By Herp News

The Endangered Species Act was enacted by Congress in 1973 to protect species threatened with extinction. To receive protection, a species must first be listed as endangered or threatened. A two-year timeline for the process was established in 1982 by a Congressional amendment to the ESA. Researchers found that many species are encountering much longer wait times. They believe that delays could lead to less global biodiversity.

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Grumpy Toad is judging you in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user galen will blind ya! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! The original caption on the site is full of awesomeness, I suggest you check it out!

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By Herp News

Researchers found behavioral evidence that tiger sharks prefer to opportunistically scavenge on dead or weakened green turtles rather than actively hunting healthy individuals despite more opportunities to do so. The study, conducted off the coast of Australia during the turtle nesting season, also found the behavior of healthy green turtles suggests that they do not perceive tiger sharks as a major threat during nesting season.

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There is no question where this snake got their name from! The brilliant reds on this Blood Python in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user bitis_01 will blind ya! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Here is something you don’t see every day! A field shot of a Guyana Kentropyx (Kentropyx borckiana) in Barbados for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user davemangham is feeling SASSY! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This Timber Rattlesnake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user herpermike1 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it herewas found in a very populated area in Tennesee, and moved to a more safe location! Great Message! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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By Herp News

A gene for red colour vision that originated in the reptile lineage around 250 million years ago has resulted in the bright red bird feathers and ‘painted’ turtles we see today, and may be evidence that dinosaurs could see as many shades of red as birds, and perhaps even displayed more red than we might think.

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This little Caiman in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user roadkill55 is feeling SASSY! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

The golden tegu lizard, previously thought to be a single species, may actually comprise four distinct clades, including three new cryptic species, according to a new study.

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Love this shot of a hatchling Chondro in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MikeRusso ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A whole lot of AWWWWS for this newborn Collared Lizard in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user the4thmonkey! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Experts call for new conservation guidelines after research shows 90% of tropical amphibian and reptile species are affected by the ‘edge effect’ and forest islands less than 500m in diameter are putting many at risk.

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Love this shot from the field! Found on the UC Santa Cruz campus, this Black Salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus) is getting a closer look at us in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sc_shark ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! What a stunning albino Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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Love the detail in this headshit of a Uroplatus fimbriatus in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Food availability and disease in created habitats may affect the reproductive output of reintroduced frogs, according to a new study.

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A Ball Python this pretty deserves it’s own glamour shot like this one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user anthony james mc ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Biologists have long thought that some frogs evolved to mate on land instead of in water to better guard eggs and tadpoles from predation. New research now suggests that mating on land in many species might be a strategy male frogs use to ensure that their own DNA gets passed on, instead of their rivals’. Sexual selection may trump natural selection in the evolution of these reproductive behaviors.

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By Herp News

Japanese tadpoles can live and grow in natural hots springs, or onsen, with water temperatures as high as 46.1oC (115oF). Living in onsen may benefit the tadpoles’ immune systems, speed their growth, and allow the tadpoles to survive on small volcanic islands where there are few other natural sources of fresh water.

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This hatchling Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle is just chilling out in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gambusia ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

An international team of scientists has solved a case of mistaken identity and discovered a new species of venomous snake.The newly discovered Talamancan Palm-Pitviper is a striking green-and-black snake living in some of the most remote regions of Costa Rica.

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A Texas patch-nosed snake made a cameo appearance then retreated.
It was 3PM when Jake finished loading his necessities in the Honda. This would be the first long trip for the CRV and I was hoping it would prove as trusty as the old ’96 RAV that had only recently “bitten the dust.” I-10 was only an hour away and once in the westbound lanes of that highway we would really be on our way. By the time we had reached the Alabama state line dusk was nigh. Traffic was fast through Mississippi, then Louisiana followed. Over the Mississippi River and across the 18+ mile long causeway that spans the Atchafalaya Basin. Finally we rolled into Texas, made it uneventfully through Houston and continued on to San Antonio—and beyond. The world turned, the sun rose then disappeared behind an ever thickening layer of clouds. A short foray in Kinney County produced a pretty and feisty bullsnake and followed by a fleeting view of a Texas patchnose. Under the cloud cover we again moved westward. Del Rio was behind us and finally Comstock, our first real destination was on the horizon. The motel beckoned. Lunch at the C&J beckoned equally persistently. Then it was time for a long overdue nap.
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! A glorius shot of a Great Basin Rattlesnake in central Utah brings us some serenity for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user crocman6594 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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By Herp News

