By Herp News
A turtle which was hit by a boat and left unable to swim underwater is given a specially designed “dive belt”.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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A Tale of a Yellow
Using the harsh cries of red-shouldered hawks, the excited cawing of crows, and the strident vocalizations of bluejays as an excuse to take a break from yard work, Patti and I walked across the street to see what was causing the avian uproar.
The birds were all gathered on the uppermost limbs of a big live oak. Responding to their distress calls, more birds were winging our way. The tree was tall and fully leafed. Although the birds, hopping and flying from limb to treetop limb, might have had a great view, we needed binoculars.
Binocs were found and Patti was the first to make out a sinuous shape — a snake shape — amidst the leaves of a slender outermost branch.
It was a yellow rat snake, Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus, a big one, and the fact that it was being dive-bombed by a host of varied bird species seemed to bother it not at all. Eventually I snagged the binoculars and found the snake in the branches.
Birds screamed, dive-bombed, hopped about, retreated, and then began the ritual all over. The snake had coiled within a network of small diameter branches that the birds could neither land on nor penetrate while awing. After a half hour or so, as evening drew nigh, the avian horde decided they had better make nighttime preparations and all left.
Ten minutes after the hub-bub died down the snake began its descent. With the show now over and necks aching from craning upwards, we also returned to our temporarily forgotten yard work.
Yellow rat snakes are no stranger to our neighborhood. We usually see several a year and are led to many by the excited calls of birds. The snakes depicted here are of typical color and are from our backyard. The larger one could actually be the protagonist in this tale.
More photos after the jump…
Continue reading “A Tale of a Yellow” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Origin of amphibian-killing fungus discovered
Chytrid fungus infections are wiping out amphibians all over the world. Now, a new study may have pinpointed the origin of the disease.
From National Geographic:
“It did a really huge number on an entire genus of frogs in Central America,” said Marm Kilpatrick, a disease ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). The fungus probably caused several species of this harlequin frog (Atelopus) to go extinct, he added.
Chytrid is also largely responsible for endangering California’s mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa).
“It’s the single biggest threat to vertebrate diversity in the world,” Kilpatrick said.
The fungus, which seems to attack only amphibians, causes a thickening of the infected amphibian’s skin, preventing the animal from breathing properly and interfering with its electrolyte balance. The infection can eventually lead to cardiac arrest, although some frog species are better able to cope with it than others.
A new study delving into how this fungus spreads has now linked chytrid outbreaks in California—one of the more recent areas experiencing huge amphibian die-offs—to the spread of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
And the study’s implications could extend far beyond California, providing scientists with a potential road map showing how a devastating infection continues to spread around the world.
Read more here.
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Injured turtle to get 'dive belt'
By Herp News
A turtle which was hit by a boat and left unable to swim underwater is to be given a specially designed “dive belt”.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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World Turtle Day celebrated with new education initiative
By Herp News
A new initiative that aims to increase awareness of the dangers turtles face and encourage human action to help them survive, kicks off at Kelly Tarlton’s SEA LIFE Aquarium this month. Turtle Fest, held from 18 May to 2 June, will commemorate World Turtle Day on 23 May and educate visitors to SEA LIFE aquariums across Australia and New Zealand on the turtles’ plight. Since 1991 Kelly Tarlton’s …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Frankie Tortoise Tails – Once You Learn To Ride A Bike
I walk into the backyard after a long unhappy morning of chores and errands…..(be honest, chores and errands are rarely ‘happy’)…..instead of entering the front or side door because about a mile from home the thought of Frankie pops into my mind and it’s the first happy thought to arrive today.
Frankie has beensettlinginto his summer life in the yard. He is busy selecting basking spots, checking out new plant growth, looking over new man-made items that landed there over the winter, and re-establish his dominance over boulders and tubs lest they forget who is the king of the yard.
I catch Frankie examining a pile of wood leaning against his shed. He spies asuspiciouslyevil looking white pipe that seems to have returned after he firmly expelled from the yard last fall. He is having difficulty getting to it as there are three plastic patio chairs lined up in front of pipe.
