By Herp News
In this installment of Zoo Spotlight, Menominee Park Zoo staff introduces us to Dash, an African Spurred Tortoise.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Herp Video of the Week: Corn Snake Morphs
Check out this video “Corn Snake Morphs,” submitted by kingsnake.com user boa2cobras.
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
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Tiny Leroy celebrates turtle day in Qld
By Herp News
Tiny turtle Leroy was rescued by a fisherman in the Great Barrier Reef, suffering from floating syndrome.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Pre-historic tortoises lived in Amazon
By Herp News
Rio de Janeiro, May 27 (IANS/EFE) A pre-historic tortoise that lived in the Brazilian Amazon is the most likely ancestor of the tortoises that live in Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago today, paleontologists said.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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WATCH: Lizard & cockroaches ride couch through floodwaters
By Herp News
One of our photographers was shooting video of a couch floating in the floodwaters. When he zoomed in, he spotted a lizard and some of the biggest coach roaches we’ve…
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Lizard’s Thicket pays $1,500 penalty, back wages
By Herp News
A Columbia restaurant chain has a $1,5000 penalty for employees not being paid for hours worked.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Thomas Cobb to keep his snakes
Thomas Cobb’s snakes: Many of us have followed the Thomas Cobb situation in Utah in which Cobb was unaware of a city ordinance requiring a permit to keep exotic animals. The language of the ordinance was ambiguous, and although some citizens wanted officials to enforce that Cobb only be allowed one pet, Cobb prevailed and was granted 29 permits for his 29 boa constrictors.
Cobb did a remarkable job representing the herp community, remaining professional and level-headed at all times. Not enough can be said about his dedication to present herp keepers in a positive light.
Thank you for being a responsible and dedicated herper, Thomas. Thank you to everyone who supported, and continues to support, Thomas, as well.
Shipping news: Legislation has been introduced to solve an interstate transport issue for exporting certain snake species. Under current ruling, if a shipment must stop anywhere in the U.S. after departure, it is considered interstate commerce even though the plane is merely stopping to refuel or add freight before leaving the country.
The proposed legislation will allow for export even when the shipment must pass through intermediate airports that are not designated ports. The ruling that listed several snake species as injurious under the Lacey Act has resulted in many headaches for anyone exporting these large constrictor snake species.
The snakes included in this bill are: Burmese python, Indian python, Northern and Southern African pythons and Yellow anaconda.
Photo of Thomas Cobb and son, Caiden Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Continue reading “Thomas Cobb to keep his snakes” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Thank heaven for herp-loving little girls
Supermodel Cara Delevingne was quite the herp-loving little girl, reports heatworld.com.
Cara then:
Cara now:
Whether you grow up to strut the runway, crack genetic codes, or rule the world, just keep on herpin’, little girls! …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Monitor Lizard Finds Home In Parliament
By Herp News
Parliament welcomed a surprise visitor yesterday _ a two-metre-long monitor lizard that made its home in an air duct. Officials were alerted to the reptile's presence by a member of the press who spotted it through a metal grille in the ceiling.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Turtle Beach Bringing Next Generation Audio To Xbox One
By Herp News
VALHALLA, N.Y., May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Turtle Beach is excited to announce that it is working with Microsoft to develop market-leading audio solutions for Xbox One. The two companies will leverage …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Turtle season is upon us
By Herp News
Sea turtle nest No. 1 was found this week in Seagrove by Ann Stuart. It is a Loggerhead. Published: Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 13:20 PM. The turtles are back.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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It’s World Turtle Day!
By Herp News
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online If you see a turtle crossing a busy road – pick it up and send it in the direction it was originally going on the other side of the road, advises the advocacy group American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), which is celebrating their 13th annual World Turtle Day 2013 today. Picking up the tortoise and turning it around will only cause the slow moving …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Monitor lizard finds home in parliament
By Herp News
Parliament welcomed a surprise visitor yesterday _ a two-metre-long monitor lizard that made its home in an air duct. Officials were alerted to the reptile's presence by a member of the press who spotted it through a metal grille in the ceiling.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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A Glorious Copperhead Kind of Day
The late spring sun shown brightly and the woodlands were verdant with newly greened leaves. Crows cawed over head and a broad-winged hawk circled lazily. I was clambering over some sizable tumbled boulders. To my left was a roller coaster that, come sundown, would be zipping boisterous, screaming, throngs up and down inclines that I didn’t even want to imagine and around hairpin curves that I wanted to think about even less.
To my right the boulder field eased and the greenery encroached tightly. I had been told that here, amidst the very rocks I was now traversing, northern copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, denned, foraged, bred, and underwent their quiet lives unseen and unsuspected by the amusement park employees and attendees.
I wasn’t sure that I believed this, for although I knew the rocks to be home to garter snakes and black racers, I was one of the many who never had suspected the presence of a pit viper of any kind. And so far on this glorious spring day my total for snakes seen was zero.
