Most adult male marbled salamanders are precisely marked in black and white.
The beautiful marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum, ranges southward from extreme South Eastern New Hampshire and Southern Michigan to East Texas and Northern Florida. Interestingly and sadly, the Florida range of this pretty autumn breeding mole salamander once extended as far south on the FL peninsula as Hillsborough County (Tampa Bay). I know this as a fact, for back in the mid-60s Ron Sayers and I found both adult and juvenile marbled salamanders beneath weathered ties under railroad bridges near Lithia Springs.

I am not sure when this population of marbled salamanders disappeared from that area. Nor do I know the whys of its disappearance. Having moved northward, it was not until 1979 that I returned to Florida and was able to return to the locale. By then everything about the area had changed. The area was dustbowl dry, the discarded ties were gone and the railroad itself was little more than a memory.

Now, when I hope to see one of these autumn breeding, light banded, black salamanders, I start my search in woodland locales about 200 miles northwestward of Tampa. But as I search I can’t help but reminisce about the Florida, the herping, of the last half of the 20th century and thinking that the changes herpers see now are not for the better.
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Gotta love this big ole bullfrog in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user coluberking25 ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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This henkeli is getting a clear view in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user erikstrait! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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An adult pair of green forest Dragons, male right.

I had veered from the trail a bit. Darkness had fallen and we had stopped at a riverside Amazonian village. The evening meal was prepared on the riverboat and a half-dozen of us were walking a trail with our Peruvian guide in the lead. So far, all seen had been a blunt-headed tree snake and 2 species of gecko. I wasn’t too far from the trail, and this being my first trip to the region, I wasn’t about to lose contact with the guide. The Amazonian rainforest is a wonderful place, a bastion of greenery at all levels—including face level.

And it was at face level, on a horizontal branch extending outward from a slender sapling, that I met my first green forest dragon, Enyalioides laticeps. Sleeping soundly on that limb, the foot-long lizard was even greener than the surrounding greenery. Blunt nosed, heavy bodied, and long tailed, in appearance the lizard reminded me of an Asian green water dragon.

Waking only after I had lifted it carefully from the tree, the beautiful creature was identified by the tour leader, photographed by the several hike participants, and replaced.

Since then I have found that this lizard species is rather common and is a whole lot easier to find at night as it sleeps than during the day when it is active.

This was a wonderful start to a 10 day long Amazonian interlude during which over 100 herp species were seen and photographed. Life was good!
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By Herp News

The potential evolutionary link between hairs in mammals, feathers in birds and scales in reptiles has been debated for decades. Today, researchers demonstrate that all these skin appendages are homologous. On the basis of analyses of embryonic development, the biologists evidenced molecular and micro-anatomical signatures that are identical between hairs, feathers and scales at their early developmental stages. These observations indicate that the three structures evolved from their common reptilian ancestor.

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By Herp News

A new study analyzed media reports of snakebites in the United States. Investigators found that media coverage detailed victim circumstances better than current quantitative data, and that the majority of snakebites may actually be ‘legitimate,’ meaning they occur by surprise, without intentional contact, in a natural setting.

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By Herp News

Birdsong has long been associated with courtship or competitive behavior. And males were considered to be more active. Now a research team shows that female singing is much more common. They demonstrated for the first time a connection between the song of female blue tits and the presence of a predator. This singing appears to be about their own defense.

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Hatchling western chicken turtles.
Chicken turtles, the 3 subspecies of Deirochelys reticularia are wanderers. Between periods of aestivation or brumation chicken turtles wander from ephemeral pond to equally ephemeral roadside ditch where they hunt crayfish, dragonfly larvae, and occasional small fish, or other turtle fare, and then wander on again. I usually see, more by accident than intent, the eastern and the Florida subspecies every year, but the western is far less of a certainty. In fact, I have seen the western chicken turtle, D. r. miaria, only twice in the wild.

The most recent sighting, now several years ago, was in a shallow, woodland surrounded, brushy pond in a city park in Houston, TX. Brandon had led Kenny and me to this pond. He had earlier seen the turtle on several occasions and felt that on this sunny day the turtle would be up and basking. He was right. It was an adult and we found it lying quietly on a slender fallen tree, easily visible, but difficult to photograph.

