The desert sun was dropping quickly behind a sizable butte. Within minutes the searing heat of the day would begin to cool. The beauty of an orange sunset spread quickly over an orange land that would soon give way to dusk. Full darkness would follow soon and we intended to be road-hunting as the changes occurred.

From an afternoon temperature that had neared 100 degrees Fahrenheit, by the time darkness had fallen it was 10 degrees cooler.

We drove slowly in this land of cliffs and canyons. Snake! The first find of the night was a juvenile Great Basin gopher snake.

Snake! Snake number 2 was a very pretty night snake. Then nothing. We drove a few miles up and a few miles back. Again and again. Things had “dried up.” One more run and we’d call it a night. Up to the turning point. Nothing. Back to where the cliffs almost hugged the road and… Snake!

2 feet of sand orange snake was crossing the road slowly. And there was no mistaking it. Rattlesnake. We had found a coveted Hopi rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis nuntius. Closer examination disclosed that this was a tagged (painted rattle segments) study specimen.

Today, we are told, if we were to find that same snake we should simply call it a prairie rattlesnake. Hopi has been “sunk,” merged with the prairie. Subspecies are in disfavor. But guess what: it is still a Hopi to me.
Continue reading “Hopi rattler: an orange rattler crossing the path” …read more
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Trunk-ground anoles removed from their trees find their way back home, but now one knows how they do it.

From the New York times:

Several years ago, Dr. Leal was studying competition between two species. If he removed all of the trunk-ground anoles, he wondered, would the trunk-crown lizards extend their territory farther down the tree? He ran into a problem, however. He would take the trunk-ground lizards far from their home territory to make room for their upstairs neighbors, and then release them. But in a reptilian version of the children’s song, “The Cat Came Back,” the lizards wouldn’t stay away. “Lizards kept showing up in the territory that had just been scoured for lizards,” he said.

Dr. Leal wondered whether new anoles were appearing in empty territory or the old ones were returning. But how could a lizard that had never left home find its way back through 25 yards or so of dense rain forest?

First, he established that they do find their way back. A graduate student would take one, put it in a box, shake it to disorient the anole, walk about 80 yards or more away in a randomly chosen direction, shake the box again and let the lizard out. “The graduate students got lost,” Dr. Leal said, but not the lizards. It took them a few hours or a few days, but about 80 percent of them found their way back.

Read more here. …read more
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A truly prehistoric looking creature, our spotlight turns on the mighty Mata Mata in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Geo!

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India is home to 13 species of wolf snake, so I would like to say that this is one of the largest family of snakes in India. The yellow-spotted wolf snake is a non-venomous snake found in Maharashtra and rarely found in my area. But luckily I found it twice!

Yellow-spotted wolf snakes (Lycodon flavomaculatus) are small compared to the common wolf snake (Lycodon aulicus). I have come across 2 to 3 species of wolf snakes and I find yellow-spotted wolf snake the most beautiful because of its color pattern. Just imagine, my friends, how beautiful a snake looks with a dark shiny black color and thin yellow bands on it.

The maximum length of these snakes is 52 centimeters and they are oviparous by nature.

These snakes are often mistaken by people thinking that it’s a common krait (highly venomous) because the color pattern is somewhat the same. The only difference is that the bands of a krait are white in color instead of yellow. It’s similar to the scarlet kingsnake and coral snake: both look the same with a slight difference, but one is venomous and the other is not.

I would like to thank my friend Saleel Gharpure for allowing me to use this photograph.

Photo by: Saleel Gharpure …read more
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Staten Island University Hospital started an anti-venom sharing program to make sure anti-venom can reach people who need it, from zoo keepers to owners of exotic pets.

From NBC New York:

The anti-venom comes from a sharing program launched at Staten Island University Hospital by Dr. Nima Majlesi at Staten Island University Hospital, which unites the zoo, the hospital and toxicologists.

“We understand poisoning, we understand the treatment with anti-venom,” said Majlesi.

The hospital understands the importance of having anti-venom stocked on the shelf, ready to help not just vulnerable zoo keepers but anyone in the tri-state region — like those who keep venomous snakes as pets.

Read more here. …read more
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Looking forward to the new week with this adorable Chuckwalla in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user thommy!

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By Herp News

A prominent Indonesian wildlife trafficker who was arrested while trying to sell a baby orangutan in February was sentenced last week to two years behind bars. The trafficker, Vast Haris Nasution, admitted to running a trading network that stretches from Indonesia’s westernmost provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, where he illegally sourced a variety of protected species and animal parts from local hunters and dealers, to Java in the center of the country.

