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Frog News – Land-Dwelling Tadpole Lives in Trees and Feeds on Wood

September 26, 2011 5 Comments 13410 Views

Indirana semipalmataFrogs are well-known for their amazing survival strategies.  From behemoths that swallow entire clutches of cobras (please see article below) to tadpoles that develop within their parents’ vocal sacs, frog facts are truly stranger than fiction.  Recently, it was discovered that the tadpoles of India’s Brown Leaping Frog, Indirana semipalmata, are unique in both habitat choice and diet (please see photos of this frog and its tadpole).

A Unique Tadpole Habitat

Biologists at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station inKarnataka,Indiawere amazed to discover several clutches of Brown Leaping Frog eggs adhering to tree bark. While other frogs are known to lay eggs on land, in such cases the tadpoles are carried by rain or their parents to water to complete their development; Smoky Jungle Frog and certain other tadpoles develop within a moisture-retaining nest. Read More »

Multicolored Rainbow Toad, “Missing” since 1924, is Found in Borneo

September 14, 2011 4 Comments 6749 Views

Atelopus certusThe Borneo Rainbow or Sambas Stream Toad, Ansonia latidisca, is known only from drawings made by its discoverer, and has not been seen in 87 years.  Extensive development of its only known habitat has long raised fears of its extinction.  This month (July, 2011), however, it became the second of the world’s “Ten Most Wanted” amphibians to be rediscovered.

“Ten Most Wanted”

In 2010, Conservation International launched the Global Search for Lost Amphibians (please see article below).  Since then, several very rare frogs and salamanders have been found, but the tiny Borneo Rainbow Toad has remained elusive.  In fact, only one of the 10 species granted highest priority (the Ten Most Wanted) had turned up – Ecuador’s Spotted Stubfoot Toad, Atelopus balios.  However, a 3-month-long search of the Gung Penrisser Mountains in Sarawak, western Borneo, revealed that the Rainbow Toad is still with us. Read More »

Invasive Species News pt 2- African Rock Pythons may be Breeding in Florida

August 2, 2011 6 Comments 7368 Views

African Rock Python A recent article in the journal IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians (V17, 1) provides evidence that the African Rock Python (Northern African Python, Python sebae), may have established a breeding population in southern Florida.  The huge constrictors are adapted to take small antelopes and other large animals, and have been killed and consumed people in their native habitat.

Florida’s Introduced Constrictors

At least 45 species of non-native reptiles and amphibians have established breeding populations in Florida; many others have been observed but are not known to be reproducing.  Among these are 2 of the world’s largest snakes, the Burmese Python and the Boa Constrictor.  Other large constrictors, including the Green Anaconda, Yellow Anaconda and White-Lipped Python, have been found at large in Florida.  Read More »

How Snakes Lost Their Legs – New Technology Offers Some Answers

July 26, 2011 2 Comments 10502 Views

Pythons and boas bear small spurs, used by males during courtship, near the cloaca (please see photo).  These vestigial legs provide us with evidence that snakes may once have walked about on 4 limbs, but until recently we could only speculate as to further details.  However, new technology has now enabled us to fill in some of the blanks, and may offer insights into other creatures that seem to be “losing their legs”, such as Worm Lizards and Sirens.

Snake Ancestors

Utilizing a developing technology known as Synchrotron-Radiation Computed Laminography, researchers at the Paris Museum of Natural History were able to microscopically examine snake fossils in new detail.  They concluded that swimming or burrowing lizards were the most likely ancestors of modern-day snakes. Read More »

World’s Largest Arachnids – Eight-Foot-Long Scorpions of Ancient Seas

July 19, 2011 Comments Off on World’s Largest Arachnids – Eight-Foot-Long Scorpions of Ancient Seas 8600 Views

While the Emperor Scorpion and the South African Flat Rock Scorpion are, by today’s standards, huge and impressive, they pale in comparison to their extinct relatives.  Imagine, if you will, an 8-foot-long scorpion sporting spiked claws that extended 2 feet from its body!  Well, thanks to newly uncovered fossil evidence, we need not imagine so hard – such fantastic beasts did indeed exist.  Known as Sea Scorpions or Pterygotid Eurypterids, some, such as Acutiramus, were larger than a person!

Natural History

Sea Scorpions are the ancestors of modern-day scorpions, and perhaps of all Arachnids.  Pre-dating the dinosaurs, they emerged approximately 470 million years ago, and roamed the seas (and fresh waters) for over 100 million years.  Read More »

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