Greetings!

It’s been awhile since you’ve seen these mostly because I’m trying to improve their looks and delivery. That means that I have to learn new stuff, which is not easy for me, but it has also lead me to rethink some of the things I do. For instance, I’m working toward a positive op-in feature so you will need to tell me you want these before I continue to send them. From my readings, that’s the most polite way to send these out, but until that comes into being, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BOTHER DELETING THESE FROM YOUR MAILBOX, don’t. I’ll do it for you. Hit reply. Type “I hate these”, or nothing, and they’ll go away, honest.

The Midwest Herpetological Symposium in St. Louis, scheduled to begin on OCT 22, has been canceled due to lack of registrants. I suppose nobody has money to travel.

Snake Day at the Milwaukee Public Museum is NOV 6. The museum is worth the trip, but we’ll be there with live animals that day. The museum is also featuring Frogs: a Chorus of Colors. And on NOV 21, Dr. Kevin Zippel, program director for Amphibian Ark, will lecture on the amphibian extinction crisis.

Photo by Jim Rowan.
The first annual Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group Conference will be held at the Mesa Marriott (which I think is in Phoenix) NOV 18,19.

The Illinois Natural History Survey is posting online keys to Illinois species, starting with reptiles and amphibians. So you can tell that broadhead from a five-lined skink.



Well, you thought you knew about the link between alga and some salamanders, but did you know it went this far? No you didn't, because this was just published. Thanks to Mike Dloogatch for sending this to me.

I often don't remember how I stumble across some of these. This is an old piece from 2006 on NPR, but it's still funny and a warning to all of you would-be toad lickers out there.

Sometimes it seems as though there is only bad news. First frogs, now snakes in decline. From the BBC with links. Mike Dloogatch sent this one also.

How about a blog with a series on toads? Here's the first. I think that it's interesting. This is found on the Tetrapod Zoology blog, another of my favorites.


Some species of snakes may benefit from fragmented forests. Some probably don't. Still an interesting article. Link to original paper.

I looked and this was the best version of these MRIs I could find, and I have no idea why they’re on this website. Nevertheless…awesome.

It’s an article from the Onion. You know it’s funny. If only it weren’t so true.



Below a winner in a National Geographic photo contest. Patience…

Why do the British get all the really good nature shows on TV, such as the one written about in this article. I want to be able to view these!

That's all for this time. I keep hoping that these will get better. Remember that all members are invited to the board meetings. The next is OCT 15 at the central Schaumburg Township District Library. Get involved! Have fun! Vote in the upcoming elections (all of them)!

John Archer
President
Chicago Herpetological Society
president@chicagoherp.org