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Turtle relationships and their dispersal across the planet
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The graphic abstract from Crawford et al. with photos added. The question of what are turtles has been a source of a lively scientific debate over the past decades. Until recently, the phylogenetic placement of turtles within Amniota was uncertain and controversial. Molecular studies at the genome level confirm their sister relationship to archosaurs and…
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A large sea snake harvest that has gone unnoticed for a decade
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Conservation of sea snakes is virtually nonexistent in Asia, and its role in human–snake interactions in terms of catch, trade, and snakebites as an occupational hazard is mostly unexplored. In a recent paper in Biological Conservation Nyguen et al(2014) report data on sea snake landings from the Gulf of Thailand, a hotspot for sea snake…
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A new Chironius from Bahia, Brazil
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Chironius diamantine. Photo credit: R. Santos The Neotropical colubrid genus Chironius contains a monophyletic assemblage of snakes having very low (10 or 12) dorsal scale rows at midbody. Currently the genus includes 20 species of diurnal snakes distributed from Honduras south to Uruguay and northeastern Argentina. Recently, a lectotype was designated for Chironius flavolineatus, a…
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Relationships between some Old World Rat Snakes resolved
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These snakes should all be placed in the genus Gonyosoma The Old World Rat Snakes have been a source of confusion for many years, they have a diverse morphology and behaviors that have been a puzzle to herpetologists for some time – the kind of puzzle best solved with molecular techniques. The last decade has…
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Origin of the ventilatory apparatus of turtles
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A Computed Tomography rendering of a snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) showing the skeleton (white), lungs (blue), and abdominal muscles (red and pink) used to ventilate the lungs. Because turtles have locked their ribs up into the iconic turtle shell, they can no longer use their ribs to breathe as in most other animals and instead…
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External genitalia in amniote evolution
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When it comes to genitalia, nature enjoys variety. Snakes and lizards have two. Birds and people have one. And while the former group’s paired structures are located somewhat at the level of the limbs, ours, and the birds’, appear a bit further down. In fact, snake and lizard genitalia are derived from tissue that gives…
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An amphibious ichthyosaur
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Fossil remains show the first amphibious ichthyosaur found in China by a team led by a UC Davis scientist. Its amphibious characteristics include large flippers and flexible wrists, essential for crawling on the ground. Photo Credit: Ryosuke Motani/UC Davis The first fossil of an amphibious ichthyosaur has been discovered in China by a team led…
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Snakebite in rural Nepal, diagnosis of species responsible
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Photo credit; DA Warrell Starting with a simple DNA swab taken from fang marks on people bitten by snakes, an international research team correctly identified the species of the biting snake 100 percent of the time in a first-of-its-kind clinical study, according to data presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s…
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Frogs make their offspring grow at a faster rate
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Breeding male of Rana arvalis from the study area. Photo Credit: Germán Orizaola. Gobal warming is altering the reproduction of plants and animals, notably accelerating the date when reproduction and other life processes occur. A study by the University of Uppsala (Sweden), including the participation of Spanish researcher Germán Orizaola, has discovered that some amphibians…
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Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History
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