Information on the biology and ecology of invasive predators can be crucial to developing control strategies and action plans. Still, particularly home range, activity patterns, or habitat use can facilitate…

In the world of biodiversity, Earth’s amphibians play a crucial role. From the magnificent Wallace’s Flying Frog to the Trinidad’s Bromeliad dwelling tree frog and the huge Chinese Giant Salamander…

Niche partitioning is a concept at the heart of understanding biodiversity. The concept refers to the process by which natural selection drives competing species into different patterns of resource use…

Our knowledge of the biodiversity of Asia and Australasia continues to expand with more focused studies on the systematics of various groups and their biogeography. Historically, fluctuating sea levels and…

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…

Abstract Abstract: Ontogenetic changes in venom composition have important ecological implications duethe relevance of venom in prey acquisition and defense. Additionally, intraspecific venom variation has direct medical consequences for the…

The Pantepui is a remote, biodiverse region made famous by Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Lost World.  In a recent article, Kok and Means (2023) describe the new species, Paikwaophis…

In evolutionary and ecological research across various organisms, the utilization of large-scale, time-calibrated phylogenies derived from supermatrix studies has gained paramount importance. Nonetheless, a notable issue persists with the existing…

Snake venom research has historically been predominantly focused on front-fanged species belonging to the Viperidae and Elapidae families. This focus has limited our understanding of the evolution of venom in…

Many animal species live in fluid fission-fusion societies, where the size and composition of conspecific groups change in space and time. To help investigate such phenomena, social network analysis (SNA)…

The time it takes for snakes to undergo their first shedding event after birth or hatching, known as postnatal ecdysis (PNE), it varies widely across species, ranging from as short…

Cryptic diversity has been underestimated, but many examples have been documented in the scientific literature in recent decades. Researchers often highlight the importance of establishing a stable classification and strong…

Snakes of the family Natricidae (or subfamily Natricinae) are cosmopolitan in distribution. They can be terrestrial, aquatic, or fossorial, cryptic, and are often secretive. The genus Opisthotropis (Günther 1872), holds…

A recent paper (Hamidy et al  2023) describes a new homalopsid snake species, Hypsiscopus indonesiensis. The new snake is restricted to Lake Towuti on the island of  Sulawesi. Hypsiscopus indonesiensis…

The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has led a study that achieved chromosome-level assembly for 14 snakes, creating a detailed genomic reference for snake evolution. The research team published their…

More species of lizards and snakes are alive today than any other order of land vertebrates, yet their fossil record has been poorly documented compared with other groups. Paleontologists have…

Within the diversity of reptiles and amphibians, a remarkable group of species has evolved a unique adaptation to navigate their forested habitats easily – the ability to glide or parachute…

The following is an adapted summary of a blog post by Amaël Borzée: Human activities, such as changing landscapes, have resulted in the sixth mass extinction, primarily affecting species with…

Biological specialization refers to the process by which organisms adapt to occupy specific ecological niches, reducing the available niche space and increasing the efficient utilization of resources. This specialization often…

The feeding behavior of kingsnakes preying on rattlesnakes is a well-known example of a predator-prey relationship among snakes. Recently, my neighbor drew my attention to what he believed to be…

The impact of future climate change on global reptile diversity and distributions is a topic of concern. The potential effects on species range, position, and overlap across lizards, snakes, and…

Above. Top. Emerging from the Brazilian milk fruit flower with pollen grains on its back. Bottom. Xenohyla truncata Emerging from the Brazilian milk fruit flower with pollen grains on its…

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, known as Rafetus swinhoei, is a critically endangered species characterized by its unique physical features, such as its deep head with a pig-like snout and…

Studying organism movement patterns can offer valuable insights into species ecology and evolution. Various methods, including radio telemetry, have revealed links between movement patterns and landscape use, antipredator behavior, life…

The following is a post from Florida Politics. Its author is Wes Wolfe. Hunters removed around 18,000 pythons from Florida since 2000. Legislators made the decision and tapped money that…