Herpetological Highlights

Venom can be deadly, but not all venoms are created equal. They serve different purposes and have evolved for different reasons. In this episode we discuss a couple of new papers around the theme of venom, and finish off with a venomous new species for our Species of the Bi-week. Main Paper References: Goetz, S. M., Piccolomini, S., Hoffman, M., Bogan, J., Holding, M. L., Mendonça, M. T., & Steen, D. A. (2019). Serum-based inhibition of pitviper venom by eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi). Biology Open, 5. Healy, K., Carbone, C., & Jackson, A. L. (2019). Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure. Ecology Letters, 22(3), 527–537. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13216 Species of the Bi-Week: Captain, A., Deepak, V., Pandit, R., Bhatt, B., & Athreya, R. (2019). A new species of pitviper (Serpentes: Viperidae: Trimeresurus Lacepède, 1804) from West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 26,

A slightly hap-hazard episode looking at some brave lizards facing down an ever present snake menace. Lizards have to stop nest raiding some-how and a couple of recent papers shed some light on how. We also have a well armoured Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Pike, D. A., Clark, R. W., Manica, A., Tseng, H.-Y., Hsu, J.-Y., & Huang, W.-S. (2016). Surf and turf: Predation by egg-eating snakes has led to the evolution of parental care in a terrestrial lizard. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 22207. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22207 Sherbrooke, W. C. (2017). Antipredator Nest Guarding by Female Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma): Iguanian Parental Care. Herpetologica, 73(4), 331–337. https://doi.org/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00028.1 Species of the Bi-Week: Avila-Pires, T. C., Nogueira, C., & Martins, M. (2019). A new ‘horned’’ Stenocercus from the highlands of southeastern Brazil, and redescription of Stenocercus tricristatus (Reptilia: T

Salamanders are famous for being slippery and liking water, but we uncover some new and surprising elements in their ecology. Stay tuned for a Species of the Bi-Week that resembles a breakfast favourite. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Mezebish, T. D., Blackman, A., & Novarro, A. J. (2018). Salamander climbing behavior varies among species and is correlated with community composition. Behavioral Ecology, 29(3), 686–692. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary022 Moldowan, P. D., Alex Smith, M., Baldwin, T., Bartley, T., Rollinson, N., & Wynen, H. (2019). Nature’s pitfall trap: Salamanders as rich prey for carnivorous plants in a nutrient‐poor northern bog ecosystem. The Scientific Naturalist, e02770. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2770 Species of the Bi-Week: Sugawara, H., Watabe, T., Yoshikawa, T., & Nagano, M. (2018). Morphological and Molecular Analyses of Hynobius dunni Reveal a New Species from Shikoku, Japan. Herpetologica, 74(2), 159–168.

Pythons are marvellous beasts: their lives and ways remain mysterious. We check out a paper that lifts the curtain on a secretive Australian snake –the woma python– what do they do with their time? We also look a little closer at python facultative thermogenesis, what is it, who does it? The Species of the Bi-week is a new multi-coloured snake from high in the cloud forests. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Brashears, J., & DeNardo, D. F. (2015). Facultative thermogenesis during brooding is not the norm among pythons. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 201(8), 817–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-015-1025-4 Bruton, M. J. (2013). Arboreality, excavation, and active foraging: novel observations of radiotracked woma pythons Aspidites ramsayi. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 56(2), 19. Species of the Bi-Week: Meneses-Pelayo, E., & Passos, P. (2019). New Polychromatic Species of Atractus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from the Eastern Portion of the

In this milestone episode we are talking about toads - how common Asian species are coping with changes in land use and how the same changes in Europe impact the poisonous gunk of the common toad Bufo bufo. Our Species of the Bi-Week has nice tubercles.  Main Paper References: Bókony, V., Üveges, B., Verebélyi, V., Ujhegyi, N., & Móricz, Á. M. (2019). Toads phenotypically adjust their chemical defences to anthropogenic habitat change. Scientific Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39587-3 Karraker, N. E., Fischer, S., Aowphol, A., Sheridan, J., & Poo, S. (2018). Signals of forest degradation in the demography of common Asian amphibians. PeerJ, 6, e4220. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4220 Species of the Bi-Week: Carvalho, T. R. D., Giaretta, A. A., Angulo, A., Haddad, C. F. B., & Peloso, P. L. V. (2019). A New Amazonian Species of Adenomera (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Brazilian State of Pará: A Tody-Tyrant Voice in a Frog. American Museum Novitates, 3919(1), 1. https://do