I see whats going on.
Frankie does not plow through the chairs to reach the offending pipe but instead he sits. It’s a pitiful looking sit. Frankie knows that pipe is there but lacks the “umph” to do anything about it. Hefinallyturns around and crawls under the chair I am sitting it. Wisely, I abandonthe chair.
Frankie just sits there. 3/4 of him is under the chair and the rest of him (legs and head) jut out from under the chair. Sulcata tortoises take upthis position when they plan to haul said furniture across the yard. This is why we call sulcata tortoisesFurnitureMovers.
But Frankie just sits.
Sensing somediscontent in that sit, I sit down next to Frankie so we cannotcommunicateabout what’s wrong. We both stare out into the yard. Me because I am miserable that there is no dark chocolate and ice tea to refresh me after errands, and Frankie, well, I don’t know what’s got him so preoccupied. He just stares out into the yard just like me.
I get an idea.
“Frankie. Is it Miss Umbrella Stand? Are you missing her?”
I dive under the patio where all kinds of yard items are stuffed during the winter. Half the stuff should have been thrown away but it was too cold to go outside and throw anything away. Those kinds of things are sitting under the patio along with Frankie’s stuff I just haven’t pulled out yet.
There she lay. Back against the brick house and covered by a garden hose Iretrievethe umbrella stand bought five years ago yet it has never held an umbrella.
I drag out the umbrella stand and set it under the Golden Rain Tree.
Frankie gets up and walks calmly to the umbrella stand. He stops right next to it andconsidersit for several minutes. He then half walks over it and stops so his back leg still holds on. A quick pivot and Frankie is on top.
He sits there. Maybe savoring the moment.
He …read more
Read more here: Turtle Times
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Frog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to US
By Herp News
African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the US, according to new findings. African Clawed Frogs have long been suspected of spreading a harmful fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The earliest known case of the fungus was found in these frogs in their native South Africa. Now scientists have found the first evidence of the disease among introduced feral populations in the US.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Frog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to US
By Herp News
African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the US, according to new findings. African Clawed Frogs have long been suspected of spreading a harmful fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The earliest known case of the fungus was found in these frogs in their native South Africa. Now scientists have found the first evidence of the disease among introduced feral populations in the US.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Ancient marine reptile said 'creature out of its time'
By Herp News
SOUTHAMPTON, England, May 15 (UPI) — European scientists say a newly identified kind of ichthyosaur, a dolphin-like marine reptile from the age of dinosaurs, gives new insights into the creatures.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Rhino populations in Sumatra, Borneo should be combined to save Sumatran rhino from extinction
By Herp News
A new study argues for treating endangered Sumatran populations in Borneo and Sumatra as ‘a single conservation unit’, lending academic support to a controversial proposal to move wild rhinos from Malaysia to Indonesia.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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New Winking Lizard sports neighborhood pub theme
By Herp News
Fans of the wing, burger, and craft beer mecca known as Winking Lizard Tavern will notice something different about the new Washington Square location. It’s much smaller.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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New species of green palm-pitviper identified in Honduras
There’s a beautiful and deadly new species of green palm-pitviper in town, reports Zookeys, an open access scientific journal.
From Science Daily:
The gorgeous new species was discovered by scientists during two expeditions in 2010 aimed at studying the fauna of Texiguat Wildlife Refuge, one of the most endemism-rich and diverse highland forests in Mesoamerica. This beautiful, but highly toxic, snake represents the 15th endemic species occurring in the region. Texiguat Wildlife Refuge was created in 1987 to protect populations of wildlife such as the famous but elusive jaguar and Central America tapir, as well as howler and white-faced monkeys, sloths, and a variety of endemic amphibians, reptiles, and plants.
