Eggs and Gender

In one lizard species, egg size helps determine the gender of the hatchling. (Eurekalert)

Biomimicry Fashion

Gecko feet may help design shoes that never wear out, or stilettos with a better grip. (News source.)

New Species

New species described in Zootaxa:

A casque-headed tree frog from Brazil
Two shrub frogs from Sri Lanka
Rediscovery of a toad in Bolivia/Peru
A gecko from the Nicobar Archipelago
A bent-toed gecko from Indonesia
An Atheris viper from Mozambique

Horned Lizards

Tinker Air Force Base, in Oklahoma, protects a population of horned lizards. (News source.)

Herp Crimes

A "double-headed snake" was confiscated from poachers in India. (News source.)

Australian authorities confiscated a pair of leopard geckos. (News source.)

Salmonella Illness in UK

A baby in the UK apparently got salmonella from the pet corn snake or bearded dragon. (News source.)

Villagers Fear Komodos

The increased attacks by Komodo dragons are terrorizing the local villages. (News source.)

Lizard News

Vietnamese farmers are starting "dong" (butterfly lizard) farms, primarily for the food industry. (News source.)

Conservation groups are pressing the Secretary of the Interior to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as an endangered species. (News source.)

Komodos Have Venom Glands

Bryan Fry has confirmed the presence of venom glands in Komodo dragons: "magnetic resonance imagery has for the first time uncovered venom glands containing a shock-inducing poison which increases blood flow and decreases blood pressure. (News source.)

Gallery: Python vs Goanna

Interesting pics of a blackheaded python eating a goanna, here.

From Geckos to Cameras

A gecko's ability to see color at night may be key to the development of next generation cameras or even contact lenses. (News source.)

Hungry Snake

A python is photographed swallowing a lizard in Australia. (News source.)

Lizard Behavior

Female Lake Eyre dragon lizards have an interesting way of turning down amorous and persistent males. (News source.)

Lizard News

A new chameleon has been described from Tanzania. (News source.)

Lizards sunbathe for both warmth and vitamin D regulation. (News source.)

Conservation News

Mountain chicken frogs are being flown from the Caribbean to the UK in order to protect them from fungal disease. (News source.)

Malaysian wildlife officers seized 210 poached monitor lizards. (News source.)

Goanna Threat?

A consultant says the big goannas on Fraser Island (Australia) are a threat to tourists. (News source.)

New Vietnam Species

A new pitviper, lizard, toad, and burrowing snake have been discovered.

Stupid Reptile Laws are Still the Law...

Officials in Milwaukee confiscated a city resident's apparently well-kept collection of boids, monitors, turtles, and a "crocodile." (Not sure if that's an actual croc, or is a gator or caiman.) (News source, and here.)

Tail Loss to Prevent Envenomation

Lizards lose their tails to predators primarily due to the potential for snakes to envenomate them. (News source.)

Iguana Trapper Wanted (Cheap)

Manalapan, Florida, is trying to find a cheaper way to get rid of the invasive iguanas in their town, and still hold to state guidelines. (News source.)

Herps and Culture

Bolivian hunters target a species of tree lizard for tradional medicine. (News source.)

Frogs are an important traditional food source in Madagascar. (News source.)

Diplodactylus

In the Australian genus of geckos, Diplodactylus, one species has been discovered to be eight separate species from genetic research. (News source.)

Lizard Smugglers Caught

Hong Kong Marine Police caught smugglers with 119 lizards. (News source.)

Lizard Behavior

A new study shows that young male lizards in one Australian species pretends to be female to fool older males while they maneuver into position to court females.

Vietnam: Herp Farming

An article with notes on Vietnamese farmers who are turning to lizards ("salamanders") and snakes to bring in income, here.

Herp Farming

A Belarus scientist suggests the country should start breeding edible frogs to help out economically. (News source.)

Gypsies in Karachi, India, breed leopard geckos -- but claim the species is venomous (they've been "trained" for generations to handle them safely) and that they sell them to venom extraction companies. Obviously, that is bunk -- not sure if they're selling them to pet exporters, though. Technically, that would be illegal under India's wildlife laws, from what I've seen... (News source.)

Invasive Lizards in Florida

Another generic news article on introduced populations of lizards in Florida, here.

New Species from Zootaxa

Some new or redescribed herps from Zootaxa:

A new colubrid from the genus Pareas from China.

