Herpetological Highlights

Latest Episodes:

057 Pit Viper Proportions Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

Patreon episode - what’s up with Central American vipers? More specifically how is there size and shape impacted by location and interspecific interactions? We check out a couple of papers looking to explore just that. The Species of the Bi-week is a new moderately small insular viper. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Jadin, R. C., Mihaljevic, J. R., & Orlofske, S. A. (2019). Do New World pitvipers “scale‐down” at high elevations? Macroecological patterns of scale characters and body size. Ecology and evolution, 9(16), 9362-9375.

Meik, J. M., Setser, K., Mocino-Deloya, E., & Lawing, A. M. (2012). Sexual differences in head form and diet in a population of Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes, Crotalus polystictus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 106(3), 633-640.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Barbo, F. E., Gasparini, J.L., Almeida, A., Zaher, H., Grazziotin, F., Gusmão, R.B., Ferrarini, J. and Sawaya R. (2016). Another new and threatened species of lancehead genus Bothrops (Serpentes, Viperidae) from Ilha dos Franceses, Southeastern Brazil. Zootaxa, 4097(4), 511-529.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Strine, C., Barnes, C., Crane, M., Silva, I., Suwanwaree, P., Nadolski, B., … Hill, J. (2015). Sexual dimorphism of tropical green pit viper Trimeresurus (Cryptelytrops) macrops in Northeast Thailand. Amphibia-Reptilia, 36(4), 327–338. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-00003010

Mackessy, S., Leroy, J., Mociño-Deloya, E., Setser, K., Bryson, R., & Saviola, A. (2018). Venom ontogeny in the mexican lance-headed rattlesnake (Crotalus polystictus). Toxins, 10(7), 271.

Other Links/Mentions:

Association of Zoos pdf: https://ams.aza.org/iweb/upload/RCP_Snake2016-76b7ff18.pdf

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

056 The Ecology of Snakebite Oct 10, 2019

Show notes

Snakebite is a worldwide phenomenon which has dramatic consequences for human health. But how does the ecology of snakes influence its incidence and severity? We first look at snakebite globally, and then focus in on a famous island. Our Species of the Bi-Week is a recently described tree-dwelling serpent.

FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Longbottom, J., Shearer, F. M., Devine, M., Alcoba, G., Chappuis, F., Weiss, D. J., … Pigott, D. M. (2018). Vulnerability to snakebite envenoming: A global mapping of hotspots. The Lancet, 392(10148), 673–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31224-8

Yue, S., Bonebrake, T. C., & Gibson, L. (2019). Human-snake Conflict Patterns in a Dense Urban-Forest Mosaic Landscape. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 14(1), 143–154.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Branch, W. R., Bayliss, J., Bittencourt-Silva, G. B., Conradie, W., Engelbrecht, H. M., Loader, S. P., … Tolley, K. A. (2019). A new species of tree snake (Dipsadoboa, Serpentes: Colubridae) from ‘sky island’ forests in northern Mozambique, with notes on other members of the Dipsadoboa werneri group. Zootaxa, 4646(3), 541–563. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4646.3.6

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Akani, G. C., Eyo, E., Odegbune, E., Eniang, E. A., & Luiselli, L. (2002). Ecological patterns of anthropogenic mortality of suburban snakes in an African tropical region. Israel Journal of Zoology, 48(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1092/NL55-UK13-XXQ9-NCYE

Devan-Song, A., Martelli, P., Dudgeon, D., Crow, P., Ades, G., & Karraker, N. E. (2016). Is long-distance translocation an effective mitigation tool for white-lipped pit vipers (Trimeresurus albolabris) in South China? Biological Conservation, 204, 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.013

Fourcade, Y., Besnard, A. G., & Secondi, J. (2018). Paintings predict the distribution of species, or the challenge of selecting environmental predictors and evaluation statistics. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27(2), 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12684

Wilson, K., Hanks, E., & Johnson, D. (2018). Estimating animal utilization densities using continuous-time Markov chain models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(5), 1232–1240. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12967

Other Links/Mentions:

https://theconversation.com/unsuitable-antivenoms-are-being-sold-in-africa-costing-lives-83658

Habib AG, Abubakar SB. (2011) Factors affecting snakebite mortality in north-eastern Nigeria. Int Health, 3, 50–55.