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By Herp News

The creation of protected areas often causes problems for people living nearby, even as it brings a potential source of income in the form of tourism. In Zimbabwe, people living near protected areas have positive perceptions of wildlife conservation but negative perceptions of tourism, according to a new paper.

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By Herp News

The Indonesian government has promised to crack down on the growing number of people showing off dead or abused endangered animals on social media. In February, for example, residents of the Sumatran village of Sibide posted pictures to Facebook of themselves posing with a dead Sumatran tiger, whose dwindling population in the wild amounts to no more than a few hundred. Similar cases abound and have been widely condemned in the country.

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In our Herp Video of the Week we visit the wild deserts of Canada in search of reptiles. Wait! What? Deserts in Canada! You Betcha!

Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users! …read more
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Do you remember YOUR first? tjromick shares Lily, his first in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tjromick!

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New fossils reveal that the earliest ancestor of Jesus Lizards lived in tropical Wyoming 48 million years ago.

From ZME Science:

The lizard was named Babibasiliscus alxi, where babi means “older male cousin” in Shoshone Native American – a tribute to the local heritage. Judging from the fossils, the lizard was likely two feet long, was active during the day and likely spent most of its time in trees. Like other casqueheads, the lizard has a ridge over its skull that likely made it look fiercer to its prey. Its teeth had three points suitable for eating snakes, lizards, fish, insects and plants. The larger cheekbones suggest it also hunted large prey.

Based on phylogenetic analysis Babibasiliscus is closely related to the modern genus Laemanctus, which includes the famous Jesus Lizard. The Jesus Lizard likes to live near water, that way, when it is frightened by an approaching predator it can get to the water and run across the surface. The lizards can run on water because they have a fringe of scales on their hind toes which makes little webs that can trap bubbles of air and water beneath their feet. This keeps them from sinking into the water if they run quickly enough across. When they do stop running they don’t mind taking a little swim. It’s not clear whether Babibasiliscus also skimmed water.

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

New fossils reveal that the earliest ancestor of Jesus Lizards lived in tropical Wyoming 48 million years ago.

From ZME Science:

The lizard was named Babibasiliscus alxi, where babi means “older male cousin” in Shoshone Native American – a tribute to the local heritage. Judging from the fossils, the lizard was likely two feet long, was active during the day and likely spent most of its time in trees. Like other casqueheads, the lizard has a ridge over its skull that likely made it look fiercer to its prey. Its teeth had three points suitable for eating snakes, lizards, fish, insects and plants. The larger cheekbones suggest it also hunted large prey.

Based on phylogenetic analysis Babibasiliscus is closely related to the modern genus Laemanctus, which includes the famous Jesus Lizard. The Jesus Lizard likes to live near water, that way, when it is frightened by an approaching predator it can get to the water and run across the surface. The lizards can run on water because they have a fringe of scales on their hind toes which makes little webs that can trap bubbles of air and water beneath their feet. This keeps them from sinking into the water if they run quickly enough across. When they do stop running they don’t mind taking a little swim. It’s not clear whether Babibasiliscus also skimmed water.

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

Around us was sand in various hues of oranges and yellows and reds; above us towered sand stone cliffs in similar colors. A few miles distant we had encountered mesas, buttes, and dark, deep – perilously deep – sheer-walled canyons. Here and there a cactus, a succulent, a juniper, or a patch of drought tolerant composites was growing. But for the most part we were surrounded by miles and miles of sand and sandstone cliffs.

We were on a quest and the target was a tiny (up to about 3″) lizard, the Utah night lizard, Xantusia vigilis utahensis. This was our second attempt. We tried a year earlier and had failed. But being either gluttons for punishment or dedicated, Kenny and I were back again. Same time of year, same place, but hoping for a different outcome.

As we searched, carefully turning loose chunks of sandstone, ahead of us we could see cars inching their ways in both directions along the section of 261 called the Moki Dugway. This 3 mile stretch of road consists of narrow graveled switchbacks having grades of 10% that carry you up or down 1,100 feet of cliff face with nary a guardrail to be seen, an interesting experience to say the least.

I was just about to comment to Kenny about a sizable truck coming down the dugway when he exclaimed, “lizard.” And as I flipped a small chunk of sandstone in the shade of an overhang my turn came: “Lizard!” Mission accomplished or even exceeded.

