everything-herpetology

[everything-herpetology]

I’m in Massachusetts for a couple of months

Anyone in the neighborhood wants to go herping and show me some of that sweet US wildlife?

[everything-herpetology]

Boiga irregularis

Common Names: Brown tree snake, Brown cat snake, Braune Nachtbaumnatter

Typically found in lowland woods & coastal forests. Native to Australia (New South Wales, North Territory, Queensland, West Australia), Indonesia, New Guinea, & the Solomon Islands. Has been recently introduced into Guam & the Caroline Islands.

Venom Characteristics

Nature & action of venom not well studied. Effects in bitten small mammal pets & human children have included: drooping eyelids, lowered muscle tone near bite, poor coordination, depressed heart rate, respiratory distress, tissue swelling & discoloration significant distances from bite. Rapidly repeated bites by threatened snakes are common. Reported fatalities not well documented & may have been by misidentified kraits.

[everything-herpetology]

One lion’s trash is another lizard’s treasure. 

[everything-herpetology]

Bushmaster, Lachesis muta by Andreas Kay Via Flickr: This potentially deadly pit viper confounded so well with the leaves on the ground that my friend Edison realized its presence only when he had already touched it with the tip of his boots and the snake rose up in strike position.

[everything-herpetology]

Arboreal Alligator Lizard (Abronia graminea), endangered lizard from Veracruz and Puebla, Mexico.

photograph by Derek Ramsey

[everything-herpetology]

[everything-herpetology]

Archey’s frog, unusually, is almost completely terrestrial.  It lives and hunts entirely on earth, its young even developing completely within the egg and skipping the aquatic tadpole stage.  These frogs are also known to climb several metres up into bushes and trees to search for food.  It has adapted several traits to avoid drying out; a frog can lose 92% of their humidity, but once placed on wet foliage can restore itself up to 99% humidity within four hours.

[everything-herpetology]

Archey’s frog is what’s known as a living fossil, being anatomically nearly indistinguishable from the fossilized frogs dating back over 150 million years.  It’s also one of the world’s most endangered frogs, with some populations having declined by 88% between 1996 and 2002.

[everything-herpetology]

Red and yellow…

[everything-herpetology]

Natural History and pictures of reptiles and amphibians

designed according to the latest systems and with consideration for the instruction of youth 

by HR Schinz; according to the nature and drawn and lithographed by KJ Brodtmann.

Publication info Schaffhausen: From Brodt man’s lithographic Art Institute, 1833.

BHL Collections:

Ernst Mayr Library of the MCZ, Harvard University

[everything-herpetology]

Central American Amevia (Amevia festiva)

Also known as the Central American Whiptail or Tiger Amevia, the Central American amevia is a species of whiptail lizard (Teiidae) which is known to occur throughout Central and South America, ranging from southern Mexico as far south as Colombia. Central American amevia are known to inhabit a pretty wide range of habitats but are generally encountered in open areas. As adults Central American amevia are known to possess dark brown “zig-zag” patterns running down their backs, juveniles have metallic-blue tails.

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Reptilia-Squamata-Scincomorpha-Teiidae-Amevia-A. festiva

Image: Esteban Alzate

[everything-herpetology]

A mechanical snake with the ability to move through the water.

[everything-herpetology]

Mating toads… by caroetmichel

[everything-herpetology]

Guess who is going to do his minor thesis/internship at Losos Laboratory at Harvard?