- A new species of salamander, the Reticulated Siren (Siren reticulata), has been described: CNN, Earther, National Geographic. Found in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama, the three-foot aquatic salamander had a near-mythic status (it was known as the leopard eel) before a specimen was caught and identified. [PLOS ONE]
- A new genus and species of snake was found in the stomach of a Central American Coral Snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus). The coral snake was collected in 1976; a ten-inch snake was found in its stomach that did not match any known species, so into the museum collection it went. As it often does, it took until this year for said snake, now named Cenapsis aenigma (“mysterious dinner snake”), to be formally described. [Journal of Herpetology]
- But maybe those discoveries aren’t such good news for the species being discovered. An excerpt from Rachel Love Nuwer’s Poached, published this week at Wired, looks at the plight of the Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis). When a population of this secretive lizard was found in 2008, the article reporting the find was careful to omit exact the exact coordinates. That didn’t stop reptile collectors: as with many other newly discovered species and populations, the monitor soon turned up in collections and on online ads.
- The Wildlife Justice Foundation has issued a report on Operation Dragon, its two-year investigation into turtle and tortoise smuggling in southeast Asia, and the widespread corruption that enables it. National Geographic has coverage.
- Lonesome George, the last known Pinta Island Tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii), died in 2012, but his genome still has much to teach us: a comparative analysis of his genome with Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) explores the genetic factors in tortoises’ longevity, gigantism and immune response. [Nature Ecology & Evolution]
- Last August, a Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was spotted off the British Columbia coast: a rare thing, apparently.
- A taxonomic update regarding small burrowing snakes found in Mexico and the southwestern United States: a study earlier this year placed sand snakes (Chilomeniscus) and shovelnose snakes (Chionactis) under the same genus as ground snakes (Sonora). CNAH’s list has already been updated.
- The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the U.S. government for failing to protect the Northern Mexican Garter Snake (Thamnophis eques megalops) and the Narrow-headed Garter Snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus). In 2005 the Center sued to force the government to grant endangered species status to the Mexican garter; both species were granted threatened status in 2014.
smuggling
A Herpetological Roundup
Featured image: Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnsoni), Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo, May 2013.
- How do you tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? Usually the answer has something to do with snouts and teeth. Add another difference: alligators and caimans have shorter foreleg (humerus) and hind leg (femur) bones than crocodiles. Crocodiles can gallop—alligators not so much. [Royal Society Open Science]
- Evidence of parental care in snakes does exist, but it’s rare and tantalizing. Here’s another data point. Python mothers are already known to incubate their egg clutches: while cold-blooded, they can raise the temperature of their clutch through muscle movement. A new study finds that Southern African Rock Pythons (Python natalensis) also stay with their young for the first two weeks after their eggs hatch. (Much like rattlesnakes have been observed doing.) [Journal of Zoology]
- Audubon magazine looks at efforts to reintroduce the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) into its former range, and asks a very Audubon question: what is the impact of this on songbirds? (Indigo snakes are snake predators: feeding on nest raiders like rat snakes can reduce predation on songbirds.)
- No surprise: “The European Union is a major destination for illegally smuggled live snakes, lizards and tortoises from southern Africa, posing a serious threat to their conservation.” From what I heard when I was more active in the trade, Europeans have a reputation for smuggling everything from everywhere: they have all the species, just don’t ask too many questions about how they got them.
- The Turtle Conservation Coalition has released a report highlighting the most endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles. A lot of the “25+” most endangered species are in southeast Asia, as you might expect, but not all of them are. The 68-page report, titled Turtles in Trouble, can be downloaded as a PDF here.
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