To draw attention to the dedication and sacrifice of many grassroots conservationists in Honduras and Central America, the new species was named in honor of Mario Guifarro of Olancho. Guifarro was a former hunter and gold miner who became an outspoken conservationist when he saw the vast rainforests of eastern Honduras being destroyed and converted to cattle ranches. After years of threats and multiple attempts on his life, Guifarro was ambushed and murdered on 15 September 2007 while on a mission to delimit a biosphere reserve for the indigenous Tawahka.
Read more here.
Photo: Josiah H. Townsend; CC-BY 3.0/ScienceDaily.com …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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New featured contributor: Patricia Bartlett
kingsnake.com is happy to welcome a new featured contributor, longtime herper and author Patricia Bartlett, who will be writing about herp keeping, care, and breeding on a regular basis.
Patti Bartlett spent her formative years chasing lizards and butterflies in New Mexico. Although she has more than dabbled in museum management, Asian studies, and publishing, at the end of every day she goes home to a resident population of snakes, frogs, turtles and mammals. She is the author or co-author of some 65 books– most about reptiles.
For a list of her current titles, please visit her page in our bookstore …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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130 years old tortoise dies of rat-bite in UK
By Herp News
Shell shocked! A seemingly invincible pet tortoise in UK, who survived two world wars and even a bomb in the Blitz, has died aged 130 – after being bitten by a rat. Thomas, the oldest tor…
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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New species of marine reptile from Jurassic period found in Iraq
By Herp News
Washington, May 15 (ANI): An international team of scientists has identified a new species of ichthyosaur (a dolphin-like marine reptile from the age of dinosaurs) from Iraq, which revolutionises our understanding of the evolution and extinction of these ancient marine reptiles.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Herp Photo of the Day: Skink!
This image of a Skink, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ilovemonitorliza, is our herp photo of the day!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Photo: Stunning new pit-viper discovered in Honduras
By Herp News
A stunning new species of pit-viper has been discovered in the cloud forest of Honduras. The venomous snake is described in the journal ZooKeys.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Fossil saved from mule track revolutionizes understanding of ancient dolphin-like marine reptile
By Herp News
Scientists have revealed a new species of ichthyosaur (a dolphin-like marine reptile from the age of dinosaurs) from Iraq, which revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution and extinction of these ancient marine reptiles.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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In-Depth Review: Turtle Beach Ear Force XP510
By Herp News
The Turtle Beach Ear Force XP510 is what the company calls “the most advanced gaming audio system Turtle Beach has ever created.” I ran the unit through a vigorous gauntlet of cross-platform testing on console and mobile to test out this high claim about the company's latest offering in high-end gaming audio. After a month's worth of immersive testing, tweaking and observing the XP510 in action …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Thomas: Office lizard creates moral dilemma
By Herp News
As the weather continues to warm up more and more some of my scaly friends have begun to show up around the office.Just today a lizard that darted away from the desk I was walking towards surprised me…
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Industrialized fishing has forced seabirds to change what they eat
By Herp News
The bleached bones of seabirds are telling us a new story about the far-reaching impacts of industrial fisheries on today’s oceans. Looking at the isotopes of 250 bones from Hawaiian petrels (Pterodroma sandwichensis), scientists have been able to reconstruct the birds’ diets over the last 3,000 years. They found an unmistakable shift from big prey to small prey around 100 years ago, just when large, modern fisheries started scooping up fish at never before seen rates. The dietary shift shows that modern fisheries upended predator and prey relationships even in the ocean ocean and have possibly played a role in the decline of some seabirds.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Barkers and a balmy April night
“Toonk, toonk, toonk, toonk.”
During a warm downpour I stood on the back porch for a few minutes listening and reveling at the sound.
The hollow “toonks” of H. gratiosa, the barking treefrog, were unmistakable. It was the third year I had heard this small chorus of the southeast’s largest native treefrog while standing on my back porch. They called from a small retention pond in an apartment complex a bit under a half mile from us. Only two or three had been heard in the spring of 2011. The number had grown to six or seven last year. And this year it sounded as if it had doubled again.
