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SerpentResearch.Com

Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History

John C Murphy

Author: JCM

  • Reptile extinctions in the Guadeloupe Islands

    Reptile extinctions in the Guadeloupe Islands

    The sixth extinction – that is the present global biodiversity crisis is current and on-going.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggests the disappearance of at least 1.07% of Earth’s vertebrate species…

  • Snake Bombs

    Snake Bombs

    In 184 BCE, Hannibal led the Bithynian fleet in a naval battle against the Pergamenian King, Eumenes II. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Hannibal had ordered his ships to focus their attack on Eumenes’ vessel.…

  • Loss of amphibians increases malaria

    Loss of amphibians increases malaria

    Central American amphibians, like this Lemur Frog, Agalychnis lemur, are disappearing. The result is likely a trophic cascade that results in more insects, including those that are disease vectors.

  • Three poorly known cryptozoic, neotropical snakes, Xenopholis

    Three poorly known cryptozoic, neotropical snakes, Xenopholis

    The Neotropical herpetofauna is likely the world’s most diverse and it includes many taxa of uncertain or debated taxonomy. In a recent paper Gomes et a. (2020) evaluate the taxonomic status of species currently…

  • A new dwarf snake from the Philippines

    A new dwarf snake from the Philippines

    In a newly published paper in Copeia Weinell et al. (2020) described Levitonius mirus, new genus in the family Cyclocoridae (a family of snakes endemic to the Philippine Archipelago). It differs from all other…

  • Evolution of viviparity in arboreal lizards

    Evolution of viviparity in arboreal lizards

    Since Robert Mertens described Harpesaurus borneensis in 1924, it has been not easy to find. The type locality is in central Borneo (Kalimantan), and the species is known from four localities, Sarawak and Kalimantan.…

  • Greater sea snake forages on a falling tide

    Greater sea snake forages on a falling tide

    (a) Greater sea snake, Hydrophis major; (b) swarm of striped eel catfish, Plotosus lineatus. Photographs by (a) Claire Goiran, and (b) Aline Guémas.

  • The Komodo Dragon and Climate Change

    The Komodo Dragon and Climate Change

    The Komodo Dragon, Varanus komodoensis, is the world’s largest lizard, and an island dweller. Fewer than 3,000 individuals live in an area of ~600 km2, divided between the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Nusa Kode, and…

  • New, novel feeding behavior in a Kukri Snake

    New, novel feeding behavior in a Kukri Snake

    Read any herpetology book on snake feeding behavior and they report snakes swallow their prey in onepiece. There are some, but very few, exceptions. Snail-eating snakes occur in the families Dipsadidae and Pareidae and…