That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

Several newly-discovered lizards and unexpected lizard facts made herp headlines in 2010.  From a female-only species to a 6-foot-long, brightly-colored new monitor, each gave us pause to wonder…”what’s next?!

Two Large Monitors

Undiscovered animals tend to be small and non-descript, but not so with Asia’s new contributions to the lizard role call.   The Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor, Varanus bitatawa, described last year from northern Luzon in the Philippines,is both large – to 6 feet in length – and colorful.  Actually, it remained undetected only to herpetologists…local people have been eating it for quite some time.  The newly described giant is arboreal and feeds largely upon fruit. Read More »

Horned Lizards of various species, usually sold as “Horned Toads”, were US pet trade staples in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Looking much like minute dinosaurs, they needed more heat and UVB than most could provide, along with an ant-dominated diet, and fared poorly.  As a boy, I was able to keep them going in the summer, thanks to natural sunlight and plentiful ants, but they declined in winter (I discovered they did not like the “house ants” I collected in local stores!).  As I moved into zoo work, the key to keeping most species remained elusive.  So I was very happy to hear that the Los Angeles Zoo had recently (January, 2011) succeeded in breeding the largest species, the Giant Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma asio. Read More »

Global amphibian declines and extinctions spurred herpetologists to pay special attention to frogs, salamanders and caecilians in 2010.  In Part 1 of this article, I reported on the discovery of several new species, and the re-discovery of a few that had not been seen for decades.  Today we’ll look at interesting findings concerning a well-known salamander that houses algae in its cells and a rarely- seen species that lives for over 100 years.

Algae in Salamander Cells

It’s long been known that algae growing within the egg masses of Spotted Salamanders, Ambystoma maculatum, provides oxygen to the embryos and utilizes their waste products.  In 2010, however, Dalhousie University (Canada) biologists shocked the herp world by announcing that they had found living algae within Spotted Salamander cells, functioning as it does in the egg mass.  This is the closest known association between a vertebrate and a plant, mimicking in some ways the relationship between algae and coral. Read More »

The year 2011 has barely begun, but it is already supplying amphibian enthusiasts with exciting news items.  One of the most surprising is the discovery that the tadpoles of the newly-described Vampire Flying Frog, Rhacophorus vampyrus, sport hard, sharp fangs…a previously unknown amphibian adaptation.

A Surprise in the Treetops

Biologists from Australia, Vietnam and the USA (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences) uncovered the new frog and its odd tadpoles while surveying montane forest canopies on the Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.  Their findings, published in the journal Zootaxa (please see article below), have left herpetologists wondering just why tadpoles might need such odd mouthparts…certainly not to puncture veins, as their common name suggests! Read More »

In the wake of continuing amphibian extinctions, herpetologists made a special effort to study frogs and salamanders in 2010.  Their hard work resulted in the discovery of new species and others believed extinct, and in many surprising new findings about how they live.

Please note: the species described below are barely studied; the photos shown here are of close relatives.  Please see article below for actual photos.

“Back From Extinction”

Biologists participating in a program launched by Conservation International and the IUCN combed the globe in hopes of finding amphibians that have already been “written off” as gone forever.  Herp enthusiasts were pleased to learn that at least 3 of these, while very rare, do indeed continue to hold on. Read More »