SerpentResearch.Com

Fragmented tropical forest landscapes are becoming more abundant, and loss of species following fragmentation are often predictable. Larger animals, tend to disappear first from fragments due to the bushmeat trade. However,  another vulnerable group includes understory, insectivorous birds, and ant-following birds. Nest predation is one mechanism that may limit bird populations and has long been…

Continue Reading

Hatchling Bearded Dragon A climate-induced change of male dragons into females occurring in the wild has been confirmed for the first time, according to University of Canberra research recently published on the cover of international journal Nature. The researchers, who have long studied Australia’s bearded dragon lizards, have been able to show that a reptile’s…

Continue Reading

An undescribed pipe snake from Thailand (JCM) and a map  showing the known taxa. The Asian Pipe Snake of the Cylindrophiidae contains about ten species. These are burrowing, semi-aquatic snakes that are basal to most other living snakes. Linnaeus (1758) described Anguis maculata from Sri Lanka, Laurenti (1768) described Anguis ruffa described by Laurenti (1768). In…

Continue Reading

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Crotalus adamanteus, is the largest rattlesnake species and has an exclusively endothermic diet. Although native to seven states in the southeastern Coastal Plain, the species has been extirpated from Louisiana, is listed as endangered in North Carolina, and is currently under consideration for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.…

Continue Reading

A reconstruction of the ancestral crown-group snake,  Artwork by Julius Csotonyi. The original snake ancestor was a nocturnal, stealth-hunting predator that had tiny hind limbs with ankles and toes, according to new research. Snakes show incredible diversity, with over 3,400 living species found in a wide range of habitats, such as land, water and in trees.…

Continue Reading

 The Burmese python’s body undergoes massive reconstruction followed by complete deconstruction every time it eats. Within three days of eating, its organs expand up to double in size and its metabolism and digestive processes increase 10- to 44-fold. Ten days after eating, the snake’s meal is digested and these changes have reversed, allowing the body…

Continue Reading

An arboreal eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii)  resting on a branch in Costa Rica. Photograph by  Coleman M. Sheehy III.  Gravity is a pervasive force that can severely affect blood circulation in terrestrial animals, and these effects can be particularly pronounced in tall or long organisms such as giraffes and snakes. Upright postures create vertical gradients…

Continue Reading

A diurnal Phelsuma and a nocturnal Cyrtodactylus.  Geckos are the only clade of lizards that are mostly nocturnal; 72% of the 1552 described species are active at night. Geckos possess numerous adaptations to low light and low temperatures, suggesting nocturnal activity evolved early in their evolution. These adaptations include the evolution of vocalization and acoustic…

Continue Reading

The largest and longest Burmese Python tracking study of its kind — here or in its native range — is providing researchers and resource managers new information that may help target control efforts of this invasive snake, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey. Among the findings, scientists have identified the…

Continue Reading

Isanophis boonsongi new comb., preserved  holotype (FMNH 135328). From top to  bottom: Dorsal view – Ventral view –  Lateral view of the head and neck, left side.  Photographs by Patrick David. There is little doubt that Southeast Asia harbors the most diverse assemblage of living snake species. And, a number of species from the Indochinese region,…

Continue Reading

Enhydrina schistosa. Photo credit: Aaron Lobo The first major survey of marine snakes were published by Malcolm Smith and covered the coastal areas of the Gulf of Thailand and the Malay Peninsula between 1915 and 1918 and yielded a collection of 548 sea snakes representing 17 species. These snakes were obtained as by-catch from local…

Continue Reading

A new article (Lillywhite et al. 2015) in the Journal of Zoologyreports on the drinking behavior a sea snakes. It had been assumed sea snakes had a salt gland located under their tongue and that it was involved in the regulation of sodium ions,allowing the snakes to drink sea water. However, experimental work suggested that…

Continue Reading

The very short video below shows a coyote attempting to scavenge a dead California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) in southeastern Arizona. The canid picked it up with its mouth and then dropped it – apparently because it tasted bad. The snake was one of two killed by a human and left to rot. The kingsnake is…

