For 50 years, the Pinocchio anole, Anolis proboscis, was believed to be extinct. Now researchers have confirmed the species still exists in the forests of Ecuador.

From Mother Nature News:

After searching for the long-nosed animal for three years, a team of photographers and researchers found the lizard recently in a stretch of pristine cloud forest in the northwest part of the country, said Alejandro Arteaga, a co-founder of the educational and ecotourism company Tropical Herping, which conducted the search for the lizard.

Also called the Pinocchio anole (an anole is a type of lizard), the animal is named after a certain dishonest wooden puppet and was first discovered in 1953, Arteaga said. But wasn’t seen between the 1960s and 2005, when an ornithologist saw one crossing a road in the same remote area in northwest Ecuador. This is only the third time scientists have spotted it since 2005, Arteaga added.

Read the rest here.

Photo: Alejandro Arteaga/Tropical Herping …read more
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By Herp News

LOS CABOS, Mexico – Far from the bikini-lined beaches and booze-fuelled bars of Cabo San Lucas, I lie elbow deep on the sand of some remote Mexican dunes waiting for the sun to near the horizon, a growing nursery of baby turtles squirming beside me.

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By Herp News

Covered in black and white spots, armed with sharp claws and spanning four feet in length, Florida Fish and Wildlife is on the prowl for an emerging invasive species known as the Argentine Tegu Lizard.

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By Herp News

Long thought to be extinct, the long-nosed Pinocchio anole has been spotted in a cloud forest in northwest Ecuador.

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By Herp News

Crocodiles were once so abundant along the rim of southern Jamaica that images of their toothy jaws and spiny armour crown the tropical island's coat of arms and are stencilled on the bumpers of military vehicles.Now the big reptiles…

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By Herp News

EVAN BLEIER – UPI.com Pinocchio Lizard spotted by a team of Ecuadorian biologists for just the third time in the last 15 years.

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By Herp News

Pinocchio anoles were thought to be extinct for about 50 years before being recently rediscovered in the cloud forests of northwest Ecuador. Alejandro Arteaga / Tropical Herping

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By Herp News

VALHALLA, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach, the leader in video game audio, today announced new additions to the company's executive team as the company continues to add senior talent to …

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Check out this video “Het albino X Sunglow Litter,” submitted by kingsnake.com user robertmcphee.
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

A dead male Olive Ridley turtle washed ashore at Tiruvanmiyur beach on Sunday. The turtle bore injuries and strangulation marks, pointing to the possibility that it was trapped either in…

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By Herp News

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia says the smuggling of sea turtle eggs in to Malaysia from West Kalimantan has drastically increased, triggered by the high prices of turtle eggs. “In Malaysia, each turtle egg can fetch 80 ringgit cents or about Rp 2,600 (s$0.28). Meanwhile, at local markets, they cost only Rp 1,500,” said turtle conservation coordinator of WWF-Indonesia for West Kalimantan …

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By Herp News

A dead male Olive Ridley turtle washed ashore at Thiruvanmiyur beach on Sunday. The turtle bore injuries and strangulation marks, pointing to the possibility that it was trapped either in a…

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By Herp News

Reptile rescue officers in Sonoma County, Calif., say tarantula mating season means people can expect to see more of the giant, hairy spiders until the winter rains begin. Don Ford of KPIX reports.

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By Herp News

This ain't no lie: The Pinocchio lizard was thought to be extinct for 50 years, but has been rediscovered in the cloud forests of Ecuador.

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By Herp News

A sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle was rescued Saturday evening, Sept. 21, at the Juno Beach Fishing Pier due to the responsible actions of a local family and friends.

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When we talk about “snake handling” here on kingsnake.com, we’re not talking about religion. But today on National Public Radio, they are.

From NPR:

Worshiping with snakes dates back more than 100 years, but today, the major Pentecostal denominations denounce the practice.

There are an estimated 125 snake-handling churches scattered across Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Appalachia, where the tradition is strongest. Snakes in church are against the law everywhere but West Virginia, though in most states it’s a misdemeanor offense the authorities don’t bother with.

[…]

There are the five signs often practiced in snake handling churches, including the sipping of poison such as strychnine or lye as a test of their faith.

