New research explains why snakes have two penises instead of one.

From the Washington Post:

In snakes and lizards, the external genitals get a little funkier. These reptiles have paired external genitals, even though they only use one at a time during mating.

But all of these genitals spring out of the same embryonic structure, called the cloaca. This structure sends out signals to the cells around it in the embryo, telling them to turn into genitals.

Scientists have wondered why these structures — which are triggered to grow by the same genetic mechanisms during embryonic development, and have the same function in adulthood — develop so differently.

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How would you like to come across a 57 pound venomous snake?

From Live Science:

Laophis crotaloides measured between 10 and 13 feet (3 and 4 meters) long and weighed a whopping 57 lbs. (26 kilograms). Today's longest venomous snakes, king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah), can grow to be about 18 feet (5.5 m) long. But at typical weights between 15 and 20 lbs. (6.8 to 9 kg), king cobras are scrawny compared to Laophis.

What makes Laophis even stranger was that it achieved this bulk not in the tropics, where most large reptiles live today, but in seasonal grasslands where winters were cool.

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Artists and activists held a satirical wake to raise awareness of Pancho, a Florida croc killed resisting capture, and other wildlife killed by humans.

From the Miami Herald:

Cortada said his goal was to have a dynamic service to honor the fallen croc, but at the same time to bring ecological awareness to community members, and teach them how to coexist with nature.

Florida International University biology students said the death of a South Florida animal is not rare. They cited the manatee, the sawfish, the Key Largo mouse and the indigo snake.

“Why are we here lamenting Pancho when we have killed so many Panchos in the last 100 years?” Cortada said, adding that humans are at fault for the reptile’s death after invading his natural habitat. “I just wanted to cry real tears and have a real conversation about our reptilian friend. We love you, Pancho.”

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Asia's high demand for turtle meat is motivating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to request greater protections for several types of exported turtles.

From Phys.org:

Faced with growing concerns about the hunting of freshwater turtles in the United States for Asian food markets, federal officials this week proposed adding four species to an international list of plants and animals designed to manage commercial trade in the reptiles.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday said that listing the common snapping turtle, Florida softshell turtle, smooth softshell turtle and spiny softshell turtle would allow it to better monitor exportation of these species, particularly to Asian nations, where turtle populations have been wiped out due to high demand for their meat.

Bringing the species under the protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora would require exporters to obtain a permit before shipping turtles overseas. That would help the federal agency determine the extent of legal and illegal exportation and decide whether additional conservation efforts were needed.

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The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission faces tough questions about its barbaric rules for killing reptiles and amphibians.

From the Pocono Record:

You ask, "shouldn't they be equipped with fishing poles and nets instead of intimidating weapons?" If you are after fish, then the answer is yes. However, if your desire is to legally kill a timber rattlesnake, northern copperhead, snapping turtle or any other unlucky native reptile and amphibian then, these uncharacteristic slaying instruments were recommended to me by Thomas Burrell, Waterways Conservation Office Manager of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Immediately, several questions come to mind, like:

Are you serious? Can you kill reptiles and amphibians, especially with machetes and clubs in this day and age? Can someone be guilty of cruelty to animals? Isn't the timber rattlesnake protected and is the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's goal to ensure that it stays off of its endangered species list?

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DNA testing may hold the key to identifying the right antidote to use for snake bite victims.

From New Scientist:

Chappuis and his colleagues collected samples from the fang wounds of 749 people at three health centres in Nepal, amplified the DNA and sequenced it. They then looked for matches in a publicly available reference bank of DNA sequences.

They managed to identify the snake species responsible for 194 bites, 87 of which were from species whose venom is harmful to people – most commonly the spectacled cobra and the common krait.

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The Big Apple is home to a small frog with a very distinctive croak.

From Wired:

The new species, which biologists are calling the Atlantic Coast leopard frog, was hiding in plain sight. Besides its croak, the new species is nearly indistinguishable from several other frog species living in the area. As detailed today in PLoS ONE, the researchers were able to make the identification after comparing the DNA, appearance, and croaking noises of hundreds of frogs.

The authors, led by Jeremy Feinberg of Rutgers University, first announced their suspicions of the new species in 2012, when they reported that familiar-looking frogs with unfamiliar croaks were hopping around the wetlands near Yankee Stadium. Although the coloration of the Atlantic Coast leopard frog is very similar to that of other leopard frogs, its distinctive croak, which sounds like a simple, repeated “chuck,” sets it apart.

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Unlike a mythical dragon, bearded dragons and fire don't go together.

From The Daily Mail:

Crews were called to a terraced house in Bolton, Greater Manchester, just before 11am this morning when a fire began behind the fridge-freezer.

When firefighters arrived they found a woman outside with her two husky dogs, who told them her pet lizard was still inside as smoke poured from the kitchen.

They found the bearded dragon in its tank and took it out to the fire engine where medics treated it with oxygen therapy.

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Just when you thought the Discovery Channel couldn't sink any lower. Just when you thought reality TV couldn't get any stupider. Along comes "Eaten Alive," wherein the Discovery Channel will dress a man in a "snake-proof suit" and lett an anaconda eat him alive.

It's not just stupid, it's cruel to the snake. It's not like we don't know what the insides of an anaconda look like, so there's no scientific value.

In fact, the only thing they're "discovering" is how low their audience will go.

Photo: kingsnake.com user mjf

It may be possible to estimate the number of extinctions in the past 100 years, but this photo collection shows that it is hard to truly quantify the damage done when a species disappears.

From Pixable:

Below, take a look at every animal (except insects, which are extremely difficult to catalogue but which you can find here) that went extinct in just the last 100 years. The list is based on research provided by the Sixth Extinction, a website created to “enhance free public access to information about recently extinct species,” and in order of their approximate date of extinction. We’ve included all the animals confirmed extinct by the IUCN, and added a few more declared extinct by other credible individuals and organizations.

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Have any mummy trick-or-treaters this year? What about mummified snakes?

From io9:

Ancient Egyptians didn't prepare only human bodies for the afterlife; cats, baboons, crocodiles, canines, and birds have all been found mummified. But there's something particularly delightful about this long and skinny coffin for snake.

This coffin is part of the Brooklyn Museum's collection and it's dated 664-30 BCE, sometime during the Late Period to the Ptolemaic Period.

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How old were you when you started studying herps? Callum Ullman-Smith has been at it for years - and he's only twelve.

From The Press and Journal:

He has dedicated his free time over the past three years studying a set of nine rock pools on the shore of Loch Alsh, near Reraig.

His Loch Alsh studies have unearthed an unexpected breeding population of palmate newts and has been monitoring their numbers.

It is an unusual find because the newts generally live in freshwater, rather than the more challenging conditions of the sea loch.

His work has been noticed by the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust who have invited him to present his findings to the experts at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Symposium in Edinburgh this weekend.

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