New fossils reveal that the earliest ancestor of Jesus Lizards lived in tropical Wyoming 48 million years ago.

From ZME Science:

The lizard was named Babibasiliscus alxi, where babi means “older male cousin” in Shoshone Native American – a tribute to the local heritage. Judging from the fossils, the lizard was likely two feet long, was active during the day and likely spent most of its time in trees. Like other casqueheads, the lizard has a ridge over its skull that likely made it look fiercer to its prey. Its teeth had three points suitable for eating snakes, lizards, fish, insects and plants. The larger cheekbones suggest it also hunted large prey.

Based on phylogenetic analysis Babibasiliscus is closely related to the modern genus Laemanctus, which includes the famous Jesus Lizard. The Jesus Lizard likes to live near water, that way, when it is frightened by an approaching predator it can get to the water and run across the surface. The lizards can run on water because they have a fringe of scales on their hind toes which makes little webs that can trap bubbles of air and water beneath their feet. This keeps them from sinking into the water if they run quickly enough across. When they do stop running they don’t mind taking a little swim. It’s not clear whether Babibasiliscus also skimmed water.

Read more here.

Speed, a Galapagos tortoise brought to America over 80 years ago, was euthanized last month.

From the LA Times:

At an estimated age of more than 150 years, Speed had been in geriatric decline for some time, with arthritis and other maladies. Keepers treated him with medication, hydrotherapy, physical therapy, even acupuncture.

Finally, a decision was made Friday to euthanize Speed, who had been at the zoo since 1933.

He was brought to the zoo as part of an early effort to preserve the endangered species from the Volcan Cerro Azul Island of the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador.

Read more here.

Shannan Yates discusses the powerful and life-changing adventure that is herpetological field work.

From National Geographic:

At a conference on Bahamian natural history, I met Shedd Aquarium’s Dr. Chuck Knapp, who oversees the conservation research program at Shedd and has spent decades researching rock iguanas in The Bahamas. At the time, I had been struggling with the decision of attending medical school. Would I make a difference working in a ‘normal career’, as in a sterile hospital wearing a white lab coat, be any different than working as a field researcher?

For me, Dr. Chuck helped to provide that answer. Without thinking twice, I accepted his invitation to accompany him on a citizen science iguana research exhibition to the Exuma Cays. My experience on that expedition–adjusting to the harsh weather and elements – proved to me that the white lab coat in some hospital was not going to be my career path. I found an unexplainable love for field research and the Exuma Cays Rock Iguana (Cyclura cychlura figgisi), in an experience that I will never forget.

Read more here.

The armored lizard Pappochelys rosinae may be the missing evolutionary link between early turtles and their contemporary counterparts.

From Science Magazine:

The findings are “a very important contribution in addressing who turtles are related to, as well as the evolutionary origin of the turtle shell,” says Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science who was not involved with the study. “These have been two vexing questions for evolutionary biologists for the last 200 years.”

About two dozen or so fossils of the creature have been recovered, all of them from 240-million-year-old rocks deposited as sediment on the floor of a shallow, 5-kilometer-long lake in what is now southern Germany. Most of the remains include only bits of bone and are from individuals of various sizes, says Hans-Dieter Sues, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But between the two most complete specimens yet found, he and Rainer Schoch, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in Germany, have put together a full skeleton and most of a skull.

Read more here.

Two years ago these little monsters took over in a whole new way. In our Herp Video of the Week, a group of second graders, with the help of their teacher, try to remind us that snakes do not need fear and they are just "Born This Way". Happy Snake Saturday, we hope you enjoy this flashback!



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!

Mez, an adorable little black monitor lizard, is the first born to any zoo in the United Kingdom.

From Pirate FM:

John Meek, curator: " This is a very rare birth for us here at The Zoo and Mez is doing very well, being carefully nursed by our diligent keepers. Mez currently weighs twelve grams and we expect him to make steady progress."

Black Tree Monitors are at risk due to habitat destruction and the illegal trade in reptiles for pets, so the breeding programme at The Zoo will ensure the conservation of the species.

The Black Tree Monitors at The Zoo originated from Pilsen Zoo in the Czech Republic over five years ago and have very specific humidity conditions to encourage them to lay their eggs. The female Monitor has already laid a further six eggs which are currently under incubation and they should hatch sometime in the next few months.

Read more here.

An incredibly unusual two-headed bearded dragon stunned their owner after hatching in Liverpool.

From the Mirror:

Owner Stephen Evans, 34 has bred bearded dragon lizards for 17 years and made the discovery this morning after checking a clutch of eggs.