I had made my way, slowly and searchingly, across the expanse of boulders and was about to carefully make the return. In preparation I stepped out into the woodland, and stood for a moment listening to the sounds of the wild. Birds on their spring migration were cheeping, chirping, and lisping overhead. I listened for a few minutes, then turned to begin my return.
Ahead of me, among hundreds of others, was a flat, foliage surrounded, sun-drenched, rock. And what was that spot of orange on it? I looked more closely. Neonate copperhead.
The tales were true, and this day would live forever in memory.
Continue reading “A Glorious Copperhead Kind of Day” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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World's smallest frog, new snake identified for first time
In a nice change of pace from news of species and habitat loss worldwide, meet the ten newly identified species scientists have selected as the best and most interesting of last year — including a new snake and a new frog.
From Science Daily:
An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. A global committee of taxonomists — scientists responsible for species exploration and classification — announced its list of top 10 species from 2012 today, May 23.
Meet the world’s newest snake:
No to the Mine! Snake
Sibon noalamina
Country: PanamaSnail-eating snake: A beautiful new species of snail-eating snake has been discovered in the highland rainforests of western Panama. The snake is nocturnal and hunts soft-bodied prey including earthworms and amphibian eggs, in addition to snails and slugs. This harmless snake defends itself by mimicking the alternating dark and light rings of venomous coral snakes. The species is found in the Serranía de Tabasará mountain range where ore mining is degrading and diminishing its habitat. The species name is derived from the Spanish phrase “No a la mina” or “No to the mine.”
Next, the world’s smallest and newest frog:
World’s Smallest Vertebrate
Paedophryne amanuensis
Country: New GuineaTiny frog: Living vertebrates — animals that have a backbone or spinal column — range in size from this tiny new species of frog, as small as 7 millimeters, to the blue whale, measuring 25.8 meters. The new frog was discovered near Amau village in Papua, New Guinea. It captures the title of ‘smallest living vertebrate’ from a tiny Southeast Asian cyprinid fish that claimed the record in 2006. The adult frog size, determined by averaging the lengths of both males and females, is only 7.7 millimeters. With few exceptions, this and other ultra-small frogs are associated with moist leaf litter in tropical wet forests — suggesting a unique ecological guild that could not exist under drier circumstances.
Read the rest of the top new species here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Turtle recall
By Herp News
All rights reserved . Credit: Hilton/Greenpeace An Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) swims in the open blue ocean of the Pacific. Image caption: An Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) swims in the open blue ocean of the Pacific. When I heard it was World Turtle Day , I hatched a plan. I know that to an international audience ‘turtle’ covers a multitude of reptile species, but …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Tiny Leroy celebrates turtle day in Qld
By Herp News
Tiny turtle Leroy was rescued by a fisherman in the Great Barrier Reef, suffering from floating syndrome.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Tiny Leroy celebrates turtle day in Qld
By Herp News
LUCKY turtle Leroy, who almost died from floating syndrome, will be on display in a far north Queensland aquarium for World Turtle Day.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Top 10 new species of 2012
By Herp News
An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by a global committee of taxonomists.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Top 10 new species of 2012
By Herp News
An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by a global committee of taxonomists.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Compromise on Serengeti road?: build an elevated highway
By Herp News
Famed anthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey has proposed a possible solution to the hugely controversial Serengeti road: build an elevated highway. Leakey made the remarks during a conference at Rutgers University on May 14th, as reported by Live Science. The Tanzanian government’s plans to build a road through the remote, northern Serengeti has come under both environmental and international criticism, as scientific studies and leaked government reports have found the proposed road would hugely hamper the world famous migration across the plans.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Fire breaks out in reptile tank in Taunton
By Herp News
TWO fire crews were called to a flat in Taunton this evening (May 21) after a fire broke out in a reptile tank.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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First sea turtle nest of the year found in Myrtle Beach
By Herp News
The first sea turtle nest of the season in Horry County has been reported on the beach near 69 th Avenue North.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Monitor lizard inside Govt House pix
By Herp News
A two-metre monitor lizard was found crawling through air ducts in the ceiling inside Government House building on Wednesday morning, reports said.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Monitor lizard visits parliament
By Herp News
A two-metre monitor lizard was found crawling through air ducts in the ceiling of the parliament building on Wednesday morning, reports said.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Famed bird reappears after 400,000 miles of flight
By Herp News
A migratory shorebird that has flown more than 400,000 miles has reappeared once again.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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New global network bridges gap for primate conservation educators
By Herp News
Drawing from her personal experience as a primate educator and the challenges she saw others facing, Amy Clanin envisioned a network that would advance the field of primate conservation education by addressing three needs of educators: connections, resources, and services. It was this vision that led her to create the Primate Education Network (PEN). PEN is at the forefront of primate conservation education, providing a community and collaboration platform for primate educators.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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A 'worm snake,' you say?
For a little over two years in the 1970s, Patti and I left Florida and spent three years in Massachusetts. During that time the venerable Massachusetts Herpetological Society was active and well, and the monthly meetings were a joy to attend.
