Vietnam Turtle Controversial

A Vietnamese biologist contends that recent reports of the rediscovery of Rafetus swinhoei in the wild (by US zoo researchers) is not conclusive, and better evidence needs to be offered -- not just a picture. (News source.)

Zoo Rediscovers Turtle

From the announcement:

"Cleveland Metroparks Zoo today announced the discovery of a critically endangered turtle in northern Vietnam that previously was thought to be extinct in the wild. Experts from the Zoo's Asian Turtle Program confirmed they have identified the only known living specimen of a Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) in nature.
"After three years of searching, Zoo-sponsored researchers focused on a lake just west of Hanoi after residents reported spotting the gigantic turtle there. Field biologists, along with Education for Nature in Vietnam, found and photographed the turtle, allowing scientists to verify it was the rare Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle, which is considered a national treasure in Vietnam."

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.)

Herpetologist Profile

Here's a profile on herpetologist L. Lee Grismer.

Lungless Frog

A rare aquatic frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis, from Borneo has been confirmed as the only known (so far) lungless frog. The frog "lives in cold, fast-flowing water, they noted, so loss of lungs might be an adaptation to a combination of factors: a higher oxygen environment, the species’s presumed low metabolic rate, severe flattening of their bodies that increases the surface area of their skin, and selection for negative buoyancy—meaning that the frogs would rather sink than float." (Eurekalert)

How Fungus Kills Frogs

Recent research shows how, exactly, frogs are killed when infected with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus.

Gecko Tails

Research on house gecko tails shows some interesting new functions, including helping the lizard stabilize while running on slippery surfaces. (News source.)

Rattler Expert

Here's a profile on Bruce Means, a rattlesnake biologist.

Gator News

Shifting lungs allows alligators to be agile and quick underwater. (News source.)

Two suspects in the vandalism at St. Augustine Alligator Farm have been caught. (News source.)

Toads vs Cancer

Australian scientists are investigating toad toxins for anti-cancer purposes. (News source.)

Frogs Against Diabetes

The South American paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa) has compounds in its skin that may help medical researchers in the fight against diabetes. (News source.)

Arafura Filesnake

You can listen to an mp3 about the unusual characteristics of the Arafura filesnake. (News source.)

Gharial Investigation Continues

Live gharials are been captured and tested to acquire baseline data, so that researchers can figure out what's killing the species in India. (News source.)

"Post mortem analysis of dead Gharials found ulcerated lesions in the stomach and some inflammation in the intestine. Absence of external injuries rules out accidental death or poaching. Toxicological and pathological examination of the organs of the dead gharials by the IVRI, Bareilly, and ITRC, Lucknow found lead concentrations between 0.7-1.4 ppm. Liver and kidney tissues indicate degenerative changes. Presence of various stages of protozoan parasite was also detected. Autopsies conducted on 4 dead gharials on 27th January, 2008 revealed significant gout – both visceral and articulate. Even the feet and tail joints had uric acid deposits. Gout is indicative of kidney failure as a result of toxic poisoning or disease. However, the gharials seemed in good health condition with fat deposits."

Nine Days of Labour

A lizard, the skink Egernia whitii, will, under warm light conditions, spread the births of its live young over a period of up to nine days. Under reduced light conditions, the births happen quicker, so that the offspring can take advantage of the light as soon as possible. (News source.)

Gecko Adhesive

University of California, Berkeley, engineers have designed a gecko-foot mimicking adhesive that is very strong but easy to separate. 42 million tiny hard plastic microfibrils are found on a single square centimeter. It takes hold when it slides down a smooth surface, rather than being pressed against. Two square centimeters can hold .88 lbs. (News source.)

No Camouflage for Chameleons

New research proposes that the color changing in chameleons is strictly for mating displays, and has no camouflaging purpose. (News source.)

Leatherback Journey

A leatherback sea turtle has been tracked on the longest confirmed ocean migration, 12,774 miles before the signal was lost. It was tracked by satellite as part of a project to learn more about the species' ocean movements. (News source.)

New Anoles

A 2006 expedition to Serrania de Tabasara, in the Panamanian highlands, found four new anole species. The expedition found a new salamander and two more new anoles closer to to Costa Rica in the western highlands of Cordillera Central. (News source.)

