Once thought to be a rare occurrence among terrestrial animals, fluorescence is more widespread than scientists once thought. Frogs’ fluorescence was first discovered in 2017. Before that, scientists were not aware that some of these amphibians were biofluorescent. Biofluorescence has to do with light wavelengths. According to a report published in the scientific journal Nature, […]
Tag: amphibian
Frog Populations Are Declining Worldwide With Alarming Number Of Extinctions In Past Two Decades
Frogs have been on Earth for millions of years, but many are now listed as endangered. The last two decades have taken quite a toll on the amphibians. AmphibiaWeb states, “nearly 168 species are believed to have gone extinct and at least 2,469 (43%) more have populations that are declining.” They are an important part […]
Study: Glassfrogs Hide Red Blood Cells in Their Liver to Achieve Transparency
Transparency in animals is a complex form of camouflage involving mechanisms that reduce the scattering and absorption of light throughout the organism. Many species have evolved transparency, but it is particularly challenging for vertebrates because red blood cells attenuate light. In a new study, researchers from Duke University and elsewhere found that glassfrogs are able […]
Study Finds That the Wildlife Trade Affects One-Fifth of Vertebrates on Land
All animals with a backbone are called vertebrates. These include mammals, bird, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. A recent study found that a devastation one-fifth of vertebrates that live on land are bought and sold in the wildlife trade. More than 30,000 species of mammal, bird, amphibian and reptile were surveyed. The study, published in Science […]
‘Death by a thousand holes’: Scientists race to avert a salamander crisis
Any day now. That’s when Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), the “salamander-eating” fungus, is expected to arrive in the United States, home to more than a third of the world’s species of these slippery amphibians.It all began in 2008, when Bsal traveledsome through the pet trade from Asia to northern Europe. There, it escaped into the wild […]
Florida Is ‘Raining Iguanas.’ Will The Invasive Reptiles Adapt?
While much of the northern part of the U.S. copes with blizzard conditions, in Florida, it’s raining iguanas. Florida residents have been sharing pictures of the reptiles belly up in backyards and on the side of roads. The effect is brought on by the abnormally cold weather hitting the East Coast of the United States. […]
POLL: Should the keeping of reptiles and amphibians as pets be banned?
Over the past few decades, more and more households have decided to forego adopting a cat or dog and instead have opted to take in a reptile companion. However, vets are split on whether this is a good idea for both humans and the animals themselves. A group of editorials appearing online in the BMJ’s […]
For Species At Risk of Extinction, Size Matters
Scientists have been warning about a sixth mass extinction, and when it comes to species at risk of disappearing, size is going to matter a lot, according to a new study. For the study, which was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of scientists from the U.S., […]