Both of us had found a little sandstone-orange Utah night lizard. Time for photos.
Continue reading “The search for the Utah night lizard” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

By Herp News

Indonesian customs officials foiled an attempt to smuggle 455 dead pangolins to Singapore from an airport in the country’s second city of Surabaya, a hotbed of wildlife trafficking. Suspicious of a man with 43 cartons he claimed were full of fish, officers checked the boxes and found the scaly mammals instead. By the hundreds.

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Sometimes you need to look outside the box! This stunning Sunbeam Snake may not be the most colorful on first glance, but as you can see in our Herp Photo of the Day, they are a truly beautiful snake, uploaded by kingsnake.com user mecdwell!

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You know you are a herper when you have snakes instead of towels on your towel rack! This Mexican Pine Snake is just hanging out in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Steve_G!

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By Herp News

The world’s tropical forests are threatened by deforestation due to agricultural, industrial and urban expansion; as well as by drought, fire, and disease, all worsened by climate change. Human reforestation efforts are limited by budget and capacity, so the restoration of degraded habitats by means of animal seed dispersal is essential to the future of global forests.

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Scientific Name:
One of the moments I love during my herpings is a ‘tea or coffee break’. It is really an enjoyable moment when you are sitting with your friends, sipping your refreshing drink, and recalling the adventures that took place during the herping.

This incident happened during a trip to the Western Ghats. After herping for 2 to 3 hours, my friends and I took a break and drove to the nearest tea stall. We were sitting on wooden tables and we just had a few sips of tea when I saw a lizard on the wooden plank next to us.

I ignored the lizard thinking that it might be an ordinary house gecko, but one of my friends who is studying lizards saw it and excitedly shouted, “Spotted leaf-toed gecko!” I took a close look at the lizard and it was really beautiful with an amazing color pattern.

Spotted leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus maculatus) is a species of large gecko found in Western Ghats of India. The best part is that I was able to get this gecko easily without doing any hard work!

My friend Riyaz Khoja snapped some pictures and we continued with our tea and snacks.

Photo: Riyaz Khoja …read more
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Speed, a Galapagos tortoise brought to America over 80 years ago, was euthanized last month.

From the LA Times:

At an estimated age of more than 150 years, Speed had been in geriatric decline for some time, with arthritis and other maladies. Keepers treated him with medication, hydrotherapy, physical therapy, even acupuncture.

Finally, a decision was made Friday to euthanize Speed, who had been at the zoo since 1933.

He was brought to the zoo as part of an early effort to preserve the endangered species from the Volcan Cerro Azul Island of the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador.

Read more here. …read more
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Our Herp Photo of the Day features a cute field find of a Salamander, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran!

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CHRISTIE!!!!!!!!!
I am waiting for full ID on this animal so I am sure it is correct species. I will change the XXX to the proper name and delete this line and all else will stay intact. …read more
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Our Herp Photo of the Day features a cute field find of a XXX Salamander, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cochran!

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CHRISTIE!!!!!!!!!
I am waiting for full ID on this animal so I am sure it is correct species. I will change the XXX to the proper name and delete this line and all else will stay intact. …read more
Read more here: King Snake

By Herp News

Police in Indonesia’s second city of Surabaya, a hotbed of wildlife trafficking, seized 16 eagles of various types from a trafficker who was using Facebook to connect with potential customers. A tip alerted the authorities to the trafficker. They used the Internet to confirm his activities before moving to arrest him at his house in Surabaya’s Bubutan area.

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A few years ago, for reasons that I can no longer remember, I decided to get an African mole snake, Pseudaspis cana, from Linda Switzer. It had been decades since I had last had one and as I remembered them they were big and savagely defensive.

They were in no way pleasant creatures to keep. They had come, I think, from either Lofty Whitehead or Jonathan Leakey, both of Kenya. The snakes, adults all, had been wild collected, and were not the least bit hesitant to show their unhappiness about the situation. I was equally unhappy.

So when Linda mentioned having a “nice” mole snake my first question was “how nice?”

“Handleable,” she said, “easily handleable.”

I wondered to myself whether the snake was actually alive.

But I purchased it and when it arrived, it seemed in perfect health. Not only was it “handleable,” it was docile. The big constrictor took thawed and warmed rodents eagerly but gently from forceps, and overall acted about as non-mole snake-like as any mole snake I had ever seen or heard of.

As the old saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. This was a lesson well learned with this very atypical African mole snake.
Continue reading “A manageable mole snake” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

A few years ago, for reasons that I can no longer remember, I decided to get an African mole snake, Pseudaspis cana, from Linda Switzer. It had been decades since I had last had one and as I remembered them they were big and savagely defensive.

