for the Giant Galapagos Tortoise
By Herp News
Thanks to decades of conservation efforts, the iconic giant Galapagos tortoise, once on the brink of extinction, has recovered to a point where human intervention is no longer needed, according to a study published this week in the journal PLOS One.
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Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. Provides Section 19(a) Notice
By Herp News
This notice provides stockholders of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. with information regarding the distribution paid on Oct. 31, 2014 and cumulativ
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Zoologger: My lizard persona depends on my neighbours
By Herp News
Different stress levels will make wall lizards from a group of Aegean islands flee or drop their tails – and it all depends on who they grew up with
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Herp Video of the Week: Scary Snake!
Check out this video “Scary Snake,” submitted by kingsnake.com user Minuet.
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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Grab the weekend by the tail
By Herp News
Remember when Indiana Jones ventured into that cobra pit in The Temple of Doom? RNA reptile show guru played a role in his daring.
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