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SerpentResearch.Com

Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History

John C Murphy

Author: JCM

  • New snake species described in 2024. Part 1.

    New snake species described in 2024. Part 1.

    In 2024, 33 species of new snakes were described. In previous years, 51 snakes were described in 2023, 48 in 2022, 66 in 2021, and 68 in 2020. Here is a summary for 2024.…

  • A Scuba-diving Lizard

    A Scuba-diving Lizard

    Many small invertebrates utilize bubbles to facilitate underwater respiration, but until recently, there was no evidence that vertebrate animals do the same. Only one group of vertebrates, semi-aquatic Anolis lizards, has evolved the ability to use…

  • Flystrike and Monitor Lizards

    Flystrike and Monitor Lizards

    The following is based on: Tomma G. 2024. Giant Australian lizards may help protect sheep from deadly fly-borne diseases. Science July 11. Some blowflies have an unnerving reproduction method, akin to extraterrestrial parasites from…

  • A new giant fossil snake from northwest India’s Eocene

    A new giant fossil snake from northwest India’s Eocene

    The snake family Madtsoiidae is an extinct clade of primarily Gondwanan terrestrial snakes, with a temporal range spanning approximately 100 million years from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Pleistocene. Their geographic range during…

  • Plastic in Sea Turtles

    Plastic in Sea Turtles

    Marine wildlife ingests plastic pollution, making them a reservoir for plastic debris and an important part of “where is all the plastic?”. To date, estimates of how much plastic pollution resides within marine animals…

  • Invasive Snakes in Puerto Rico – its more than Reticulated Pythons

    Invasive Snakes in Puerto Rico – its more than Reticulated Pythons

    The following article was published on VOX on 21 May. Click on this link to see the entire story and images. The author is Benji Jones. Night had fallen in Cabo Rojo, a wildlife…

  • Conserving the Axolotl

    Conserving the Axolotl

    The following article is based on Smith (2023) and Sanchez (2024). Links to the complete articles are in the references section. Xochimilco is a sizable, semirural neighborhood located south of Mexico City. Chinampas, or…

  • The Controversy Over a Second Species of Giant Anaconda

    The Controversy Over a Second Species of Giant Anaconda

    The Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus, has long been Amazonia’s most iconic animal. It is widely regarded as the largest snake in existence. However, in a groundbreaking development, Rivas et al. published a paper in February…

  • Aquatic Snakes, Diversity and Natural History

    Aquatic Snakes, Diversity and Natural History

    This book is available as a high quality PDF on the Herpetological Conservation International website. Aquatic Snakes, Diversity and Natural History covers about 420 snake species with text written by over a dozen co-authors…