Iftime, Alexandru and Iftime, O. (2014): Thanatosis and autohaemorrhaging in the Aesculapian Snake Zamenis longissimus (LAURENTI, 1768), Herpetozoa 26, 3/4, 173-4.

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

055 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Water Snakes Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

After an unscheduled delay we are back. What better way to return than a look into the lives and diets of water snakes - mysterious creatures of the wetlands, all consuming, and surprisingly numerous. We have a lumpy frog for the Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Virgin, E. E., & King, R. B. (2019). What Does the Snake Eat? Breadth, Overlap, and Non-native Prey in the Diet of Three Sympatric Natricine Snakes. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 11.

Willson, J. D., & Winne, C. T. (2016). Evaluating the functional importance of secretive species: A case study of aquatic snake predators in isolated wetlands. Journal of Zoology, 298(4), 266–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12311

Species of the Bi-Week:

Yánez-Muñoz, M. H., Veintimilla-Yánez, D., Batallas, D., & Cisneros-Heredia, D. F. (2019). A new giant Pristimantis (Anura, Craugastoridae) from the paramos of the Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador. ZooKeys, 852, 137–156. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.852.24557

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Brooks, S. E., Allison, E. H., & Reynolds, J. D. (2007). Vulnerability of Cambodian water snakes: Initial assessment of the impact of hunting at Tonle Sap Lake. Biological Conservation, 139(3–4), 401–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.009

Other Links/Mentions:

“Fantastic Voyage” Trailer, 20th Century Fox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO5E4wkg0hA

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

054 Venom Variation Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

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, 13.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Barlow, A., Pook, C. E., Harrison, R. A., & Wüster, W. (2009). Coevolution of diet and prey-specific venom activity supports the role of selection in snake venom evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1666), 2443-2449.

Malhotra, A., & Thorpe, R. S. (2004). A phylogeny of four mitochondrial gene regions suggests a revised taxonomy for Asian pitvipers (Trimeresurus and Ovophis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 32(1), 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2004.02.008

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

053 In Defense of Eggs Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

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: Tropiduridae)’. Zoologia, 36, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.36.e22909

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Huang, W.-S., Greene, H. W., Chang, T.-J., & Shine, R. (2011). Territorial behavior in Taiwanese kukrisnakes (Oligodon formosanus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(18), 7455–7459. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1101804108

Origgi, F. C., Schmidt, B. R., Lohmann, P., Otten, P., Meier, R. K., Pisano, S. R., ... & Gaschen, V. (2018). Bufonid herpesvirus 1 (BfHV1) associated dermatitis and mortality in free ranging common toads (Bufo bufo) in Switzerland. Scientific reports, 8(1), 14737. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32841-0

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

052 Salamanders Vs Plants Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

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. https://doi.org/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00002.1

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Adams, D. C., & Rohlf, F. J. (2000). Ecological character displacement in Plethodon: Biomechanical differences found from a geometric morphometric study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(8), 4106–4111. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.8.4106

Other Links/Mentions:

Roberts, W. E. (1994). Explosive breeding aggregations and parachuting in a Neotropical frog, Agalychnis saltator (Hylidae). Journal of Herpetology, 193-199.

Stuart YE, Campbell TS, Hohenlohe PA, Reynolds RG, Revell LJ, Losos JB. 2014. Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener. Science. 346:463–466.

