Author: John Virata

Lost Sulcata Tortoise Looking For Owner In Fontana CA
If you are the owner or may know someone who keeps a sulcata tortoise in Fontana, contact the city police department at (909) 350-7700. [...]

34 Texas Horned Lizards Released By San Antonio Zoo
The San Antonio Zoo announced that it has released 34 Texas horned lizards that were captive bred as part of the zoo’s Center for Conservation and Res [...]
World’s Amphibians Most Threatened Vertebrate Class, Study Says
Since 1980, 37 amphibian species have gone extinct, with the most recent extinctions being the the Chiriqui harlequin frog and the sharp snouted day f [...]
New Species of Legless Skink Discovered in Africa
The new species, Acontias mukwando sp. nov is closely related to A. percivali. [...]
Venomous Rinkhals Snake Species From Zimbabwe Discovered From Museum DNA
Rinkhals, or the ring-necked spitting cobra is not a true cobra of the genus Naja, but belongs to the genus Hemachatus. [...]
Two-headed Rat Snake To Celebrate Birthday At Missouri’s Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center
The snake has grown to nearly five feet in length in those six years, and likes to eat. [...]
High School Students In Arkansas Hatch Out Four Louisiana Pine Snakes
The four snakes will remain on campus as they are not candidates for release into the wild. [...]
Arizona’s Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard Faces Extinction Due To Climate Change, Study Says
The lizards at the lower elevations could not tolerate the increasing heat, which the researchers say is a signature pattern of climate change. [...]
Herpetologist Records Failed Natrix maura Snake Predation Event of Invasive Fish Species
Without intervention, the viperine water snake would probably have choked on the invasive fish and died. [...]
Gans’ Egg-Eating Snake Can Eat Prey Twice That Of Burmese Python Relative To Size And Mass
Of the 13 snake species with known gape, the Gans' egg-eating snake had the greatest gape. The Burmese python and the western diamondback rattlesnake [...]
New Venomous Keelback Snake Species Discovered in Vietnam
The snake is named the H’mong keelback snake (Rhabdophis hmongorum) in honor of the H'mong people. [...]
Psychedelic Rock Gecko, Other Reptiles Native To Vietnam Need Protections, Study Says
The study, which draws largely on the bachelor thesis of Lilli Steiger of the University of Cologne in Germany, has recommended that Vietnam adopt the [...]

Snake Road Closes in Illinois For Annual Herp Migration
The state's forest service began closing the road in the early 1970s to let these reptiles and amphibians safely cross without the threat of vehicular [...]
Parasitic Round Worm Common In Carpet Pythons Removed From Australian Woman’s Brain
The researchers believe that the woman, age 64, inadvertently consumed the eggs of Ophidascaris robertsi directly from the vegetation, or indirectly v [...]
Researchers Can Detect Nuclear Events In Scutes Of Turtles and Tortoises
In all of the scute samples except that from the control animal, the Sonoran desert tortoise, uranium (235U and 236U) were detected. [...]
New Sahyadriophis Genus Created For New Snake Species
Sahyadriophis uttaraghati is brown to dark gray in coloration with black and white markings that are randomly found toward the posterior of the body. [...]
Paikwaophis kruki, A New Snake Species From Guyana Described
The researchers say the snake lives in a fairly dense forest environment with small to medium trees and occasional large trees. [...]
New Snake Species Discovered In Peru named After Harrison Ford
An unusual snake character that Tachymenoides harrisonfordi sp. n. displays, are the three longitudinal skin folds on the posterior dorsal/dorsolater [...]
New Species Of Ancient Giant Amphibian Discovered In Australia
The amphibian is believed to have inhabited freshwater rivers in the Sydney Basin 240 million years ago during the Triassic period. [...]
Boa Constrictor Captured On Cargo Ship In Honolulu
The snake, identified as a boa constrictor was first seen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, crawling on the deck of the ship that was enr [...]

North Carolina Aquarium Wants You To Help Name Their Blue-Tongued Skinks
Syd, Mel or Sunny? How about Tili, Bluey or Wiru. [...]
New Venomous Snake Species Discovered In Australia
The desert whip snake (Demansia cyanochasma), is a new species of whip snake that is found in dry habitats across Australia. [...]
Caecilians Have Developed Resistance to Neurotoxic Elapid Snake Venoms
The research is a textbook example of how predatory pressure on the caecilians caused an evolutionary cascade to resist snake venom. [...]
San Diego Vets Safely Remove Fake Chicken Egg From Gopher Snake
Gus swallowed a dummy egg. A farmer took Gus to the humane society where the veterinarians were able to get Gus to regurgitate the dummy egg. [...]