Using genomic data from three lizard species, researchers gleaned insights not available before on the impact of climate change on the distribution of animal populations in South American forests. The findings improve ways of modeling the distribution of biodiversity in the past and future.

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This Box turtlle is loving life in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Jen350 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This stunning Crocodile Monitor takes the cake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrish ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This Reticulated Python has a supermodel’s pose down in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user eschmit04 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A southern leopard frog in our backyard pond.As it lifted out of the backyard its voice identified it. Waaawk. Waaaaawk. Waaaaawk. A flapping of “wooshing” wings. Black crowned night heron. It had been startled away from the edge of our little goldfish and frog pond by one of our dogs. Knowing that the dogs are proficient at deterring marauding raccoons, I had been wondering for more than a month where the occasional goldfish had disappeared to and why our resident population of Florida leopard frogs, Rana s. sphenocephala, had dwindled to near zero. At least one of the reasons, the nocturnal one, became instantly clear. The solution was equally clear. By nightfall Patti and I had stretched “bird netting” over the little pond. Although this could easily be torn asunder by raccoons, we hoped that the dogs would continue to keep them away. And if the netting would deter a bird the size and weight of a night heron…

It would, it did, and it has continued to do so. If only all problems were this easily solved.

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Adult matamatas, like this 10 incher, are darker in color than the hatchlings.I was walking and netting slowly in the shallows of the Rio Orosa (Amazonian Peru) hoping against hope to find young marbled swamp eels, Suriname toads, aquatic caecilians, or baby electric eels. So far I had found only a few tetra and cichlid species but it was getting late and I was getting tired. Lightning rent the sky and illuminated the towering cumulus clouds miles distant, closer to the Rio Amazonas. Another scoop produced a few more fish and a 3” long rock. Whoops. There are no rocks like that in the Amazon. I had scooped a baby matamata, Chelus fimbriatus, from the grassy shallows. And after 20+ years of scooping it remains the only one I have ever personally found.

There is no other turtle in the world that even approximates the appearance of the matamata. The mud-colored, rough textured, flattened, oblong, carapace bears 3 prominent keels. The plastron is small and provides virtually no protection to the underside of the limbs or neck. The neck is horizontally flattened and prominently fringed. The head is flattened, bears triangular temporal lobes, a snorkel like nose, small eyes, and a wide curved jaw. Neck and head are mud-brown dorsally. Ventrally the head and neck of adults (they can reach a length of 16”) are usually dark but young examples have a pinkinsh chin and 3 very pink, broad, throat stripes .

But enough words. The accompanying pix will better explain the overall appearance of this remarkable turtle. Enjoy.
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This little African Stump-tailed Chameleon (Ri. brevicaudatus) is waiting for his snack in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pardalisberlin ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Scientists have discovered the real reason turtles have shells. While many thought turtle shells were for protection, new findings show that the shells were actually for digging underground to escape the harsh South African environment where these early proto turtles lived.

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We are loving this shot of a Black Milk Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gerryg ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Hatchling spotted turtles usually have only a single spot in each carapacial scute. These may increase in number as the turtle ages.
Strange though it may seem, the beautiful and aptly named spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata, has been hiding in many of its disjunct Florida ranges pretty much in plain sight. Now the lone species in the genus Clemmys, the spotted turtle has an immense, but disjunct, range that reaches on one leg of the range from southeastern Canada westward to eastern Illinois and on the other leg southward from southeastern Maine through the eastern seaboard states to central Florida. Everywhere secretive, it is nowhere more so than in Florida.

