Tuataras and UV

Tuataras need UV for healthy bone growth and stability. (News source, and here.)

Not really news for herpetoculturists, but apparently the media isn't quite up to speed.

Toad News

An Australian man has searched East Timor for rumored cane toads, and only found Asian toads. (News source.)

Cane toad "sausages" are being made in Queensland, and laced with harmless but noxious chemicals, to feed to quolls, in the hope that they don't try to eat live toads. (News source.)

Toad survival traits are making the news after a recent study.

Frog News

Some video and notes on how Tungara frogs whip up their frothy nests, here.

A PNG frog undergoes a significant ontogenetic color change. (News source.)

An endangered frog's eggs are being frozen for conservation purposes. (News source.)

Reptile Biology Notes

Research on alligator respiration suggests they "breathe like birds." (News source.)

The "tentacles" on a tentacled snake are very sensitive to the touch, allowing the snake to find prey in murky water. (News source.)

Salamander News

Sonoma County, CA, is the center of a heated exchange over setting land aside for protection of the California tiger salamander. (News source.)

The Jefferson salamander is getting political in Guelph (Ontario). (News source.)

Axolotls can regenerate lung tissue. (News source.)

Some Frog News

The first protein-based toxin in an amphibian has been discovered, in a treefrog. Most amphibian toxins are obtained from other sources like prey. (News source.)

An interesting photo gallery of treefrogs from Vietnam, here.

Mountain chicken frog tadpoles have some very strange cannibalistic behavior. (News source.)

A new Costa Rica treefrog shows distinctive coloration differences between adults and juveniles, and between genders. (News source.)

Titanoboa Speculation

A researcher thinks the fossil giant snake could have kept itself warm even in a cooler climate than originally speculated. (News source.)

Lizard Locomotion

Researchers have now shown that neon blue tailed tree lizards (Holaspis guentheri) actually do glide when leaping from trees, because of their light weight, which makes their Mass to Surface Area ratio the same as that of the gliding gecko. (Eurekalert.)

Sandfish (a desert lizard) swim like snakes through the sand. (Eurekalert.)

Rip Van Frog

Researchers are investigating how some burrowing frogs can sleep in mud for months or years. (News source.)

Alabama Coral Snake

A coral snake was found in central Alabama for the first time in 40 years. (News source.)

Amphibian News

Frog deformations may be the result of dragonfly nymphs, according to some researchers. (News source.)

A pic here of a recently discovered transparent frog in Ecuador.

A fish-surfing frog photographed in the UK, here.

Axolotls are being studied for limb regeneration research. (News source.)

Tentacled Snakes

An interesting study here on how tentacled snakes capture prey.

Other Turtle News

Ravens are on a hit list for killing endangered desert tortoises. (News source.)

A device for fishing nets that might protect sea turtles better is not enthusiastically welcomed by fishermen. (News source.)

Researchers found a leatherback sea turtle tagged in Nova Scotia has turned up in Colombia waters. (News source.)

Elephant Dung as Microhabitat

Three species of frogs in Sri Lanka have been reported taking advantage of elephant dung as a temporary home. (News source.)

How Snakes Slither

It's all in the scales, according to this report.

Eggs and Gender

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

Weird Frog

An Indian man found a frog that changes color from white to yellow. (News source.)

Leatherbacks

An article on these sea turtles, here.

Lizard News

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

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

Amphibian News

An environmental group thought they were helping salamanders that migrated across a Massachusetts road, by removing a long tube laid next to a new road. Turns out it was stopping silt from running into an important vernal pond. Actually, sounds like the group doesn't know that much about salamanders if they think a small tube is going to prevent them from moving across a road... The town wants the environmental group to pay for repairs. (News source.)

And, a profile here on a Maryland herpetoculturist who specializes in dart frogs.