The California Kingsnake: An Invasive Threat in the Canary Islands
Information on the biology and ecology of invasive predators can be crucial to developing control…
Amphibians on the Edge: Climate Change and Other Threats to Survival
In the world of biodiversity, Earth’s amphibians play a crucial role. From the magnificent Wallace’s…
Diets and Niches for Four Sceloporus Species in the Chiricahua Sky Islands
Niche partitioning is a concept at the heart of understanding biodiversity. The concept refers to…
Natural History collections are more important now than they were 10 years ago.
Our knowledge of the biodiversity of Asia and Australasia continues to expand with more focused…
Discovering the lightbulb lizards of Ecuador
Alejandro Arteaga, a herpetologist in Ecuador sent out out the following email. If you have…
Ontogenetic shift in the venom composition of the Mexican Black-tailed Rattlesnake
We detected clear ontogenetic venom variation in C. m. nigrescens. Venoms from younger snakes contained…
A new genus and species of snake from the Lost World (Guyana)
The Pantepui is a remote, biodiverse region made famous by Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The…
Frogs are younger than previously thought
In evolutionary and ecological research across various organisms, the utilization of large-scale, time-calibrated phylogenies derived…
3FTx in four species of colubrid snakes
By conducting gene tree reconstructions of 3FTxs, the researchers uncovered intriguing evidence of potentially novel…
Social Western Diamondbacks
Social behavior in snakes is under-studied and, as a result, poorly known. Using social network…
Time to first shed
An intriguing example is the puff adder (Bitis arietans), which sheds its skin shortly after…
Cryptid Rhabdophis in the nuchalis group
Cryptic diversity has been underestimated, but many examples have been documented in the scientific literature…
Rediscovery of a rare, aquatic Philippine Snake
The single-occurrence records of O. alcalai demonstrate the significance of microhabitat-specific refugia for rare, secretive,…
An endemic, highly aquatic homalopsid snake from Sulawesi
A recent paper (Hamidy et al 2023) describes a new homalopsid snake species, Hypsiscopus indonesiensis.…
Snake genome reveals burrowing past and re-adaptation to surface life
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has led a study that achieved chromosome-level assembly for…
A Giant Armoured Skink from Australia’s Pleistocene
Tiliqua frangens is believed to be related to the living shingleback or sleepy lizard (Tiliqua…
A new parachuting gecko from northeast India
Lalremsanga and colleagues (2023) describes a newly discovered genus Gekko (subgenus Ptychozoon) species. Known as…
A new species of Hynobius Salamander from China
There are currently six described species on the Chinese mainland and five on Taiwan island,…
Venom in the Blunt-headed Treesnakes
Biological specialization refers to the process by which organisms adapt to occupy specific ecological niches,…
The Kingsnake and the Rattlesnake – predator and prey
The feeding behavior of kingsnakes preying on rattlesnakes is a well-known example of a predator-prey…
Modeling reptile distributions suggests climate change will exacerbate extinctions
The impact of future climate change on global reptile diversity and distributions is a topic…
A frog that feeds on flowers and nectar, and pollinates plants
On balmy evenings in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, a peculiar sight might greet…
Largest Freshwater Turtle, nearly extinct
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, known as Rafetus swinhoei, is a critically endangered species characterized…
Florida Pine Snake, movement & ecology
Studying organism movement patterns can offer valuable insights into species ecology and evolution. Various methods,…
Funding for Invasive Species in Florida
Both chambers agreed on the number for python eradication, though, penciling in $1.35 million. Regarding…
The western edge of Ornate Box Turtle’s distribution in Arizona
The Ornate Box Turtle is at the western edge of its range in Pima County,…
Dry season snake harvest at Tonle Sap
The following is an abstract and some lightly edited text from English et al. (2023)…
A new fossil species of Sand Boa from China
Sand boas of the Eryx (family Erycidae) are a group of stout terrestrial snakes with…
Hearing in Snakes
Snakes are usually thought of as deaf. But they are not. While they lack external…
Snake teeth show more diversity than previously thought
Their results showed that the hardness and shape of the prey, as well as the…
Giant and Dwarf Body Sizes – a mechanism for evolution
We found that there was no relationship between growth rate and size,” said D’Emic. “Some…
New Frogs from Ecuador
Hyloscirtus tolkieni is a steream breeding hylid from from Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, province of…
Terciopelo’s diet shift from juvenile to adult
The diet of Bothrops asper changes with age. Young individuals feed on amphibians, centipedes, reptiles,…
Two more snake species that use autohemorrhaging
Autohemorrhaging means an animal breaks blood vessels and releases blood at will. Often it is…
A new family of Elapoid snakes
A new family of elapoid snakes is discovered. The new family contains five species and…
Snakes in urban habitats
Urbanization changes landscapes, often simplifying and homogenizing natural ecosystems while introducing novel environments. Although this…
Anoles adapt to cities
The Puerto Rico anole, Anolis cristatellus, is adapting to life in the city, Longer legs,…
Argentine Black and White Tegus in Charlotte County, Florida
We set baited live traps during the Tegu active season from 2018-2020, resulting in the…
Glassfrogs hide their blood cells to become transparent
resting glassfrogs increase transparency two- to threefold by removing nearly 90 percent of their red…
The invasive Green Whipsnake threatens vulnerable squamates in Switzerland
An invasive snake threatens vulnerable snakes and lizards in Switzerland
Another new Bent-toed Gecko
The new species has only been found at the type locality in Ngopa town, one…
Mountain Mist Frog declared extinct
the frog Ranoidea nyakalensis (Liem, 1974) was endemic to tropical Australia has been declared extinct…
Monitor Lizard – Otter Interaction
Monitor lizards encounters with otters are cautious. The presence and number of otter pups are…
Madagascar Biodiversity – an opportunity
Madagascar’s unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat.