Because of examples found along Interstate 4, what is thought to be the southernmost population (Polk County) is rather well documented. From there it jumps spottily northward along the east coast to Duval County and westward to Hamilton and Wakulla counties. Long known to occur in north central Florida, the Alachua County population is currently being tracked and documented by FWC biologists. There they are finding that the population is more robust than was expected. This is encouraging in a world where so many other herp species are being extirpated or actually becoming extinct. And if you happen to find a spotted turtle, either dead or alive, in Florida, please take a moment to contact and advise the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Continue reading “The Spotted Turtle in Florida” …read more
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Our Herp Photo of the day runs Monday through Friday, but seriously, did you think we would skip today? It is World Snake Day, a day to celebrate snakes around the world and educate to alter perceptions of these misaligned creatures! This photo from Reptile Gardens shows a scene few will ever see, the view from behind the scenes at a zoo looking out at the awe in the eyes of a child willing to learn, uploaded by kingsnake.com user PHFaust! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! To end the week, this Jackson’s Tree Snake (Thrasops jacksonii) comes in to represent rear-fangs for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Claus ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here! As always on Friday, we celebrate all of our venomous reptiles for their contribution to the world.

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Adult Colombian red ears may attain 10″ in length and the pattern becomes suffused with melanin.
No doubt worse for the baby turtles than for the humans who bought them, there was a time- span of several decades (until 1975 when the sale of turtles having a carapace length of less than 4” became illegal) when hatchling red-eared sliders, Cumberland sliders, and Mississippi map turtles were sold over the counters of almost every five and dime store in the nation. In that time frame the little turtles were hatched in Gulf Coast turtle farms by the tens of thousands. But it was soon apparent that despite the immense numbers produced, the little reptiles became unavailable for several months each year. To the rescue of the industry came the South American country of Colombia.

Their baby turtles, both red-eared sliders and Amazon sidenecks, hatched at a different time of the year and became available as a “fill in” for the months when the American species were not available.

Thus, we were introduced to the Colombian red-eared slider. Then (when subspecies were in vogue), this pretty turtle was known as Pseudemys scripta callirostris. Today this same species is known as Trachemys callirostris, and it, like many other once common pet trade species, is no longer often seen.
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Today a beautiful head shot of a Schneider’s dwarf caiman in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cpipes ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Boomslangs are variably colored. Greens, blacks, and grays are most common.
Are you old enough to remember the term “junk” or “trash” snakes? No?

Well these were terms once used by importers for the “unordered” snake species that they received (and were expected to pay for) on each order of imports. They were usually common, often rear-fanged species (such as guarda caminos (road guarders)), tree snakes, genera Philodryas and Ahaetulla, cat-eyed snakes (Leptodeira and Boiga) and if the order was from Africa, boomslangs!

The boomslang (boom=tree, slang=snake in Afrikaans), Dispholidus typus, is a wide spread, very common, arboreal species that African dealers tried desperately to sell with each and (almost) every valid order from each and (almost) every American dealer. The boomslang, a rear fanged colubrine taxon, has a complex and dangerous venom. This was learned in the hardest and most indelible way by herpetologist Karl P. Schmidt, who suffered a bite from one and documented the effect of the venom that proved lethal 24 hours later.

Of variable color and pattern, the 3 ½ to 6 foot long boomslang may be black, gray, green or more rarely brick red. The green(ish) eyes of this lizard and frog eater are proportionately large, and especially so on juvenile examples.

The boomslang is no longer a commonly imported species, and rather than being a “disposable” taxon are now coveted by many venomous keepers.

My how the times have changed!

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This false map turtle is just hanging out in situ in a pond in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Serpentin ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Reptiles are exceedingly popular as pets, trade is booming. Between 2004 and 2014, official imports to the EU came to just under 21 million live specimens, more than six million of these ended up on the German market.

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