Herpetological Highlights

We kick off this episode with the announcement of our move onto Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights . Research chat this time is all British snakes. We may not have the most extensive array of snake-life in the Britain, but that doesn't mean that there can’t be some exciting herpetofaunal research. This fortnight we are looking at a couple of papers on smooth and grass snakes. And a sl...

Unsurprisingly, water snakes love water. But what happens when this precious resource dries out? This week we discuss the effects of drought on various American water snakes, and pay homage to a newly described Mesoamerican snake. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Rose, JP, and BD Todd. 2017. “Demographic Effects of Prolonged Drought on a Nascent I...

Monitor lizards are renowned savengers... or so is widely thought. There are a few species that have cast aside the scavenger ways of their compatriots, opting for more relaxed arboreal lifestyles, spending their days high in the tree tops foraging for fruit. These frugivorous monitor lizards are are joined by a serpentine Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.po...

Vipers, vipers everywhere. In this episode we muddle our way through some venom research, and learn about the methods employed working out how widespread bushmasters are. Species of the bi-week is a frankly outstanding forest dweller from Costa Rica.  If you enjoy our podcast please vote for us for Reader's Radio Show of the Year on the Reptile Report!  http://awards.thereptilereport.com/radio-sho...

We usually think of invertebrates as a frog’s favourite meal. But in this episode we explore the times when the tables turn and frogs fall victim to mighty invertebrates. Except for the Accra snake-necked frog, they have an ingenious way of avoiding invertebrate conflict. Species of the Bi-week features a double-bill of tree frogs. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main...

There is no denying that chameleons are fascinating lizards, but why should the tree-dwelling ones get all the credit? In this episode we unearth some recent discoveries concerning Brookesia and friends, as well as taking a look at the world's shortest lived tetrapod, Labord's chameleon. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Miller, C. 2017. “Morph...

This week’s episode is all about the bulkiest snake beast of them all – the ANACONDA. First we look into what neonate anacondas get up to. Then move onto a paper that investigates the human-anaconda conflict across South America (spoiler: people don’t like monster snakes). In lieu of a newly discovered anaconda we discuss a snake with a strange tail in Species of Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAIL...

Salamanders feature in episode 16, especially North American ones. We chat about the unusual inheritance strategies of Ambystoma, and territorial behaviour and polymorphism (multiple colour patterns) of red-backed salamanders. There will of course be a slippery surprise in our Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT herphighlights.podbean.com   Main Paper References: Bogart, James...

Tom caught up with renowned amphibian man and Imperial College master's student Steve Allain at Venom Day 2017 at Bangor University. Steve's midwife toad project features heavily, along with his upcoming master's research and general amphibian happenings. Steve's twitter:  https://twitter.com/stevoallain   Steve's blog:  http://bioweb.ie/author/steven/  

Snakes of the sea. Yellow, striped, you name it. We look into some factors changing their colours, and how has the yellow-bellied sea snake become so widespread? Another Species of the Bi-week that’s entirely yellow but not entirely a species. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Brischoux, François, Cédric Cotté, Harvey B. Lillywhite, Frédéric Baille...

Crocodylians have been around for a while and they know what they’re doing. In this episode we discuss what they do when they’re ticked off, and how the massive, fascinating, and largely unknown Tomistoma is getting on in SE Asia. As always, we end on a new species, and this time it’s a fractious new species of something crocodile-like. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com...

Everyone's favourite fungus is the topic of this week’s episode – Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, otherwise known as Bd or Chytrid. We discuss some of the ways it spreads and a little about the frogs it affects. Species of the Bi-week is back and this time coming out of Amazonia. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Kolby, Jonathan E., Sara D. Ramirez...

Following on from our interview with John McGrath, Australian geckos are our focus for episode 12. We talk about the influences on starred knob tail gecko habitat and why velvet geckos are important food for an elapid snake. Of course there is an Australian gecko for the Species of the Bi-Week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com   Main Paper References: Driscoll, Don A.,...

