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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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.
Continue reading “Big Bend or Bust!” …read more
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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.
Continue reading “Disappearing Leopard Frogs” …read more
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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.
Continue reading “Matamatas – The Wonderful Fringed Turtle” …read more
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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.
Continue reading ” The Colombian Red-eared Slider” …read more
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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!
Continue reading “Boomslangs” …read more
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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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Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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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.
…read more
Read more here: herpetofauna.com
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Sonoma County has some beautiful Black Speckled Salamanders, just like this one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user skyserpent ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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This gorgeous Bredli’s Python is coming up for a closer look in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user sincitydragons ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!
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Adult Mt. Kenya bush vipers are clad in a contrasting pattern of black and yellow.
It was back in the 1970s I acquired my first Mt. Kenya bush viper, Atheris desaixii. I hadn’t been looking for the taxon and I’m not even sure that I was aware of the existence of this viperine species until then.
Even then the acquisition was happenstance. I got a phone call one night from Hank Molt. It was back in those old those old days when Hank was “king of the herp rarities.”
“Dick. I know you like bush vipers and I’ve got one here that you just have to see.” It’s from Mt. Kenya and you’ve got to see it. C’mon up.” The fact that I was in Tampa and Hank was in Philadelphia was of small consequence. I hopped on the next northbound Delta and was soon in Philadelphia.
Hank met me at the airport and an hour later I was staring at one of the prettiest snakes I had until then seen. About 2 feet long, the ground color was charcoal and besides almost every dorsal and lateral scale bearing a tiny dot of butter yellow, the yellow was carried over into an intricate pattern.
When I asked Hank the price of the snake I was taken aback. Back in those days herps were usually quite affordable. This one teetered on the brink of being non-affordable. But I wanted the snake, Hank wanted to sell it, and after a bit of bargaining, it became mine. Ahhhh. Those were the good old days!
Continue reading ” Mt. Kenya Bush Viper” …read more
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! To end the week, flash back to this Albino Eastern Diamondback from 2003 for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user ShawnHeflick ! 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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Scarlet Kingsnake! Need I say more?
Levy County is huge and still relatively untrammeled in many areas. Lately I have been spending less and less time fieldherping and more time birding, pursuits said by some to be relatively similar but that I find vastly different.
It was not until I had turned and was well on the way out that I noticed the remains of a huge long dead pine. But it was not the standing pine, itself well hidden in a canopy of green, that had caught my eye. Rather it was a huge fallen limb, a foot or more in diameter, that beckoned.
I slowed the car, passed, continued about 100 yards then decided to stop. Backing up that final 100 yards took only a few seconds. Shift lever in park, I stepped from the car and walked the couple of dozen few feet to the limb, shifted one end of it an inch or two, stepped back, looked down, and found myself staring at what until that moment been a well-hidden partial coil—red, black, yellow, black red—a beautiful, adult, scarlet king, Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides. A worthwhile stop indeed.
Continue reading ” Scarlet Kingsnake!” …read more
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