Amphibian News

Frog deformations may be the result of dragonfly nymphs, according to some researchers. (News source.)

A pic here of a recently discovered transparent frog in Ecuador.

A fish-surfing frog photographed in the UK, here.

Axolotls are being studied for limb regeneration research. (News source.)

OOP Crocs

Two small crocodilians were reported from a pond near a Ukrainian oil refinery plant. (News source.)

Tracks on a Brevard County, FL, beach indicate an alligator or croc; saltwater-forays by gators are unusual. (News source.)

Snake Bites in the News

Another B.C. man was bitten by a rattlesnake. (News source.)

A hiker on the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee was bitten by a copperhead. (News source.)

Herp Folklore

A Nigerian story about crocodiles, here.

A Kentucky man's snake stories shows how perception can be confused. (News source.)

Tentacled Snakes

An interesting study here on how tentacled snakes capture prey.

Snake Bites

A Green Bay, Wisconsin, teen was bitten by a captive rattlesnake. It and several other illegally kept venomous snakes were confiscated. (News source.)

A Louisiana firefighter was bitten by a cottonmouth. (News source.)

Court Ruling: Can't Sue for Utah Snake Case Deaths

The rubber boas that died due to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources negligence are a lost cause: the owner can't sue. (News here, and here.)

Other Turtle News

Ravens are on a hit list for killing endangered desert tortoises. (News source.)

A device for fishing nets that might protect sea turtles better is not enthusiastically welcomed by fishermen. (News source.)

Researchers found a leatherback sea turtle tagged in Nova Scotia has turned up in Colombia waters. (News source.)

Turtle Legal Issues

Florida has introduced their new rules on taking freshwater turtles. (News source.)

A Maldives resort could be in trouble for their unlicensed "conservation" project with sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

A nearly $3 million "ecopassage" under a busy Florida highway is mostly to save turtles (and protect motorists), but is controversial in Congress. (News source.)

Polish customs officials arrested a Ukrainian man for smuggling tortoises. (News source.)

A Filipino man was arrested in Malaysia for smuggling/selling turtle eggs. (News source.)

More Crocodilian News

A swimmer in Mississippi may have been attacked by an alligator. (News source.)

The mystery crocodile deaths in South Africa still haven't been solved. (News source.)

Out of Place Crocodilians

A village pond in France is being drained to catch the "crocodile" said to be lurking there. (News source.)

A baby gator was caught in Trumbull Lake, in Connecticut, probably dumped due to the restrictive regulations there. (News source.)

A small alligator was seen in an Indiana lake. (News source.)

Legal Matters in Edgewood, Florida

A reptile ban in Edgewood, Florida, was skipped, after local herpetoculturists showed some fight. Venomous owners will have to register with the city. (News source.)

Snakes A'Biting

An Alabama man was bitten by a cottonmouth. (News source.)

In Wilson County, Texas, a man was bitten by a coral snake, and a girl was bitten by a rattlesnake. (News source.)

A Utah girl went through a traumatic time with a rattlesnake bite. (News source.)

Venomous Snakes in the Middle East

"Swarms of snakes" in Iraq are moving to new areas due to drought, and end up biting livestock and people. (News source.)

And, an RAF crew in Kandahar had to deal with a viper during a rocket attack. They did manage to relocate it unharmed. (News source.)

Snake Bites in India

In two separate cases, a woman is killed by a snakebite, leaving her children orphans, and a woman and her young daughter both died from bites by the same snake.

Turtle Woes

About twenty snapping turtles in North Dakota were killed by a bacterial outbreak. (News source.)

Poachers took out four sea turtle nests on Sarasota Co., FL, beaches. (News source.)

Utah: Frog Conservation

Utah wildlife officials are creating new marsh areas for the rare Columbia spotted frog. (News source.)

Australia: Bit in the City

A Melbourne department store cleaner was bitten by a brown snake while throwing trash in a dumpster. (News source.)

Turtle Bust (Baltimore)

Two street vendors were arrested for selling undersized turtles in Baltimore. (News source.)