We tried but got only voucher shots and our manipulations alerted the creature. It dropped the several inches from the limb to the safety of the water. Our visit was concluded. Next stop, the Grasslands.
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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! To end the week, a whole lotta squee for these baby Death Adders for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Oxyrhopus ! 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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It will be hard to find anyting cuter than this hatching Yellowtail Cribo in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alanB! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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5 Timber Rattlenakes, Crotalus horridus, found under the same tin
I wish I could share a picture of my face and a recording of the words coming out of my mouth when Phil Peak and I lifted up a piece of our artificial cover and bore witness to the sight in this photograph! Moments before we had found 1 Timber Rattlesnake beneath a sheet of metal and were feeling really happy about that, so you can imagine how cool it was to find 5 more under a single piece just a short distance away. This particular piece of cover was set out between 2 and 3 years ago. We have had some warm weather this spring, but the 5-7 days leading up to the day we made this flip were unseasonably cool with a lot of rain. On the day we arrived conditions had changed and the sun had finally broken through the clouds. These 5 snakes had emerged weeks earlier but after many days of cold temperatures they all congregated at a place where they knew the heat would arrive once the weather broke.

Phil and I were at the right place at the right time.

Several hours later the blazing sun scorched this same piece of metal and caused it to reach temperatures well over 100 degrees and the snake most certainly found a new place to hide…but only after we were able to capture the moment with our cameras! Spring is turning to summer in our area and it appears that mild days are behind us and the real heat of summer lies ahead. We will continue to check our materials, but the real climax of flipping season is probably over for the year. That is kind of depressing, but at least it was good while it lasted and we had the opportunity to be at the right place at the right time after making some effort to set our table. …read more
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By Herp News

Juveniles of numerous lizard species have a vividly blue-colored tail that likely serves to deflect predator attacks toward the detachable tail rather than the lizard’s body. Now researchers have found that certain differences in blue and UV light reflectance in lizard tails are likely adaptations to predators with different color vision capabilities.

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Love the color variation that this mottled Mexican Redtail Indigo (Drymarchon m. rubidus) has in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user alanB ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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A resting pair of turnip-tailed agamas.
Meet Xenagama taylori, a species deserving of much more attention by the herpetocultural community.

It was about 30 years ago when I first saw X. taylori, a small (to about 4 ½ “ total length), robust, oviparous, agamid lizard that has come to be known as the shield-tailed or, more commonly, the turnip-tailed agama. It is a burrowing, aridland , omnivorous species of Somalia and Ethiopia. Small insects are relished as are the blossoms, fruits, and seeds, of desert plants. The very spiny, flat, broadly rounded tail is used as a burrow plug by resting lizards. This, like many desert species, is not a brightly colored lizard. Although the dorsal colors may darken or lighten, the ash-gray to rich tan dorsal color blends well with the substrates chosen by the lizards. The belly is white. In fact, the only splash of color displayed by the species are the bright blue chin and chest that are assumed by displaying males.

For several years following the initial importation of this lizard (and one congeneric taxon), Xenagama taylori was popular with hobbyists. When maintained in desert terrarium setups having a temperature of 80 to 95F and a hot spot of 110 to 120F, it proved hardy and was not difficult to breed. Sadly, it is now a seldom seen species in herpetoculture.

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Herp Keepers with cameras, annoying our eating pets for decades like this bearded dragon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user jdertinger ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Eastern Hognose Snake Heterodon platirhinos
This large Eastern Hognose Snake is the first Phil Peak and I ever recorded from Bell County, Kentucky. Phil spotted this snake out basking among a pile of rocks on top of a strip mine surrounded by secondary growth forest. Our group nearly decided not to hunt the area where this snake was located, but Phil liked the looks of it and demanded that we stop and poke around, so it was fitting that he found the nice big Hognose.

While there is no doubt that species diversity is impacted in a negative way by the process of strip mining, the mined areas recover quickly and provide a kind of artificial oasis for many large game species like Bear, Elk, Timber Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, and Hognose Snakes. After many years of experience I can say that I would rather search on strip mines than natural areas where no disturbance has taken place. This snake was a very welcome find on an otherwise slow day and to top it off the snake was just as calm as could be and never played dead. Every year I see people posting pictures and videos of their Hognose Snakes playing dead. That was fun for me once, and since then I prefer to get pictures of the snake BEFORE it goes into the routine. …read more
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Good things come in small packages, like the Rough Earth Snake in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gdy! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Target taxon #1: Chihuahuan lyre snake, Trimorphodon vilkinsonii.As you read this blog, Jake and I are driving westward; destination Texas’ Big Bend…the Chihuahuan Desert. My mind’s eye is already visualizing the desolate roadways, some paved, many dirt and rock, edged with spine studded plants and crossed by packs of feisty javelina (peccaries), lizard-hunting roadrunners, four species of rattlesnakes, horned lizards and lyre snakes. The mountains, the Davis’, the Chisos, the Christmas’s, the Rosillo’s, and if you travel a bit further west, the Guadalupes, islands of boulders and talus, sere and windworn in some spots, lush and green in others. Lajitas, where the elected mayor is a goat! Terlingua that bills itself as a ghost town. Study Butte that fortunately has a 24- hour gas station. There’s Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park nestled tightly against the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo to many) that are, except during tourist season, bastions of solitude. Despite having been to this remarkably beautiful area on a dozen occasions, I still anticipate each visit with excitement. Will the old windmill still be standing? What herps will we see? What birds? Will we see a panther, a badger, bannertail kangaroo rats, Border Patrol? We’ll soon know. We’re almost there.