[Pastor Jamie] Coots has been bitten nine times by venomous snakes. Each time he refused medical attention. Half of his right middle finger is gone as a result of a fang from a yellow rattler. In 1995, a woman who was bit in his church refused to go to the hospital; she died on Coots’ couch while they prayed over her.

Such is the conviction of his belief that Coots has agreed not to call EMS if [his son] Little Cody is bitten. “He has been bit five times by cottonmouths, and he has already told me, ‘Dad, I’ll never go to a doctor,’ ” says his father.

Read and listen to the rest of the story here.

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By Herp News

NEWPORT, Ore. – The female turtle that washed onto a beach in Lincoln City with a myriad of medical issues has died, despite efforts at the Oregon Coast Aquarium to save her. The olive ridley turtle, which was named “Furlough,” washed ashore Monday. Aquarium staff said the turtle arrived hypothermic, dehydrated, anemic and battered by the surf. She also had a scarred and chipped shell. Furlough …

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By Herp News

NEWPORT, Ore. – The female turtle that washed onto a beach in Lincoln City with a myriad of medical issues has died, despite efforts at the Oregon Coast Aquarium to save her. The olive ridley turtle, which has been named “Furlough,” washed ashore Monday. Aquarium staff said the turtle arrived hypothermic, dehydrated, anemic and battered by the surf. She also had a scarred and chipped shell …

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By Herp News

Two Japanese men have been charged with trying to smuggle 30 lizards out of Western Australia.

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By Herp News

With its collapsed economy, entrenched poverty, and political tremors, one would not expect that a country like Zimbabwe would have the capacity to safeguard its rhinos against determined and well-funded poachers, especially as just across the border South Africa is currently losing over two rhinos a day on average. And indeed, without the Lowveld Rhino Trust (LRT), rhinos in Zimbabwe would probably be near local extinction. But the LRT, which currently manages around 90 percent of the country’s rhinos in private reserves along with aid from conservation partners and government officials, has proven tenacious and innovative in its battle to safeguard the nation’s rhinos from the poaching epidemic.

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By Herp News

Sir David Attenborough, Bill Oddie and Chris Packham are supporting an effort to save the orangutan from extinction by raising £1m in just two weeks. Orangutans in their natural environment live in undisturbed ancient forests and for many years it was believed they shunned any other habitats. But researchers have discovered they can survive just as well and perhaps even better in forests that have been intensively thinned out by loggers, giving renewed hope for the species.

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Cancer: It’s a word no one wants to hear. Especially when it happens to a family member.

As many members of the East Texas Herpetelogical Society (ETHS) in Houston know, a longtime member of their family and the herp community, Nathan Wells, has been fighting a battle with cancer since first diagnosed in the summer of 2012.

Nathan kept friends and family up to date with his battle throughout the year, posting updates of his fight from hospital bed describing his treatments and procedures, until he beat his cancer.

But as any cop will tell you, you may beat the ticket, but you never beat the ride.

Even with medical insurance, a long cancer fight is an expensive battle, one that continues long after the illness has passed, and Nathan and his family have been left with a pile of medical bills.

His family at ETHS pitched in during their 23rd Annual Conference and Breeders Expo over the weekend, and held a fundraiser with a goal of raising $10,000 for Nathan’s medical expenses. They continue to take donations on his behalf.

Nathan’s story, a story that can happen to any one of us, is detailed on the ETHS website this month. To read more about one herper’s incredible fight against cancer and for details on how to donate to his medical expense fund, click here.

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Cancer: It’s a word no one wants to hear. Especially when it happens to a family member.

As many members of the East Texas Herpetelogical Society (ETHS) in Houston know, a longtime member of their family and the herp community, Nathan Wells, has been fighting a battle with cancer since first diagnosed in the summer of 2012. Nathan kept friends and family up to date with his battle throughout the year, posting updates of his fight from hospital bed describing his treatments and procedures, until he beat his cancer.

But as any cop will tell you, you may beat the ticket, but you never beat the ride.

Even with medical insurance, a long cancer fight is an expensive battle, one that continues long after the illness has passed, and Nathan and his family have been left with a pile of medical bills. His family at ETHS pitched in during their 23rd Annual Conference and Breeders Expo over the weekend, and held a fundraiser with a goal of raising $10,000 for Nathan’s medical expenses. They continue to take donations on his behalf.

Nathan’s story, a story that can happen to any one of us, is detailed on the ETHS website this month. To read more about one herper’s incredible fight against cancer and for details on how to donate to his medical expense fund, click here.