In our first ever interview episode we talk to John McGrath, publisher of digital magazine iHerp Australia. We chat about his experiences in the magazine and publishing industry, and his history with reptiles and amphibians.   Read iHerp Magazine FREE here:  https://iherpaustralia.com.au/magazine/#id-bookcase iHerp facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/iherpaustralia/ iHerp twitter:  https://twitter...

Vipers are found in numerous corners of the globe, and in this episode we explore a little about how they’ve managed it. Starting with pit viper’s use of their heat sensing abilities, moving on to viper reactions to climatic shifts, and finishing up with how they are doing now. Naturally our Species of the Bi-week is a new viper, this time from Africa. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlig...

Episode 10 is all about Southern African armoured lizards of the family Cordylidae. Some live in groups - why? Why are they so damn spikey? These and other mysteries at least partially revealed. Plus, a brand new species of cordylid lizard from Angola and an aside about the tokay gecko trade. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com   Main Paper References: Broeckhoven, Chris,...

The Golden Mantella frog is the subject of this fortnights episode. Starting with a little bit about how they live in the wilds of Madagascar; followed by the larger portion of the podcast looking at a couple of the studies that have come out of the captive breeding initiatives. Species of the Bi-week returns, and features a couple of newly described frogs from Papua New Guinea. FULL REFERENCE LIS...

Snakes! Episode eight is all about snakes, specifically those snakes that employ mimicry to fool other animals. We talk about spider tailed vipers, chunky puff adders and variety of sneaky coral snakes. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Fathinia, B, N Rastegar-Pouyani, E Rastegar-Pouyani, F Todehdehghan, and F Amiri. 2015. “Avian Deception Using an...

This week is a fully frog podcast, dedicated to those frogs who dig. We touch on how the climate can induce fossorial adaptations and limit frog’s activity periods. Along with how some frogs manage to sustain populations despite their sedentary and subterranean lives. And look at perhaps the most bizarre looking frog ever to have graced the earth. To round off we have a newly described burrow-util...

In episode six of our herpetology podcast we investigate the majestic sea turtles. To begin with we dive into the dispersal capabilities of Leatherback Turtles. Following on from that we discuss some of the threats that wild turtles face - plastics and oil. Finally, for our Species of the Bi-week we lighten the mood with a species which, incidentally, also possesses a hard exterior. FULL REFERENCE...

This episode is focused on venomous lizards. The first half is all about the desert specialist and ultra-efficient Gila Monster. With the latter portion covering possibly the most charismatic lizard still roaming the earth – the iconic Komodo Dragon. We explore how these lizards interact with their environments and discuss the existence of their venoms. At the end we have the usual Species of the...

Episode four is all about day geckos. We get into the lifestyles of these handsome creatures – first exploring Mauritian lowland forest day gecko’s choice of home. Following on from that, we chat about some cheeky Malagasy geckos with some peculiar dietary requirements, and then discuss the startling spread of giant day geckos on Reunion Island. Our Species of the Bi-Week is a gecko with a bizarre...

This fortnight’s episode is dedicated to boas. The first portion looks into how boas hunt; their ability to subdue prey and potentially hunt in a “coordinated” fashion. After, we dig into some landscape genetics and see how the success of cave dwelling boas could boost their conservation chances. Staying on message, our Species of the Bi-week is another ghostly snake from a tropical island. To rou...

In episode two of Herpetological Highlights we delve into the world of frogs and how they deal with noisy environments. Followed up by a pair of radiotelemetry studies giving us a glimpse into the lives of two North American snakes. We have two Species of the Bi-week, a ghostly snake from Madagascar and a rediscovered Monitor Lizard from the distant Bismarck Archipelago. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILA...

On this inaugural episode of Herpetological Highlights we discuss colour changing Bearded Dragons, the temperature efficiency of Bluetongue Skinks, and how snake camouflage may have driven primate evolution. Our Species of the Bi-week is a sexually dichromatic snake from India. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Fan, Marie, Devi Stuart-Fox, and Vivi...