By Herp News
A woman who 'gave birth' to a lizard has been threatened by an angry lynch mob who accused her of witchcraft. Debi Nubatonis, 31, gave birth to the gecko after an eight-month pregnancy and now Indonesian officials are sending in an exert team to clear up the mystery.
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Check out this video “How to find snakes,” submitted by kingsnake.com user smetlogik.
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
As an environmental journalist covering stories from the great Arctic ice melt to the rhino poaching crisis in Africa, you’ll forgive me if sometimes in the morning—before I turn my computer on—I have a sudden desire to spend a few extra minutes in bed or have a leisurely breakfast with my daughter or just sit in the back yard with a cup of tea and a good book.
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By Herp News
On opposite sides of the globe over millions of years, the snakes of North America and Australia independently evolved similar body types that helped them move and capture prey more efficiently. Snakes on both continents include stout-bodied, highly camouflaged ambush predators, such as rattlesnakes in North America and death adders in Australia. There are slender, fast-moving foragers on both continents, as well as small burrowing snakes. This independent evolution of similar body forms in response to analogous ecological conditions is a striking example of a phenomenon called convergence.
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By Herp News
It took seven editors and 26 authors nine years to compile the first ever Reptile Atlas for all reptiles found in the southern tip of Africa. This huge collaborative effort resulted in the 485-page Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland – a hardcover book launched recently that also contains the conservation status of the 421 recognised species and subspecies …
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By Herp News
A team of archaeologists in Guatemala has discovered a council house dating back about 700 years with altars, incense burners and sculpted images of animals. Located at the site of Nixtun-Ch'ich' in Petén, Guatemala, the house has “two colonnaded halls constructed side by side. The halls were decorated with sculpted [reptile], parrot and turtle imagery,” writes Timothy Pugh, a professor at …
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Should the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, be the official amphibian of New York State? Nine-year-old Lili Winkelman thinks so, and Sen. John DeFrancisco wants to make it law.
From the Democrat & Chronicle:
Like several of the state’s recognized symbols, the beginnings of the wood frog push came in an elementary school classroom. Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, first introduced the bill last year after 9-year-old Lili Winkelman, a Skaneateles fourth-grader, wrote to him with the idea.
“You probably don’t know this, but the wood frog is already the unofficial amphibian of the state,” DeFrancisco said on the Senate floor. “A young girl in that class, Lili Winkelman, thought, why is that? She loves frogs. Why should it be unofficial?”
Winkelman followed up the letter with a 4 -1/2-minute YouTube video in January, in which she spoke about the unique qualities of the amphibian as photos of the frog float above her right shoulder — not unlike a television news anchor. Each of her classmates at Skaneateles’ State Street Intermediate School followed up with a letter, DeFrancisco said.
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By Herp News
In a surprise announcement, British oil company Soco International has said it will suspend exploratory operations in Virunga National Park, home to half the world’s Critically Endangered mountain gorillas as well as thousands of other species. The announcement follows several years of campaigning from conservation groups led by WWF.
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By Herp News
In a surprise announcement, British oil company Soco International has said it will suspend exploratory operations in Virunga National Park, home to half the world’s Critically Endangered mountain gorillas as well as thousands of other species. The announcement follows several years of campaigning from conservation groups led by WWF.
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By Herp News
In 1890 Lamberto Loria collected 45 specimens—all female—of a small bat from the wilds of Papua New Guinea. Nearly 25 years later, in 1914, the species was finally described and named by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas, who dubbed it the New Guinea big-eared bat (Pharotis imogene) after its massive ears. But no one ever saw the bat again.
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By Herp News
In 1890 Lamberto Loria collected 45 specimens—all female—of a small bat from the wilds of Papua New Guinea. Nearly 25 years later, in 1914, the species was finally described and named by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas, who dubbed it the New Guinea big-eared bat (Pharotis imogene) after its massive ears. But no one ever saw the bat again.
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Can the native species of the ecological treasure that is the Galapagos really be protected from invasive species?