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Speedy and agile, this species occurs only near Presidio, TX and in southwestern New Mexico.Finding the gray-checkered whiptail, Aspidoscelis dixoni, out near Presidio (TX) wasn’t too difficult. Kenny and I located the (now contested) species in an old roadside dumping ground where amidst the sun-baked boards, house hold unwanteds and bullet riddled car skeletons several gray checkered whiptails had found home. But finding them and photographing them proved to be two very different projects. Photographing a lizard that moves only in instantaneously applied bursts of jet propulsion amidst piles of trash and building debris rife with protruding nails and broken glass was another matter entirely. For our own safety we elected to employ capture and release techniques, Lizard nooses to the rescue!

Like many whiptails, this is a hybrid, parthenogenetic (unisexual) species. It is named in honor of the late Dr. James R. Dixon. The species, a member of the confusing Aspidoscelis tesselatus complex, is not recognized by all researchers.
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By Herp News

Biologists have reported the discovery of a new lizard in the Dominican Republic, strengthening a long-held theory that communities of lizards can evolve almost identically on separate islands. The chameleon-like lizard — a Greater Antillean anole dubbed Anolis landestoyi for the naturalist who first spotted and photographed it — is one of the first new anole species found in the Dominican Republic in decades.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! To end the week, an adorable baby Prairie Rattlesnake for our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user LJs Herps ! 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

Although red-eyed tree frog embryos appear helpless within their jelly-coated eggs, they can hatch up to two days ahead of schedule, reacting within seconds to attacks by egg thieves.

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This clawed frog is bobbing along in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tadpoleo! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Through all the years, cornsnakes remain our favorite for a great beginner snake! After seeing this one in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran, it is pretty obvious why! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

A new study into pythons and boas has for the first time found the two groups of snakes evolved independently to share similar traits, shedding new light on how the reptiles evolved.

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#TongueOutTuesday isn’t only for mammals! This shingleback skink displays it’s tongue beautifully in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user frilly ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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After a weekend of relaxing, like the Water Dragon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user arkherps , it’s time to get back to the grind! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! Love this beautiful green Vogel’s Pit Viper in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Vittorio_K ! 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

Scientists have found that the ancestors of garter snakes gained toxin-resistant nerves almost 40 million years ago.

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Check out that amazing camoflague that this Satanic Leaf Tail Gecko has in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user kellih i! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Decades of unregulated industrial waste dumping in areas of the Great Lakes have created a host of environmental and wildlife problems. Now it appears that Lake Michigan painted and snapping turtles could be a useful source for measuring the resulting pollution, according to researchers.

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By Herp News

New research shows that bearded dragons are able to partition color change to specific body parts, depending on whether they are responding to temperature or communicating with other lizards.

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By Herp News

The move from life on land to life in the sea has led to the evolution of a new sense for sea snakes, an Australian study suggests.

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Hang in there, just like the Tree Frog in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user gerrygi! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Is this a great shot or what? The bearded dragon in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Alesha_Rae is ready to hop in the fast lane! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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Start your week off right with this hatching Eastern Box Turtle in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user terrapene ! Be sure to tell them you liked it here!

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By Herp News

Inaccessibility and mysticism surrounding the mist-veiled mountains of the central Andes make this region promising to hide treasures. Among other surprises, fieldwork resulted in the discovery of two new species of rain frogs characterized by the spiny appearance typical of several species inhabiting montane forests.

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By Herp News

A new rain frog species from southern Peru is reported by a team of herpetologists. Although the amphibian may look similar to other species at first sight, it is distinguished by its morphology, call, and genetic sequences. Found near the border of Manu National Park, this discovery shows that even in well studied regions there are still things to learn.

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By Herp News

A new rain frog species from southern Peru is reported by a team of herpetologists. Although the amphibian may look similar to other species at first sight, it is distinguished by its morphology, call, and genetic sequences. Found near the border of Manu National Park, this discovery shows that even in well studied regions there are still things to learn.

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Happy Rattlesnake Friday! This baby Cobra is getting it’s first breath in our Herp Photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SouthernHerp! 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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