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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Florida officials reported strong nesting numbers for several threatened species of sea turtle.

From the Associated Press:

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the number of loggerhead turtle nests remained high and the number of leatherback turtle nests reached a record this year.

Researchers surveyed more than 800 miles of Florida beaches for two reports that document the number of nests and nesting trends.

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For the first time, parthenogenesis (or virgin birth) has occurred with a reticulated python.

From National Georgraphic:

"Pythons are an old, ancient species. We've seen this in more advanced species like garter snakes," said Booth, adding that the discovery helps scientists learn more about the snakes' evolutionary family tree.

It's still a mystery as to why parthenogenesis happens, though Booth hypothesizes that geographic isolation from males and captivity may have a lot to do with it.

In Thelma's case, her virgin birth may have been triggered by ideal living conditions, zoo curator McMahan speculates.

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Using a technique more common in forensic science than taxonomy, a grad student identified a new frog of Madagascar.

From Discover Magazine:

Taking an integrative approach to taxonomy (versus the traditional and still-common practice of relying solely on morphology), Scherz examined genetics, morphology, and a technique that’s still cutting-edge for distinguishing species: CT scans. Wrapping the frog in alcohol-drenched paper (don’t worry, it was long dead) and shooting X-ray beams at it while rotating its position, Scherz was able create 3-D computer images of its skeleton while not destroying any of the tissue.

The non-invasive method allowed Scherz to see subtle but crucial skeletal features (such as the length of a segment of the thumb bone) that were critical for recognizing the rhombus frog as a new, unique species.

The CT technology also enabled him to see the frog’s last meal (or perhaps last several), revealing a millipede, six ants, a spider, a fly, and at least three different species of beetle in its stomach and large intestine. It’s no wonder Scherz named it vaventy, the Malagasy word for “huge,” in the paper describing the find, published in Zootaxa.

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Cane toads introduced into Australia are evolving to move farther, faster.

From ABC News:

"All you get at the front are the offspring of the fastest toads who were themselves the offspring of the fastest toads who themselves were the offspring of the fastest toads.

"Genes for fast dispersal end up concentrated at the invasion front.

"This is evolution through space rather than time.

"It's quite different to the sorts of things (Charles) Darwin talked about."

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Australian crocodiles that nabbed local dogs are being kept alive instead of destroyed.

From NT News:

“These two were removed (from waterways near Ski Beach) because they were a community pest – they start taking dogs and next it could be a kid.”

The old crocs are held in leafy enclosures, along with a handful of smaller salties in other fenced pools, at the site where the corporation once ran a crocodile farm.

Traditional owners didn’t want the reptiles killed – crocs are the totem animal for some Yolngu.

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What can cause someone to go through "reverse puberty?" A snake bite.

From Live Science:

In some cases, the bites of venomous snakes called Russell's vipers, which inhabit South and Southeast Asian countries, can cause bleeding in the pituitary gland. This damages the organ and can prevent it from performing its basic function, the production of hormones including those that regulate sexual functioning.

In a report published in October 1987 in the journal The Lancet, researchers examined 33 cases of patients bitten by Russell's vipers. Some of those patients developed serious hormonal abnormalities, which resulted in decreased libido; loss of pubic and armpit hair; erection problems in men; and irregular, scant or absent menstrual periods in women.

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The commercial ties an island has may be key to understanding biodiversity and invasive species.

From the New York Times:

Historically, the diversity and complexity of life on an island was determined largely by its size and distance from other landmasses; if animals couldn’t easily travel to and from an island, few new species would arrive and establish themselves.

But with the shipping trade now allowing species to stow away from one island to the next, commerce has overtaken geography as the key factor in cross-island speciation.

“Humans have switched the system to one that in the past was dominated by speciation but now is dominated by colonization,” said Matthew R. Helmus, an ecologist with the Amsterdam Global Change Institute and the lead author of the study, published in Nature. “That’s really a fundamental shift to the system.”

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Humans and advanced primates are capable of learning through imitation, and now evidence suggests reptiles are too.

From Science Daily:

There is considerable debate about the extent to which non-primates are capable of true imitation.

Now researchers from the UK and Hungary have presented the first compelling scientific evidence that reptiles could be capable of social learning through imitation.