Laura Santoso of the California Institute of Technology takes a thoughtful, in-depth look at the issues and conflicting interests in Wired Science:
Even with unlimited cash, it seems impossible to eradicate certain intruders without also harming native species. Small but pervasive species, like rats, are extremely difficult to target without catching resident wildlife in the crossfire. In 2012, 22 tons of rat bait were dropped by helicopter on Pinzon island, blanketing 7 square miles with little blue poisonous cubes. Several organizations, including the Galapagos National Park and CDF, supported the move because the rats had been devouring the eggs of native giant tortoises and lava lizards. But the “raticide” sparked significant controversy, imperiling neighboring native species like the Galapagos hawks. While pesticides are often the best available option (biological interventions are technically challenging to develop), they cannot suppress invasive species without causing side effects.
The final piece of the puzzle, after thwarting new invasive species and removing existing ones, is actively helping endemic species recover. Some local fauna, like the tortoise and the mangrove finch, have been so decimated that they may be destined for extinction without significant help. On the other hand, Giant Tortoise rehabilitation is one example of seemingly productive human intervention. When tortoise populations had dwindled from thousands to dozens on some islands in the 1960s, they were taken in by humans and bred in captivity. Repatriation projects on Santa Cruz, Isabela, and Espanola have increased total tortoise populations to 26,000, but the current dependence on human assistance sparks questions about whether the intervention itself is unnatural, or unsustainable. Although the repatriated tortoises have begun to mate by themselves in the wild, it is unclear if they can maintain their numbers once captive breeding stops.
Photo: kingsnake.com user Ivory Tortoise …read more
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By Herp News
The world’s stronghold for Indian rhinos—the state of Assam—has seen its population leap by 27 percent since 2006, despite a worsening epidemic of poaching that has also seen 156 rhinos killed during the same period. According to a new white paper, the population of Indian rhinos in Assam hit 2,544 this year.
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By Herp News
Venom variation in closely related snake species has been the focus of a recent study. The research team assessed the venom composition of six related viperid snakes, examining the differences in gene and protein expression that influence venom content. The research also assessed how these changes in venom composition impacted upon venom-induced haemorrhage and coagulation pathologies, and how these changes can adversely affect antivenoms used to treat snakebite.
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Of course, everyone on kingsnake.com would love this, and the locals say it’s a sign that the marriage is blessed. But Jason and Kate Crowe were probably pretty shocked when a leatherback sea turtle crashed their Saint Croix wedding.
Read the story and see more photos here.
Photo: Jason and Kate Crowe
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By Herp News
There's another missing reptile in the metro region.
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By Herp News
SAN DIEGO, June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Turtle Beach, the leading audio brand in the video games industry, today announced that a broad lineup of new headsets and partnerships spanning Xbox, PlayStation …
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By Herp News
Researcher cameras capture tegu lizards swiping alligator eggs from nests in South Florida. The Argentine black and white tegu, which can grow 4 feet or more, is already found in areas populated by threatened species, including the Eastern indigo snake, Cape Sable seaside sparrow and gopher tortoise. And if the tegus’ range expands, the list of native species potentially at risk could grow to include sea turtles, shore birds and ground-nesting migratory birds.
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By Herp News
Scientists in China have found five well-preserved reptile eggs still intact more than 100 million years after they were laid. It's believed they belong to the ancient pterosaur — a reptile that roamed the Earth more than 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. (Via YouTube / American Museum of Natural History ) LiveScience notes that until now scientists had only found four …
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By Herp News
There's another missing reptile in the metro region. After news last week that a red foot tortoise named Strawberry Shortcake had gone missing in Mount Pearl, a woman in Conception Bay South says her pet turtle has been missing for two days from her home on Franks Road, near Legion Road.
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By Herp News
In the dark caves of southern Indiana in the United States, scientists have discovered a new species of cavefish that are blind, pinkish, and have their anus behind their heads. This peculiar new cavefish is the first to be described in North America in 40 years, and researchers have named it Amblyopsis hoosieri or Hoosier cavefish.
