Keep up with news and features of interest to the reptile and amphibian community on the kingsnake.com blog. We cover breaking stories from the mainstream and scientific media, user-submitted photos and videos, and feature articles and photos by Jeff Barringer, Richard Bartlett, and other herpetologists and herpetoculturists.
This rundown of snake fact and fiction may change some minds about the reptiles.
From Live Science:
Snakes play important roles in ecosystems, but they also terrify some people. That fear has led to many myths about snake behavior.
To get to the bottom of some of the assumptions about snakes in the United States and separate fact from fiction, Live Science talked to several snake experts. Here are some commonly held beliefs about snakes and whether they're true or false.
The Northern Leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) is an fairly widespread US Native species that get a spotlight in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Terry_Cox!
Python! A snake that everyone is aware of because they are found on every continent of earth except Antarctica.
India has three species of pythons that are famous across the world: The reticulated python, the Burmese python, and the most common in India, the Indian rock python, Python molurus molurus. This is a snake that averages 13-16 feet in length, with a maximum of 25 feet. The body has dark brown blotches on a grey, off-white, or pale brown body, with an arrow-shaped incomplete mark on the head.
On a recent trip, our herping destination was Wayanad, a district in Kerala famous for a tea plantation. At around 8 in morning, our teacher, Iqbal Sheikh, my friend Axy, and I were heading toward the forest in our car. Suddenly we saw a crowd of tea farmers gathered on the edge of the road.
After some enquiry, our driver told us there was a big snake in the field, and the farmers were damn scared to enter it. After hearing the word "snake," the three of us jumped out and entered the farm. I heard my driver saying that it’s a big snake, so I was desperately expecting a king cobra. When I saw the snake, however, it was a 10-foot Indian rock python.
It wasn’t an easy task to catch this fellow, but somehow we managed it. After coming out of the farm with the big guy in hand, everyone from the crowd gave us a big round of applause. The farmers also gave us fresh tea bags.
It was a great achievement for us. The python was a good natured fellow, which made our task easy.
Citizen scientists are helping researchers learn what rising temperatures mean for Joshua Tree National Park.
From USA Today:
Stortroen, an 82-year-old retired insurance claim center manager from St. Paul, Minn., has joined research outings in places ranging from Australia to South Africa. This was his first time assisting scientists in the Mojave Desert.
"I enjoy the teamwork. I enjoy working with nature," he said, pausing beside boulders while the group took a break and pulled out their water bottles.
Stortroen was one of 15 Earthwatch volunteers — American, British and Canadian — who helped with the research earlier this month in Joshua Tree National Park. The volunteers split up with park biologists and UC scientists to conduct surveys of plants, count birds and record the numbers of lizards and other reptiles.
The simple shot of a tree frog in a field of green is hard to beat! We hope you enjoy this shot of a Pseudacris regilla in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user emvee!
Our Herp Video of the Week is a sneak peek in how professionals extract venom! This flashback video shows the extraction of a king cobra by our friends down at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. The venom is then used for cancer research.
Submit your own reptile & amphibian videos at http://www.kingsnake.com/video/ and you could see them featured here or check out all the videos submitted by other users!
kingsnake.com staffers Jeff Barringer and Leiren McKenzie (and kingsnake.com's Zombiehunter snake hunting truck) will be in San Antonio for this year's International Herp Symposum down at the city's famous Riverwalk, May 27 through 30.
This year's event is notable for its distinct "Texas" flavor, both in location and topics, with a variety of talks and lectures by Texas herpers and herpetofauna, including Texas Parks and Wildlife's Andy Glusenkamp, discussing citizen science in the Lone Star state with the iNaturalist project as well as others.
The symposium, an annual event now in its 38th year, is hosted in a different city every year, and draws herpetologists and herpetoculturists from around the world to discuss a variety of herpetological topics, from captive care and husbandry, to species management and conservation efforts in the wild. The event includes a field trip to the San Antonio Zoo with a VIP "Behind the Scenes" tour of their noted Reptile House, which includes Komodo Dragons among the many species it works with, as well as an optional banquet followed by a live auction. Many guests also plan to make informal field trips to chase reptiles and amphibians through the desert thornscrub.
Registration for the symposium, held at the Hilton Palacio del Rio San Antonio River Walk Hotel, is still open, however the IHS room block is almost full, so you will need to hurry to take advantage of the special room rates offered for this event. For a full breakdown of this years schedule, speakers, and topics, and to register for the event or reserve a room, make sure to check out the IHS web site at http://internationalherpetologicalsymposium.com .