NY Massasaugas

A study on a colony of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes in New York, near Syracuse, shows that the population is stable. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Deaths in 2007

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network notes that sea turtle deaths increased in some zones along the Florida coast in 2007, mostly due to red tide. (News source.)

Nutrient Pollution Drives Parasitic Infections

Amphibian deformities derived from parasitic infections are driven by nutrient pollution (increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus), according to a new study. The nutrients cause algal blooms, which increase the number of snails, which release more parasitic trematodes, which form cysts in amphibians, causing developmental anomalies. (News source.)

Gecko Stickiness Research

Research continues into the adhesive properties of gecko feet... (Eurekalert.)

Rattler with Elapid-like Toxin Elements

Sequencing of the venom of a western massasauga brought a few interesting aspects to light. "A cocktail of recognized venom toxin sequences was detected in the library, but the venom also contained three-finger toxin-like transcripts, a family of poisons thought only to occur in another family of snakes (Elapidae). The team also spotted a novel toxin-like transcript generated by the fusion of two individual toxin genes..." (Eurekalert.)

Alligators & Anti-Scarring

An anti-scar drug is being developed based on research on alligator embryos, where researchers found transforming growth factor beta-3. (News source.)

Elephants and Frogs

A study at Kruger National Park is looking at the effect elephants have on frog populations. (News source.)

Snake Conference

The Snakes of the Northeast Conference is currently taking place at University of Massachusetts - Amherst. (News source.)

Salamander Study

Here's a study on plethodontids showing that the single known Asian species is descended from North American ancestors.

Tree Frog Study

Some UK researchers are investigating the skin properties of tree frogs that bask in the sun. (News source.)

New Pit Viper?

A three-member team in India appears to have discovered a new species of viper in Arunachal Pradesh. Genetic testing is in progress. (News source.)

Amphibian Breeding Strategies

A researcher is suggesting that alternative breeding strategies by amphibians are an attempt to avoid parasites, etc. From the Eurekalert:

"Brian Todd, a researcher at the UGA Odum School of Ecology Savannah River Ecology Lab, explains that most amphibians start their lives in water (tadpoles are a good example), and then make their way onto land as adults and return to the water to breed. But there are other breeding strategies as well. Take, for instance, the Darwin’s frog, the species that swallows its eggs and, a few weeks later, regurgitates its young. Or the marsupial frog, a species that carries its eggs on its back until they hatch. Several species lay eggs in small puddles on land or high up in trees where they hatch as miniature versions of adults, bypassing the larval stage entirely.
"Researchers have hypothesized that natural selection favored these non-traditional breeding strategies as a way to avoid predatory fish or the risk of a breeding pond or stream drying up. In a review article published in the November issue of The American Naturalist, Todd argues that the diversity of reproductive strategies that amphibians employ might also be influenced by the benefits that come from avoiding viruses, fungi and other parasites."

Botanic Gardens & Deadly Snakes

Rangers are microchipping the eastern brown snakes that roam in the Australian National Botanic Gardens. (News source.)

Newt Regeneration

Research into the regeneration of amputated newt limbs points to a specific protein that supports the cellular growth. (News source.)

Frog Fungus Cure

New Zealand scientists have discovered that chytrid-infested frogs dipped in Chloramphenicol (currently a human eye medication) are cured, and become resistant to the disease. (News source.)

Aussie Govt. vs Toads

There are claims by FrogWatch (shouldn't that be ToadWatch?) that the government in Australia is not doing enough to help stop the spread of invasive cane toads. (News source)

Fighting Cane Toads

Australian researchers are looking at another weapon against the invasive cane toads: spinal disease. (News source.)

Croc Farm Research

Researchers at the Darwin Crocodile Farm are analyzing 500 genetic markers to find traits for fast growth and quality skins, which would allow juveniles to be tested for potential selective breeding projects. (News source.)

Tree Frog Tape

Indian researchers have created a new sticky tape based on the toepads of a treefrog. The tiny channel-filled patterns allow the tape to be unstuck and reused, while being up to 30 times stickier than conventional tape. (News source.)

Toad Genome

Australian scientists are working on a cane toad genome program, to identify the invasive species' weaknesses. (News source.)

