Researchers in Australia have discovered an interesting trait in invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina) tadpoles in Australia not seen in their native South America; The Australian tadpoles cannibalize their younger counterparts, which the researchers say enhances their chance of survival.…
The white-bellied frog (Geocrinia alba) has joined 25 other frog species in Australia on that country’s list of species at greatest risk of extinction, according to a researcher paper published in Pacific Conservation Biology. In the study, the researchers found…
Zoos Victoria has announced that 15 of 100 giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus) tadpoles have grown legs and have metamorphosed, a first for the zoo since launching a captive breeding program for the rare amphibian back in March. “We got…
A veterinarian in Australia performed a successful surgery on a green tree frog that had a hole in its chest. Brisbane veterinarian Dr. Meaghan Barrow told ABC Radio Brisbane that the little amphibian, which measured less than 2 cm in…
A new report from the University of Adelaide and the Monitor Conservation Research Society has found that all four species of the shingleback skink (Trachydosaurus sp.) are being traded across Asia, Europe and North America. The report noted that the…
A truck driver in the Northern Territories of Australia happened upon a black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) that was cruising up the middle of a dirt road, not even trying to cross it. So the truck driver, whose twitter handle is…
Researchers with the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney in Australia and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia were trying to determine why five endemic reptile species on Australia's Christmas Island were experiencing declines. Two of those…
An extinct skink species that lived in what is now South Australia more than 25 million years ago has been discovered and described by researchers with the University of West Australia. The skink, Proegernia mikebulli, belongs to the family Scincidae…
The pygmy blue-tongue lizard (Tiliqua adelaidensis), thought to have gone extinct until a specimen was discovered in the belly of a dead brown snake in 1992, is getting a bit of help from researchers who have placed a colony of…
The Gulf snapping turtle, Elseya lavarackorum, so named in 1997, is actually a new species of turtle, and Elseya lavarackorum is probably extinct, scientists in Australia told ABC News Australia. The new turtle is named Elseya oneiros. “The fossil specimen…
A carpet python (Morelia spilotes) that got hit by a car and died in Australia was gravid with 12 eggs, and Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors were able to save the eggs. The snake was brought into the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital…
A pair of monitor lizards that were stolen in a 2019 robbery in the city of Long Beach, CA, have been recovered by detectives with the Long Beach Police Department. The lizards, Australian lace monitors (Varanus varius), were reunited with…
Brent Staker, a retired Australian football player was driving on a busy road in Australia when he noticed a carpet python (Morelia spilotes) in the middle of the road, not moving much at all. Staker, who posted the save on…
Researchers in Australia have released a list of reptiles that they say will disappear in just 20 years if no action is taken to protect them. The reptiles, all snakes and lizards, are restricted in range. Three of the species…
The Cunningham’s skink (Egernia cunninghami), a large skink native to southeastern Australia, protect their young from predators, according to a new study published in the Australian Journal of Zoology. The relatively large skink has been observed fighting off eastern brown…
Australian herp photographer Ross McGibbon announced that his 2021 reptile calendar will benefit the Global Snakebite Initiative and Royal Flying Doctors Service in Australia. McGibbon’s calendar will feature 12 of his best images from 2020 and each will feature a…
Australian postal workers who couldn’t explain abnormal shadows in x-ray scans of rice cookers, called the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for assistance and discovered 79 lizards packed into the rice cookers, bound and taped inside socks or cloth with…
The spotted-thighed treefrog (Litoria cyclorhyncha), an amphibian that is native to southern Western Australia has made its way to South Australia by humans and has the potential to wreak havoc on native species. A paper published in the Australian Journal…
