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SerpentResearch.Com

Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History

John C Murphy

Author: JCM

  • Microhabitat use by the California Kingsnake in the Canary Islands

    Microhabitat use by the California Kingsnake in the Canary Islands

    In this study, Maestresalas et al. (2026) characterize the shelter-use regime and the biotic and abiotic factors driving microhabitat selection by California kingsnake shelters on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands. The intent is to…

  • Pacific Treefrogs, one, two, or three species?

    Pacific Treefrogs, one, two, or three species?

    Evolutionary divergence in sexual signals may lead to and maintain reproductive isolation between populations. Both selective forces—such as ecological and sexual selection—and random processes like genetic drift may influence the diversification of sexual signals.…

  • Burmese Python Nest in Great Cypress Swamp

    Burmese Python Nest in Great Cypress Swamp

    Lisa McBride, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) biologist, led a study to document a record-setting Burmese python nest found in Big Cypress National Preserve in 2022. McBride’s work details the python’s nesting behaviors and…

  • Jurassic reptile fossil discovery blurs the line between snake and lizard

    Jurassic reptile fossil discovery blurs the line between snake and lizard

    by American Museum of Natural History edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan New research has uncovered a species of hook-toothed lizard that lived about 167 million years ago and has a confusing set of features…

  • Discovering the lightbulb lizards of Ecuador

    Discovering the lightbulb lizards of Ecuador

    Alejandro Arteaga, a herpetologist in Ecuador sent out out the following email. If you have the resources for helping Alejandro I encourage you to do so. Today, I want to reveal a project I…

  • Uncover the Secret Lives of Snakes. Live streaming cameras look at rattlesnakes.

    Uncover the Secret Lives of Snakes. Live streaming cameras look at rattlesnakes.

    If you haven’t found this website yet, it’s now time to explore it with your friends and family. Dr Emily Taylor,Professor, California Polytechnic State University. Scott Boback, Associate Professor of Biology at Dickinson College…

  • Road mortality in snakes and its impact.

    Road mortality in snakes and its impact.

    Snakes are significant predators in many ecosystems, but high rates of road mortality threaten to diminish their ecological contributions. Documenting species-specific and demographic patterns of road use is crucial for understanding potential impacts, which…

  • Genomic Insights into Snake Body Size

    Genomic Insights into Snake Body Size

    Body size is a critical trait that influences an animal’s physiology, behavior, and ecology. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its evolution remain poorly understood, particularly in snakes. Snakes exhibit a remarkably wide range of…

  • New snake species described in 2024. Part 2.

    New snake species described in 2024. Part 2.

    A New Chironius from Ceara, Brazil Currently, the proposed diagnoses for the Chironius bicarinatus complex reflect a wide variation in color pattern and pholidosis. Sudre et al. (2024) reviewed the Chironius bicarinatus complex based on morphological and molecular data…