If you plan on sneaking away to go herping, please remember to follow the laws and regulations, and make sure to have the proper licenses and permits. For Texas residents that means a standard hunting license and a Reptile & Amphibian Stamp. Non-residents can go herping with a Non-resident 5-Day Special Hunting License and Reptile & Amphibian stamp. For questions regarding the Reptile & Amphibian stamp, and it's rules and regulations take a look at TP& W's Amphibian and Reptile FAQ at https://tpwd.texas.gov/faq/huntwild/amphibian_reptile_stamp.phtml
The red sand boas (Eryxx johnii) are the most common species of boas found in India after common sand boas.
These snakes are also found in many other African and American countries, and there they are known as rubber boas. I would like to call this snake an ‘alien’ snake because it looks like a snake from a different planet.
The head and the tail of this snake look very simila,r and I’m sure it would be very difficult for the average person to differentiate between the head and the tail of this snake. When the predator attacks this snake, the snake coils up and hides its head under the body and displays its tail so that the predator gets confused and attack its tail instead of head.
Red sand boas have a thick body and the tail is short and blunt. Adult sand boas are brown, sometimes with black or brown blotches or bands. The underside is brown or brownish white and the young ones are reddish-brown with black bands that disappear as the snake grows.
There are many superstitions in India regarding this snake. It is said that these snakes are used in black magic and they have the power to shower money. Many times there have been articles in the newspapers regarding this case.
I am always attracted to this snake because of its out of the world appearance, and it always joyful for me to have this ‘alien’ in my hands.
Take time this weekend to get your feet in the grass. Follow the lead of this tegu in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user Tristen!
Amphibian migration season is a little late this year, so if you're driving in New England be careful.
From Newser:
Northern New England's annual amphibian migration is always perilous, but critters that cross roads to breed are facing an additional challenge this year: a delayed start after the long winter. Every spring, several species of salamanders and frogs travel to vernal pools —temporary bodies of water created by melted snow—to mate and lay eggs, and the resulting offspring need several months to develop and grow legs before the pools dry up in summer. Wildlife officials say the migration is running a week or two behind this year, cutting into that critical development time. That could affect millions of animals across Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, says Eric Orff, a wildlife biologist with the National Wildlife Federation.
It was in the 1980s when I first made a concerted effort to see a flattened musk turtle, Sternotherus depressus.
My interest had been piqued by the news that a single almost white example was in the live collection at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In those long ago days, except to differentiate leucism from albinism, we didn't differentiate between the various causes of inhibited pigmentation. Since the little turtle did not have the dark eyes associated with leucism, I then and still do refer to the turtle as an albino.
I was happy to have seen the captive specimens at the university, but it was not until just a few years ago that I took the time to look them up in the wild. Since they are a federally endangered turtle species, I thought that they would be difficult to find. This was not at all the case.
After arriving at 2:00PM on a sunny spring afternoon and making my way down a considerable slope and through painful tangles of cat briar, I reached the river's edge. Within 5 minutes I had seen my first couple of depressus. They were in deep water and I wasn't able to photograph them.
But in just another few minutes I had found another near the shoreline and a fourth in a small disjunct pool. Photos were taken.
A boy in India caused a stir by catching the snake that bit him and taking it to the hospital.
From DNA India:
"Sandesh was well informed about the dangers of a snakebite. He very well knew sleeping causes venom to spread rapidly all over the body and hence he did not sleep," Nayak said. Sumalatha said the snake was not poisonous, but had caused a deep wound around the boy's knees. "On giving necessary treatment, we found out the boy was not bitten by poisonous snake, but it had caused deep wound around his knee.
As he responded to the treatment quickly, Sandesh was discharged from the hospital after he recovered fully, the doctor said. The boy, on his arrival to the hospital, refused to set the snake free from his bag, but after the treatment it was released into a nearby forest, the boy's father said.
A less common, but no less interesting anole, the Escambray bearded anole (Anolis chamaeleolis guamuhaya) takes the spotlight in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user chrisred!
Have you ever really considered the mechanics of how snakes climb trees?
From the Daily Mail:
Moving quickly, the top half of the snake ascends the trunk, while the bottom half of it stays coiled lower down.
Wrapping its top half around the tree, the snake then brings the rest of its body up to where its head is and begins tightly coiling itself around the trunk once more.
Once entirely wrapped around the middle section of the tree, the snake again lifts its head and ascends vertically a metre or so.
Although they have a superficial resemblance to the eastern glass lizards, the western genus Anniella, is contained in the family Anniellidae. Until very recently the genus was comprised of only 2 species, one in California and northern Baja and a second endemic to Baja California. Initially, based on coloration, the American species, Anniella pulchra, was thought to have 2 subspecies. A. p. pulchra, the California legless lizard, occurred over most of range with the black legless lizard, A. p. nigra replacing it in the Monterrey Bay and peninsula region. Examples intermediate between the California and the black in coloration were found elsewhere south of the range of the black examples.