Continue Reading

Homalopsis buccata: Morice, 1875b: 58 [in part]. Homalopsis mereljcoxiMurphy, Voris, Murthy, Traub and Cumberbatch, 2012c: 13. Holotype: FMNH 263756. Type locality: Thailand, Ban Badan (14°31’04”N, 101°58’25” E). Distribution: Homalopsis mereljcoxi is known from lowland localities in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. On the western edge of its known range it is found as far north as…

Continue Reading

Enhydis doriae – Brown, 1902:180 Proceedings of the National Academy of Science Philadelphia. Enhydris gyii Murphy, Voris, and Auliya 2005, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 53:116 Holotype. – A female, ZFMK 65824 from Indonesia, Kalbar, Sungei Kapuas, near Putussibau (0º49’60”N, 112º55’60”E). Collector:  Mark Auliya, November 11, 1996. Paratypes (2). – ZFMK 65825, a female from Indonesia,…

Continue Reading

Homalophis doriae Peters, 1871: 577. Syntypes, MSNG CE 30665 and ZMB 7120.  Type Locality: Sarawak, Borneo. Hypsirhina doriae: Boulenger, 1893, 3: 13. Enhydris doriae: Haas, 1950: 576. Diagnosis. Dorsal scales in 29–33 rows at mid-body; suboculars present; 11–16 upper labials with last 5–9 horizontally divided. It may be most easily confused with H. gyii, which…

Continue Reading

Tiny, burrowing reptiles known as worm lizards or amphisbaenians became widespread long after the breakup of the continents, leading scientists to conclude that they must have dispersed by rafting across oceans soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs, rather than by continental drift as previously thought. Scientists at the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Yale University…

Continue Reading

Voris’ Mud Snake Enhydris maculosa: Gyi, 1970: 114 [In part.]. Figure 16. Enhydris vorisi Murphy, 2007: 171. Holotype: KU 92465. Type Locality: Maubin, Irrawaddy Division, Myanmar. Gyiophis vorisi Murphy and Voris, 2014:22. Distribution: Known only from the vicinity of Maubin in the Ayeyarwady River Delta, Myanmar (Murphy, 2007). Diagnosis: Two pairs of chin shields, 142…

Continue Reading

Blanford’s Mud Snake Hypsirhina maculata Blanford, 1879b: 130. Holotype: Das et al. (1998: 39) gives the number as ZSI8207. Type locality: In 1879a Blanford gave the type locality as “Bassein in Pegu” in 1879b he states “Pegu…in the neighbourhood of Bassein.” Das et al. (1998: 39) suggests “Pegu… (probably in the neighborhood of Bassein) is…

Continue Reading

Bushmaster – due out on June 2, 2015 – is the story of one man’s obsession with an enigmatic and deadly reptile. Raymond Ditmars (1876-1942), the first curator of reptiles at New York’s world-famous Bronx Zoo, popularised cold-blooded animals as never before. His love for snakes, insects and other misunderstood creatures was conveyed in books, lectures, and pioneering…

Continue Reading

Estimated phylogeny of squamate reptiles from  likelihood analysis of combined morphological  and molecular data, after removal of four “rogue”  fossil taxa. Red dots indicate clades with  bootstrap values from 90–100%, black dots  indicate values from 70–89% (values not shown; for bootstrap values for all branches  see. Fossil taxa are indicated with “≪” and green  branches. The four…

Continue Reading

The invasive Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus or Python bivittatus) has been suspected in the drastic decline of mammal populations in Everglades National Park (ENP) over the last several decades, The park is globally recognized for its unique biotic communities, sits at the southern end of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem (GEE), a vast freshwater wetland (≈10 000…

Continue Reading

A previously undiscovered species of crocodile-like amphibian that lived during the rise of dinosaurs was among Earth’s top predators more than 200 million years ago. Paleontologists identified the prehistoric species — which looked like giant salamanders — after excavating bones buried on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal. The species was part…