An earth-snake (Atractus wagleri) from Colombia is redescribed.

From Guyana comes a new genus and species of lizard (Pantepuisaurus rodriguesi).

A new gecko, Gymnodactylus vanzolinii, is described from Brazil.

Two new agamids (Acanthosaura) are described from Malaysia.

A new microteiid was found in Brazil.

New Skink, New Caledonia

Kanakysaurus zebratus is a new species of skink discovered on the northwest coast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia. (Abstract)

Leaping Lizards

Losing a tail to a predator means anoles are at a distinct disadvantage when dropping from a tree. (Eurekalert)

Gila Research Reprieve

NV Dept. of Wildlife officials nearly ruined ongoing research into Nevada's gila monster population, but DoW Commissioners overturned the decision, and the research can continue. (News source.)

Research Woes

Varanid specialist Daniel Bennett returned from field research to find his samples of lizard excrement (2 years into his PhD program) had been accidentally thrown out by lab techs. He went ahead and finished his PhD thesis, but apparently is now suing the university. (News source.)

Bites

An Australian man was bitten by a red-bellied black snake. (News source.)

A young girl in Florida was taken to the hospital for a possible snake bite, but turns out to probably have been an iguana bite. (News source.)

Lizard Cage Fire

The ceramic heat lamp over a lizard cage started a fire in Ontario. (News source.)

Komodo Bite

A 3-year old Komodo dragon at the Virginia Aquarium got a little overeager at feeding time and bit a keeper. (News source.)

Horned Toad Study

Texas biologists are studying the genetics of horned lizards across populations in that state. (News source.)

Herp Legality News

Hard to believe that there are still ignorant herp laws out there, but a 3-foot ball python was recently confiscated from a Sioux City, Iowa, home. (News source.)

On a more positive note, a Delaware county is proposing to allow (small) snakes to be bred by residents. (News source.)

In Malaysia, 2300 monitor lizards were confiscated from poachers. (News source.)

New Galapagos Iguana

The "rosada," a Galapagos land iguana from Isabela, has been designated a new species. (News source.)

Poached Monitors Seized

Malaysian authorities confiscated 600 clouded monitor lizards being smuggled out of the country. (News source.)

Invasive Profile

A profile here on the black spinytail iguanas of Boca Grande.

Gecko Pollination Problem

An invasive ant on the island of Mauritius is disrupting the nectar-feeding habits of a native Phelsuma gecko, which is integral to the pollination cycle of a rare plant. (News source.)

Lizard Research

Robo-lizards help researchers studying the communication of anoles in Puerto Rico. (Eurekalert.)

Researchers are investigating speciation in some isolated Australian desert geckos. (News source.)

Galapagos land iguanas are under threat, as some populations show low genetic diversity. (Eurekalert.)

Herp Legal News

13 geckos were stolen from a North Carolina man's house. Two have been returned, and four people have been arrested. (News source.)

A former Connecticut man is suing police over a $35 fine given (through alleged illegal entry to his home), where they apparently found a 6-7 foot crocodilian or lizard in a tub. The reptile is unidentified (and disappeared after they initially saw it). Probably was just a big monitor. (News source.)

Monitors Saved

Two separate raids by Malaysian officials saved 7,093 clouded monitor lizards from the illegal food trade. Not sure what they did with the lizards... (News source.)

Translocating Geckos

15 Wellington green geckos are being released on the Matiu/Somes Island sanctuary to create a self-sustaining population in a predator-free environment. (News source.)

Skink Conservation

Staff and volunteers at an Ontario conservancy are creating habitat areas for the rare (in that area) five-lined skink. (News source.)

Herp Legality

Officials (in India, I think) seized poached monitor lizards. (News source.)

Indian officials also seized 200 poached tortoises. (News source.)

Malaysian officials seized 10,000 poached turtle eggs. (Well, not poached like that...) (News source.)

A Utah man faces DWR in court over a number of rubber boas that were seized and died in DWR hands. (News source.)

Two New Geckos

Two new geckos have been found in Australia. (News source.)

New Herps

A few new species from the last month at Zootaxa:

Two new Cyrtodactylus geckos from Vietnam.
A new frog (Oreobates) from the Andes of Argentina.
A new lizard (Arthrosaura) from from Brazil/Guyana.
A new frog (Nyctibatrachus) from India.

Legless Lizard Described

The description for a new Brazilian legless lizard has been published in Zootaxa. (News source.)