At the society meetings I met Tom Tyning, a herpetologist who is now a professor at Berkshire Community College but was at that time a stalwart employee of Massachusetts Audubon. Tom had a wonderful sense of humor, so I thought he was kidding me when he said his herpetological nemesis in MA was the eastern worm snake, Carphophis amoenus amoenus. What I found strange about that statement was that Tom lived at the edge of a sandy, rolling, expanse of land that contained a thriving worm snake population. When I told him this, Tom’s response was something to the effect of a skeptical, “Oh, yeah, sure!”
So, a few days later, on a typically toasty summer afternoon, Tom and I met a couple of hundred feet from his back door, and began our search for fallen tree trunks, discarded newspapers and cardboard, all worm snake cover. Finding such cover was the work of only a minute.
Finding the first few worm snakes took only a few moments longer. Remembering the look of incredulity on Tom’s face has lasted a lifetime.
More photos under the jump.
Continue reading “A ‘worm snake,’ you say?” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Scientists call amphibian extinction rate 'terrifying'
A just-published map of the world’s most endangered species of mammals and amphibians shows that very little of the habitat critical to these species’ survival is being protected.
From the BBC:
Amphibians are suffering a “terrifying” rate of extinction say the researchers, making them the most threatened vertebrates in the world. The Mexican salamander or axolotl is being threatened by expanding cities, pollution and invasive fish species which eat their young.
While many of the survival issues facing species highlighted on the map are extremely challenging, sometimes small changes can make a big difference.
(Zoological Society of London Director of Conservation Jonathan) Baillie highlights the example of a small worm like amphibian from Kenya called the Sagalla caecilian.
“It was just losing its habitat because the native trees were taken, so we’ve started a programme of replanting the native trees and 6,000 have been replanted and the areas where they have their strongholds are now being protected.”
“That kind of simple action can ensure that those species can be there hopefully for hundred of years to come.”
Read the rest here.
Photo: Mexican salamander/ZSL …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Scientists surprised by identity of marine reptile fossil found in Iraq
Scientists studying a fossil fond in Iraq in the 1950s were surprised to find it was that of a marine reptile dating back 66 million years, long after the time this group of animals was thought to have become extinct.
From Science Live:
Ichythyosaurs were dolphin-shaped swimming reptiles that gave birth to live young. They lived in the oceans at the same time dinosaurs were tromping around on land. Previously, researchers thought only one group of ichthyosaurs, called ophthalmosaurids, made it out of the Jurassic into the Cretaceous. The newly named fossil, dubbed Malawania anachronus, is a Cretaceous survivor that does not belong to the ophthalmosaurids, however. That means a “ghost lineage” of ichthyosaurs survived alongside the ophthalmosaurids, changing very little over millions of years.
The fossil in question was first found in the 1950s by British petroleum geologists, who noticed the slab being used as a stepping stone on a mule track in Iraq. The geologists rescued the fossil and took it to the United Kingdom, where it stayed unstudied until the 1970s. Because researchers didn’t know where in the rock record the fossil had come from, they struggled to determine its age. (Layers of earth build up over time, meaning, in a general sense, the oldest layers will be on the bottom and the more recent layers more toward the surface.)
Read the full story here.
Illustrations: Robert Nicholls (www.paleocreations.com); coloring by C. M. Kosemen (www.cmkosemen.com).
…read more
Read more here: King Snake
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ANN ARBOR:Couple’s low-profile Great Lakes Zoological Society promises ‘world of discovery’ for visitors
By Herp News
What started out as a small reptile rescue run out of a local couple’s home has bloomed into the Great Lakes Zoological Society’s “World of Discovery” center, an indoor amphibian and reptile zoo of about 100 animals, located just west of Ann Arbor.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Poaching hits sea turtle eggs
By Herp News
Besides being beautiful, Costa Rica's beaches are the nesting sites of four endangered sea turtle species, which return each year to lay their eggs. But there is trouble in paradise for these reptiles, namely, from egg thieves.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Mice and lizard return after a month in space
By Herp News
Washington, May 20 : A Russian capsule, which had mice and lizards as its occupants, returned to Earth on Sunday after spending a month in space.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Costa Rica Has a Sea Turtle Egg-Poaching Problem
By Herp News
Besides being beautiful, Costa Rica's beaches are the nesting sites of four endangered sea turtle species, which return each year to lay their eggs. But there is trouble in paradise for these reptiles, namely, from egg thieves.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Could the Tasmanian tiger be hiding out in New Guinea?
By Herp News
Many people still believe the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) survives in the wilds of Tasmania, even though the species was declared extinct over eighty years ago. Sightings and reports of the elusive carnivorous marsupial, which was the top predator on the island, pop-up almost as frequently as those of Bigfoot in North America, but to date no definitive evidence has emerged of its survival. Yet, a noted cryptozoologist (one who searches for hidden animals), Dr. Karl Shuker, wrote recently that tiger hunters should perhaps turn their attention to a different island: New Guinea.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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