In their color-changing abilities, by the way, barking treefrogs are hylid chameleons. The same frog may be any one of several shades of green at one moment and tan or brown a minute or two later. The spots may be lighter or darker than the body color and be entirely of one color or dark-edged ocelli. Barkers often voice occasional calls from the canopy, but when breeding often vocalize while floating amidst dense emergent vegetation.
We had experienced a warm winter and were having a cold spring in northcentral Florida. It was now the third week of April and the winter frogs, the various chorus frogs and peepers, not yet realizing that seasonal warming was finally upon us, were still calling from suitable habitats. The green treefrogs that usually call from the tiny rubber-bottomed pond in our yard had not yet announced their presence. Although the southern toads had been foraging in the yard for weeks they had gathered at the pond to call on only one very rainy night a week earlier.
Only a moment earlier I had been exchanging Facebook comments with more northerly friends who were experiencing another spring snowstorm. Now I stood listening to a hylid that, to me, truly signified the advent of spring’s warming. I decided to pull up a chair and enjoy sounds nature offered, the sighing breezes, the steadily falling rain, and the treefrog chorus, for a while longer.
More photos under the jump…
Continue reading “Barkers and a balmy April night” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Five percent of ploughshare tortoise population perishes after botched smuggling attempt
By Herp News
In March, two people were caught attempting to smuggle 54 ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) into Thailand. Listed as Critically Endangered, the tortoises’ wild population is down to approximately 400-500 animals in its native Madagascar, meaning the smugglers were attempting to move over 10 percent of the total population. Now, the Scientific American blog Extinction Countdown reports that nearly half of the smuggled tortoises have died of unknown causes.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Flying Lizard Motorsports finishes 8th and 9th in challenging Monterey race
By Herp News
After a solid qualifying effort, Flying Lizard faced a long, uphill battle during the 4-hour American Le Mans Series race, including multiple incidents with other cars and significant damage to the No. 44 and No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. … Keep reading
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Missing teeth? Alligators may help you find them
Dentists soon may be feeling a pinch in their profits, courtesy of lessons learned from alligator jaws.
From the UK’s Daily Mail:
To uncover the chemical mechanisms of tooth renewal Professor Cheng-Ming Chuong and colleagues studied repetitive tooth formation in American alligators.
Most vertebrates can renew teeth throughout their lives whereas humans’ are naturally replaced only once.
Alligators have an average of 80 teeth in their mouth at any one time – and 50 sets of replacements to last their lifetime.
Alligators have well-organised teeth with traits similar to those of mammals – such as secondary palates and implantation in sockets of the dental bones – and are capable of lifelong tooth renewal.
Through a combination of molecular aqnalysis and scanning techniques the researchers showed each alligator tooth is a complex unit of three components in different developmental stages.
These are structured to facilitate replacement once they are dislodged, says the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Early on the alligator dental lamina forms a bulge at its tip that houses stem cells. Molecular analysis revealed that the initiation of the tooth cycle corresponds with the dynamic expression of an array of signaling chemicals.
The researchers believe the findings could help adults who have lost teeth or have ones that appear in addition to the regular number – a common condition called supernumerary teeth.
Read more here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Disabled turtle to get dive suit
By Herp News
A sea turtle with a damaged spine is being kitted out with its own dive-belt to help it swim underwater.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Turtle Beach partners with Twitch
By Herp News
Gaming headset titan Turtle Beach has joined forces with video platform Twitch to become its official audio partner, providing kit for its eSports events.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Herp Photo of the Day: Eastern Red Spotted Newt!
