Table of contents for October 2024 in Practical Reptile Keeping

Astudy has provided new insights into how pterosaurs managed to take flight despite reaching sizes far larger than modern flying creatures. The research sheds fresh light on the flight initiating, jumping ability of these ancient reptiles, some of which had wingspans of over 10m (33ft). Various possibilities The study, carried out by scientists at the University of Bristol, Liverpool John Moores University, Universidade Federal do ABC and the University of Keele, follows years of analysis and modelling of how muscles interact with bones to create movement in other animals. This is now being used to start answering the question of how the largest flying animals ever known managed to get off the ground. The team created the first computer model for this kind of analysis to test three different ways…

University of Maryland (UMD) biologists have identified a hidden sensory ability in geckos that is changing what we thought we knew about animal hearing. They have found that geckos use the saccule, which is a part of their inner ear traditionally associated with maintaining balance and body positioning, in order to detect lowfrequency vibrations. According to the researchers, this special "sixth sense" has a complementary role supporting the geckos' normal hearing and the way that they sense the world around them. The team believes that this previously unrecognised hearing mechanism may be present in other reptilian species as well, challenging existing ideas about how animal sensory systems evolved and diverged over time. "The ear, as we know it, hears airborne sound. But this ancient inner pathway, which is typically linked…

I have always found crocodilians – the group of reptiles consisting of crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials – to be fascinating, as they are unlike any other category of cold-blooded animals. I think this may also have had something to do with my fascination for dinosaurs as a child. These living relics of a bygone era give us a tantalising glimpse into what the prehistoric world must have been like all those millions of years ago, before people started to populate the planet. The predecessors of today’s crocodiles were often giants when compared with today’s living representatives of the group. The largest known species yet discovered was the length of a bus, and it must have been a truly terrifying monster! A predatory elite With 200 million years of evolution…

FEATURE | TORTOISE SHELLS While tortoises and turtles may be well protected from predators in their shells, this protection has come at a price. The original ancestors of turtles had a flexible rib cage, just as we do, and they took in atmospheric air in a similar fashion, with their rib cage expanding and contracting as they breathed in and out. Yet this situation has now altered significantly, because the ribs of chelonians (as tortoises and turtles are collectively known) have become locked into the shell, providing structural support but sacrificing their flexibility as a result. Tracking this development The question that has long fascinated scientists is how and when this transition occurred. Until recently, the oldest known fossil turtles, dating back about 215 million years, had fully developed shells,…

FEATURE | UNDERSTANDING ANTIVENOM The concept of an antivenom Antivenom is basically a treatment against venom, where a horse's or sheep's immune response to the venom is used to produce a treatment known as an antivenom. All antivenoms are prepared in a similar way. A horse or sometimes a sheep is injected with small amounts of snake venom, and will develop an immunity to the effects of the venom. The antibodies that develop against the toxins in the venom are present in the horse's or sheep's blood. These are then extracted from the blood and processed into antivenom. When a person is bitten by a venomous snake, an injection of the appropriate antivenom for that bite, relying on the antibodies that are contained in the serum, neutralises the potentially deadly…

Anew study led by researchers from King's College, London gives fresh insight into how Komodo dragons (Varanus komodensis) keep their teeth razor-sharp. Interestingly, it may also provide clues as to how predatory dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey. A unique feature The Komodo dragon is the largest species of lizard alive today, with these gigantic monitors weighing up to about 80kg (176lb). They are to be found on the Indonesian islands after which they are named. Fearsome predators, Komodo dragons have sharp, curved teeth similar to many carnivorous dinosaurs. They eat almost any kind of meat, from smaller reptiles and birds to deer, goats, horses or water buffalo, pulling and tearing at their prey to rip flesh apart with their fearsome array of 60 sharp teeth. The…

