Reptoman

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   Mar 25

Forging zoos into global conservation centers, an interview with Cristian Samper, head of WCS

By Herp News

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is one of the world’s leading environmental organizations. Founded in 1895 (originally as the New York Zoological Society), the WCS manages 200 million acres of wild places around the globe, with over 500 field conservation projects in 65 countries, and 200 scientists on staff. The WCS also runs five facilities in New York City: the Central Park Zoo, the New York Aquarium, Prospect Park and Queens Zoos, and the world renowned Bronx Zoo.

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   Mar 25

Sea turtle nesting begins with post-storm issues at play

By Herp News

Marine- turtle nesting season began in March on Florida beaches from Brevard through Broward counties

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   Mar 25

Sea turtle nesting begins

By Herp News

Marine- turtle nesting season began in March on Florida beaches from Brevard through Broward counties, although two leatherbacks laying their eggs in late February got a head start. May 1 marks the official start in other…

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   Mar 25

Drunken teenager stole £2,000 giant tortoise from a safari park and sold it on Facebook for just £30

By Herp News

Adam Steff took Flo (pictured), a 4.5lb juvenile Aldabra giant tortoise , from Woburn Safari Park in Milton Keynes after he wandered into her enclosure while drunk.

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   Mar 24

Zoo at Moorpark College throws birthday party for Clarence, a tortoise

By Herp News

As part of its annual Spring Spectacular, Moorpark College’s animal training program celebrated the 90th birthday of a Galapagos tortoise .

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   Mar 23

Peru surprises with two new amazing species of woodlizards

By Herp News

Two new beautifully coloured woodlizard species from the genus Enyalioides have been discovered during expeditions to the unexplored jungles of Cordillera Azul National Park in the Peruvian Andes. Woodlizards Enyalioides are represented by as little as ten currently recognized species that occur on both sides of the Andes.

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   Mar 23

Turtle River parents fuming

By Herp News

The province’s tiniest school division is in turmoil — parents are alleging Turtle River trustees make all their key decisions behind closed doors, have ignored widespread community pleas to restore cancelled shops programs and refused to consult taxpayers on the budget. And, ominously, the

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   Mar 23

Sea turtle ‘critical’ designation proposed for Volusia, Flagler beaches

By Herp News

Two loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings enter the ocean in 2010 at Flagler Beach.

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   Mar 23

Sea turtle ‘critical’ designation proposed for Volusia, Flagler beaches

By Herp News

Two loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings enter the ocean in 2010 at Flagler Beach.

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   Mar 22

Conservation scientists: Aceh’s spatial plan a risk to forests, wildlife, and people

By Herp News

A group of biologists and conservation scientists meeting in Sumatra warned that potential changes to Aceh’s spatial plan could undermine some of the ecological services that underpin the Indonesian province’s economy and well-being of its citizens. After its meeting from March 18-22 in Banda Aceh, the Asia chapter of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) issued a declaration [PDF] highlighting the importance of the region’s tropical forest ecosystem, which is potentially at risk due to proposed changes to its spatial plan.

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   Mar 22

Galapagos tortoise hits the open road in winning photo

By Herp News

The long, lonely road walked by a Galapagos tortoise is pictured in an award-winning photograph by a researcher and artist

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   Mar 21

Prehistoric reptile named for 9-year-old

By Herp News

SOUTHAMPTON, England, March 21 (UPI) — A prehistoric flying reptile has been named for the 9-year-old British girl who found fossilized bones of the creature on the Isle of Wight, scientists said.

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   Mar 21

Scientists discover two new remarkably-colored lizards in the Peruvian Amazon (photos)

By Herp News

Scientists have discovered two new species of woodlizards from the Peruvian Amazon. Woodlizards, in the genus Enyalioides, are little-known reptiles with only 10 described species found in South and Central America. Described in a new paper in ZooKeys, both new woodlizards were found in Cordillera Azul National Park, the nations third-largest.

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   Mar 21

Frankie Tortoise Tails – Dilemma

What!

What are you waking me up for? I don’t want to wake up. Ten o’clock is too early to wake up.

If you want me up then you’re gonna have to pull me out of mynewspaper.

Fine. See if I care if you take away my newspaper. You’re mean!