They were in no way pleasant creatures to keep. They had come, I think, from either Lofty Whitehead or Jonathan Leakey, both of Kenya. The snakes, adults all, had been wild collected, and were not the least bit hesitant to show their unhappiness about the situation. I was equally unhappy.

So when Linda mentioned having a “nice” mole snake my first question was “how nice?”

“Handleable,” she said, “easily handleable.”

I wondered to myself whether the snake was actually alive.

But I purchased it and when it arrived, it seemed in perfect health. Not only was it “handleable,” it was docile. The big constrictor took thawed and warmed rodents eagerly but gently from forceps, and overall acted about as non-mole snake-like as any mole snake I had ever seen or heard of.

As the old saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. This was a lesson well learned with this very atypical African mole snake.
Continue reading “A managable mole snake” …read more
Read more here: King Snake

Shannan Yates discusses the powerful and life-changing adventure that is herpetological field work.

From National Geographic:

At a conference on Bahamian natural history, I met Shedd Aquarium’s Dr. Chuck Knapp, who oversees the conservation research program at Shedd and has spent decades researching rock iguanas in The Bahamas. At the time, I had been struggling with the decision of attending medical school. Would I make a difference working in a ‘normal career’, as in a sterile hospital wearing a white lab coat, be any different than working as a field researcher?

For me, Dr. Chuck helped to provide that answer. Without thinking twice, I accepted his invitation to accompany him on a citizen science iguana research exhibition to the Exuma Cays. My experience on that expedition–adjusting to the harsh weather and elements – proved to me that the white lab coat in some hospital was not going to be my career path. I found an unexplainable love for field research and the Exuma Cays Rock Iguana (Cyclura cychlura figgisi), in an experience that I will never forget.

Read more here. …read more
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This male Angel Island Chuck seems quite proud of himself in our Herp Photo of the Day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user reptoman!

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By Herp News

Animal vehicle collisions (AVCs) take an incredible toll on wildlife worldwide. In the United States, for example, as many as 1.5 million deer, moose, and other ungulates are annually involved in vehicle crashes, with all yearly U.S. wildlife collisions costing $1 billion and causing 29,000 human injuries. Still, drivers and the media tend to downplay these costs to world wildlife and automotive safety.

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By Herp News

To protect natural ecosystems, some conservationists advocate ‘land sparing,’ in which farmers intensify agricultural practices to boost yields, theoretically enabling them to forgo expansion into natural areas. Others advocate ‘land sharing,’ in which farmers take over more land but use more environmentally friendly practices. Researchers studied the relative effects of the two approaches on biodiversity.

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The armored lizard Pappochelys rosinae may be the missing evolutionary link between early turtles and their contemporary counterparts.

From Science Magazine:

The findings are “a very important contribution in addressing who turtles are related to, as well as the evolutionary origin of the turtle shell,” says Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science who was not involved with the study. “These have been two vexing questions for evolutionary biologists for the last 200 years.”

About two dozen or so fossils of the creature have been recovered, all of them from 240-million-year-old rocks deposited as sediment on the floor of a shallow, 5-kilometer-long lake in what is now southern Germany. Most of the remains include only bits of bone and are from individuals of various sizes, says Hans-Dieter Sues, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But between the two most complete specimens yet found, he and Rainer Schoch, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in Germany, have put together a full skeleton and most of a skull.

Read more here. …read more
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The Sri Lankan painted frog is a species of narrow-mouthed frog found in India.

This frog is the first species of narrow-mouthed frog which I came across and thanks to its mouth, I found it a bit upset looking. But trust me, it was one of the cutest frogs in the world!

I met this fat fellow during my recent trip to northeast India. These frogs are usually found up to an altitude of 1300 meters, so it’s easier to find this frog in mountainous regions. I was able to encounter this frog with the help of my wildlife biologist friend Debaprasad “Dev” Sengupta.

These frogs are 7-8 centimeters in length and the color is greyish-black with a symmetrical pattern of reddish-brown patches. The under parts are pale yellowish-grey, mottled with black or brown. During the breeding season, males develop a dark throat patch. These frogs are also native to Nepal and Bangladesh.

I had some really amazing experiences during my trip to Northeast India which I will continue to write about. In my opinion, the reptiles and amphibians in the northeastern part of the country are the best amongst all in India!

If you visit India to check out some amazing reptiles, I will always suggest you to visit the northeastern part first.