They set out to investigate whether the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is capable of imitating another bearded dragon through a simple experiment using a wooden board which contained a doorway.

All subjects successfully copied the actions of the demonstrator lizard, suggesting for the first time that reptiles exhibit social learning through imitation equivalent to that observed in 'higher' species.

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Usually, the NARBC show at Tinley Park is a fun time. Herpers connect and catch up, and we share our love for our hobby and animals.

This year, while there are still good times, the shadow of the loss of Rico Walder to brain cancer, has dimmed some of the good times -- but not the spirit of our community.

At the event's famed auction, $1,600 was raised to help Rico's family pay the bills that mounted during his long battle with the disease that ultimately claimed his life.

Another $1,200 will go to the Texas Rattlesnake Festival, a competing event to the barbaric "Rattlesnake Roundup" held in Sweetwater each year. The Festival is educational and run by herpers, and is intended to make people aware of the important role rattlers play in the natural ecology.

The rest of the auction's proceeds will go to fund the work of USARK.

Thanks to all who gave to generously from all of us at kingsnake.com!

Photo: Green tree python auctioned off for Rico's family, taken by Cindy Steinle

Zoo keepers in San Diego are training a Komodo dragon with the help of a camera attached to his back.

From the Daily Mail:

The 9ft (2.7 metre) creature has been taught to walk towards a series of yellow targets, getting a treat if he manages to complete the task successfully.

Despite its terrifying reputation, this Komodo dragon often responds to its keepers call by waddling towards the targets.

As Komodo dragons spend most of their time resting in the sun, the training provides much-needed exercise for Sunny throughout the day.

And once he masters the trick, keepers can ask Sunny to move into a different area of the exhibit.

The training is also helpful if medical attention is needed, as Sunny could voluntarily move without the need for sedation.

Footage from the GoPro camera is currently being used to review the sessions and give an insight into how Sunny sees his training.

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Years after their parents were airlifted out of the Caribbean, endangered mountain chicken frogs were released in their natural habitat.

From the Guardian:

A total of 51 Leptodactylus fallax, known as mountain chicken frogs because they reportedly taste like chicken and make a clucking-like noise, were released on the Jersey-sized island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory.

In 2009, conservationists rescued a population of the critically endangered frogs from the island to avoid them being wiped out by a chytrid fungus which has devastated amphibian numbers worldwide. The mountain chicken frog population has also dwindled due to people eating them – the species is the national dish in nearby Dominica.

Following a breeding programme with the rescued frogs by London Zoo and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which produced 76 frogs from just two females, 51 frogs in July were put in custom-built shipping containers, flown to Antigua and then by a smaller plane to Montserrat. On arrival at their remote forest home on the volcanically active island, they were kept in tents for several days to avoid being stressed by their new environment, before being released into the wild.

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Really like pythons? You're not alone. Pythons were at the center of mankind's earliest rituals.

From Science Daily:

The python is one of the San's most important animals. According to their creation myth, mankind descended from the python and the ancient, arid streambeds around the hills are said to have been created by the python as it circled the hills in its ceaseless search for water.

Sheila Coulson's find shows that people from the area had a specific ritual location associated with the python. The ritual was held in a little cave on the northern side of the Tsodilo Hills. The cave itself is so secluded and access to it is so difficult that it was not even discovered by archaeologists until the 1990s.

When Coulson entered the cave this summer with her three master's students, it struck them that the mysterious rock resembled the head of a huge python. On the six meter long by two meter tall rock, they found three-to-four hundred indentations that could only have been man-made.

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Fishermen outside Golden Gate caught and released the first green sea turtle seen in the area.

From the SF Gate:

Green sea turtles normally live in the Pacific’s warmer latitudes. Their numbers are dwindling because of development along the beaches they use to nest, and because they sometimes become snared in industrial fishing nets and drown.

Climate change has also affected the ancient reptiles. Because temperature determines their gender when they hatch, females vastly outnumber males these days. And the warmer ocean currents tend to take the turtles places they’re not accustomed to going, such as San Francisco Bay.

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Lizards thought to be extinct in the wild have been reintroduced into Welsh sand dunes after breeding and care from experts.