NZ Zoo Theft

A New Zealand zoo was victim to a smash and grab heist. Two day geckos and two bearded dragons were stolen. (News source.)

OOP Iguana

Just an interesting lost iguana story from Mississippi. (News source.)

Herp Conservation News

Weather conditions this year were beneficial for the successful breeding of the endangered Mississippi gopher frog. (News source.)

Thailand wildlife officers seized 200 monitor lizards being smuggled out to the illegal food markets. (News source.)

North Carolina bought 40 acres to preserve as bog turtle habitat. (News source.)

Iguana Hunters: The Strictly Controversy

An article here detailing how Strictly Reptiles obtains iguanas and more from the burgeoning invasive population in Florida, and how state regulations might affect that. (News source.)

Sandfish Swimming

Interesting findings on how a sandfish actually "swims" through sand. (Eurekalert.)

New Herps from Zootaxa, September 2008

The papers aren't accessible (subscription required), but you can view the pdf abstracts.

1) A new frog, Adelophryne patamona, is described from Guyana.
2) A new skink, Oligosoma pikitanga, is described from New Zealand.
3) A new lizard, Bachia oxyrhina, is described from Brazil.
4) A new gecko, Cnemaspis biocellata, is described from Thailand/Malaysia.
5) A new lizard, Scriptosaura catimbau, is described from Brazil.
6) A new lizard, Leptodactylus cupreus, is described from Brazil.

Also, chromosomal analysis of some frogs (Pristimantis spp.) from Brazil suggests an undescribed species. And, there's a paper on foam-generating tadpoles.

Horned Lizard Tactics

Horned lizards that specialize on harvester ants (with strong mandibles and stings) have specialized mucus-producing tissue in their throat, which allows them to quickly coat and swallow the noxious insects. (News source.)

Smuggler Arrest

Three Japanese men were arrested in Australia for trying to smuggle out a couple of lizards. (News source.)

Lizard Pathogens

A newly discovered bacteria that causes dermatitis in desert lizards could be a serious threat to wild populations if captive breeding programs are not careful. (News source.)

New Iguana from Fiji

The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B has published the description of a new species of iguana (Brachylophus bulabula) from Ovalau Island, Fiji. (News source.)

Chasing Wall Lizards

An article here on an annual wall lizard hunt in Topeka, Kansas. (The lizards are an introduced species.)

Tegus in Florida

A tegu has been captured in Manatee County, FL, and others have been sighted. A new invasion? (News source.)

Lizard Meat Sold As Croc

Six Hong Kong businessmen were fined for selling lizard and snake meat as crocodile meat. (News source.)

Lizard Sundials

Some Jamaican anoles mark dusk and dawn with visual displays to mark their territory. (Eurekalert.)

Fossil Gecko

A gecko in amber shows the lamellae, or sticky toe-hairs, found in many modern geckos. (News source.)

Lizard News

Islanders are upset that Conservancy control of the Komodo National Park has created situations that endanger the locals. (News source.)

Geckos rely on their tails for mobility. (News source.)

Iguana Hunting

A Miami paper followed a 20-year old woman who went out to hunt an iguana with a compound bow, intending to cook it. She probably should have practiced a bit more... Maybe found someplace a bit out of the way rather than a university campus... that sort of thing. (News source.)

Cincinnati Lizard Study

A professor and grad student are studying the genetics of the introduced Italian wall lizards in Cincinnati, Ohio. (News source.)

Invasive Basilisks

An article here on the brown basilisks introduced into Cape Coral.

New Species from Vietnam

Two new geckos and a pit viper have been discovered in Vietnam. (News source.)

Gecko Endangered

There are concerns in India about the future of the banded ground gecko. (News source.)

Live Fast, Die Young

An unusual species of Madagascar chameleon, Furcifer labordi, lives only 4 to 5 months after hatching. (Eurekalert)

NZ Skink Recovery

Endangered skinks in New Zealand are rebounding due to captive breeding and predator control. (News source.)

Lizard Study

Info on a study of collared and long-nosed leopard lizards in Colorado here...

Iguanas vs Boca

Boca Raton is trying to get FL F&W to add iguanas to the restricted "reptiles of concern" list. (News source.)

Tenarife Trouble

A mudslide and subsequent rockfall may have killed a number of giant lizards on El Hierro. (News source.)

Bipedal Lizards

A study here shows that bipedalism in lizards is based on the reptile shifting its center of gravity during acceleration...