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Veterinary Practice News is reporting that reptile and exotic animal vet, author, and longtime kingsnake.com community member Dr. Kevin Wright passed away unexpectedly Sept. 26 after a brief illness. He was 50 years old.

Dr. Wright was a prolific writer on reptile and amphibian subjects, contributing over 300 articles to Reptiles magazine and other publications over the years, and was an original board member with the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians.

A 1988 graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Wright was co-author of the 2001 manual “Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry.” His career included work at zoos in Philadelphia, Miami, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C., and he owned Wright Bird and Exotic Pet House Calls, a mobile practice based in Mesa, Ariz.

He is survived by his wife, Marlene.

For more information, read the article on the Veterinary Practice News website.

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By Herp News

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $230.2 million an

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By Herp News

Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $389.4 million and its unau

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By Herp News

Tortoise North American Energy Corp. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $259.5 million and its unaudited

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By Herp News

Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $1.9 billion and its unaudited net asset valu

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $448.9 million and its unaudi

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $1.1 billion and its unaudited net asse

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By Herp News

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. today announced that as of Sept. 30, 2013, the company’s unaudited total assets were approximately $2.1 billion and its unaudited n

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By Herp News

A loggerhead turtle tangled in fishing lines was rescued Monday off the Florida coast by a good Samaritan on a surfboard. The turtle was spotted struggling to stay afloat Monday Afternoon off Cocoa Beach on the state’s East Coast. Loggerhead Sea Turtle Gets Artificial Flippers…

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By Herp News

In a country where most conservationists are still foreigners—either European or American—Nurzahafarina Othman stands out: not only is she Malaysian, a Muslim, and a mother of a young daughter, but she’s rapidly becoming a top researcher and champion for the world’s smallest elephant: the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis). Although sometimes described as a pygmy elephant, they still weigh 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds). The origin of these ‘tiny’ elephants in Malaysian Borneo have baffled scientists for decades.

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Nine baby ocellate mountain vipers (Vipera wagneri) are helping their species stay off the brink of extinction, thanks to the efforts of the St. Louis Zoo.

From Scientific American:

In 2009, with populations down at least 80 percent and a new dam on the Aras River threatening to destroy a large portion of the snake’s habitat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the ocellate mountain viper as “critically endangered.”

[…] The Saint Louis Zoo coordinates a Species Survival Plan (based on the programs created by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums) for the ocellate mountain viper, which includes a cooperative breeding program among several zoos. There aren’t many zoos that hold these snakes, though. Saint Louis is one of only three in the U.S. with the species in their collections, and they have the majority: Including the nine snakes born on August 16, Saint Louis Zoo has 23 of the 28 ocellate mountain vipers in the U.S.

The snakes are considered critically endangered in the wild. Read the full story here.

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By Herp News

This notice provides stockholders of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. with information regarding the distribution paid on Sept. 30, 2013 and cumulati

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By Herp News

Scientists have identified four distinct species of legless lizards in California.

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By Herp News

In the Lower Basin of the Sanaga River in Cameroon, near Lake Ossa and the Douala-Edea National Parks, manatees swim and float about like round, potato-shaped mermaids. This region is home to the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), an aquatic mammal facing a decline in population. Classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, the West African manatee is threatened by excessive kills, habitat loss, and habitat degradation. Given this, and the dearth of information about manatees, a group of Cameroon scientists have taken an ethnobiological approach (i.e. the interaction between people and wildlife) by employing skilled, knowledgable locals to collect data on the manatees.

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By Herp News

A camera trap survey along the Sikre River in Honduras has discovered that the region is home to a menagerie of rare mammals, including giant anteaters. The survey, published in mongabay.com’s open access journal, Tropical Conservation Science, recorded five cat species in 70 square kilometers.

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By Herp News

In open areas, like the African savannah, scientists often estimate wildlife populations through manned aerial surveys. However a new study in mongabay.com’s open access journal argues that using small drones may be more cost-effective, safer, and capable of reaching more remote areas. Researchers tested the accuracy of drone counts in Bazinga Game Ranch (NGR) in Burkina Faso.

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By Herp News

Scientists have applied a species prioritization scheme to Brazil’s diverse mammals to deduce which species should become the focus of conservation efforts over the next few years in a new paper published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science.

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