No I don’t want to go outside. You can’t make me go outside. I am gonna sit right here all day long and not move….except to poop. Then I will sit here on my poop all day because you made me get up.

I’m not gonna walk outside. I am happy to sit here inside the gecko room until summer get’s here.

No way are you talking me into leaving the gecko room. You go right ahead and cluck and whistle and offer carrots. I am not going outside.

Go ahead and push me outside cause I am not walking on my own.

Good luck putting me on that cart. It will be the last time you ever lift anything over 10 pounds. Your gonna be set up in bed for a week.

Oh, right, drag me outside. I’m gonna tell everyone how mean you are. You are so cruel. There is just no reason to drag me outside when I am perfectly happy inside.

Fine. I’ll sit here in the sun but I am not going into the back yard. This is as far as I go. I don’t need to go in the backyard. You can’t make me go.

Oh, right, get dad to trick me into walking into the backyard. Unfair to bring outsiders into this situation.

Lock the gate behind me! You’re gonna have to because if you left it open I would just turn around and come back inside.

I am going inside. As soon as the gate opens.

Fine! I’m going over here by the fence and wait for that gate to open.

What? It’s time for bed? But I need my sun time. Can’t I just sit out here for a few more minutes. What if I just sleep out here. It’s so nice.

Hey! It’s cold out here! Someone let me inside right now! …read more
Read more here: Turtle Times

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   Mar 21

Is climate change threatening gecko survival?

Geckos and other arid zone reptiles may be in for a tough battle to survive, thanks to climate change.

From the science site Phys.Org:

In a study, published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, the team led by PhD researcher Paul Duckett, used a new modelling technique to predict if the Australian gecko; the Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata), could successfully move from one location to another as climates changed.

While previous studies have focused on predicting those regions that will become suitable for species to live in the near future, this research has measured a species ability to even make the journey in time

“The real question isn’t where they are going but can individuals actually reach a suitable new home before it becomes critical to their survival,” says Duckett.

Read the rest here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

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   Mar 21

The mystery of the sea snake's shrunken head… solved!


What’s up with the tiny heads of sea snakes? Evolution, say scientists at the University of Adelaide in Australia. From the university website:

An international team of scientists led by Dr Kate Sanders from the University of Adelaide, and including Dr Mike Lee from the South Australian Museum, has uncovered how some sea snakes have developed ‘shrunken heads’ – or smaller physical features than their related species.

Their research is published today in the journal Molecular Ecology.

A large head – “all the better to eat you with” – would seem to be indispensable to sea snakes, which typically have to swallow large spiny fish. However, there are some circumstances where it wouldn’t be very useful: sea snakes that feed by probing their front ends into narrow, sand eel burrows have evolved comically small heads.

The team has shown normal-shaped sea snakes can evolve such “shrunken heads” very rapidly. This process can lead to speciation (one species splitting into two).

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Photo: University of Adelaide …read more
Read more here: King Snake

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   Mar 21

Ant communities more segregated in palm oil plantations than rainforest

By Herp News

Ants are an important ecological group in both degraded and natural habitats. They interact with many other species and mediate a range of ecological processes. These interactions are often interpreted in the context of ant mosaics, where dominant species form strict territories, keeping other ants out. This segregation between ant species is well-documented in monoculture plantations. Now new research published in Ecography has shown that these changes are driven by the replacement of rainforests with monocultures and not the arrival of non-native species.

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   Mar 21

Scientists discover 8 new frogs in one sanctuary, nearly all Critically Endangered (photos)

By Herp News

Two surveys in the mountainous forests of Sri Lank’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary have uncovered eight new species of frogs, according to a massive new paper in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. While every year over a hundred new amphibians are discovered, eight new discoveries in a single park is especially notable. Sri Lanka is an amphibian-lovers paradise with well over 100 described species, most of which are endemic, i.e. found only on the small island country. Unfortunately the country has also seen more frog extinctions than anywhere else, and seven of the eight new species are already thought to be Critically Endangered.