Continue Reading

A) Fimbrios klossi, Paksong, Champasak Province.  B) Parafimbrios lao, from the Muang Ngoi, Ngoi  District, Louangphabang Province, Laos.  Photo Credit: A. Teynié. The Asian family Xenodermatidae includes five genera: Xenodermus Reinhardt, 1836 (1 species), Achalinus, Fimbrios, Stoliczkaia, and Xylophis, and hold a total of 17 species. The Philippine genus Oxyrhabdium has been removed from the…

Continue Reading

Here are the articulated cranium and lower jaws shown in oblique right lateral view (A). Right facial skeleton and skull roof shown in “exploded” view to illustrate the nature of sutural contacts (B); the left side of the cranium (braincase omitted) is shown in internal view (C). The right lower jaw in “exploded” view to…

Continue Reading

Many chameleons have the remarkable ability to make rapid and complex color changes in their social interactions. In a collaboration between biology sections researchers and physics at the Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) results in the discovery of the mechanisms governing the phenomenon. In the study published by Nature Communications, the group co-led by…

Continue Reading

Chytrid fungus was proved present on Platypelis pollicaris from Ranomafana. Photo Credit: Miguel Vences / TU  Braunschweig The chytrid fungus, which is fatal to amphibians, has been detected in Madagascar for the first time. This means that the chytridiomycosis pandemic, which has been largely responsible for the decimation of the salamander, frog and toad populations in…

Continue Reading

The massive wetlands once covered the Amazon River basin about 13 million years ago during the late middle Miocene. Three newly discovered species of crocodylians, including Kuttanacaiman iquitosensis (left), Caiman wannlangstoni (right) and Gnatusuchus pebasensis (bottom), look for clams, which they could likely scoop up with their mouths and crunch with their peglike teeth. Artist…

Continue Reading

Heloderma suspectum Lizards and other reptiles are not normally considered venomous, but a number of lizard species actually do produce and use venom. The most classic venomous lizard is no doubt the gila monster — a heavy-bodied lizard. As the first in the world, a group of researchers has made a comprehensive description of the…

Continue Reading

The following video was sent to me by Patrick Prévost (Amneville Zoo, France). Video of captives moving their tail on a sand substrate have been available on You-Tube. This video shows a snake catching a bird. Sorry about the ad!

Continue Reading

Photographs A,C: A. apraefrontalis (SAMA R68142) from Ashmore Reef; and B, D:Aipysurus foliosquama (WAM R150365) from Barrow Island. One in five reptile species are estimated to be at risk of extinction and many are thought to have become extinct within the last 50 years. Threats to reptiles include habitat loss and degradation, climate warming, and overharvest for…

Continue Reading

  A new University of Toronto study may force scientists to rethink what is behind the mass extinction of amphibians occurring worldwide in the face of climate change, disease and habitat loss. The old cliché “size matters” is in fact the gist of the findings by graduate student Stephen De Lisle and Professor Locke Rowe…

Continue Reading

The rare coral snake Micrurus mipartitus (type locality, Caracas,  Venezuela). Credit: Alejandro Solórzano For more than a decade, a vial of rare snake venom refused to give up its secret formula for lethality; its toxins had no effect on the proteins that most venoms target. Finally, an international team of researchers figured out its recipe: a toxin…

Continue Reading

  Fossilized remains of four ancient snakes between 140 and 167 million years old are changing the way we think about the origin of snakes, and how and when it happened. Ancient snakes: (top left) Portugalophis lignites (Upper  Jurassic) in a gingko tree, from coal swamp deposits at  Guimarota, Portugal; (top right) Diablophis gilmorei  (Upper Jurassic), hiding in…

Continue Reading

Illustration Credit: Chuang Zhao New research details how a preserved fossil found in China could be the oldest record of post-natal parental care from the Middle Jurassic. The specimen, found by a farmer in China, is of an apparent family group with an adult, surrounded by six juveniles of the same species. Given that the…

Continue Reading

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake If you’re one of the unfortunate few to be bitten by a venomous snake, having access to effective antivenom to combat the swelling, pain and tissue damage to these bites is critical. But new research by a team of biologists at Florida State University has revealed that creating antivenom is a bit tricky.…

