By Herp News

ALBY the albino python will be one of the many snakes on display at the largest reptile show in Australia this Sunday.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Annie Martin LOS ANGELES, April 8 (UPI) — Promotion for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot has begun ahead of the film's release this summer.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

U.S. Geological Survey Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to just-published research by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of New Mexico, and Northern Arizona University. Overall, the study forecasted species distribution losses – that is, where species …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

With climate change come several dramatic shifts in species distribution within the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey in concert with the University of New Mexico and Northern Arizona University have recently projected distribution losses for nearly half of the 5 examined reptile species including the locally famed chuckwalla. Breeding bird ranges, however exhibited broader expansions …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

A South Carolina community is feeling the fear after shed snake skins found near an apartment complex were identified as coming from the Gaboon viper, a venomous snake from Africa.

From ABC News:

When a pest control company came last week to do a regular checkup on the bait boxes at the complex, the exterminator found snake skins nearby, took a picture, and reported it to the management office.

“The skin was still moist, indicating it was freshly shed,” Jennifer Bailey, an employee at the Harbor Pointe Apartments, told ABC News today.

To identify the snake, the office contacted a snake expert hours later who came in and said that the skin came from a Gaboon viper, an exotic snake not indigenous to the U.S. Another local herpetologist confirmed the identity through a photograph the pest control took, Bailey said.

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

By Herp News

Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to new research. Overall, the study forecasted species distribution losses — that is, where species are able to live — of nearly half for all but one of the 5 reptile species they examined, including for the iconic chuckwalla.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to new research. Overall, the study forecasted species distribution losses — that is, where species are able to live — of nearly half for all but one of the 5 reptile species they examined, including for the iconic chuckwalla.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Summary: Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to just-published research by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of New Mexico, and Northern Arizona University. Southwestern Bird and Reptile Distributions to Shift as Climate Changes Contact Information …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Scientists have studied the widely distributed freshwater turtle, Mauremys rivulata. In spite of geographical barriers, the turtles are genetically very similar throughout their vast  distribution range. This would indicate that that animals cross hundreds of kilometers of sea.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

VALHALLA, N.Y., April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Turtle Beach, the leading audio brand in the games industry, today announced a new multi-year licensing agreement with Blizzard Entertainment around the highly anticipated Heroes of the Storm™ multiplayer game. As part of the agreement, Turtle Beach will develop PC gaming headsets for both elite and recreational players. Turtle Beach is the gaming …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

A San Antonio TV station is questioning whether the rattlesnake in a field of bluebonnets featured in a viral Facebook photo is alive, or a taxidermied and posed dead snake.

Given that the topic “snake in bluebonnets” has its own section on hoax debunker website Snopes.com, and it wouldn’t be the first time a taxidermist has claimed to play this particular prank. it’s a valid question.

From KSAT:

The picture, submitted to a news station’s Facebook page in Austin, shows a rattlesnake coiled among bluebonnets.

The picture has many reconsidering their annual trip to take pictures in the bluebonnets, believing it may be too dangerous.

Some experts, however, are questioning the validity of the picture.

“It’s a real picture,” said Blaine Easton, a snake expert with the South Texas Herpetology Society. “I’m not sure that snake is alive. I think the snake is dead and mounted by a taxidermist.”

According to Easton, it is the snake’s neck position that causes him to question the picture. Easton said it did raise a valid concern.

“I have found in the middle of bluebonnets, on some ranches, rattlesnakes sitting there,” said Easton.

After all, Texas is home to 113 species of snakes. The moral, according to experts, is to just be cautious.

Watch their report…

…read more
Read more here: King Snake

By Herp News

Tortoise Capital Advisors today announced the introduction of the Tortoise Select Opportunity Fund, an open-end mutual fund that has a dedicated focus on select opportunities acros

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

The island night lizard was delisted as an endangered species in the US this week, after three decades of restoration efforts. Its recovery highlights an increased success rate in reestablishing endangered species.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

The island night lizard was delisted as an endangered species in the US this week, after three decades of restoration efforts. Its recovery highlights an increased success rate in reestablishing endangered species.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Island night lizards and arroyo toads are bouncing back from peril, wildlife officials said.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

No description available

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Climate change is contributing to a slew of global problems, from rising seas to desertification. Now, researchers have added another repercussion: shrinking salamanders.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

One of the world's largest crocodiles, suspected of eating six people, has been caught in Lake Victoria, Uganda. Terrified locals demanded officials hunt the reptile after it devoured its most recent victim, father-of-two Bosco Nyansi. The 1,000kg crocodile is also thought to have seriously injured other fishermen. Officials in Uganda believe the reptile is 80-years-old and weighs only 47kg less …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

Check out this video “Turtle Cam,” submitted by kingsnake.com user JoJoMang.
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

By Herp News

SAN DIEGO, April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach, the leading audio brand in the games industry, today announced that it will host two tournaments during PAX East, a major consumer video game event held in Boston from April 11 to 13. Major League Gaming (MLG), the global leader in eSports, will hold the playoffs for its Call of Duty: Ghosts league in the Turtle Beach booth. The booth will …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

Frogs aren’t well-equipped to migrate safely through the rush of automobile traffic. Last year, hundreds of protected northern red-legged frogs met their doom trying to cross an Oregon roadway. This year, things were different.

From Oregon Live:

After witnessing the N.W. Harborton Drive frog slaughter with his friend, Shawn Looney, Rob Lee started making calls and e-mailing biologists and herpetologists.

“I started trying to find the appropriate people to tell about this – that something was going on that we should be paying attention to,” he says.

He also approached Jane Hartline, a retired Oregon Zoo marketing director and conservation advocate with a knack for organizing.