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   Mar 21

Cornish-Camels-raise–£1010-for-the-new- Lizard -lifeboat-fund

By Herp News

Byline: Cornish Camels raise £1,010 for the new Lizard lifeboat fund Page Content: In huge support of the new Lizard Lifeboat fund, a fantastic night out with a ’5 A DAY’ fancy dress theme raised a superb £1,010. The evening included live entertainment and a huge number of folk from the Lizard peninsula attended the Christmas Camel Ball organised by The Oates Family of Cornish Camels, Rosuick …

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   Mar 21

Remains of huge fossilized flying reptile displayed in Rio

By Herp News

The fossilized remains of a huge prehistoric flying reptile was unveiled at the Rio de Janeiro National Museum where an international congress on the extinct species is to be held in May.

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   Mar 21

‘ Turtle team’ captures, helps hooked creature

By Herp News

A self-described ” turtle team” captured a turtle at sea – with the guidance of state officials – and removed a large fishing hook from the animal’s fin off Poolenalena Beach in Makena on Thursday.

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   Mar 20

Male lions require dense vegetation for successful ambush hunting

By Herp News

For a long time male lions were derided as the lazy ones in the pride, depending on females for the bulk of hunting and not pulling their weight. Much of this was based on field observations—female lions hunt cooperatively, often in open savannah, and therefore are easier to track at night. But new research in Animal Behaviour is showing that males are adroit hunters in their own right, except prickly males hunt alone and use dense vegetation as cover; instead of social hunting in open savannah, they depend on ambushing unsuspecting prey.

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   Mar 20

Four-year-old girl discovers fossils of flying reptile

Daisy Morris, a four-year-old girl in the UK whose mother describes her as having been an “avid fossil hunter” since the age of 3, has not only discovered fossils of a new species of Pterosaur, that species has been named after her.

From Science World Report:

Pterosaurs once roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous, living worldwide in all kinds of different environments. The reptiles had the ability of powered flight–actively gaining height and taking off from the ground rather than just gliding or soaring. In addition, pterosaurs had short, fur-like reptilian “hair” which has been observed in the soft tissue preserved in some fossils. They ranged greatly in size, with some of them possessing a wingspan that stretched up to 42 feet. The recent find, though, only had about a two-foot wingspan and was small-bodied. Yet even so, it lived alongside the much larger ornithocheirids and istiodactylids.

The new species that was discovered is now named Vectidraco daisymorrisae. “Vectidraco” means “dragon from the Isle of Wight” while “daisymorrisae” honors the founder, Daisy Morris.

Read more about this little girl’s amazing discovery here.
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Read more here: King Snake

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   Mar 19

Ningaloo turtle clearly special

By Herp News

A chance sighting of a turtle on Ningaloo Reef has won a Busselton amateur photographer second place in the Australian category of the Sony World Photography Awards.

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   Mar 19

Were you ‘Seen’ at the turtle races at Madison’s?

By Herp News

Were you ‘Seen’ at the turtle races at Madison’s? Beaumont Enterprise Copyright 2013 Beaumont Enterprise. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 5:38 pm, Monday, March 18, 2013 Our cameras were at the turtle races at Madison’s on Sunday. Did we see you there?

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   Mar 19

Scientists discover reasons behind snakes’ ‘shrinking heads’

By Herp News

Scientists have uncovered how some sea snakes have developed ‘shrunken heads’ — or smaller physical features than their related species.

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   Mar 19

Scientist at Work Blog: Lizard Olympics

By Herp News

When comparing two lizard species that seem to share traits but that may have evolved independently, sometimes you have to go to the video replay.

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   Mar 19

From extinct frog to Jurassic Park: Can cloning reverse extinction?

The current issue of National Georgraphic magazine is dedicated to the question of reversing extinction. It asks: Can we bring back lost species through cloning, whether those species were lost last year or thousands of years ago?

It’s a Jurassic Park-esque fantasy brought to life, as scientists work to revive lost species and commercial interests examine their progress for hope of profit.

Ron Medor of MinnPost.com takes a broad view in an article published today:

Suddenly, “de-extinction” is all the rage.

“Reviving Extinct Species” is the cover subject in the current National Geographic, which tells us that restoring creatures like the woolly mammoth to the earth “is no longer a fantasy” — and then asks, “Is it a good idea?”

Not coincidentally, a special TEDx Conference took place last Friday at National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington, sponsored jointly by the Geographic, the TED organization and an outfit called Revive & Restore, which thinks resurrection biology through gene-splicing and cloning is not only a good idea but a cool one, a great one, whose time has come at last.

