By Herp News

Night zoo features reptile month

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

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Conservationists and officials meeting last month at a rhino crisis summit in Singapore agreed to a radical plan to loan Sumatran rhinos between nations if it means saving the critically endangered species from extinction. The proposal, which could still be thwarted by red tape and political opposition, could lead Malaysia to send some of its Sumatran rhinos to semi-captive breeding facilities in Indonesia.

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The Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center is having its first New Beginnings benefit for the center.

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Although many amphibians have been reported to live or spend part of their life underground, the Mediterranean frog Rana iberica, has never been reported dwelling in subterranean habitats until now. A new study marks the first record of all life stages of the species from a drainage gallery of Serra da Estrela Natural Park in Portugal.

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In January of 2013, Patti and I were in Amazonian Peru with about 15 other herpers. We had spent five days on Project Amazon’s Madre Selva Biological Preserve on the Rio Orosa, and had just moved back upriver to their Santa Cruz Forest Preserve.

Since our last visit, a lazy creek I remember as barely flowing had been dammed and had flowed sufficiently to form a several acre pond in a low-lying clearcut before trickling over the dam to reenter the dense secondary forest. The pond, now two years old, had provided new habitat for spectacled caiman, fish, and in banana trees along the banks, for Bob; for many Bobs, in fact.

Bob, a treefrog, had been named by our gang for his call, “Bob”—not Robert, not Bobby, just plain old Bob, spoken in a guttural croak. Big, angular, with actions and reactions relatively slow, Bob and his brethren sat, usually one to a banana tree, on the leaf stems about waist to head high. Bob was forest green dorsally, grayish to buff ventrally, and laterally had a jagged line of dark rimmed light spots separating the dorsal and ventral colors.

Bob was (and is) a giant monkey frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor. Among the largest of his genus Bob was about 4 ½ inches svl (snout-vent length), had huge parotoid glands and when he moved he as often moved in a deliberate hand over hand fashion as by jumping.

Every night at dusk, Bob (all the Bobs, in fact) emerged from the axil(s) of the banana tree(s) to sit boldly on the stem(s) and call loudly into the night. That this seemingly harsh and unwaveringly repetitious call has been successful in bringing females to the various calling sites was amply displayed by the vast number of tadpoles in all stages of development that swam in the shallows of the pond.

The Bobs it seems, and the Bobettes, have found new homes. Long live them all!

More photos under the jump…
Continue reading “They Named Him Bob” …read more

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By Herp News

When we think of conservation areas, many of us think of iconic National Parks overseen by uniformed government employees or wilderness areas purchased and run from afar by big-donor organizations like The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, or Conservation International. But what happens to ecosystems and wildlife in areas where there’s a total lack of government presence and no money coming in for its protection? This is the story of one rural Peruvian community that took conservation matters into their own hands, with a little help from a dedicated pair of primate researchers, in order to protect a high biodiversity cloud forest.

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By Herp News

Time could be running out for a rare dwarf Russian tortoise stolen from a Lancashire pet shop.

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Byline: The Lizard RNLi lifeboat launches to aid stricken gas tanker Page Content: The Lizard Lifeboat launched into heavy seas this morning to the aid of the stricken Panamanian gas tanker Antigoni , adrift with macninery failure and struggling to anchor in a position 1.5 miles south east of Lizard Point. Upon arrival on scene, the lifeboat, under the command of Coxswain Phil Burgess, was …

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Turtles are endlessly fascinating to scientists. Their biology is unique. They were around with the dinosaurs and survived the forces that led to their extinction. And now it turns out they have more in common with birds and those extinct dinosaurs than with reptiles.

From Science World Report:

It turns out that, surprisingly, turtles are not primitive reptiles as previously thought. Instead, they are related to the group that is made up of birds and crocodilians and also includes extinct dinosaurs. It’s likely that the turtles split from this group about 250 million years ago during one of the largest extinction events on the planet.

“Turtles are interesting because they offer an exceptional case to understand the big evolutionary changes that occurred in vertebrate history,” said Naoki Irie from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in a news release. “The work not only provides insight into how turtles evolved, but also gives hints as to how the vertebrate developmental programs can be changed to produce major evolutionary novelties.”

