By Herp News

Snakes lost their limbs over 100 million years ago, but scientists have struggled to identify the genetic changes involved. A new paper sheds some light on the process, describing a stretch of DNA involved in limb formation that is mutated in snakes. When researchers inserted the snake DNA into mice, the animals developed truncated limbs, suggesting that a critical stretch of DNA lost its ability to support limb growth during snake evolution.

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By Herp News

The effect of global warming on fungal disease in frogs and toads has been quantified by researchers for the first time, a new report outlines.

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By Herp News

Special chemicals covering the skin of a tiny yellow-striped Amazonian frog provide a protective shield that wards off leaf-cutting ants allowing it to live comfortably among them. The ants do not bite this frog at all, but will quite aggressively attack all other types of frogs or other animals that cross their path.

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By Herp News

Millions of years ago, one species of frog diverged into two species. Millions of years later, the two frogs became one again, but with a few extra chromosomes due to whole genome duplication. Such is the curious case of the African clawed frog, a frog whose genome contains nearly double the number of chromosomes as the related Western clawed frog.

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By Herp News

Colonial plunder, crime, tribal factions, sectarianism, drug running, piracy, animal poaching, illegal logging and destructive mining practices — all of which add up to wholesale environmental exploitation. The island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines has seen it all and more.

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By Herp News

A biologist has uncovered the molecular mechanism that regulates an animal’s ability to sense the rate of temperature change.

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What an adorable Abronia baby in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user uggleedog . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Let’s start this week off with new beginnings! This Radiated Tortoise takes his first breaths in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user radiata137 . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Photo: Canadian Press
One of the hardest aspects of fighting legislation is the belief that we reptile owners do not bond with our pets. For those of us living day to day with reptiles, this is something we know all too well. It does not matter if you have 1 or 100, there is a bond between us as owners and our pets based on trust and compassion.

David Poingdestre was one of the other reptile owners who pushed back against the bylaw.

For the 52-year-old, the prospect of having some of his pets taken away is devastating.

“They are, at the moment, what I live for,” said Poingdestre, who suffers from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! CERASTES! Loving this close up of a Desert Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes), uploaded by kingsnake.com user Gaboonviper1388 ! 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 is in the air with this pair of Gran Canaria giant lizards (Gallotia stehlini) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user John-C . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This White’s Tree Frog is looking for something in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user exoreds . I’m betting lunch. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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May this wild Alligator on the Peace River in Florida in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JonathanH bring you a peaceful monday. It is no wonder why these are still some of the most awesome beginner pets out there! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! How stunning is the red on this Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus), uploaded by kingsnake.com user lichanura ! This Speck was found in Arizona. 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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Such a beautiful pair of Beardies in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user dedragons . It is no wonder why these are still some of the most awesome beginner pets out there! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Australian scientists have good news for frog conservation: there may be longer than expected time to intervene before climate change causes extinction of some species.

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By Herp News

Australian scientists have good news for frog conservation: there may be longer than expected time to intervene before climate change causes extinction of some species.

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Stunning close up of this 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

The impact of old forest roads on the species diversity in the rainforest of Central Guyana has been the focus of recent research. Investigators reached the conclusion that the established roads may be of use for amphibians and should therefore not necessarily be closed or restored to their natural state. For example, ruts in the roads filled with accumulated water can serve as spawning grounds for frogs during dry periods.

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What a beautiful boa constrictor in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user biophiliacs . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Günther’s sea snake (Microcephalophis cantoris), a rarely seen venomous sea snake with distribution thought to stretch from the Malay Peninsula to Pakistan, has now been recorded from Iranian coastal waters off the western Gulf of Oman, more than 400 kilometers away from the westernmost boundary of its previously known range.

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What makes a Monday more tolerable? A baby box turtle hatching like the one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user norristhenut . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Many people are afraid of snakes, but scientists are now revealing insights about their venoms that could give even ophidiophobes an appreciation for the animals. One team has found that the proteins from the venom gland can vary depending on age and gender. These findings suggest that hormonal and dietary influences are at play.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! How stunning is the red on this pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius miliarius), uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tamers1 ! This guy was found in extreme northeast North Carolina.. 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

With 7,000 amphibian surveys conducted over 20 years, biologists detail the remarkable recovery of an endangered frog species in Yosemite.

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This poor tree frog is hoping to get in the house after a long day in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user rdperry5 . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This Milk snake is just hanging out 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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This lacerta is loving to lounge in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krloucks . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

The earliest ancestors of modern sea turtles may have come from the Deep South in the United States, new evidence suggests. Working with two relatively complete turtle skeletons, the fossils help solve a long-standing debate as to whether this animal was a unique species. They also provide insights into the evolutionary history of living species of sea turtles, including the Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead and the endangered Green sea turtle.

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By Herp News

In the amphibian world, the axolotl is the replacement-parts king. This endangered Mexican salamander serves as its own NAPA store for lost body parts, able to fully regenerate limbs, tail, heart, spine and eyes — making it a model of curiosity for regenerative biologists.

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This Alligator is trying to hide from Monday in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user charles . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Keen gardeners stocking their domestic ponds with exotic or wild aquatic species could be inadvertently fueling the rapid spread of the lethally infectious frog disease ranavirus in England, according to new research.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Today we bring you this serene headshot of a lovely Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus), uploaded by kingsnake.com user MartinWhalin1 ! This guy was found in the wild in Arizona and as you can see, he was respected by the herpers and he gave them respect in return. 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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There is nothing Common about this Frog in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kus . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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So tiny and cute! This young garter in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Scott_Felzer is seeing how he measures up. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Loving the pose from this Cunningham’s Skink (Egernia cunninghami) in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ilovemonitorliza. Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This Mexican Pine Snake (Pituophis deppei jani) is ready for action in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user pitparade . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Habitat degradation poses a greater risk to the survival of turtles and tortoises than rising global temperatures, according to new research. More than 60 per cent are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, because they are being traded, collected for food and medicine and their habitats are being degraded. Understanding the additional impact of global warming and changes in rainfall patterns on their diversity and distributions is therefore paramount to their conservation.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Today we bring you this classic pose with from an Eastern Massasauga, uploaded by kingsnake.com user MartinWhalin1 ! This guy is doing what rattlesnakes do best. Trying to hide and stay safe. 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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Smug Frilled Dragon is just waiting for a reason to flair out in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran . Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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