Crocodilians

Hermes is farming crocs in Australia to meet demand for their crocodile-skin products. (News source.)

Two young Indian men fought of a crocodile that attacked their father. (News source.)

A profile here on a Florida gator trapper.

Don't do this with your kids (or your crocs).

Python News

A Uganda man got into an argument with wildlife officials when he demanded compensation for damage to a goat from a python. (News source.)

Researchers are investigating whether Burmese pythons could survive in South Carolina. (News source.)

European Snake Farm

A German firm is building a snake breeding farm for venom extraction for the drug and beauty isndustries. (News source.)

Elephant Dung as Microhabitat

Three species of frogs in Sri Lanka have been reported taking advantage of elephant dung as a temporary home. (News source.)

How Snakes Slither

It's all in the scales, according to this report.

Turtle Goes Home

A Washington family is getting back their western pond turtle on permanent loan from CA wildlife officials. (News source.)

Poachers

India officials are cracking down on frog poaching. (News source.)

An Indian national was arrested for smuggling turtles and fish. (News source.)

Crocs in the News

A Cambodian croc farmer takes tourists through for a small fee -- showing them where the Khmer Rouge used to feed enemies to the crocodiles. (News source.)

A Congo fisherman was attacked by a crocodile, and ended up in a Texas hospital to have his arm reattached. (News source.)

Dart Frogs: Another Toxin

"New research documents a surprising chemical weapon used by some Amazonian poison frogs. The study identified for the first time a family of poisons never before known to exist in these brightly colored creatures or elsewhere in Nature, the N-methyldecahydroquinolines. The authors then speculated on its origin in the frogs’ diet, most likely ants. The report is scheduled for the June 26 issue of ACS’ Journal of Natural Products." (News source.)

Latest Snake Bites

An Oklahoma man was in serious pain after a small snake bit him. (News source.)

A Florida girl was bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake. (News source.)

Turtle Invades China

Apparently, there's a species of turtle from the US that was introduced into China and is causing problems for the native species there. I'd suspect this was the red-eared slider, but the news account calls it the "Brazilian turtle." Not sure what that is supposed to mean. (News source.)

Eggs and Gender

In one lizard species, egg size helps determine the gender of the hatchling. (Eurekalert)

Myanmar Croc Attack

A woodcutter was killed and eaten by a crocodile in the Myeik Archipelago. (News source.)

Cook 'Em

Florida may not be able to afford bounties on the Burmese pythons, but some folks are suggesting they would make an interesting addition to south Florida cuisine. (News source.)

Biomimicry Fashion

Gecko feet may help design shoes that never wear out, or stilettos with a better grip. (News source.)

Oddities Here and There

"Tens of thousands" of newly hatched western toads have taken over Marysville, California. (News source.)

A family in the Bronx found a yellow rat snake in their home. (News source.)

Not so much odd as sad, a canebrake ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. (News source.)

Snake Bites

A Utah girl was bitten by a rattlesnake. (News source.)

A Maryland man was bitten by a probable copperhead (and the snake lived to tell about it). (News source.)

New Species

New species described in Zootaxa:

A casque-headed tree frog from Brazil
Two shrub frogs from Sri Lanka
Rediscovery of a toad in Bolivia/Peru
A gecko from the Nicobar Archipelago
A bent-toed gecko from Indonesia
An Atheris viper from Mozambique

Horned Lizards

Tinker Air Force Base, in Oklahoma, protects a population of horned lizards. (News source.)

Rattlesnake Bite (Montana)

A schoolgirl was bitten by a young rattlesnake. (News source.)

Killer Crocs

Three crocodiles were killed in Zimbabwe after they killed and ate a man. (News source.)

Killer Frog

A noisy garden frog (and neighbors who keep the pond for it) is blamed by an elderly Australian woman for the death of her husband. (News source.)

Tortoise vs Mosquito

Galapagos tortoises and iguanas have to contend with mosquitoes that have developed a taste for reptilian blood, which may introduce new diseases. (News source.)