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, […]
Tag: amphibian
Scientists make breakthrough in fight against deadly amphibian fungus
Scientists have made a key discovery that may help to stem the loss of countless species of amphibians to a deadly fungus. Frogs and other amphibians have been among the worst hit of all species in recent years in terms of the numbers facing drastic declines or extinction: more than one-third of the more than […]
New frog species discovered on tallest mountain in Indochina
A team of Australian and Vietnamese researchers recently discovered a new species of frog in the high elevations of Vietnam’s Mount Fansipan, according to a new paper in Zootaxa. The amphibian was named Botsford’s leaf-litter frog (Leptolalax botsfordi) as a tribute to Christopher Botsford for his role in amphibian biodiversity research in Asia. “I had […]
High-living frogs hurt by remote oil roads in the Amazon
Often touted as low-impact, remote oil roads in the Amazon are, in fact, having a large impact on frogs living in flowers in the upper canopy, according to a new paper published in PLOS ONE. In Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park, massive bromeliads grow on tall tropical trees high in the canopy and may contain up […]
New Bush Frog species discovered from Western Ghats of India
Researchers have described a new species of shrub frog Raorchestes ghatei from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, in India. According to them, the species differs from its close relatives based on a combination of characters including small to medium-sized adult males, snout slightly projecting beyondmouth ventrally, tongue without papilla but with a lingual pit, nuptial […]
South Texas Photography Trip
Over the last several years, in a number of photography forums I follow, I kept seeing wonderful images from several of the photography ranches in south Texas. Each year I would say, I need to get down there. Well, last summer I decided to plan the trip. I asked three of my photog friends if […]
Most Popular and Widely-Read Articles in Apr 2013
The purpose of this review is to highlight the most popular and widely-read articles during the previous month. During April our global team of wildlife photographers and authors published 182 articles in promoting the cause of wildlife conservation. First prize goes once again to Adam Riley with Komodo and its Dragons, an article published in […]
Scientists discover two new remarkably-colored lizards in the Peruvian Amazon (photos)
Scientists have discovered two new species of woodlizards from the Peruvian Amazon. Woodlizards, in the genus Enyalioides, are little-known reptiles with only 10 described species found in South and Central America. Described in a new paper in ZooKeys, both new woodlizards were found in Cordillera Azul National Park, the nations third-largest. “These species were discovered […]