Ectotherm Biology

26/10/2020

Sign up now for the IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group annual meeting!
To be held online over the 16th - 20th November!
Hear presentations and updates from Iguana projects across world!
Find out more at https://www.iucn-isg.org/next-meeting/

07/09/2020

Very interesting for conservation possibilities.

The colt’s birth revives genetic diversity that had been lost to the world and has now been recovered due to this important partnership between Revive & Restore, ViaGen Equine and San Diego Zoo Global.

05/09/2020

Adopt a Jamaican Rock Iguana Thought extinct for nearly half a century, the Jamaican Iguana was rediscovered in the remote Hellshire Hills in 1990 and became the subject of an intensive effort to recover the species, employing a combination of nest protection, predator control, and headstart/release...

03/09/2020

What you need to do if you find, own or look after a listed invasive non-native (alien) animal in England and Wales.

02/09/2020

07/08/2020

25/07/2020

03/06/2020

Did you know the Andros Rock Iguana lays her eggs inside termite mounds?

The Andros Rock Iguana is a large dark colored species that may be decorated with yellow, orange, or reddish scales, especially among mature males. This iguana is restricted to three large islands in The Bahamas (South Andros, Mangrove Cay, and North Andros) along with dozens of associated smaller cays, which comprise the country’s largest landmass. The Andros Rock Iguana is the largest native terrestrial species remaining in The Bahamas and is unique among the world’s iguanas in using termite mounds as nesting sites to lay their eggs.
Visit our website to find out more about how we are supporting projects with help
www.iguanafoundation.org
herpetology

13/05/2020

Conolophus marthae.

Critically endangered iguana endemic to a small area of less than 11 km2 on the northern slopes of Wolf Volcano on northern Isabella Island , Galapagos.
This iguana population is less than 200 mature individuals..because of eggs and hatchlings predation by introduced predators, competition with conolophus subcristatus, volcanic eruptions are a serious threat too (last one was recorded from 27th May 2015 to 2nd June 2015).

First described in 1986 but distinguished from conolophus pallidus and conolophus subcristatus and classified as a separate species only in 2009 by Gentile and Snell.
Further genetic researches suggests that the species divergence happened 5.7 millions years ago , conolophus/amblyrynchus divergence happened 4.5 millions years ago so this is one of the oldest events of divergence recorded in Galapagos.

Picture credit : visualscapesimages.

13/05/2020

12/05/2020

05/05/2020

Jessi examines what the term "Animal Lover" means and discusses the difference between Animal Welfare and Animal Rights. Includes questions about elephants a...

04/05/2020

Written by Chris Newman:

“World Animal Protection now appear to be adopting an entirely perverse sense of logic, throughout this campaign World Animal Protection have argued they are opposed to so called wild animals being kept as pets and favoured the keeping cats and dogs as they are ‘domesticated’. Selective breeding is the very foundation of domestication, you (World Animal Protection) cannot argue on one that is good and then on the other that it is bad, to do so is hypocrisy at its finest!

As with all taxa where humans selectively breed genetic issues can occur. Thankfully, the reptile world has been far more proactive in trying to address this issue than any other sector of pets, certainly far more proactive than dog or cat sector. The Federation of British Herpetologists (FBH) have been addressing this issue for the part twenty years, we (FBH) gave evidence to and participated in the Companion Animal Welfare Council review of Selective Breeding of species other than dogs. The FBH introduced the prohibition on the sale of morphs that have associated welfare issues at shows that run under its guidelines, for example the Breeders Meeting in Doncaster.

With this post World Animal Protection are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel, what a truly petty and pitiful campaign this has turned into. What does not WAP finally come out of the closet and simply admit it is opposed to people keeping ALL animals as pets?

Come on World Animal Protection be honest, for once!”

Ball python “morphs” are the most common type in western exotic pet markets. These snakes are selectively bred to create new colours and patterns, risking their health. Learn more about the suffering of Ball pythons kept as "pets": bit.ly/Ball-pythons-Not-Pets 🐍

03/05/2020

02/05/2020

Join our challenge & save lives TIME IS RUNNING OUT Zoos and exotic animal sanctuaries have been hit hard during the Coronavirus crisis. With no visitors, no fundraising events and nowhere near enough donations, many zoos and rehoming centres are struggling to feed their animals. Man...

25/04/2020

25/04/2020

In Waterton Lakes National Park, located in southwest Alberta, Canada, under-road crossing structures were installed in 2008 to protect a population of long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) at Linnet Lake from mortality during breeding migrations that intersected with the park’s entrance road. This compilation first investigates orientation and movement patterns of marked individuals at Linnet Lake in 2013 and 2014, and at a smaller, shallower wetland Stable Pond in 2014 to document in detail how long-toed salamanders used the terrestrial landscape around breeding sites during adult migration and juvenile dispersal.
Following this, the authors use generalized linear models to model salamander occurrence and abundance in the Beaver Hills region of north-central Alberta as a function of land cover type and pocket gopher density.
The authors go on to address whether any ecological barriers exist in the distribution range of the two newt species N. strauchii and N. crocatus. According to the findings of this study, an identity test was found to be significantly different from the null distribution, whereas a background test was not significantly different from the null distribution.
The concluding chapter summarizes the processes by which light is converted into neural signals by rods and cones and then transmitted to downstream neurons in the retina, with a focus on salamander photoreceptors. The different types of photoreceptor cells and other light-sensitive cells in salamanders and their role in vision are also discussed.
Buy now: https://www.chimaira.de/salamanders-habitat-behavior-and-evolution.html