The subspecies concept had fallen into disfavor with geneticists, so for a while, no matter its color or where within its range it occurred, the California legless lizard was considered a single entity.
However, genetics, now in vogue, eventually came into play and within the single species researchers determined that there were 5 clades. A "clade" is a group consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants, a single "branch" on the "tree of life," and that ancestor may be an individual, a population or even a species whether or not still extant. Researchers hypothesized that there were now 6 full species contained in what was until their assessment a single species.
So add now to the still extant A. pulchra, the hypothetical species A. stebbinsi, A. alexanderae, A. campi, A. grinnelli, and A. stebbinsi.
And we still have to add A. geronimensis, from south of the border.
As 2 friends have told me, these and similar recent hypotheses by other researchers seem to be solutions to problems not yet asked. Believe me, the solution to the non-problem regarding the legless lizards does not stand alone.
These lizards, no matter their name, are accomplished burrowers. Besides making their own burrows when substrate is of the proper consistency, they may seek seclusion beneath surface debris or may enter and follow a burrow premade by a small rodent or large insect.
Most that I have found have been only a half inch or so beneath the surface or beneath boards atop a yielding sand substrate or in shallow seaside burrows.
The common trinket snake, Coelognathus helena helena, was the first snake I ever touched in my life. This snake was the one to create a strong impact on my mind to conserve and protect these beautiful creatures. Apart from me, it has helped many other people to remove their fear of snakes -- which makes sense, as these snakes are very shy and avoid biting.
In India, you can find nine species of trinkets, and the common trinket is the most commonly found of all. These are the most common snakes found in my area, and they prefer staying near humans.
Common trinkets are light brown in color and have a slender body with dark brown or dark grey bands on forebody and stripes on the hind body. The average size of an adult trinket is 4 feet, and it is oviparous by nature.
It was an experience I can’t define in words,was the best feeling which I ever had in my life, when handling a snake the first time. I’m very affectionate toward trinkets to this day because they helped me become "what I am today."
I would like to share the pictures of that revolutionary day.
Sued by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally developed a recovery plan for endangered tiger salamanders.
From IndyBay.org:
The recovery plan focuses on alleviating the threat of habitat loss and fragmentation by permanently protecting breeding ponds and their adjacent uplands through acquisition and conservation easements. Because the majority of the remaining habitat for the Santa Barbara County California tiger salamander is on privately owned lands, habitat-based conservation efforts will require the cooperative efforts of both local agencies and private partners.
"Because we’ve already destroyed so much of their natural habitat, recovering and protecting the places these unique tiger salamanders need to survive won’t be easy," said Loda. "But we can’t afford to lose this special amphibian, so I hope federal, state and local agencies as well as developers will all step up to support the hard work of recovery."
Although Santa Barbara California tiger salamanders have been protected under the Endangered Species Act for more than a decade, the Fish and Wildlife Service had not developed a required recovery plan to guide management of the species. In April 2012 the Center sued the Interior Department for its failure to develop such a plan for the endangered salamanders; the plan released today is the result of the December 2012 settlement agreement that resulted from this lawsuit.
Once considered to be non-existent in Angola, a new study reveals the country is home to Gabon vipers.
From SpyGhana.com:
Bitis Gabonica, commonly known as the Gabon viper, is a venomous viper species found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is not only the largest member of the genus bitis, but also the world’s heaviest viperid, and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake.
Angolan scientist Paula Regina de Oliveira said the species of Bitis Gabonica are the ones with teeth that could reach five centimeters long and larger glands, which allow them to accumulate large amounts of venom.
Many years ago, I decided (to my own satisfaction) that although most caiman are hatched feisty, the 2 species of the so called dwarf caimans of the genus Paleosuchus are hatched actually evil.
We see the smooth-fronted species, Paleosuchus trigonotus, on almost all of our trips to the Peruvian Amazon and no experiences I've had with them has altered my opinion in the least. In fact, if anything, my interactions involving this caiman, be they hatchlings or adults, have cemented my opinions ever more firmly.
The scales of this brown-eyed caiman are heavily ossified, providing an alternate name of armored caiman. Comparatively small though they may be, these 4 to 6 foot long alligator relatives are strong, have very sharp teeth, immensely strong jaws, are perpetually ready to do battle, and our guides and I have learned to afford them much respect.
