Google Earth has spurred the discovery of another new species. In this case, the creature is a pygmy chameleon, one of four previously unknown Rhampholeon chameleon species described from the remote ‘sky islands’ in Mozambique. The Mount Mabu pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon maspictus) was discovered after Google Earth images of a tract of forest led Julian […]
Wildlife on South Georgia’s Bird Island – in pictures
The UK overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean is a haven for sea birds and fur seals where the British Antarctic Survey monitors long-term population trends. Jerry Gillham photographs the island’s wildlife This article was first published by The Guardian.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice but Kasey does!
I finished off the last blog post by talking about the special experience and fascinating research of been on first name terms with a wild whale. On the 24th June during a Whalewatch Explorer this was exemplified monumentally in a memorable natural spectacle. Going Back to the year 2000 a minke whale with a distinctly notched dorsal fin […]
13 newly-discovered birds declared extinct
In a recent update of the IUCN Red List, scientists have identified 13 new bird species that have gone extinct since 1500. In total the list now finds that at least 140 bird species gone extinct in the past five hundred years, representing 1.3 percent of the world’s total known birds. The new extinct birds […]
Sabi Sands: February 2010 (Part 1)
Some of you may recall that I have been posting some WAY overdue trip reports on my blog as well. I am still far behind, but I thought it best to get going again…my last report was a series of posts on a trip with my wife to the Kruger National Park in 2009. Let’s […]
Scientists catalog the world’s 10,000th reptile
As of this year, scientists have named and described over 10,000 reptiles, marking a new milestone in cataloging one of the most diverse vertebrate groups. Last week, the Reptile Database, an online catalog of all the world’s living reptiles, announced it had passed 10,000 species. “Officially, we have logged 10,038 reptile species into the database, […]
Monjita dominica, Black-and-white Monjita, Xolmis dominicanus
Uno de nuestros objetivos para este último viaje a los Esteros del Iberá fue el de fotografiar a la Monjita dominica en su ambiente, habíamos visto fotografías de esta monjita obtenidas por amigos nuestros que viajaron a la feria de aves y fauna silvestre en Colonia Pellegrini en el mes de mayo así que las […]
Yellow spots, orange stripes: vivid new frog species discovered in Malaysia
Scientists have identified a new species of frog on the Malay Peninsula. The newly named Hylarana centropeninsularis was discovered in a peat swamp and genetic analyses revealed that it is evolutionarily distinct from its stream-dwelling cousins. After publishing the discovery in the online journal Herpetologica, Kin Onn Chan, a doctoral candidate at the University of […]