Frogs and Reptiles News

November 17, 2024

Top Headlines

A New Wrinkle in Turtles: Their Genomes Fold in a Unique Way, Researchers Find

Nov. 11, 2024 — A study described the three-dimensional architecture of turtle genomes, which fold in a configuration unlike any other animal observed so ...

New Study Maps Dramatic 100-Million-Year Explosion in Color Signals Used by Animals

Nov. 7, 2024 — A recent study finds that color vision evolved in animals more than 100 million years before the emergence of colorful fruits and flowers. And there has been a dramatic explosion of color signals in ...

Pythons Can Swallow Even Bigger Prey Than Scientists Realized

Oct. 28, 2024 — Burmese pythons can consume prey even larger than scientists realized, according to a new study. That means more animals are on the menu across southern Florida, where the nonnative, invasive snakes have decimated populations of foxes, bobcats, ...

Turtle Genome Provides New Clues on the Evolution of Vertebrates

Oct. 21, 2024 — Scientists have generated the genome assemblies of two hidden-neck turtles, unpublished until now. The results, which revealed a new three-dimensional structure of the genome within the phylogenetic group of reptiles, birds and mammals, will ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:16pm EST

Frog Populations Once Decimated by Disease Mount a Major Comeback

Nov. 14, 2024 — Thanks to the consistent and focused efforts of researchers and conservationists to save, then reintroduce, mountain yellow-legged frogs to lakes in Yosemite National Park, their populations are ...

Move Along, Moose: Study Reveals the 'Most Canadian' Animals

Oct. 25, 2024 — What is the 'most Canadian' animal? Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. A new study ranks species of terrestrial vertebrates in Canada by their level of Canadian evolutionary distinctness: ...

Environmental DNA and Epidemics in Wood Frogs

Oct. 17, 2024 — Environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, is genetic material shed from animals and plants that scientists can use to tell what kinds of organisms are living in an environment. However, scientists ...

Seven New Frog Species Discovered in Madagascar: Sounds Like Something from Star Trek

Oct. 15, 2024 — Researchers have discovered seven new species of tree frogs that make otherworldly calls in the rainforests of Madagascar. Their strange, ...

Snakes in the City: Ten Years of Wildlife Rescues Reveal Insights Into Human-Reptile Interactions

Oct. 2, 2024 — An extensive exploration of ten years of wildlife rescue data reveals the complex interactions between humans and reptiles in Sydney's urban ...

These Tadpoles Have Discovered a Unique Way of Not Contaminating Their Water Supply: Not Pooping

Sep. 24, 2024 — The Eiffinger's tree frog found in Japan has a unique biological adaptation: its tadpoles do not defecate during their early developmental stages to ...

'Scuba-Diving' Lizards Use Bubble to Breathe Underwater and Avoid Predators

Sep. 17, 2024 — A species of semi-aquatic lizard produces a special bubble over its nostrils to breathe underwater and avoid ...

Giant Fanged Frog Went Unrecognized in Philippines Because It Was Nearly Identical to Even Larger Species

Sep. 9, 2024 — Researchers published findings describing a new species of fanged frog, named Limnonectes cassiopeia, from the Philippine island of ...

Researchers Find Ideal Place to Take Reptiles' Pulse Rate

Sep. 5, 2024 — Researchers have discovered they can consistently measure reptiles' pulse rate in an easy-to-reach spot on the back of the head, and that pulse rate corresponds to the heart rate in healthy ...

Tarantulas Have Surprising Partnerships With Other Species and Their Hairiness May Be a Defense Mechanism

Aug. 22, 2024 — A new study reveals that tarantulas are often on friendly terms with amphibians, reptiles, and even army ants, which are known to feed on spiders. ...

Scientists Condition Crocodiles to Avoid Killer Cane Toads

Aug. 15, 2024 — Scientists have trialled a new way to protect freshwater crocodiles from deadly invasive cane toads spreading across northern ...

Komodo Dragons Have Iron-Coated Teeth to Rip Apart Their Prey

July 24, 2024 — Scientists have discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons' teeth are tipped with iron. The study gives new insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide ...

New Snake Discovery Rewrites History, Points to North America's Role in Snake Evolution

July 19, 2024 — A new species of fossil snake unearthed in Wyoming is rewriting our understanding of snake evolution. The discovery, based on four remarkably well-preserved specimens found curled together in a ...

Using AI to Scrutinize, Validate Theories on Animal Evolution

July 18, 2024 — By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers have constructed a framework for analyzing what factors most significantly contribute to a species' genetic ...

Researchers Find That Frogs Can Quickly Increase Their Tolerance to Pesticides

July 16, 2024 — Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ...

Frog 'Saunas' a Lifeline for Endangered Frog Populations

June 26, 2024 — New biologist-designed shelters will help endangered frogs survive the devastating impacts of a deadly fungal disease by regulating their body temperature to fight off ...

Lazy Predator: A New Species of Mountain Pitviper from China

June 13, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new species of medium-sized venomous snake in Yunnan, China. Ovophis jenkinsi is dark brownish-grey in color with trapezoidal patches on its back. It is endemic to ...

Fishy Mystery of Marine Reptile Solved

June 5, 2024 — The identity of a prehistoric marine reptile has finally been revealed after experts discovered that some of its remains actually belonged to ...

Captivating Blue-Colored Ant Discovered in India's Remote Siang Valley

June 3, 2024 — A new species of blue ant was discovered in Yingku village in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeastern India. It was named Paraparatrechina neela, after the word 'neela' which means blue in various ...

The Missing Puzzle Piece: A Striking New Snake Species from the Arabian Peninsula

May 30, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new distinctive and secretive snake species in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. The new species is widely distributed and fills much of the existing distribution gap ...

Why Do Dyeing Poison Frogs Tap Dance?

May 28, 2024 — The toe tapping behavior of various amphibians has long attracted attention from researchers and pet owners. Despite being widely documented, the underlying functional role is poorly understood. In a ...

Designing a Better Nest to Help Endangered Turtles

May 23, 2024 — With Ontario's eight species of turtles considered at risk, a new nest designed by researchers has the potential to significantly bolster their struggling populations. The habitat is the first ...

First Effective Treatment Found for Spitting Cobra Snakebite

May 7, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a new snakebite treatment to prevent the devastating tissue damage caused by African spitting cobra venom. Spitting cobra venom is incredibly potent and causes ...

Frog Species Evolved Rapidly in Response to Road Salts

Apr. 23, 2024 — When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 ...

Fossil Frogs Share Their Skincare Secrets

Apr. 23, 2024 — Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil ...

'Teacher Toads' Can Save Native Animals from Toxic Cane Toads

Apr. 9, 2024 — Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly ...

The Life Aquatic: A Game Changer for Frog Vision, but Little Difference Between Night and Day

Apr. 4, 2024 — Frogs display a remarkable diversity of species as a whole, but does the same hold true for their visual abilities? A new study sought to answer this question by collaborating with researchers in ...

Discovery Could End Global Amphibian Pandemic

Apr. 3, 2024 — A fungus devastating frogs and toads on nearly every continent may have an Achilles heel. Scientists have discovered a virus that infects the fungus, and that could be engineered to save the ...

Combination of the Climate Crisis and Continued Deforestation May Result in Significant Damage to the Animal World

Mar. 31, 2024 — A new study states that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, ...

Two Coral Snakes Recorded Battling for Prey in a Scientific First

Mar. 26, 2024 — Two red-tailed coral snakes have been observed competing over a caecilian in the first documented wild case of kleptoparasitism within the family ...