From the Daily Post:

Herpetology keeper Ruth Smith said: “Sand lizards are the UK’s rarest lizard and populations in some areas are so low that we can’t just rely on protecting the site, we have to help breed them to boost their numbers.

“Surveys have shown that sand lizard numbers have significantly improved in the locations where they have been released before and it’s proven that those bred in the likes of zoos have a higher chance of survival than those that hatch in the wild.

“That’s because we’re able to give them plenty of food and intensive care in their vital early days and build them up for around four to six weeks, giving them a great head start.

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Photographer Mike Korostelev spent some one-on-one time with a crocodile, resulting in remarkable underwater photos.

From the Daily Mail:

But far from being scared, Mr Korostelev was delighted with his deadly encounter.

He said: 'It was not an accidental meeting, the main purpose of my trip was to capture an American crocodile in its natural environment.

'I met this crocodile underwater face to face. When it swam close to me, the only thought I had was about how great it was that I could take great pictures.

'It nuzzled into the camera several times and sometimes it touched me with its tail.'

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Owners who purchased a property overrun with copperheads used to kill one hundred of the snakes each year, but when they learned how important snake venom is to medical research, they had a change of heart.

From Click2Houston:

"We were supposed to come out on a Friday the first time," said Swanson. "We ended up being delayed by a day because he was burying his aunt, who had just died from breast cancer the day before. When he found out that we were out here to collect these snakes to try to use them for cancer research, it changed their whole outlook on it."

It changed the Hubbards' outlook so much that they plan to turn part of their property into a conservation area so people can view the creatures in their natural habitat. They're hoping to open up the eco-tourist venture by sometime next summer.

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How did taxidermists preserve the likeness of a now extinct species? Very carefully and with painstaking research.

From Gizmodo:

Lonsesome George was the last of the Pinta Island giant tortoises on the Galapagos. Due to human intervention in the ecosystem his entire species whittled down to just George. Since his discovery he'd been well cared for and revered by scientists across the board. Several attempts at mating George just never panned out and he died from old age. Within 24 hours of his death he was frozen with the decision to taxidermy him.

The first step of the process was to get George to the museum for evaluation. This involved huge amounts of coordination and paperwork to get him to NY through customs and into the States safely intact. They worked against the clock to minimize any types of freezer burn or damage done to George that could happen when kept frozen too long or transported poorly. After the museum assessed George, he was brought to the Wildlife Preservations taxidermy studio in Woodland Park, NJ.

George Dante, president of Wildlife Preservations and an expert in the field of taxidermy, lead the effort in bringing George's likeness back into existence. Since there were no other animals of his species to base him off of, extensive amounts of research went into making sure the process was as accurate as possible.

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George Craig rescued the world's largest captive crocodile and has cared for him for nearly 30 years.

From the Daily Mail:

George captured Cassius in 1987 from a river in the Northern Territory, where he was notorious for his huge size - and was under threat of being hunted down and killed by the local population.

Cassisus, who is missing his front left leg and tip of his tail due to vicious fights, was deemed a massive threat to humans after attacking boats.

So George set about capturing him to save his life, and bringing him to live in his sanctuary.

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What does conservation really mean? And, perhaps more importantly, how do we achieve it?

Living Alongside Wildlife has a fascinating four-part story by Jon Hakim about the Bangladesh Python Project, which is an organization devoted to conserving herps in Bangladesh.

Working primarily in the Lawachara National Park, the Bangladesh Python Project tracks, monitors, and studies snakes, frogs, tortoises, and all manner of herps found in and around the park. The Project and its founder, Shahriar Caesar Rahman, also work with the over 30,000 people who live in the park.

It's this relationship with the local villagers that brings questions about conservation into sharp relief:

If the tortoises, pythons, monkeys, pigs, and other wildlife that call the park home are to have any chance at a future, it'll have to be one where humans and wildlife learn how to accept each other's presence, despite the damage and take that will occur on both sides. Over the course of my nine days in Lawachara, I found that the Bangladesh Python Project had made impressive strides in moving towards coexistence, and that it had a long, long ways to go.

A python that enters a village and kills a villager's ducks has damaged the livelihood of a person who is already living in poverty and depends on all the resources he has to survive.