Originally, he thought there were two lizards in one egg but says he was shocked to discover it was actually a conjoined twin.

He told the Liverpool Echo: "Last night I'd checked the incubator, we'd seen two heads and assumed they were twins, which can sometimes happen.

Read more here.

A massive frog die-off is the latest sign of extreme pollution in Lake Titicaca which threatens wildlife and humans.

From Fox News:

As human and industrial waste from nearby cities increasingly contaminate the famed lake that straddles the border between Bolivian and Peru, the native Aymara people who rely on it for food and income say action must be taken before their livelihoods, like the frogs, die off.

"We used to live off of fishing," said Juan Quispe, a local villager. "But now we have nothing to sustain us." The fish have moved farther and farther from shore.

On a recent Saturday, the 78-year-old Quispe joined a cleanup brigade to remove dead dogs, tires and other refuse from the shore of Cohana Bay where the lake meets the Katari River.

Read more here.

After having problems flushing her toilet, a woman was stunned to find a live iguana in the pipes.

From ABC News:

"I've never seen anything like this before," plumber Alisa Scott told ABC affiliate WPLG-TV. "This is the first time I pulled something like that out of a toilet."

Scott says she used her tools to reach far down into the toilet. What she began to pull out was still alive.

"To my surprise, I pulled out that large iguana," Scott said. "At first I thought it was a toy, and then it started moving around."

Iguanas are common in that part of Florida, but they aren't commonly found inside your plumbing.

Read more here.

This female Cuviers's is just waiting for the weekend in our herp photo of the day, uploaded by kingsnake.com user cpipes!



Be sure to tell cpipes you liked it here!

Upload your own reptile and amphibian photos photos at gallery.kingsnake.com, and you could see them featured here!

What do you know about the "lesbian lizards" that reproduce asexually?

From the Guardian Liberty Voice:

This hybrid species, the Leaping Lesbian Lizards, also go by the name New Mexico Whiptail Lizard. In fact, the Whiptail is the state’s official reptile. It is one of a number of reptiles that is known to be parthenogenic. This means that this particular species of lizard uses asexual reproduction, so the development and growth of the reptiles embryos occurs without there being any fertilization.

The creation of the Leaping Lesbian Lizards takes place through the hybridization of the western whiptail and the little striped whiptail. Once the hybrid species is formed, they can actually reproduce through parthenogenic reproduction. If a male is born out of the hybridization process, they are actually sterile and seemingly do not live long, but through parthenogenesis the female population is able to reproduce.

Essentially the Leaping Lesbian Lizards, a hybrid species out of New Mexico, are actually a highly evolved reptile species capable of reproduction asexually, as well as through the hybridization process. These reproductive traits seem to be very prevalent across a number of different varieties of whiptail lizards.

Read more here.

The latest clutch of Gray's monitor lizards hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo is just the second time Gray's monitors were born in captivity in the Western Hemisphere.

From My News LA:

Gray’s monitor lizards had long been considered extinct in the wild until some were discovered in 1975 on islands in the Philippines.

The species is considered one of the largest lizards in Asia, as the reptiles can grow to be 6 feet long and 20 pounds. The tree-dwelling, olive-green lizards usually dine on fruit and invertebrates.

The zoo’s reptile and amphibian curator, Ian Recchio, said his staff used their knowledge of other Asian monitor species and Komodo dragons to hatch the Gray’s monitor eggs.

Read more here.

In just one year, researchers discovered 176 new species living in India.

From Mid-Day News:

According to official records by ZSI responsible for animal taxonomy under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, 176 new species were discovered, described and reported from all over India last year.

Insects, which escape attention due to its size in areas with dense undergrowth, leads the pack among the animal kingdom as 93 new species of the invertebrates were found.

The list includes 23 species of fishes, 24 amphibian species like frogs, toads, etc, two species of reptiles, 12 species of arachnida (spiders) and 12 crustacean (crabs,lobsters, shrimps, etc).

Most of these discoveries have been made by ZSI scientists working across the country.

Read more here.

Can naturally occurring bacteria on the skin of some frogs offer protection from chytrid fungus?

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

The chytrid fungus (Bd) has been linked to amphibian decline and even extinction in more than 200 species worldwide.

Now, a new report adds to growing evidence that the key to beat this fungus may lie on the skin of some of these amphibians.

In a new study, southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephala) treated with an antibiotic cocktail which eliminated their skin microbes were more likely to be affected by the chytrid fungus, whereas frogs that maintained their normal skin microbes fared better against the fungus.

Read more here.