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By Herp News
Can a single photograph change the fate of a park? A new conservation group, HabitatID, believes so, and is putting this belief into action. Setting up camera traps in Cambodia’s Virachey National Park, the group hopes that photos of charismatic and endangered species will help reinvigorate protection for a park that has been abandoned by conservation groups and underfunded by the government.
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By Herp News
Can a single photograph change the fate of a park? A new conservation group, HabitatID, believes so, and is putting this belief into action. Setting up camera traps in Cambodia’s Virachey National Park, the group hopes that photos of charismatic and endangered species will help reinvigorate protection for a park that has been abandoned by conservation groups and underfunded by the government.
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By Herp News
Scientists in China have found five well-preserved reptile eggs still intact more than 100 million years after they were laid. It's believed they belong to the ancient pterosaur — a reptile that roamed the Earth more than 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. (Via YouTube / American Museum of Natural History ) LiveScience notes that until now scientists had only found four …
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By Herp News
SAN DIEGO, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Turtle Beach, the leading audio brand in the video games industry, today announced new gaming headsets designed for the popular PlayStation®4 console. The new headsets, which will be available in stores in the Fall of 2014, will be on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles at Booth #1447 in the South Hall from June 10 to 12 …
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By Herp News
Scientists in China have found five well-preserved reptile eggs still intact more than 100 million years after they were laid. It's believed they belong to the ancient pterosaur — a reptile that roamed the Earth more than 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. (Via YouTube / American Museum of Natural History ) LiveScience notes that until now scientists had only found four …
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
Scientists in China have found five well-preserved reptile eggs still intact more than 100 million years after they were laid.
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Want to start your week off with a herp-themed laugh? Read this Wired story about the biggest snake who ever existed, and its messed-up social media campaign.
Have fun, and a great week, too! …read more
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By Herp News
The first intact skull of a Mediterranean worm lizard has been found in Spain, according to a new study. Only isolated fragments of fossil Mediterranean worm lizards have previously been found in Europe, and currently, our limited knowledge of their evolution is mainly based on molecular studies. The worm lizard is a limbless, scaled reptile and categorized in the genus Blanus in the Mediterranean.
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By Herp News
As our cities continue to grow many animal species have to choose to abandon their changing habitats or adapt to their new setting. In Taiwan the tiny mientien tree frog (Kurixalus diootocus) is making the most of its new situation by using city storm drains to amplify mating calls.
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By Herp News
The Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund today announced its third anniversary and that TORIX has received a Five-Star Overall Morningstar RatingTM out of 26 funds in the Energy Limited Partnership category based on three-year risk-adjusted performance ending 5/31/14.
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By Herp News
The five intact eggs were found in the Xinjiang province, China and all belonged to a previously unknown pterosaur species, Hamipterus tianshanensis.
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By Herp News
The government has announced that ecotourism projects are being planned for three of the six major islands in the municipality of Turtle Islands.
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Check out this video “Iguana eating grapes,” 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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By Herp News
SAN DIEGO, June 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach, the leading audio brand in the video games industry, today announced the Elite Membership Program, an exclusive offering available with all Turtle …
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By Herp News
The first intact skull of a Mediterranean worm lizard has been found in Spain, according to a new study. Only isolated fragments of fossil Mediterranean worm lizards have previously been found in Europe, and currently, our limited knowledge of their evolution is mainly based on molecular studies. The worm lizard is a limbless, scaled reptile and categorized in the genus Blanus in the …
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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By Herp News
In 1997, Gabriella Fredriksson, then a young PhD student, was studying sun bears in East Kalamantan, Indonesia, when massive forest fires broke out in the park. ‘It quickly became clear that there was no government agency, NGO, or private company in the area interested in assisting putting out these fires, which were threatening to burn down the entire reserve,’ Fredriksson told mongabay.com.
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By Herp News
A five-metre crocodile that has called central Queensland home for three decades is on its way to the Middle East.
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By Herp News
A tortoise thought to have travelled almost 300 miles in the back of a lorry from Devon is saved moments before being pulped at a Norfolk recycling plant.
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By Herp News
The five intact eggs were found in the Xinjiang province, China and all belonged to a previously unknown pterosaur species, Hamipterus tianshanensis.
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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