A couple of years ago, a few early arriving clients (experienced herpers, all) got together on a rainy night before my arrival and decided to roadhunt the road to Nauta. After all, isn't that what herpers do? Somewhere along the way they encountered a 30 inch long smooth-fronted caiman, just sitting on the wet pavement minding its own business.
They stopped to look at it. It looked like, with minimal repositioning it would make a fine photo. One of the group attempted to reposition the little beast with a stick only a few inches long. Now this would have been fine for a spotted salamander, but for a 30 inch smooth-front?
Nope. It didn't work. Didn't even come close to working. And the result? Another herper learned respect for "little-but-feisty" beastie. I just wish I had been there to watch the action.
It's always good to start a trip with a little entertainment.
The Coelen's python may be a hybrid, but they are still are so beautiful that they deserve a spot in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user JonathanH!
Last month I visited Kerala, a south Indian state, with my friend and rescuing partner Axy (Akshay Parhalkar) and our teacher Mr. Iqbal Shaikh (a legend of Indian herpetology and holder of the title “snake man of India” during the 1970s) in search of King Cobra. We weren't lucky enough to find one, but still had some great experiences.
It was the last day of our trip so we decided on a riverside jungle herping adventure. For the first two hours we were not able to find anything. Tired and exhausted, Axy and I decided to have a quick bath in the river. I still remember the lines said by Sir, "Don’t go too far, as I have a strong feeling that we’ll get something at the river bank only."
Keeping that in mind, we were swimming close to the riverbank and suddenly we heard some villagers shouting, "Snake snake." Hearing that word, Axy and I ran and jumped between the huge river rocks towards the direction of the crowd. After reaching the spot we realized that both of us forgot to wear our clothes and we were just wearing our boxers/underwear, but we didn’t let it bother us and continued with our task.
It was a fat and healthy 8-foot Indian rat snake trying to hide under a rock, so I pulled it out gently. It didn’t take much time for the snake to turn into an aggressive creature, so we decided to do a head catch. It was a strong snake so it was a bit difficult for head catch and Axy got bitten while doing the head catch. After making the snake calm we got dressed and clicked some photographs.
The most embarrassing and funny part of this incident was that we were watched and clicked by more than 20 villagers during the task when both of us were "almost naked." This incident still makes us laugh and it adds an unforgettable experience to my life.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering workshops to help people identify and report Burmese pythons, but not everyone agrees that the pythons are a problem.
From WUFT News:
"This horse has been beat so many times," said Eugene Bessette, commercial snake breeder and owner of Ophiological Services, a snake farm on Archer Road.
Even though Burmese pythons are not indigenous to South Florida, Bessette said he feels they are ultimately not an ecological problem.
"Ignorance is the biggest problem," Bessette said. “People form opinions before they get the facts."
Bessette lost a substantial part of his business when new regulations put in place in 2012 banned the importation and interstate transportation of Burmese pythons and three other constrictor snakes.
There's no question that the pattern and colors of this snake are an effective - a very effective - camouflage.
In more than 20 years of tromping through the Peruvian rainforest, we have seen only two speckled forest pitvipers, Bothriopsis taeniatus, and so well did they blend with the background foliage that we almost missed seeing both of them.
Actually, I consider that low number very surprising. The only snake that we search assiduously for and have found fewer of is the emerald tree boa. Of that taxon we have found only one, and unlike the pitviper that one example was not on our normally utilized preserves.
This pitviper may have a ground color of tan or gray to forest or olive green. The pattern is complex and variable, consisting of flecks, blotches, and bands of darker browns, grays, and greens to a green much brighter than the ground color. This pitviper is a slender snake. Adults are often three to three and a half feet in length, but some may attain a length of a few inches over five feet. This snake may spend as much time on the ground as in the trees.
It is a live-bearing snake that reportedly has a small number of young. The neonates are more precisely marked than the adults.
After finding a turtle barely alive, two little girls insisted their parents take the turtle to a "turtle doctor," and a local aquarium offered help.
From BizNews.com:
The aquarium was overseeing the rehabilitation of baby Loggerhead turtles found washed up along the Cape Coast predominantly in Struisbaai.
The family drove the turtle to the aquarium, where staff were on hand to meet them.
“Rosie was put into the rehabilitation tank along with the 178 other Loggerhead turtles currently in their care and by Sunday morning Two Oceans Aquarium staff confirmed that Rosie was doing well and appearing to be strong and healthy much to the delight of the Campbells,” Lambinon said.
He said of all the 179 Loggerheads found along the Cape coast to date, Rosie was the found the furthest south.
Check out this gorgeous Moluccan python, Morelia clastolepis, in all its shimmering beauty in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user krantz!