Herpetological Highlights

A bunch of new research up for discussion with frogs building nests, two-tailed geckos jogging about, and a leucistic snake that's venomous and poisonous.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Angiolani‐Larrea FN, Jindiachi L, Tinajero‐Romero JG, Valencia‐Aguilar A, Garrido‐Priego M, Culebras J, Ringler E. 2023. Egg burying behaviour in Pristimantis highlights the link between direct development and specialised parental care. Ecology and Evolution 13:e10808. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10808.

Liang T, Ran J, Liang Q, Leng L, Du J, Wang J, Shi L. 2024. Report of abnormal tail regeneration of Eremias yarkandensis (Sauria: Lacertidae) and its locomotor performance. Ecology and Evolution 14:e11074. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11074.

Park S, Cheon S, Park H, Kim N, Rahman MM, Sung H. 2024. The first record of leucism in the Rhabdophis tigrinus (Boie, 1826) (Squamata, Colubridae) in South Korea. Ecology and Evolution 14:e11029. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11029.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Intro visuals – Paul Snelling

Are lizards from fire-prone areas more savvy to smoke? New research suggests they are, plus we chat about a newly discovered green frog whose beautiful call (probably) resembles a flute.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper Reference:

Álvarez-Ruiz L, Belliure J, Pausas JG. 2021. Fire-driven behavioral response to smoke in a Mediterranean lizard. Behavioral Ecology 32:662–667. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab010.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Marinho P, Santos MTT, Faivovich J, Lyra ML, Giaretta AA, Haddad CFB, Carvalho TR. 2024. A New Species of the Aplastodiscus albosignatus Group (Hylinae: Cophomantini) from the Northern Mantiqueira Mountain Range. Herpetologica 80. DOI: 10.1655/Herpetologica-D-23-00008.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Intro visuals – Paul Snelling

In Australia rotten meat is a valuable commodity that monitor lizards compete for against dingoes and red foxes. Plus new work from a team including ZSL has discovered a key ingredient to some lizard and crocodilian teeth that explains how they are so tough.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Cairncross RJ, Spencer EE, Meisuria N, Crowther MS, Newsome TM. 2024. Carrion use by a reptile is influenced by season, habitat and competition with an apex mammalian scavenger. Ecology and Evolution 14:e70211. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70211.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

LeBlanc ARH, Morrell AP, Sirovica S, Al-Jawad M, Labonte D, D’Amore DC, Clemente C, Wang S, Giuliani F, McGilvery CM, Pittman M, Kaye TG, Stevenson C, Capon J, Tapley B, Spiro S, Addison O. 2024. Iron-coated Komodo dragon teeth and the complex dental enamel of carnivorous reptiles. Nature Ecology & Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02477-7.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

We talk about tourists intimidating lizards, pythons eating each other, and some fun skink action including a brand new dragon-like skink.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Golawska S, Charalambidou I, Surmacki A, Golawski A. 2024. Tourism influences escape behavior of lizards in relationship with human clothing color. Scientific Reports 14:16869. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-68092-5.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Wang K, Li L, Mu H-N, Xu S-J, Che J. 2024. A New Species of the Genus Tropidophorus Duméril, Bibron, 1839 (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from China-Vietnam Border Region in Southeastern Yunnan Province, China. Zootaxa 5486:129–141. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5486.1.6.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Mahamud I, Asif AA, Rahman MM, Sarker S, Shome AR. 2024. Python eats python: A Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) preying on a Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) in Bangladesh. Reptiles & Amphibians 31:e21418. DOI: 10.17161/randa.v31i1.21418.

Other Links/Mentions:

Aesculapian snakes paper: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.01.610713v1 

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

At the World Congress of Herpetology in Borneo we had the pleasure of meeting Mark and Hiral from the SquaMates Podcast, and took the opportunity to record an episode together. You can watch the video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ptXlOtEzivs 

Check out Mark D. Scherz, Ethan Kocak, Gabriel Ugueto, and Hiral Naik in the SquaMates Podcast: http://squamatespod.com/ 

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Back from the World Congress in Borneo, we catch up about the experience, and finish with the recording of the mini podcast we did in front of a live audience. Special thanks to the Singapore Herpetological Society for inviting us to speak in their symposium about outreach and inclusivity in herpetology.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Presentations at WCH References:

Isaac Krone, Kat Magoulick and Ryan Yohler “All (the Herps) the Earth will not Remember: How Geographic Gaps Pattern the Future Fossil Record of Reptiles and Amphibians”

Chantelle Derez, Cameron Baker, Joshua Llinas, Ross Dwyer and Richard Fuller “No Place Like Home: Relocated ‘Nuisance’ Pythons Move Further and Die Earlier”