A new lizard from the Triassic
The origins of mammals and birds are relatively well understood, while the roots of squamates…
Estimating the size of ancient amphibians
the temnospondyls used in this study, had heads that were more croc-like
Mimicry in Turtle-headed Sea Snakes
The authors recorded morph frequencies during 18 consecutive years of surveys, and found that the…
The Union Island Gecko population recovers
The population of Union Island geckos plummeted due to the illegal international pet trade, but…
Animals are our greatest allies in reforestation
“Animals are our greatest allies in reforestation…
Squamates underwent rapid evolution in the Jurassic
The Squamata are key parts of modern terrestrial faunas, especially in warmer climates, with a…
Overlooked species diversity in the Nidua Fringe-fingered Lizard
In a recent paper Liz et al. (2022) noted that hyper-arid sandy and rocky fields…
Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, a huge fossil turtle
The Press Story from the BBC says, This is the largest marine turtle ever found…
Palestine Viper Venom
Some of the most medically important snakes in the world belong to the in the…
Rattlesnake Venom Research in Ireland
Snake venom has long shown promise as a treatment for cancer in a wide range…
Atlantic Forest Bushmasters
They are the largest pit-vipers and the only oviparous pit- vipers in the western hemisphere.
The Genome of the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard
Guatemalan Beaded Lizards are known only from the arid regions of the upper Motagua Valley…
Lizards & Climate Change
Lizards and Climate Change Temperature is an important factor affecting biological processes in all forms…
The Banded Krait is composed of multiple lineages
The kraits in the genus Bungarus, are venomous elapid snakes which inhabit the Asian subcontinent.…
Viral video reveals entire alligator inside Burmese python’s stomach in Florida
The following was slightly edited from Natalie Neysa Alund’s article in USA TODAY This 18-foot…
Global Wildlife Summit in Panama
Human demand for shark fin soup, particularly in East Asia, has threatened shark populations Joseph…
The Giant Whiptail
The species show considerable ontogenetic changes and while juveniles and young adults are striped, older…
Invasive Lizards in Florida, and why are there so few in Arizona
In 2020 I was visiting friends in southern Florida. They picked me up at the…
Snake Removal in Urban Arizona
A home-owner encountering a rattlesnake in their yard, garage, or house can be un-nerving. As…
Malayopython reticulatus has colonized Puerto Rico
A Fox News story in 2015, stated authorities in Puerto Rico caught a 3.6-meter, 70…
The 2022 Python Challenge is Underway in Florida
The Florida Everglades supports a variety of native animals but over the years the pet trade and…
A micro-endemic gecko threatened by an invasive tree.
In the photo above…an adult male (left) and female (right) of Lygodactylus williamsi on a leaf…
A New Dwarf Anole from Cuba
Diaz et al. (2022) describe a new species of this subgroup from western Cuba based…
African Water Snake added to phylogeny
African water snakes of the genus Lycodonomorphus (Family Lamprophiidae) are widespread, abundant and presumably an…
A new spiny gymnophthalmid from the Pacific slopes of the Ecuadoran Andes
The holotype of Echinosaura fischerorum sp. nov. (male, DHMECN 15208) in dorsal (upper left), ventral…
Vocalization in the snake Dipsas catesbyi
Dipsas catesbyi has been recorded making a vocalization. It is not a hiss. Do some…
The Green Rat Snake contains candidate species
A new paper in Herpetology and Ichthyology finds the Green Rat Snake likely contains multiple…
How many species of king cobras are there?
The King Cobra is thought of as a single wide spread species, but a recent…
The western edge of Ornate Box Turtle’s distribution in Arizona
The Ornate Box Turtle is at the western edge of its range in Pima County,…
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The California Kingsnake: An Invasive Threat in the Canary Islands
Information on the biology and ecology of invasive predators can be crucial to developing control…
Amphibians on the Edge: Climate Change and Other Threats to Survival
In the world of biodiversity, Earth’s amphibians play a crucial role. From the magnificent Wallace’s…
Diets and Niches for Four Sceloporus Species in the Chiricahua Sky Islands
Niche partitioning is a concept at the heart of understanding biodiversity. The concept refers to…
Natural History collections are more important now than they were 10 years ago.
Our knowledge of the biodiversity of Asia and Australasia continues to expand with more focused…
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