Continue Reading

For swimming through sand, a slick and slender snake can perform better than a short and stubby lizard. That’s one conclusion from a study of the movement patterns of the shovel-nosed snake, a native of the Mojave Desert of the southwest United States. The research shows how the snake uses its slender shape to move…

Continue Reading

Snake skeletons are just as regionalized as lizards, despite loss of  limbs and increase in number of vertebrae. Photo Credit: Craig Chandler,  Angie Fox, Jason Head, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sakes may not have shoulders, but their bodies aren’t as simple as commonly thought, according to a new study that could change how scientists think snakes evolved.…

Continue Reading

University of California, Berkeley, herpetologist Jim McGuire was slogging through the rain forests of Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island one night this past summer when he grabbed what he thought was a male frog and found himself juggling not only a frog but also dozens of slippery, newborn tadpoles. He had found what he was looking for:…

Continue Reading

Draco cornutus. Photocredit Devi Stuart-Fox By mimicking the red and green colors of falling leaves, Bornean lizards avoid falling prey to birds whilst gliding, new research has found. The work suggests that populations of the gliding lizard, Draco cornutus, have evolved extendable gliding membranes, like wings, which closely match the colors of falling leaves to disguise…

Continue Reading

Note: It is the end of the year and this blog is going to be in hibernation for a short time. So this post may be the last for several weeks. But it will be active again in the near future. Species that forage exclusively at the sea’s surface but spend much of the rest…

Continue Reading

Animals that regulate their body temperature through the external environment may be resilient to some climate change but not keep pace with rapid change, leading to potentially disastrous outcomes for biodiversity. A study by the University of Sydney and University of Queensland showed many animals can modify the function of their cells and organs to…

Continue Reading

Some new lizard species described in 2014 The Reptile Database (RDB) is a very useful tool for herpetologists, and they released a new version a few days ago. The new version lists 10,119 species (including 139 described this year), up from 10,038 in August, 35,615 references (including 1,203 published this year), up from 34,104 in August, which resulted in almost 200 new and…

Continue Reading

Technology that can map out the genes at work in a snake or lizard’s mouth has, in many cases, changed the way scientists define an animal as venomous. If oral glands show expression of some of the 20 gene families associated with “venom toxins,” that species gets the venomous label. But, a new study from…

Continue Reading

The Valle de Aguán spiny-tailed iguana is a critically endangered species found in Honduras. A recent survey of people living in the region shows that, although residents are aware of the endangered status of the species, the iguana continues to be hunted for food. Of particular concern is the preference for the consumption of female…

Continue Reading

The graphic abstract from Crawford et al. with photos added. The question of what are turtles has been a source of a lively scientific debate over the past decades. Until recently, the phylogenetic placement of turtles within Amniota was uncertain and controversial. Molecular studies at the genome level confirm their sister relationship to archosaurs and…

Continue Reading

Conservation of sea snakes is virtually nonexistent in Asia, and its role in human–snake interactions in terms of catch, trade, and snakebites as an occupational hazard is mostly unexplored. In a recent paper in Biological Conservation Nyguen et al(2014) report data on sea snake landings from the Gulf of Thailand, a hotspot for sea snake…

Continue Reading

Chironius diamantine. Photo credit: R. Santos The Neotropical colubrid genus Chironius contains a monophyletic assemblage of snakes having very low (10 or 12) dorsal scale rows at midbody. Currently the genus includes 20 species of diurnal snakes distributed from Honduras south to Uruguay and northeastern Argentina. Recently, a lectotype was designated for Chironius flavolineatus, a…

Continue Reading

These snakes should all be placed in  the genus Gonyosoma The Old World Rat Snakes have been a source of confusion for many years, they have a diverse morphology and behaviors that have been a puzzle to herpetologists for some time – the kind of puzzle best solved with molecular techniques. The last decade has…

Continue Reading

A Computed Tomography rendering of a snapping turtle  (Chelydra serpentina) showing the skeleton (white), lungs  (blue), and abdominal muscles (red and pink) used to ventilate  the lungs. Because turtles have locked their ribs up into the  iconic turtle shell, they can no longer use their ribs to breathe as  in most other animals and instead…

Continue Reading