In the words of Revive & Restore co-founder Stewart Brand, longtime big thinker on environmental stuff, the TED presentations constituted “the first public discussion of something that’s been brewing for a year or two, which is the possibility of bringing back extinct species for real, not in fiction this time.”

In National Geographic, science writer Ed Yong examines the progress being made in resurrecting the southern gastric brooding frog, an amphibian that uses its stomach for a womb and vomits its young, which has been extinct for almost 30 years:

Two years ago, Mike Archer from the University of New South Wales looked down a microscope and saw that a single fertilised frog egg had divided in two. Then, it did it again. And again. Eventually, the egg produced an embryo containing hundreds of cells.

“There were a lot of hi-fives going around the laboratory,” says Archer.

This might seem like an over-reaction. After all, millions of frog eggs divide into embryos every day, as they have done since before dinosaurs walked the earth. But this egg was special. Archer’s team of scientists had loaded it with the DNA of the southern gastric brooding frog—a bizarre creature that has been extinct for almost 30 years.

The fact that it started to grow into an embryo was a big deal. The fact that it never went further was disappointing, but not unexpected. This is cutting-edge science—cloning techniques put to the purpose of resurrection.

Archer’s goal is simple: To bring the extinct gastric brooding frog back from oblivion and, in doing so, provide hope for the hundreds of other frogs that are heading that way. Getting the embryo was a milestone and Archer is buoyantly optimistic that he’ll cross the finish line soon. Lazarus, he says, will rise again.

Read more on “de-extinction” from National Geographic here. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

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   Mar 19

New Lizard Species Look Like Evil Dinosaur Hybrids

By Herp News

If these lizards were larger, they’d look like featherless dinosaurs: With spiky spines and gleaming red eyes, two newly described species of wood lizard look a bit like stegosaur-evil velociraptor hybrids.

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   Mar 19

The inner workings of " Reptile Park"

By Herp News

Brad and Pitt have been friends since 2011 and have become more acquainted with each other after Angelina. In 2012, Brad…

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   Mar 19

Poachers slaughter 89 elephants in Chad, including over 30 pregnant mothers

By Herp News

In what is being called the worst elephant massacre in Africa this year, poachers have recently killed as many as 89 elephants in Chad. Stephanie Vergniault, the Chairman of SOS Elephants in Chad, says the elephants were slaughtered in a two-day period late last week near Tikem, on the southwest border of Chad and Cameroon. At least 30 of the elephants were pregnant. Images from a television news report show what appear to be an elephant still connected to its umbilical cord on the ground. Separately, 12 calves were also slaughtered.

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   Mar 19

Frankie Tortoise Tails – To The Ends of The Earth

My hands are rough as sandpaper. I could wash dirty pots and pans without using a scrub brush. If Rhett Butler kissed my hand he would know I am not an upper class luncheon lady who can name three proper brands for high tea. My hands are so rough I could use them to exfoliate.

Why?

In the front yard is a very generous flower garden. It backs up to the house with one open side. We never use chemicals or insecticide so it’s perfect for Momma Turtle, Big Turtle and Brown eyes, my three box turtles, to have time in the sun. Even Frankie (50 pounds ago) has enjoyed a turn around the garden. I havethuscalled it the turtle garden for years.

With my bare hands I cleaned out leaves and debris, dug up weeds, and turned the soil of the Turtle Garden rather urgently. Then I went to the front of the house and pulled out five years worth of accumulated leaves that had gathered around all theazaleabushes. For good measure I also dug up the soil around the bushes and while I was at it from the foundation in front of the house.

Still full of panic and energy, I went to Frankie’s winter basking area by the garage and dug up the vegetable garden. Yea, Frankie was watching.

Ifinelystopped long enough to call Greta, my turtle friend, to see if she would like to help dig up my yard. What a great friend. She showed up andre-dugall the areas that I dug up.

While we were at it we decided to dig up both my neighbor’sfront flower beds…and perimeter of their house, and fences.

Wefinelysurrenderour desperate activities right before five o’clock because we both have families to feed. And it was getting dark.

So why did we clean out the neighbor’sflower beds and all of my flower beds with our bare hands?