Photo by: Debaprasad Sengupta …read more
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Our Herp Photo of the Day shows and amazing look inside the egg of a Russian Tortoise to be, uploaded by kingsnake.com user tortusjack!

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Two years ago these little monsters took over in a whole new way. In our Herp Video of the Week, a group of second graders, with the help of their teacher, try to remind us that snakes do not need fear and they are just “Born This Way”. Happy Snake Saturday, we hope you enjoy this flashback!

Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users! …read more
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The Bird Snake (Pseustes poecilonotus) gets it’s first breath of air in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user SoLA!

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By Herp News

An independent researcher has described a spectacular red, white, and blue crayfish just in time for the fourth of July. The new species, named Cherax pulcher, was first discovered in Japanese pet shops by Christian Lukhaup before he finally tracked down the animal to creeks in remote West Papua, Indonesia.

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Mez, an adorable little black monitor lizard, is the first born to any zoo in the United Kingdom.

From Pirate FM:

John Meek, curator: ” This is a very rare birth for us here at The Zoo and Mez is doing very well, being carefully nursed by our diligent keepers. Mez currently weighs twelve grams and we expect him to make steady progress.”

Black Tree Monitors are at risk due to habitat destruction and the illegal trade in reptiles for pets, so the breeding programme at The Zoo will ensure the conservation of the species.

The Black Tree Monitors at The Zoo originated from Pilsen Zoo in the Czech Republic over five years ago and have very specific humidity conditions to encourage them to lay their eggs. The female Monitor has already laid a further six eggs which are currently under incubation and they should hatch sometime in the next few months.

Read more here. …read more
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Jake said, “C’mon, let’s go hog-nosing.”

That’s not much of an incentive for me as hog-noses are just not my favorite critters.

But then Jake said “Good chance for a Florida pine, too.”

“Oh,” I replied. “You mean southern hog-noses, eh?”

Well, southerns are a bit better, and somewhere in the sandy country where they live Jake almost always runs afoul of sand-spurs, the latter occasion usually being an interesting interlude. Now we were looking at southern hog-noses, southern pine snakes, and sand spurs. Taken together this was a little more to my liking, so off we went.

And an hour and a half later we arrived. It was a dry, relatively cool, and very sunny day; the kind of weather which makes all good snakes active.

This hour and a half drive brought us to a grid of southern hog-nose, Heterodon simus, habitat that until recently was not well known to the herping community. Sadly (from a conservation viewpoint), one well known and very garrulous herper learned of the area and broadcast its potential far and wide.

This, of course, led to an influx of hog-nose hunters whenever weather conditions allowed. It led also to an adverse and vocal response from the homeowners who were suddenly faced with a notable change in traffic volume in their quiet, if sandy, community.

So, in the hope of avoiding controversy, Jake and I agreed to drive slowly, carefully, and to leave immediately if challenge seemed imminent. And not only did we follow these self-imposed rules, taking care that no roostertail plume of dust followed us, but we stopped and explained to a homeowner or two what we were doing (photographing wildlife) and that we would be very careful while looking.

This courtesy paid dividends. We spent an unchallenged hour and a half, found and photographed a beautiful adult male hog-nose, and left feeling pleased. Mission accomplished – uneventfully.

But, darn it! No sand spurs on this trip.
Continue reading “Hog-nosed snake with a side of southern hospitality” …read more
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What a stunning shot of a Satanic leaf-tailed gecko we have as our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user zmarchetti!

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By Herp News

A newly discovered, 48-million-year-old fossil, known as a ‘Jesus lizard’ for its ability to walk on water, may provide insight into how climate change may affect tropical species.

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Prompted by a petition in 2012 by the Center for Biological Diversity the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing 10 species of reptiles and amphibians to consider them for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, despite many of the listed species enjoying protection of state laws in their home range.

According to media reports USFWS will seek to collect additional information for a more thorough review of the following reptiles and amphibians:

• Alligator snapping turtle
• Apalachicola kingsnake
• Cedar Key mole skink
• Gopher frog
• Green salamander
• Illinois chorus frog in
• Key ring-necked snake
• Rim Rock crowned snake
• Southern hog-nosed snake
• Spotted turtle

According to the USFWS “For those petitions that will move on to a more in-depth review, that process will include the opportunity for significant input from states, partners, stakeholders, and the public.” To read more about this issue, view the original article on GulfLive.com. kingsnake.com will post more information on the public input process here as it becomes available.

Alligator Snapper gallery photo by kingsnake.com user LEESTOPCUT.

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