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By Herp News

Byline: Volunteer RNLI crew at Lizard say ‘cheers’ for the donation Page Content: The fundraising appeal for a new all-weather lifeboat at the Lizard station received a boost from money raised at a local beer festival. Thanks to the second annual beer festival held at The Witchball Restaurant during, the summer Coxswain Phil Burgess received a cheque for £3,017.38 towards the appeal for the new …

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By Herp News

Byline: 40th wedding anniversary supports Lizard RNLI's Tamar lifeboat appeal Page Content: Ernie and Sue Pursglove, from The Lizard, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in classic style at the weekend when the professional Jazz and Flamenco band ‘TG Collective’ (www.tgcollective.com) in which their son Andrew is a key musician, arrived in town for a live concert and party, staged at …

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As of Wednesday if you want to own a desert tortoise you can only have one.

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What biologists and sea turtle nest trackers believe is the first loggerhead sea turtle nest to turn up on the west coast of Florida, was found Sunday on Captiva Island.

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Nesting green sea turtles are benefiting from marine protected areas by using habitats found within their boundaries, according to a new study that is the first to track the federally protected turtles in Dry Tortugas National Park.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to end protection for all gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the lower 48 states, save for a small population of Mexican wolves in New Mexico, reports the Los Angeles Times. The proposal comes two years after wolves were removed from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in western states by a legislative rider on a budget bill, and soon after in the midwest. Since then hunting and trapping has killed over 1,500 wolves in these two regions.

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Researchers have discovered that disrupting a gene that acts as a regulatory switch to turn on other genes can keep blood vessels from forming and developing properly.

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Along a scenic coastal path, Martin Jackson finds he is alone save for springtime flora and birds.        

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Unwanted or illegal reptiles and amphibians, including three alligators, were turned over to the Suffolk County SPCA on Long Island in New York State in the state’s first-ever illegal animal amnesty.

From LongIsland.com:

The event, which took place at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, allowed people to drop off illegal animals, no questions asked. Only reptiles and amphibians were accepted, and no penalties were given to individuals who handed over illegal reptiles, as the primary goal of the event was to prevent people from letting unwanted illegal reptiles or amphibians loose on Long Island.

The event was particularly valuable in that three alligators ended up in the safe hands of the SPCA. The alligators were 3 feet, 3.5 feet, and 4.5 feet long. Keeping an alligator is illegal, and includes a fine of up to $250, but releasing an alligator into the wild is a misdemeanor that can lead to jail time.

Just last week, four alligators were fished out of the Peconic River in Calverton near a boat ramp. The 2- and 3-foot-long alligators were sent to the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center.

At least nine alligators were found on Long Island last fall, including two alligators that were found in a supermarket parking lot in Baldwin, one found on a golf course in Wading River, and another found in the parking lot of an Applebee’s in Shirley.

In a separate story, the New York Post reported the alligators were subsequently adopted by the Rainforest Reptile Show, to appear in educational exhibits. …read more
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By Herp News

Byline: MV Ardgarry disaster remembered at Lizard RNLI lifeboat station Page Content: One year on, following a hugely emotive memorial service and the un-veiling of a granite memorial stone at The Lizard Lifeboat station, Patrick Slattery has made an emotional return to visit many friends in The Lizard . Patrick’s father tragically perished along with 11 other crewmen when the vessel MV Ardgarry …

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The population of a widely dispersed bird species is relatively unaffected by warmer springs, indicating that some species may be adapting to shifts caused by climate change, reports a study published in the journal Science.

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A Portland woman said her tortoise named Hornswaggle was found safe in her neighborhood Sunday afternoon after a two-day search.

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Silas the loggerhead turtle made a beeline for the breakers Saturday morning, leaving no doubt where the rehabilitated turtle belongs. Silas Edenfield, the little boy he was named for, stared at the sea from a beach wheelchair on the water's edge as the turtle disappeared.

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A Portland woman is searching for her tortoise named Hornswaggle that she says was stolen from a pen in her front yard.

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From which ancestors have turtles evolved? How did they get their shell? New data provides evidence that turtles are not primitive reptiles but belong to a sister group of birds and crocodiles. The work also sheds light on the evolution of the turtle’s intriguing morphology and reveals that the turtle’s shell evolved by recruiting genetic information encoding for the limbs.