Because Brown Eyes went missing from the front Turtle Garden.

Box turtles are good at several things: hiding, digging, climbing and hiding. No way to accurately predict if Brown Eyes dug deep in the flower bed, or climbed out of the Turtle garden and walked to aneighbors’yard and then dug under. Frankie is a good hider. Box turtles are better. So we dug.

Gretta and I have been digging for five days now. At least we started using garden spades, gloves and galoshes.

So what is the point of this story? Will it have a good outcome? Will it have a sad outcome?

I’ve taken every bit of turtle knowledge learned over fifteen years and done everything I can to find Brown Eyes. I’ve dug barehanded not caring that my nails and hands are beingbrutalizedby the Alabama clay dirt. I’ve abused this bumbling body of mine by crawling (literally) under bushes, lifting heavy objects,creepingon hands andknees, leaning over bushes, and skulking about in the rain. Make lost posters. …read more
Read more here: Turtle Times

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   Mar 19

Police return tortoise to its caretakers after it was reported stolen

By Herp News

The 5-year-old tortoise weighs 20 pounds. African tortoises can weigh up to 200 pounds and live as long as 200 years. Courtesy Joe Lovato Mister Turtle’s caretaker says he’s a pet that prefers dog food over turtle pellets and veggies, and likes to lie by the fire next to the dog.

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   Mar 18

Release: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Eyes Like The Sky

By Herp News

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard opt for a big ol’ curveball on their latest effort, and they just about pull it off.

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   Mar 18

Were you ‘Seen’ at the turtle races at Madison’s?

By Herp News

Were you ‘Seen’ at the turtle races at Madison’s? Beaumont Enterprise Copyright 2013 Beaumont Enterprise. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 10:19 pm, Sunday, March 17, 2013 Our cameras were at the turtle races at Madison’s on Sunday. Did we see you there?

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   Mar 18

kingsnake.com Featured Contributors: Welcome, Richard Bartlett!

In addition to bringing you herp news, photos, and site updates, the kingsnake.com blog is launching a featured contributors program, bringing the biggest names in reptiles and amphibians to share their decades of experience and knowledge with our site visitors.

Leading the launch this week is author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett, one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife, Pat, have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity.

Check out the kingsnake.com Richard Bartlett bookstore, and watch for his first featured contribution tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, on kingsnake.com!

Coming soon: Featured contributors Phil Goss of USARK, Slayer’s Kerry King, and more!

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Read more here: King Snake

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   Mar 18

Peruvian night monkey threatened by vanishing forests, lost corridors

By Herp News

The Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax) is one of the world’s least known primates, having never been studied in the wild–until now. Found only in the cloud forests of northern Peru, a group of scientists with Neotropical Primate Conservation and the National University of Mayor San Marcos have spent 12 months following a single group of this enigmatic monkey species in a small forest patch. The results of their research, published in mongabay.com’s open access journal Tropical Conservation Science, shows that protecting forests, even small forest fragments, is vital to the species’ survival.

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   Mar 18

Scientists successfully freeze Barbary sheep embryos for conservation purposes

By Herp News

The Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), or aoudad, is a goat-antelope found in northern Africa. It is currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, with populations imperiled by hunting, habitat loss, and competition with livestock. Still little is known about its remaining population, prompting scientists in Mexico to test possible assisted reproduction of captive individuals.

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   Mar 18

Deer populations hurt by poaching in Mexican dry forest

By Herp News

White-tailed deer are usually thought of as inhabiting temperate forests in the U.S. and Canada, but this widespread species can also be found across tropical forests, from Mexico to Peru. A new study in mongabay.com’s open access journal Tropical Conservation Science investigates the population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Mexico’s Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Biosphere Reserve (TCBR), and finds that poaching may be having a large impact.

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   Mar 18

Turtle Beach XP Seven Series headset review: a new era of tournament-grade gaming audio

By Herp News

Get out of your seat — okay, you don’t really have to do that. Turtle Beach , however, is certainly hoping its new headset won’t have you stuck there. After months of teasing, it’s finally here. This is the Seven Series , the company’s first set officially bred for Major League Gaming tournaments. It’s a contractual title that’s already been bestowed upon Astro’s well-performing Mixamp and A40 …

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