It is a dangerous world for small lizards. To survive a lizard may need to pull off some pretty ingenious escape maneuvers. In this episode we look at two lizards that dodge predators using water. For the Species of the Bi-week we check out a species more likely to elicit escape behaviour than undertake it. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com   Main Paper References: Nirody, J. A., Jinn, J., Libby, T., Lee, T. J., Jusufi, A., Hu, D. L., & Full, R. J. (2018). Geckos Race Across the Water’s Surface Using Multiple Mechanisms. Current Biology, 28(24), 4046-4051.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.064 Swierk, L. (2019). ANOLIS AQUATICUS (= NOROPS AQUATICUS) (Water Anole). UNDERWATER BREATHING. Herpetological Review, 50(1), 134–135. Species of the Bi-Week: Carrasco, P. A., Grazziotin, F. G., Farfán, R. S. C., Koch, C., Ochoa, J. A., Scrocchi, G. J., … Chaparro, J. C. (2019). A new species of Bothrops (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) from Pampas del Heath, southeastern Peru

In this Patreon episode we delve into the world of amphibians - how will frogs, toads, salamanders and friends cope with human-induced climate alterations? We round off with a puddle-loving Species of the Bi-Week who is new to science. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References:  Miller, D. A., Grant, E. H. C., Muths, E., Amburgey, S. M., Adams, M. J., Joseph, M. B., ... & Calhoun, D. L. (2018). Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities. Nature communications, 9(1), 3926. Üveges, B., Mahr, K., Szederkényi, M., Bókony, V., Hoi, H., & Hettyey, A. (2016). Experimental evidence for beneficial effects of projected climate change on hibernating amphibians. Scientific reports, 6, 26754. Species of the Bi-Week: Goutte, S., Reyes-Velasco, J., & Boissinot, S. (2019). A new species of puddle frog from an unexplored mountain in southwestern Ethiopia (Anura, Phrynobatrachidae, Phrynobatrachus). ZooKeys, (824

Iguanas rock, and rock iguana’s doubly so. We check out the status of the Bahamas dwindling populations of Cay-dwelling rock iguana with stories of rampaging raccoons, troublesome translocations and polite pirates. Species of the Bi-week is a micro-endemic treat from Madagascar. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Hayes, W. K., Iii, R. A. E., Fry, S. K., Fortune, E. M., Wasilewski, J. A., Tuttle, D. M., … Carter, R. L. (2016). Conservation Of The Endangered Sandy Cay Rock Iguanas (Cyclura rileyi cristata): Invasive Species Control, Population Response, Pirates, Poaching, And Translocation. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 16. Hayes, W. K., Jr, S. C., Crutchfield, T., Wasilewski, J. A., Rothfus, T. A., & Carter, R. L. (2016). Conservation Of The Endangered San Salvador Rock Iguanas (Cyclura rileyi rileyi): Population Estimation, Invasive Species Control, Translocation, And Headstarting. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 17. Species of the

Episode 46 is a Patreon episode about...musk turtles! These endearing little monsters live in the waterways of the USA and we examine their unusual mouths and diet preferences. Species of the Bi-Week is a squishy chelonian. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Heiss, E., Natchev, N., Beisser, C., Lemell, P., & Weisgram, J. (2010). The fish in the turtle: On the functionality of the oropharynx in the common musk turtle Sternotherus odoratus (Chelonia, Kinosternidae) concerning feeding and underwater respiration. The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 293(8), 1416-1424. Wilhelm, C. E., & Plummer, M. V. (2012). Diet of radiotracked Musk Turtles, Sternotherus odoratus, in a small urban stream. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 7(2), 258-264. Species of the Bi-Week: Farkas, B., Ziegler, T., Pham, C. T., Ong, A. V., & Fritz, U. (2019). A new species of Pelodiscus from northeastern Indochina (Testudi