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By Herp News

From which ancestors have turtles evolved? How did they get their shell? New data provides evidence that turtles are not primitive reptiles but belong to a sister group of birds and crocodiles. The work also sheds light on the evolution of the turtle’s intriguing morphology and reveals that the turtle’s shell evolved by recruiting genetic information encoding for the limbs. 

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( BGI Shenzhen ) The genome sequences of the soft-shell turtle and green sea turtle offer new clues to the development and evolution of turtle-specific body plan.

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Saturday, anyone with an illegal reptile or amphibian had a chance to surrender it to authorities on Long Island without being punished.

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And hundreds who gathered for the release after the Tybee Turtle Trot watched both Silases with a mix of joy and sorrow. Silas Edenfield, 4, is in hospice care at his Lyons home for incurable liver cancer.

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There are no guarantees, but there's a chance you can watch a 300-pound loggerhead turtle lay eggs this summer during guided turtle walks in Fort Lauderdale. The Museum of Discovery and Science will lead the walks in June and July, peak period for the huge reptiles to emerge from the ocean, dig holes in the sand with their flippers and lay 100 or so eggs.        

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Charlotte ceramicist Paula Smith waits to hear the fate of her mosaic turtle.

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Charlotte ceramicist Paula Smith waits to hear the fate of her mosaic turtle.

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A TORTOISE has been stolen from a town centre pet shop.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – The clock is ticking for the owner of Reptile Rescue who needs to find a place to house 450 animals.

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LODI – Thousands of reptiles, amphibians and spiders will be featured at the Reptile Breeders Show in Lodi on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers want people to see the creatures in a different light. Show promoter Dr. Roy Smith said, “People …

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The news has been full of stories about snakes turning up where they don’t belong, probably due to warming temperatures as a somewhat late and feeble spring finally takes hold.

In Mississippi, county employees are freaking out over harmless little brown snakes “invading” the local courthouse basement file room. Read more…

More than 100 gartner snakes have been found in a Canadian hospital. Read more…

Connecticut wildlife agencies have some advice for people who are fearful of snakes. “Snakes are probably some of the most misunderstood animals,” said Laura Saucier, a wildlife technician with the DEEP Wildlife Division. “There is no need to fear or hate these reptiles. If you leave snakes alone, they will leave you alone.” Read more…

We couldn’t have said it better.

Have a great weekend, everyone! …read more
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Most hobbyists have heard about Okeetee and Miami Corn Snakes, Pantherophis guttatus guttatus, but in Florida there are a few other locales that are home to rather distinctive corn snakes.

Like “Okeetee,” actually an area much greater than just the hunt club from which the name was taken, and Miami (again a larger area), Palm Beach and the Everglades are homes to corn snakes that, although somewhat variable, are often identifiable by appearance to locale.

Let’s take a look at the Everglades phase, a corn snake that is often found right in mangrove habitat at the southernmost tip of the Florida mainland.

Usually only 2 ½ to 3 feet in length, the dorsum bears bright red saddles that are heavily outlined in black and separated by a pretty beige ground color. The sides, predominantly yellow-buff to beige, bear small black spots that may or may not have a red center. The belly is typically “corn snake checkered” but often has a hazy appearance.

Although not uncommon, this is a corn snake phase that is rather seldom seen. But if you’re all the way down in Miami-Dade County looking for the coveted maroon on pearl gray corns there, you might as well continue southward to Monroe County and find yourself a pretty Everglades phase.

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By Herp News

Byline: TV’s ‘Boycie’ launches the new RNLI Lizard Tamar lifeboat appeal Page Content: The birthday surprise of a lifetime for TV star John Challis, Boycie from the hit series Only Fools and Horses , turned into a huge boost for the RNLI appeal to help fund the next generation of lifeboat to be based at The Lizard. Boycie, overwhelmed at his VIP welcome by volunteers at the remote lifeboat …

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Byline: £300 for The Lizard Tamar Lifeboat Appeal Page Content: Not missing a chance to boost the funds of The Lizard Tamar Lifeboat fundraising appeal earlier today – two prominent Lizard Lifeboat personnel – Station Mechanic Dan Atkinson and Lifeboat Operations Manager Ned Nuzum grasped a very generous donation of £300 from South West News Service. Following their unusual request to use Ned's …

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By Herp News

It might have been cute when you first got it, but now that snake, lizard, or alligator may be a little to much to handle. If that's your situation, Saturday is the day for your day.

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