Spiny-Tails

The introduced black spiny-tail iguanas in southern Florida are getting smaller, and harder to catch. (News source.)

Naming Rights

A 10-year old New Jersey girl won a contest to name a new species of gecko from New Caledonia. (News source.)

New Gecko Family

Based on genetic sequencing (rather than the standard foot morphology), researchers have created a new family of geckos. (News source.)

Gecko Smuggling Attempt

Australian officials confiscated a package of geckos that was being sent to the Czech Republic. (News source.)

Vietnam Smuggling

Vietnam officials intercepted a ton of live monitor lizards headed for China. (News source.)

Power Outage

20,000 South Florida homes lost power after an iguana got fried by high-voltage equipment. (News source.)

Iguana Crime

Six endangered blue iguanas were killed at a captive-breeding center in the Cayman Islands. The animals were stomped and mutilated, and police are investigating. (News source.)

Whiptail Profile

A nature columnist in Colorado ponders the whiptail lizard. (News source.)

Lizard Saved From Fish

A fisherman in Australia caught a fish which regurgitated its last meal, a small skink. Though the tail was partially digested, the lizard resuscitated and went on its way. (News source.)

New Gecko

A new species is being described in the news as the largest gecko yet found in India, at 250 mm. (I'm a bit leery of this claim; the Tokay gecko, for example, is found in northern India, and can surpass that length in at least parts of its wide range.) The new species has been named Hemidactylus aaronbaueri, after lizard expert Dr. Aaron Bauer of Villanova. (Dr. Bauer, of course, should be a familiar name, as he has written on the cryptozoological giant gecko and other unusual cases.) The lizard was first photographed two years ago, and the photos forwarded to the Bombay Natural History Society for identification, where they realized it was a new species. Since then, about 20 more have been found on rocky cliffs in north west Ghats. (News source.)

Gomeran Skink Described

Genetic research shows that the skink on La Gomera (Canary Islands) is an endemic species, not just a subspecies. (News source.)

Lizard Smuggling

3000 chameleons and 350 other lizards were confiscated from two men at a Yemen airport. (News source.)

Invasive Lizards

Southeast Asian skinks are spreading through Taiwan, outcompeting the native lizards. (News source.)

Rapid Changes in Podarcis

The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, was introduced to a small island in the Adriatic in 1971, and show a variety of significant changes in the current population. (News source.)

New Reptiles

A few new species of snakes and lizards described in the last couple months:

A pitviper from Hon Son Island in Vietnam, Cryptelytrops honsonensis. (Zootaxa)
A xenodermatid snake from Vietnam, Fimbrios smithi. (Zootaxa)
A night-lizard from Mexico, Lepidophyma cuicateca. (Zootaxa)
Two geckos from southern Vietnam, Cyrtodactylus takouensis and Cyrtodactylus huynhi. (Zootaxa)
A gecko from Borneo in the genus Luperosaurus. (Zootaxa)
A gecko from Cuba, Tarentola crombiei. (Zootaxa)
A gecko from Thailand, Gekko nutaphandi. (Zootaxa)

Komodo Research

Research on Komodo dragon skulls shows that while the bite force is low and the skull is comparatively lightweight, but sharp teeth and unique biting methods driven by strong neck musculature make for an effective predator. (Eurekalert.)

Gila Bite Update

Here is an update on the New Mexico zookeeper bitten by a Gila monster.

More Venomous Bites

A New Mexico zookeeper was bitten by a Gila monster. (News source.)

An Orissa, India, folk dancer died when he was bitten by the cobra he was dancing with. (News source.)

Smuggled in Books

A couple of packages intercepted in the mail from Australia to the Czech Republic turned out to hold hollowed-out books with native Australian geckos. (News source.)

Smuggling Beardies

A Dutch passenger was caught trying to smuggle 16 small bearded dragons through an airport in Spain. No word on where they came from. (News source.)

Lizards Saved

Malaysian wildlife officers rescued 222 endangered monitor lizards poached for the meat trade. (News source.)

Two-Headed Beardie

A NC bearded dragon breeder hatched out a two-headed lizard... (News source.)

Cayman Iguana Mystery

A mystery Grand Cayman blue iguana was found in George Town. It is untagged and believed too big to be from reintroduction efforts; it may represent the original population, unseen for 60 years. Or it may be a released illegal captive... Research is ongoing. (News source.)