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SerpentResearch.Com

Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History

John C Murphy

Author: JCM

  • Sand-dwellers and Climate Change

    Sand-dwellers and Climate Change

    Lizards and snakes living in sandy soils in dry habitats and tolerating high temperatures have been considered beneficiaries of global warming as suitable habitats expand due to climate change. However, a study by Brazilian…

  • Prehistoric Amphibian Ancestor Is Named for Kermit the Frog

    Prehistoric Amphibian Ancestor Is Named for Kermit the Frog

    The species seemed to have bug eyes and a smile, so a team of researchers named it Kermitops gratus in honor of the banjo-playing Muppet. Michael Levenson, NYT One crawled across the rain-drenched ground…

  • The Rapid Evolution of Snakes

    The Rapid Evolution of Snakes

    About 128 million years ago, a surge of adaptation caused snakes to explode in diversity and evolve up to three times faster than lizards. Since they initially descended from lizards, snakes were minor ecological…

  • Advances in Snakebite Treatment

    Advances in Snakebite Treatment

    The following is based on Wilcox C. 2024. Powerful new antivenom raises hopes for a universal solution to lethal snakebites. Science News 21 Feb 2024. A significant step toward developing an antivenom that could…

  • Recently described snakes and changes in taxonomy – February 2024

    Recently described snakes and changes in taxonomy – February 2024

    A new species of endemic snake from the Lost World The Pantepui is a remote, biodiverse region of ~400 000 km2 in northern South America it contains at least five endemic reptile genera and several…

  • A new krait from Thailand

    A new krait from Thailand

    The Asian elapid genus Bungarus are commonly called kraits. They are terrestrial in forests and some agricultural habitats. They feed on other snakes but will take other small vertebrates. Their bodies are dorsolaterally compressed,…

  • The Reticulated Python, an invasive species in Iraq?

    The Reticulated Python, an invasive species in Iraq?

    Al-Sheikhlyet al. (2023) discuss reports of Iraq’s Reticulated Python, Malayopython reticulatus. The following is edited content from the Jordan Journal of Natural History article. Unverified reports of a “giant snake” surfaced in Iraq in…

  • Successful Skinks

    Successful Skinks

    Geckos and skinks are lizard lineages that have been remarkably successful, as measured by the number of species recognized as well as , the size of their geographic range, the variety of habitats, ecological…

  • The Plateau Spot-tailed Earless Lizard – no longer listed as endangered

    The Plateau Spot-tailed Earless Lizard – no longer listed as endangered

    SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A lizard species historically known to thrive across the Edwards Plateau in Central and West Texas is no longer listed under the Endangered Species Act since a…