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

051 Python Surprise Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

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 Colombian Andes. Copeia, 107(2), 250. https://doi.org/10.1643/CH-18-163

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Cantalapiedra, J. L., Aze, T., Cadotte, M. W., Dalla Riva, G. V., Huang, D., Mazel, F., … Mooers, A. Ø. (2019). Conserving evolutionary history does not result in greater diversity over geological time scales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1904), 20182896. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.2896

Chambers, E. A., & Hillis, D. M. (2019). The Multispecies Coalescent Over-splits Species in the Case of Geographically Widespread Taxa. Systematic Biology, syz042. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syz042

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

050 Toady, Toady, Tody May 23, 2019

Show notes

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://doi.org/10.1206/3919.1

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Arbuckle, K., Brockhurst, M., & Speed, M. P. (2013). Does chemical defence increase niche space? A phylogenetic comparative analysis of the Musteloidea. Evolutionary Ecology, 27(5), 863–881. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-013-9629-z

Karraker, N. E., & Welsh Jr, H. H. (2006). Long-term impacts of even-aged timber management on abundance and body condition of terrestrial amphibians in Northwestern California. Biological Conservation, 131(1), 132-140.

Møller A et al. 2015 Effects of urbanization on bird phenology: a continental study of paired urban and rural populations. Climate Res. 66, 185– 199. (doi:10.3354/cr01344)

Pramuk, J. B., Robertson, T., Sites, J. W., & Noonan, B. P. (2008). Around the world in 10 million years: Biogeography of the nearly cosmopolitan true toads (Anura: Bufonidae). Global Ecology and Biogeography, 17(1), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00348.x

Other Links/Mentions:

Call of Adenomera phonotriccus:

https://soundcloud.com/museugoeldi/canto-da-nova-especie-de-ra-da-amazonia-adenomera-phonotriccus

Link from Dr Levi Gray on twitter: https://t.co/eyEe6EXxxP

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

049 Great Lizard Escapes May 07, 2019

Show notes

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, with comments on the systematics of the Bothrops neuwiedi species group. Zootaxa, 4565(3), 301. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4565.3.1

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

NICHOLSON, KIRSTEN E.; BRIAN I. CROTHER, CRAIG GUYER & JAY M. SAVAGE (2012). It is time for a new classification of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Zootaxa 3477: 1–108.

NICHOLSON, KIRSTEN E.; BRIAN I. CROTHER, CRAIG GUYER & JAY M. SAVAGE (2018). Translating a clade based classification into one that is valid under the international code of zoological nomenclature: the case of the lizards of the family Dactyloidae (Order Squamata). Zootaxa 4461 (4): 573–586.

Other Links/Mentions:

Video of surface running in the wild: https://www.cell.com/cms/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.064/attachment/5ca65509-66ab-4c2e-b882-81b2a32dacc6/mmc2.mp4

Video of surface running in the lab: https://www.cell.com/cms/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.064/attachment/810c5bcb-6b9f-4294-88cc-0181b6fbe4e3/mmc3.mp4

Video of underwater breathing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDwqWAv1RO4

Gecko walking on water article: https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/watch-a-gecko-runs-on-water

Which anole are you? https://www.playbuzz.com/item/d14bede2-6d3f-4814-92d2-2bd35caaedf5?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=ff&utm_campaign=ff&pb_traffic_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0IOp1Gczd2rrUBHC_ajsXDMKkUyRtJtvySoSPFV_qNTQbvAp9EVvsN06k

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

048 The Frog After Tomorrow Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

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), 53.

Other mentioned papers:

Morgan, M. J., Hunter, D., Pietsch, R. O. D., Osborne, W., & Keogh, J. S. (2008). Assessment of genetic diversity in the critically endangered Australian corroboree frogs, Pseudophryne corroboree and Pseudophryne pengilleyi, identifies four evolutionarily significant units for conservation. Molecular Ecology, 17(15), 3448-3463.

Other Links/Mentions:

Ross McGibbon reptile photography: https://www.facebook.com/RossMcGibbonReptilePhotography/

Steve Allain's new crowdfunder: https://www.gofundme.com/where-did-the-toads-come-from

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com