This image of an Eastern Red Spotted Newt, uploaded by kingsnake.com user DeanAlessandrini, is our herp photo of the day!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Turtle Beach Designated As Twitch's Official Audio Partner
By Herp News
SAN FRANCISCO and VALHALLA, N.Y., May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Twitch , the world's leading video platform and community for gamers, and Turtle Beach , leading audio brand in games, today announce an …
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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'Reptile Guy' appears before judge
By Herp News
A man accused of neglecting his pets said he's an animal lover and educator.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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WATCH: Kitten freaks out over lizard
By Herp News
A kitten goes over-the-top crazy after a lizard sneaks up beside it.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Climate change to halve habitat for over 10,000 common species
By Herp News
Even as concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in human history last week, a new study in Nature Climate Change warns that thousands of the world’s common species will suffer grave habitat loss under climate change.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Why responsible tourism is the key to saving the mountain gorilla
By Herp News
The sunlight poured through the canopy, casting dappled shade over Makara, a large silverback mountain gorilla, as he cast his eyes around the forest clearing, checking on the members of his harem. A female gorilla reclined on a bank of dense vegetation of the most brilliant green, clutching her three day old infant close to her chest, and elsewhere, two juvenile gorillas played around a small tree, running rings around it until one crashed into the other and they rolled themselves into a roly-poly ball of jet black fluff that came to a halt a few meters in front of our delighted group.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Does renewable energy harm reptiles and amphibians?
Is the increasing development of renewable energy sources harming reptiles and amphibians. That’s the subject of reseach for Jade Keehn, an award-winning biology post-grad student at the University of Nevada, Reno.
From the Nevada Sagebrush:
Keehn is focusing on research she was recently awarded the Regent’s Scholar Award for, which involves studying the effects of renewable energy on reptile populations and the ecosystem in general. Because she believes the transition to renewable energy is inevitable, Keehn began focusing on how renewable energy facilities affect surrounding ecosystems because the facilities take up mass quantities of habitat.
Though she hasn’t started her fieldwork yet, Keehn plans to soon so she can begin to understand how these huge facilities affect bird populations, plants, insects, reptiles and all other organisms involved.
“Because of the scale of impact from these situations, you aren’t going to lose species entirely, but it will impact our environment and affect the way things interact,” Keehn said.
Read more here.
Photo: Jade Keehn …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Escaped!
I think every reptile and amphibian keeper has experienced that sinking sensation upon noticing a cage top ajar.
No matter how you’ve set up your caging, if the animal escapes, your caging or the keeper has failed. If you’re an adult, you shrug and take steps to recover the creature. If you’re a kid, you know your parents aren’t going to be happy with the situation or your attempts to recapture the animal. Unless you find and restore your pet to its housing, this might be the end of your keeping herps for an extended period. If we’re talking about an escaped venomous reptile, you (and the animal) need a lot more help than this note can offer.
The big bad about being out of a cage is being away from water. Amphibians are particularly subject to dessication, and it’s a terrible way to die. You have maybe 12 hours, if you’re lucky, to find your escaped amphibian and restore it to its cage with its fresh water droplets or a bowl of water.
Frogs, salamanders, and newts deal poorly with being away from moisture. Frogs may hop their way into your maybe more humid bathroom, but don’t count on it. I never had one make it into the toilet, although I have wished they would. Reptiles are not as subject to desiccation, but the little guys, like anoles and snakes less than 24 inches long, don’t have a lot of body bulk for moisture storage.
So, where do they go and how do you find them?
Continue reading “Escaped!” …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Reptile event at Radipole Lake nature reserve
By Herp News
There will be a reptile event at RSPB Radipole Lake nature reserve on Sunday, May 19.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Herp Video of the Week: Northern Caiman Lizard
Check out this video “Northern Caiman Lizard,” submitted by kingsnake.com user quolibet.
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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Herp Photo of the Day: Firebelly Toad!
This image of a Firebelly Toad, uploaded by kingsnake.com user radar357, is our herp photo of the day!
Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here! …read more
Read more here: King Snake
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Reptile Expo held at Santa Fe Station
By Herp News
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Reptile Expo was held at Santa Fe Station on Saturday and Sunday.
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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For Mother’s Day, pictures of mama animals with babies
By Herp News
One of the highlights of traveling to exotic planes is seeing mother animals with their babies so here is a collection of a some pictures I’ve taken over the years. They range from amphibians in Panama to orangutans in Borneo. I hope you enjoy. Happy Mother’s Day!
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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