No one knew whether the great frog massacre of 2013 was an anomaly or, more likely, an unwitting annual death march. They were determined to find out, to help the frogs if they could, to precisely document everything they observed and to contribute to the scant science on the Forest Park red-legged frog population.

Liz Ruther, a habitat conservation biologist with ODFW, granted Lee, Looney and Hartline a permit to handle the frogs. Without one, it’s illegal to touch or harass them, given the species’ sensitive-vulnerable status.

With help from The Forest Park Conservancy, Hartline rounded up about three dozen volunteers willing to rush to Linnton with little notice. Their task: spend hours intercepting frogs on wet, chilly nights when most Portlanders were tucked in at home, dry and cozy.

Read more…

Photo: Walter Siegmund/Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons License …read more
Read more here: King Snake

By Herp News

Outdoor Tech is no stranger to the world of crowd funding. It's used Kickstarter to get past products like the Turtle Shell speaker off the ground. Now it's back with a bigger version of the Turtle that it calls, quite simply, the BIG Turtle Shell. This speaker brings more sound to the park and beach and packs enough power to double as a portable charger. .. Continue Reading Outdoor Tech grows …

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. Shares Insights on the North American Energy Revolution at Wealth Management's April 3rd Live Webinar

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

At a time when Africa’s elephants are facing a relentless poaching crisis, one community has managed to safeguard their elephants in the most unlikely of places: Mali. In a country that has suffered from widespread poverty, environmental degradation, and, most recently, warfare, a collaboration between conservationists and the local community has kept Mali’s elephants from extinction.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

It is often difficult to decide whether two animals belong to the same or two distinct species. This can be especially challenging for animals which externally look very similar. In a recent study, scientists use genetic data and calls analysis to test if treefrogs from West and Central Africa belong to different or the same species.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

When the tiny island night lizard (Xantusia riversiana) was first designated as threatened, kids were still putting safety pins through their ears and “God Save the Queen” was just released. But today, for the first time since 1977, it’s no longer considred to be in danger.

The lizard is found only on four ilands — or three islands and an islet — off the California coast.

From KCET:

It hasn’t hurt that all of the islands the night lizard calls home are owned by the federal government. San Clemente and San Nicolas islands are owned and managed by the U.S. Navy, while Santa Barbara Island and its tiny neighbor Sutil Island belong the the National Park Service. That’s simplified tasks such as removing introduced predators and yanking out weeds.

In 2004, the Navy petitioned USFWS to delist the lizards on San Clemente and San Nicolas islands, claiming that each island’s population was properly considered a Distinct Population Segment (equivalent to a species under the Endangered Species Act) and saying that the population of night lizards on each of the two islands had recovered.

That prompted a 2006 status review for the lizard, and in February 2013 USFWS finally got around to its response: a proposal that the lizard be delisted throughout its range. With this new ruling, scheduled for printing in the Federal Register on April 1, that delisting becomes official.

According to USFWS, estimates of the lizard’s current population range from 15,300 on San Nicolas and 17,600 on Santa Barbara/Sutil, with an astonishing 21.3 million estimated for San Clemente Island. The estimates didn’t count lizards, but merely assessed the acreage of lizard habitat on each island and used mathematical models to extrapolate estimated total populations.

Read more…

Photo: Ryan P. O’Donnell/Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons License …read more
Read more here: King Snake

Yesterday we made fun of the 49ers for banning reptiles from their new stadium. Now we feel bad, because apparently this is a thing: An Eastern brown snake turned up on an Australian rugby field the very next day.

From ABC Australia:

A one-metre brown snake on the NRL field at Robina took the ABC Grandstand commentary team by surprise, but it did not stop them from encouraging on-field reporter Zane Bojack to take a closer look, despite his professed herpetophobia.

You can read more and listen to the crowd and reporters here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

By Herp News

The Turtle Wax Label & Sticker Remover = WISEBUY, under specific circumstances.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

KOTA KINABALU : A report on the ‘turtle killing fields’ at Pulau Tiga (near Pulau Balambangan-Pulau Banggi Channel, north of Kudat) will be presented to the State Cabinet.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

In what is being hailed as an environmental victory for the U.S. Navy, the island night lizard has been taken off the list of federally endangered species.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $465.0 million and its unaudi

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.0 billion and its unaudited net asset valu

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $422.8 million and its unau

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $238.4 million an

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise North American Energy Corp. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $295.7 million and its unaudited

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.4 billion and its unaudited n

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. today announced that as of March 31, 2014, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $1.2 billion and its unaudited net asse

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

This year the Hanta virus has already caused 15 deaths in Chile, according to reports in The Santiago Times. It isn’t always fatal—the 15 deaths were of a total of 36 cases over six months—but the symptoms are severe. Those affected experience flu-like symptoms, as well as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and trouble breathing. But now Chile is using a novel method to fight the disease: owls.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

By Herp News

Just over two weeks ago, conservationists in the Malaysian state of Sabah managed to finally catch a wild Sumatran rhino female after months of failed attempts. But following such hopeful events, comes bad news thousands of miles away: a young female rhino, named Suci, died over the weekend at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Go to Source

…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com

A Michigan firefighter went into a burning building to save a pet 6-foot python trapped in his terrarium.

From WXYZ:

Muskegon firefighter Scott Hemmelsbach told The Muskegon Chronicle that he reluctantly agreed to enter the two-story, smoke-filled house Sunday night to retrieve the snake. He says he cradled the “weighty” snake before carrying it to safety.

“It was trying to crawl up the side of his terrarium and get out,” Hemmelsbach said. “His face was pushed up on the screen and trying to get out. There was a lot of smoke and he was trapped.”

The firefighter said he learned how to handle snakes while he was at Grand Haven High School, where he helped showcase them.

Read more…

And thank you, Firefighter Hemmelsbach! …read more
Read more here: King Snake