24/04/2020

On my morning track yesterday, I approached a new location of my big telemetered female, OPHA096. When I arrived, she was out in the open amongst some bamboo leaf litter. She saw me and began to hood while slowly approaching me. I stayed still and took a couple of photos of her. She then moved right past me and in to a nearby bamboo patch. She has been moving a kilometer a day over the last week and is now hanging out in the same spot. I think I may have walked up on her collecting up some leaves for a potential nest in the area, which we’ll be monitoring closely now.
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23/04/2020

Global pet trade associations and animal keeping organisations have banded together to write an open letter in response to calls to end all live animal trade in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Trade bodies from as far afield as the United States, Canada, the UK and Europe have added their name to...

18/04/2020

Ctenosaura oedirhina.
Endangered species on the IUCN red list, this iguana is endemic to the largest island of the Honduras Bay islands : Roatan island.
This iguana was described as ctenosaura bakeri (endemic species to Utila island) in 1928 by Thomas Barbour but recognized as a separate species from ctenosaura bakeri in 1987 by Kevin De Queiroz and was given the name “oedirhina” because of its rounded snout.

Picture credit : Aila Garía.

15/04/2020

If people wish to help respond to the World Animal Protection campaign against reptiles then please do, what you can do to help is ask specific question about their campaign. It is not for me to suggest question to ask, have a look at some of the claims they are making and if you feel any are inaccurate, misleading or simply untrue ask a question! If you do please remember the three golden rules in situations like this:

• Do not swear
• Do not be rude
• Do be persistent

If World Animal Protection are genuinely concerned for the welfare and conservation of reptiles then they will respond openly to any reasonable question. If they don’t, if they simply post cut and paste response with links to previous published documents then it would be reasonable for you to draw your own conclusions on why they are not addressing issues raised by concerned citizens.

Do these look like humane conditions to keep an animal to you? Ball pythons endure terrible stress, anxiety and frustration as they are flogged like merchandise at Doncaster reptile expo.

Find out more: bit.ly/wildlife-trade-petition

15/04/2020

A newly discovered endemic species of melanistic black iguana (Iguana melanoderma), discovered in Saba and Montserrat islands, the Lesser Antilles (Eastern Caribbean), appears to be threatened by unsustainable harvesting (including pet trade) and both competition and hybridization from escaped or re...

15/04/2020

Cyclura pinguis.
These critically endangered iguanas only found on Anegada island have a global population of less than 300 individuals.
They are considered to be the earliest branch of the extant cyclura iguanas and are found on a small fraction of their historic range.
Their mains threats and causes for population decline are all human caused : habitat loss, introduced species and poaching for food and pet trade. These iguanas were once sold to tourists as souvenirs.
The species name "pinguis" means fat and comes from their very stout appearance.

Credit : Ryan Martinez.

14/04/2020

10/04/2020

Antibiotics are often administered with antivenom following snakebite envenomings in order to avoid secondary bacterial infections. However, to this date, no studies have evaluated whether antibiotics may have undesirable potentiating effects on snake venom. Herein, we demonstrate that four commonly...

08/04/2020

04/04/2020

02/04/2020

Turtle baby alert!

A hatchling of the Indian Narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra indica) enjoys some down time underwater at the Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow.

As the name suggests, this softshell's unique feature is its highly modified skull, where the nostrils are located right on the narrow tip and eyes face upwards to help the animal completely burrow into sandy bottoms, lying in wait to ambush nearby fish.

Found in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal, this Endangered species (under IUCN redlist assessments) is heavily exploited for its meat, cartilage, oil and eggs. Habitat destruction, pollution and sandmining are further threatening this iconic species.

This hatchling is part of a recovery program involving protecting wild nests and releasing headstarted hatchlings back into the wild to supplement populations.

Photo: Rishika Dubla

31/03/2020

Nematodes were found living in a lizard’s ovaries and the braincase of her embryos — the first evidence of a reptile parasite that jumps generations.

27/03/2020

Did you know that international law demands that wildlife be protected from domestic cats? However, many governments don't comply with these obligations. Recent research explores this conservation 'blind-spot'
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10073
(Image: David Costantini)

27/03/2020

In our effort to continue educating turtle lovers of all ages during these trying times, the TSA invites you to join us for our FREE LIVE WEBINAR! Transforming Passion for Turtles into Effective Conservation Action TSA’s Communication and Outreach Coordinator Jordan Gray will take you on a journey...

26/03/2020

26/03/2020

01/03/2020

In a rare and miraculous occurrence, a female Komodo dragon has produced three offspring without a male's assistance.

28/02/2020

27/02/2020