#herpetology

[amnhnyc]

Meet one of the world’s smallest reptiles: the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon (Brookesia micra)! It's named after the islet off the northwest coast of Madagascar in which it's found. An adult grows to be just over 1 in (2.5 cm) long, and a juvenile can fit on the head of a match. Scientists think that its miniature size may be an extreme form of island dwarfism—a process by which species decrease in size over generations in response to an island’s limited resources. This species was described as recently as 2012. 

Photo: Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Ted M. Townsend, Miguel Vences. PLoS ONE, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

[bad-scientific-illustrations]

Source: McKnight, D.T., Bower, D.S., Ventura, C., Streeting, L.M. and Nordberg, E.J. (2026), Social clustering behavior in hatchling western saw-shelled turtles (Myuchelys bellii). J Zool, 329: 156-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70117

Very delightful that the moral of this paper is that western saw-shelled turtles (Myuchelys bellii) like to cuddle

[herpsandbirds]

Pehuenche Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes pehuenche), family Alsodidae, endemic to Pehuenche Valley in the Andes of southern Mendoza Province, Argentina, and the adjacent Chile

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

Less than 1,000 frogs are left in the wild.

Known from six streams (five in Argentina and one in Chile).

This frog has a very slow development time, and metamorphosis from tadpole to adult frog takes about 3 years (including 4 winters).

photographs by Vicente Valdés

[uukkiyo]

island critters

[amnhnyc]

Have you ever seen the blue tree monitor (Varanus macraei)? Growing up to 3.6 ft (1.1 m) long, it can be found only on the Indonesian island of Batanta. This arboreal reptile spends most of its life in the trees, using its prehensile tail—which is nearly twice the length of its body—to assist with climbing. Fun fact: This species wasn’t scientifically described until 2001.

Photo: Tanto Yensen, iStock

[herpsandbirds]

Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), family Proteidae, found in the Mid-South and northern Mid-west of the U.S. and in extreme southern parts of Canada.

T - larva/tadpole, M/B - adult

This is fully aquatic salamander that retains its gills into adulthood. (Neotenic | Paedomorphic).

photographs by Dick Bartlett

[sanglunaria]

Had to churn out some original art for Otakon, so I decided to combine three of my favorite things: herpetology, sweets, and puns!