Yet the pythons aren't invaders; they were here first. How can conservationists find the right balance between protecting endangered reptiles and amphibians and understanding human concerns? How can they best forge relationships with locals and educate them about herps' importance to the ecosystem?

Hakim's series raises these questions and more.

Part one.
Part two.
Part three.
Part four.

A viral origin for a fatal respiratory disease found in captive ball pythons may have been identified.

From Science Daily:

Investigators observed the virus, which they named ball python nidovirus, in eight snakes with pneumonia; virus levels were highest in the animals' lungs and other respiratory tract tissues. The team also sequenced the genome of the virus, finding it to be the largest of any RNA virus yet described.

Ball pythons have become one of the most popular types of reptiles sold and kept as pets, the authors said, because of their relatively modest size, docile behavior and ease of care. Respiratory disease has been noted in these animals since the 1990s but until now a potential cause has not been identified, said senior study author Joseph L. DeRisi, PhD, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, in part because of the limitations of available technology.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society released seventeen endangered Siamese crocodiles in Laos as part of their program to work with local villages to strengthen the crocodile population.

From National Geographic:

The release of the crocodiles is part of the Community-based Crocodile Recovery and Livelihood Improvement Project, designed and implemented by WCS’s Lao PDR Program. ”The program has three key objectives,” WCS explained in its statement today, “contributing to local livelihoods by improving coordination of water resource use and zoning of lands used in local agriculture; conserving and restoring crocodile wetland habitat important for local livelihoods, crocodiles, and other species; and replenishing the crocodile population in the wetland complex and surveying and monitoring the current population.”

The program has worked with nine villages – each village has a “Village Crocodile Conservation Group” (VCCG) to coordinate implementation of program activities in the Xe Champone wetland complex and surrounding areas.

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A fungal disease responsible for killing millions of bats may have spread to snakes.

From Saporta Report:

Bats are dying from the white-nose disease, which has killed an estimated 5.7 million bats and driven one species found in Georgia to the brink of extinction. Researchers plan to count the bat population in Rabun County next week as part of the effort to monitor the disease. Experienced volunteers are welcome to participate.

Now snakes are a concern. The first wild snake in Georgia to be diagnosed with snake fungal disease was found on the edge of a blackwater swamp near Statesboro, and the implication is the disease could be spreading.

The fungus associated with white-nose disease shares similarities with the one connected to snake fungal disease, including that it occurs naturally in soil, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

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A rare two-headed snake was found by a Turkish farmer.

From BBC News:

The young snake appears to belong to the Coluber genus of thin-bodied, fast-moving snakes commonly known as racers. Cuneyt Alpguven, who works at Antalya Aquarium's reptile house, says two-headed snakes are very rare and have little chance of surviving in the wild. "Being two-headed is a major disadvantage, because its anatomical structure makes it more vulnerable to attacks while it also draws the attention of predators."

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Why risk your own health by milking snakes? So others can benefit.

From The Mirror:

The pair run the Kentucky Reptile Zoo full-time, a non-profit relying solely on people coming through the gates and the sale of venom.

Kristen added: "Almost any venomous snake is capable of causing severe injury but you are pretty unlikely to die if you get appropriate medical care.

"It's unlikely here as we do everything we can to get appropriate care and have anti-venom on site for everything anti-venom is made for.

"We both believe what we're doing is a good thing - it saves lives."

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Rokkam Kiran Kumar spent ten years rescuing snakes in residential India, and now he wants to take it a step further by educating others in snake safety.

From The Hindu:

Acknowledging his decade-long efforts, he was recently given official permission to rescue snakes by the Chief Wildlife Warden with the support of the Conservator of Forest.

“On an average, I rescue five to six snakes in a day. But some days, I get more than 30 calls and it is difficult for me attend to all of them,” said Kiran. In order to address this issue, Kiran has recently registered his society called ‘Snakes Saver Society’ and formed a team with 16 other members, whom he has trained to catch and rescue snakes. “We now want to reach out to city schools and colleges and conduct awareness workshops on snakes and how to be safe,” he said. “There are about 250 species of snakes found in the region, but only a handful of them are venomous,” he said.

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