Lizards Listen to Birds

Galapagos iguanas keep an ear out for alarm calls by the islands' mockingbirds, warning of predatory hawks. (News source.)

Serpentarium Profile

A short profile of George Van Horn's Reptile World Serpentarium here.

Crocodile Tears

Turns out that, rather than being a myth, many crocodilians do "tear up" while eating their food, possibly due to air moving into their sinuses while "huffing" as they tear into a meal, stimulating the tear glands. (News source.)

Lizards Play Rock-Paper-Scissors

The "rock-paper-scissors" competition of mating strategies known among side-blotched lizards in North America has also been found in the European common lizard (Lacerta vivipara). From the Eurekalert:

"A quick look at their undersides reveals the strategy: males who sport orange bellies are brutes who invade other lizards' territories to mate with any female they can catch. But while they're gone, drab yellow-bellied males slink onto the vacant territory and mate with unguarded females. White-bellied males guard their mates closely, and cooperate with other white-bellied lizards to keep the yellows at bay. Hence the analogy to rock-paper-scissors: force (orange) defeats cooperation (white), cooperation defeats deception (yellow), and deception defeats force." ...

"The cycle goes like this: one color type--orange, for example--is common in a patch of habitat for a year or two. During that time, the orange bullies spend their time attacking white-bellied lizards on nearby territories. The effort leaves females on their own territories unguarded, allowing yellow-bellied lizards to sneak in and sire offspring. So yellow males become prevalent for the next year or two. After that, white-bellied lizards proliferate as they team up to protect their mates from yellows' intrusions. But once the white-bellied males become numerous, they're easy pickings for the remaining orange-bellied males, who regain superior numbers as the cycle starts again."

Transparent Frogs

Japanese researchers have developed a strain of Rana japonica with pale transparent skin, allowing the organs to be seen as the frogs develop from tadpoles. (News source.)

Home-Loving Crocodiles

Three saltwater crocodiles that were tagged with satellite trasmitters and relocated from 52 to 130 km from their home, managed to find their way back. (News source.)

Treefrog Rediscovered

UK zoologist Andrew Gray has rediscovered a small nocturnal treefrog, Isthomhyla rivularis, in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, in Costa Rica. The frog hasn't been seen since the 1980s. (News source.)

Frog Malformations

The nutrients from farm runoff trigger a cascading series of events in the local ecology that increases frog deformities, according to a recent study. (News source.)

Loggerhead Decline

A 5-year status report on endangered loggerhead sea turtles reaching the shore of North America shows that the species is starting to decline again, after a period of rising numbers. (News source.)

Salamander Hybridization

A California study of the hybridization between native California tiger salamanders and introduced barred tiger salamanders shows that the hybrids have "remarkable vigor." The researchers predict that eventually all California tiger salamanders will have some barred ancestry, which raises issues for conservationists. (News source.)

Hellbender Study

Dr. Peter Petokas has tagged more than 400 eastern hellbenders for his research over the last several years. (News source.)

Snakes & Floods

A researcher found that larger snakes survive better during major flooding, and that habitat islands could be created to provide shelter for smaller species during natural disasters. (News source.)

Conference

Venom researchers from around the world will be at a conference in Tucson, Arizona, called Venom Week 2007. (News source.)

Copperheads

Arkansas researchers are puzzled by the lax appearance of copperheads in the Ozark hills. (News source.)

Illinois Mud Turtles

Illinois researchers are trying to determine how many yellow mud turtles are still to be found in that state. (News source.)

Mambas Tagged

Mambas are being microchipped at Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency in South Africa, to study their movement and interaction with humans. (News source.)

Hungry Salamanders

Research shows that some spotted salamander larvae bulk up as quickly as possible in order to outgrow predatory marbled salamanders. (News source.)

Teflon Frog Antibiotics

A nonstick version of antibiotics found naturally in frog skins may be more effective at fighting bacteria. (News source.)

Shenandoah Salamanders

The federally protected Shenandoah salamander is found only in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, and is now being surveyed by a Smithsonian biologist. (News source)

Roadkill Reptiles

Reptile roadkill isn't just accidental, unfortunately. A study recently published in the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife shows that 2.7% of drivers intentionally go out of their way to hit snakes and turtles. (News source.)

Indiana Timbers

Purdue University researchers are tracking timber rattlesnakes... (