Herpetological Highlights

247 Big Brains Ain't Free

Big brains are very useful, but they cost ENERGY and RESOURCES, at least for mammals and birds. Now a new study has shed light on what determines whether reptiles and amp

246 Salamanders vs Volcanoes

This week we delve into the evolutionary history of a fascinating little salamander from North America: the cascade torrent salamander. Volcanoes and flooding have shaped

245 A Vegetation Investigation

This week we're diving into two reptile papers: the first is about desert lizards being secret nutritional strategists, timing what they eat across the year to nail matin

244 Frogs Bringing the Pain

Bradykinin is a hormone that is released naturally in response to tissue damage, so if you hurt yourself, it makes it hurt. Quite a few animals from wildly different evol

243 Pythons are Seed Pipelines

Invasive species are well known to damage ecosystems by directly eating other animals and disrupting the food chain. But their impacts can go much deeper, as a new study

242 Spot the Viper to Survive

Pitvipers of the genus Bothrops are famed for their camouflage and for being deadly ambush predators. New insights from snake CCTV have revealed that these snakes can onl

241 Poison Frog Parents

Mimic poison frogs are utterly amazing, famous for mimicking multiple different frog species, and like other dart frogs they demonstrate bi-parental care where both male

240 Small Homes for Small Gators

Chinese conservationists have worked hard to protect the critically endangered Chinese alligator, creating new habitats for them after significant alterations made most o

239 Side Effects of Albinism

Common knowledge suggests that albino animals are rare in the wild because they stick out like a sore thumb and get eaten by predators, but studies supporting this are re

238 Antivenom Breakthrough

New methods in antivenom technology may yield a treatment that works on most of the cobras in Africa, thanks to the blood of alpacas and some very clever scientists. Then

237 City Slickin' Wall Lizards

Urban areas represent both opportunities and risks for animals, and they adapt their behaviour in many ways to cope with this fast-paced lifestyle. Now, a new study has d

236 Grippy Australian Geckos

Research from Asian geckos generally suggests that sticky pads are used for smooth surfaces, while claws help grip onto rougher surfaces like wood and rocks. But a new st

235 Magnetoad Goes Home

Toads continue to amaze us - this time they are using their sense of the Earth's magnetic field to find their way home. But how important this sense is for cane toads as

234 Hot Dragons, Cold Dragons

We recap some of our recent travels, and then chat about bearded dragons. A new study shows that these lizards are making decisions about how they maintain their body tem

233 Colour-matching chameleons

In this episode we are talking chameleons, one of nature's most famous colour changers. But despite their famous status, very few studies have actually demonstrated that

232 The Glass is Half-full for Tortoises

The minds of reptiles remain largely mysterious to us, and we often wonder what kind of emotions they are capable of feeling. In this episode we dig into a new study whic

231 Hotter Times for Desert Lizards

A monumental new study has addressed the likely impacts of climate change on the activity of desert lizards in Africa and Australia. Hotter temperatures will likely ‘sque

230 Bats Listen to Hear Which Frog is Tastiest

Bats have famously good hearing, and fringe-lipped bats in Panama have tuned theirs to listen out for frogs calling out for mates. But these bats are quite particular abo

229 Tokay Geckos Will Remember You

New research suggests that tokay geckos can distinguish between different people, shedding further light on the intelligence of lizards. We delve into this study and voic

228 Why do pythons have heat pits?

Almost all pythons and some boas have heat pits on their faces. This extraordinary adaptation lets these snakes 'see' the heat signature of their unsuspecting prey. A new