
Herpetological Highlights
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Bringing you the recent scientific advancements in the field of Herpetology.
Herpetological Highlights
2d ago
The Asian common toad (aka Asian black-spined toad, Asian toad, black-spectacled toad) is a remarkably successful species, living alongside humans and colonising new lands. A new study suggests there might be more than meets the eye, with the toads being more than one species. We finish with a newly described tiny species of chameleon from Madagascar.
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Main Paper References:
Dufresnes C, Jablonski D ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
1w ago
Our understanding of the social lives of snakes is evolving at breakneck speed. This week we discuss a new study which has revealed that ball pythons have social behaviour. We also talk about sociality in rattlesnakes, before moving on to some news from the world of milk snake speciation - there may be fewer species than previously thought.
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Main Paper References:
Clark RW, Brown WS, Stechert R, Greene HW ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2w ago
A wildly ambitious new study manages to test how the personalities of sleepy skinks influence their success at finding food in the wild. Then we hit upon a beautiful new frog species from China.
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Main Paper References:
Spiegel O, Michelangeli M, Sinn DL, Payne E, Klein JV, Kirkpatrick J, Harbusch M, Sih A. 2024. Resource manipulation reveals interactive phenotype‐dependent foraging in free‐ranging lizards ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
1M ago
Blindsnakes have taken over the continent of Australia at rapid speed. We chat about their different body types and finish with some listener-submitted wild observations of unusual reptile behaviour.
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Main Paper References:
Tiatragul S, Skeels A, Keogh JS. 2024. Morphological evolution and niche conservatism across a continental radiation of Australian blindsnakes. Evolution 78:1854–1868. DOI: 10.1093/evolu ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
1M ago
A clever new experiment has shown that bearded dragons can learn skills by copying other dragons. Then we have a brand new orange and black newt species.
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Main Paper References:
Kis A, Huber L, Wilkinson A. 2015. Social learning by imitation in a reptile (Pogona vitticeps). Animal Cognition 18:325–331. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0803-7.
Species of the Bi-Week:
Pomchote P, Peerachidacho P, Khonsue W, Sapewisut ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2M ago
Despite their boring name, ground snakes exhibit a variety of gnarly behaviours to help them take down invertebrate prey like spiders, scorpions and centipedes.
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Main Paper References:
Gripshover ND, Meik JM, Nicholson DJ, Cox CL. 2024. Feeding behavior varies based upon prey defenses in the ground snake (Squamata: Serpentes: Sonora episcopa). Journal of Zoology 324:71–82. DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13198.
Othe ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2M ago
A bunch of new research up for discussion with frogs building nests, two-tailed geckos jogging about, and a leucistic snake that's venomous and poisonous.
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Main Paper References:
Angiolani‐Larrea FN, Jindiachi L, Tinajero‐Romero JG, Valencia‐Aguilar A, Garrido‐Priego M, Culebras J, Ringler E. 2023. Egg burying behaviour in Pristimantis highlights the link between direct development and specialised parental ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2M ago
The mirror test is often used to try and determine if animals have self recognition. If they recognise it is them in the mirror, they will react to a change in their appearance. But for snakes, sight is not the primary sense, so scientists have had to get a bit more creative.
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Main Paper References:
Freiburger T, Miller N, Skinner M. 2024. Olfactory self-recognition in two species of snake. Proceedings of t ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2M ago
Everyone thinks turtles are chill, but they aren't always. They can be competitive when they need to be.
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Main Paper References:
Schofield G, Papafitsoros K, Chapman C, Shah A, Westover L, Dickson LCD, Katselidis KA. 2022. More aggressive sea turtles win fights over foraging resources independent of body size and years of presence. Animal Behaviour 190:209–219. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.00 ..read more
Herpetological Highlights
2M ago
Worm lizards are strange legless animals that live underground. Turns out they communicate by smell and are able to pass on surprisingly complex messages. There's also a brand new species of these subterranean lizards.
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Main Paper Reference:
Martín J, Navarro-Castilla Á, De La Concha A, Cuervo JJ, Barja I, López P. 2024. Heat-altered scent marks of males of a fossorial reptile still allow recognition by fem ..read more