Kaiqi Wu, Peng Guo, Yayong Wu and Gang Gao “From Plateau to Clouds - How to Promote Herpetology Research in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau through Online Science Popularisation” Documentaries at: https://www.youtube.com/@Terraristik4all/videos & space.bilibili.com/485572109

Sarin Tiatragul, Alexander Skeels and Scott Keogh “Spaghetti and Sausages: A Nonadaptive Radiation of Australian Blindsnakes”

Krystal A. Tolley, Wade K. Stanton-Jones, Jody M. Barends, Melissa Petford, Anthony Herrel and Graham J. Alexander “Responses to Habitat Change in Knysna Dwarf Chameleons (Bradypodion damaranum)”

Check out the Singapore Herpetological Society: https://herpsocsg.com/ 

Species of the Bi-Week:

Kurita T, Nishikawa K, Hossman MY, Mizuno T, Sato H, Gumal M. 2024. Description of a new sandstone-dwelling species of genus Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Gunung Santubong National Park, southwestern Sarawak, Malaysia. Zootaxa 5468:361–378. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5468.2.7.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

This episode is all behaviour, looking at whether Australian lizards can exercise inhibitory control.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Szabo B, Hoefer S, Whiting MJ. 2020. Are lizards capable of inhibitory control? Performance on a semi-transparent version of the cylinder task in five species of Australian skinks. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74:118. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02897-y.

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Wojciech – https://www.fiverr.com/buczar 

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

This episode we are looking at egg-feeding poison frogs and their ability to find their way back to their home territory. Species of the Bi-week is a fresh mud snake.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Gómez-Consuegra J, Amézquita A. 2024. Ecological and behavioral correlates of homing performance in the egg-feeding poison frog Oophaga histrionica. Evolutionary Ecology 38:241–253. DOI: 10.1007/s10682-023-10283-z.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Nguyen SN, Le MV, Lathrop A, Vo T-D-H, Murphy RW, Che J. 2024. A new species of mud snake (Squamata: Homalopsidae: Myrrophis) from southern Vietnam. Vertebrate Zoology 74:221–233. DOI: 10.3897/vz.74.e116992.

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Wojciech – https://www.fiverr.com/buczar 

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Popular pets, dart frogs are known to tap their toes, but the precise reasoning behind it has eluded scientists until now.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Parrish TQ, Fischer EK. 2024. Tap dancing frogs: Posterior toe tapping and feeding in Dendrobates tinctorius. Ethology 130:e13465. DOI: 10.1111/eth.13465.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Phung TM, Pham CT, Nguyen TQ, Ninh HT, Nguyen HQ, Bernardes M, Le ST, Ziegler T, Nguyen TT. 2023. Southbound – the southernmost record of Tylototriton (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) from the Central Highlands of Vietnam represents a new species. ZooKeys 1168:193–218. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1168.96091.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Claessens, L. S. A., Ganchev, N. O., Kukk, M. M., Schutte, C. J., & Sloggett, J. J. (2020). An investigation of toe-tapping behaviour in anurans by analysis of online video resources. Journal of Zoology, 312(3), 158–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12815

Other Links/Mentions:

Caramaschi U., Nascimento LB, Silvano D. 2004. Dendropsophus jimi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T55520A11324324. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55520A11324324.en

Call of Dendropsophus jimi from: https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Dendropsophus&where-species=jimi 

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Wojciech– https://www.fiverr.com/buczar 

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

To celebrate 200 episodes we test each other on how well we remember them, before diving in to a paper about urban water snakes.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Mészáros B, Bürgés J, Tamás M, Gál B, Schmera D, Hamer AJ. 2024. Urban oasis? Abundant dice snake (Natrix tessellata) populations along artificial lakeside habitats in urban landscapes. Landscape Ecology 39:124. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-024-01917-w.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Fondren A, Swierk L, Putman BJ. 2020. Clothing color mediates lizard responses to humans in a tropical forest. Biotropica 52:172–181. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12744.

Rai TP. 2020. An Elongated Tortoise Attempting to Prey on a Buff-striped Keelback the Turtle Rescue and Conservation Centre in Eastern Nepal. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27:297–299.

Brock KM, Chelini M-C, Ayton C, Madden IE, Ramos C, Blois JL, Pafilis P, Edwards DL. 2022. Colour morph predicts social behaviour and contest outcomes in a polymorphic lizard (Podarcis erhardii). Animal Behaviour 191:91–103. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.06.017.

Nirody JA, Jinn J, Libby T, Lee TJ, Jusufi A, Hu DL, Full RJ. 2018. Geckos Race Across the Water’s Surface Using Multiple Mechanisms. Current Biology 28:4046-4051.e2. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.064.

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Wojciech– https://www.fiverr.com/buczar 

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com