A surprise episode to tackle some of Patreon questions. A long ramble about ourselves changes into a chat about sea snake tongue flicking followed by rotating snake eyes. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com References: Banks, M. S., Sprague, W. W., Schmoll, J., Parnell, J. A. Q., & Love, G. D. (2015). Why do animal eyes have pupils of different shapes? Science Advances, 1(7), e1500391. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500391 Heath, J. E., Northcutt, R. G., & Barber, R. P. (1969). Rotational optokinesis in reptiles and its bearing on pupillary shape. Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie, 62(1), 75-85. Munro, D. F. (1950). Vertical orientation of the eye in snakes. Herpetologica, 84-88. Simões, B. F., Sampaio, F. L., Douglas, R. H., Kodandaramaiah, U., Casewell, N. R., Harrison, R. A., … Gower, D. J. (2016). Visual Pigments, Ocular Filters and the Evolution of Snake Vision. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33(10), 2483–2495. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw148 van Do

All snakes all episode this fortnight, but not just any snakes. We are talking about snake-eaters. King amongst the snake-eaters is the king cobra, where do they roam and what threats are they facing? Jumping across to Africa we check out a newly described, and smaller, snake-eater. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Marshall, B. M., Strine, C. T., Jones, M. D., Artchawakom, T., Silva, I., Suwanwaree, P., & Goode, M. (2018). Space fit for a king: spatial ecology of king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) in Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve, Northeastern Thailand. Amphibia-Reptilia. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-18000008 Marshall, B. M., Strine, C. T., Jones, M. D., Theodorou, A., Amber, E., Waengsothorn, S., … Goode, M. (2018). Hits Close to Home: Repeated Persecution of King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) in Northeastern Thailand. Tropical Conservation Science, 11, 194008291881840. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082918818401 Species of the Bi-Week: Portillo, F., Br

This episode is all about how hard it is to find herpetofauna, and the difficulty that causes when you try to understand their populations. We finish with a handsome web-footed new species. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Barata, I. M., Griffiths, R. A., & Ridout, M. S. (2017). The power of monitoring: optimizing survey designs to detect occupancy changes in a rare amphibian population. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 16491. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16534-8 Barata, I. M., Silva, E. P., & Griffiths, R. A. (2018). Predictors of Abundance of a Rare Bromeliad-Dwelling Frog ( Crossodactylodes itambe ) in the Espinhaço Mountain Range of Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 52(3), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1670/17-183 Ward, R. J., Griffiths, R. A., Wilkinson, J. W., & Cornish, N. (2017). Optimising monitoring efforts for secretive snakes: a comparison of occupancy and N-mixture models for assessment of population status. Scientific Reports, 7(1),

This fortnight is a real mix of papers. We cover Komodo dragon dispersal, newts crossing (or not) roads, and a paper looking at reptilian brains. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: De Meester, G., Huyghe, K., & Van Damme, R. (2019). Brain size, ecology and sociality: a reptilian perspective. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1–11. Jessop, T. S., Ariefiandy, A., Purwandana, D., Ciofi, C., Imansyah, J., Benu, Y. J., … Phillips, B. L. (2018). Exploring mechanisms and origins of reduced dispersal in island Komodo dragons. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1891), 20181829. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1829 Matos, C., Petrovan, S. O., Wheeler, P. M., & Ward, A. I. (2018). Short‐term movements and behaviour govern the use of road mitigation measures by a protected amphibian. Animal Conservation. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Ciofi, C., Puswati, J., Dewa, W., de Boer, M. E., Chelazzi, G., & Sastrawan, P. (2

Discussions of the reptiles of Christmas Island(s) abound in episode 42. We kick off with a paper about juvenile snake sizes and follow up with some info about reptiles crossing oceans. The Species of the Bi-Week is a brand new reptile which takes it's name from a fluffy mammal. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Aubret, F. (2015). Island colonisation and the evolutionary rates of body size in insular neonate snakes. Heredity, 115(4), 349–356. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2014.65 Oliver, P. M., Blom, M. P. K., Cogger, H. G., Fisher, R. N., Richmond, J. Q., & Woinarski, J. C. Z. (2018). Insular biogeographic origins and high phylogenetic distinctiveness for a recently depleted lizard fauna from Christmas Island, Australia. Biology Letters, 14(6), 20170696. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2017.0696 Species of the Bi-Week: Wostl, E., Hamidy, A., Kurniawan, N., & Smith, E. N. (2017). A new species of Wolf Snake of the genus Lycodon H. Boie in Fitzinger