Lindsey Swierk, an assistant research professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University, the State University of New York, studies the unique water anole (Anolis aquaticus), a type of semi-aquatic lizard found in the tropical forests of southern Costa Rica. She has previously documented the lizards using air underwater. When these anoles feel threatened by a predator, they dive beneath the surface and create a bubble over their heads. “We know that they can stay underwater for a really long time. We also know that they're pulling oxygen from this bubble of air,” said Swierk. “We didn't know whether there was actually any functional role for this bubble in respiration. Is it something that lizards do that is just a side effect of their skin's properties or a respiratory reflex, or…

Tarantulas have a fearsome popular reputation, but new research has revealed they are well-adapted to mutually beneficial ecological relationships which have developed over the course of their evolution. Indeed, the findings reveal that these infamous arachnids are actually often on friendly terms with amphibians, reptiles, and even army ants, which are known to feed on spiders! The researchers suggest that the dense hair covering tarantulas may have in fact evolved as a defence mechanism against these predatory ants. A range of benefits This research, carried out by a team of international scientists reported an association between tarantulas and snakes, whip spiders, and harvestmen for the first time, and also highlighted over 60 new cases of partnerships between tarantulas and amphibians from 10 different countries. According to the researchers, such interactions…

Geckos are cute, monitor lizards are uncompromising, dragons are cool, while skinks…skinks… erm, well, skinks are just skinks! Why is it that one of the biggest and most diverse families of lizards is so underrated and overlooked? The irony is that they have so much to offer. Some members of the group can even be tamed like bearded dragons! Skinks – as you may already have guessed – rank amongst my all-time favourite lizards. Writing this article brings things almost full circle for me, because as a kid, I kept a lot of skinks, although there was very little written about them back then. Images of skinks generally bring to mind either expensive blue tongues or recentlyimported stock from Indonesia that is often riddled with parasites, and requires a significant…

New research suggests that green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings effectively swim up to the surface of the sand, rather than digging their way out of their nest. This finding has important implications for conserving a declining turtle population globally. A team of scientists from UNSW’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences from Sydney, Australia used a small device, known as an accelerometer, in order to make this discovery into the behaviour of emerging hatchlings. Nesting behaviour Sea turtle eggs are typically buried in nests between 30-80cm (12-31in) deep. Once hatched, the newborn turtles make their way to the surface of the sand between three and seven days later. But because this all happens underground, we have had very little understanding of the first few days of a hatchling's life.…

Anew analysis of a decade-long collection of wildlife rescue records in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has delivered fascinating new insights into how humans and reptiles interact in urban environments. Researchers from Macquarie University worked with scientists from Charles Darwin University, and the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to analyse over 37,000 records of snake and lizard rescues in the Greater Sydney region over the course of a decade. Teagan Pyne, who led the research, says the data have enabled her team to collate a unique set of perspectives on human-wildlife interactions in urban areas and how wildlife rescue patterns reflect public perceptions of different animals. “The larger reptiles grab people's attention, because of fear or because they are considered a nuisance,…

Bromeliad alligator lizard (Abronia taeniata) This species occurs in parts of eastern Mexico, and is well-adapted to living off the ground. Its dependence on trees leaves it vulnerable to deforestation within its restricted range, however, and its habitat is now becoming increasingly fragmented, with the danger that the remaining populations will be left increasingly isolated. Bromeliad alligator lizards display a banded patterning, which is quite individual, and some populations may be yellower overall, rather than blue. Sure-footed by nature, they can be found in trees at heights up to 40m (130ft) or more. They are not closely related to the better-known alligator lizards (Elgaria spp.) found in the USA. There are 28 recognised species in their genus Abronia, with the range of this group extending southwards through Central America down…

I first acquired six of these pythons when I was a young lad, starting out with some captive-farmed babies. They were very inexpensive, but in good condition and some had the umbilical cords still attached, revealing they were fresh from the egg. I put them in tubs in one of my reptile rooms on a rack with other snakes I had, in the hope that they would not get noticed here at this early stage. These youngsters grew and grew and by the time they needed a purpose built vivarium, they were part of the family so to speak, and had earned their place to stay. I was lucky that they turned out to be two males and four females. I lost one of the females to a brain tumour…