Latest Reptiles of Australia Stories
Tiger snakes in Australia are of varied size, with some isolated island populations being twice the size of those on the mainland. New research conducted by Fabien Aubret of La Station d'Ecologie Experimentale du CNRS à Moulis, published in “The American Naturalist,” theorizes that the mainland snakes eat mainly frogs and always have. When sea level rose after that last Ice Age, some tiger snakes were stranded on islands where frogs could not survive because of dry conditions. These...
A new study led by Kenneth J. Lohmann, a marine biologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides insight into exactly how young loggerhead turtles complete a transoceanic migration that involves moving through the entirety of the North Atlantic basin. These turtles promptly leave the safety of their nests in Florida, after emerging from their shells, and once they have completed the migration alone and intact, the loggerhead turtles will arrive in North America's...
When loggerhead turtles are accidentally captured by humans, a recovery process follows, the complexity of which varies according to the turtle's injuries. Spanish researchers have analyzed the process of reintegrating these animals into the environment and they have discovered that there are changes in the behavior of the turtles that have a complicated recovery process. The study, which has been published in Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, involved placing...
Ryan Parson for RedOrbit.com Some sea turtles appear to be reaping the benefits of government designated areas of bodies of water, known as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). A recent study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography suggests that the MPAs are playing a key role in the support and nourishment of the Green turtle. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, all six species of sea turtles that inhabit US waters are currently listed under the Endangered...
Crocodiles can kill with the strongest bite force measured for any living animal, according to a report published Mar. 14 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The authors of the study, led by Gregory M. Erickson of Florida State University, measured the bite forces, as well as tooth pressures, for mature adults from all 23 living crocodilian species, including crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials. The strongest biter was a saltwater crocodile at 3,700 pounds. It also generated...
New analysis could help alter fishing practices to reduce mortality The majestic leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle in the world, growing to more than 6 feet in length. It is also one of the most threatened. A major new study of migration patterns has identified high-use areas—potential danger zones--in the Pacific Ocean for this critically endangered species. This new understanding could help inform decisions about fishing practices to help reduce further deaths of this...
Study Offers Clues to Loggerheads' Elusive Habits at Sea Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding ‘hotspots’ in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles, according to a study published recently in the journal Biological Conservation. The two sites, located in the open waters off the coast of Southwest Florida and the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula,...
[ Watch the Video ] Researchers have discovered a new species of a 95 million year old prehistoric crocodile. The "Shieldcroc" was part of the Mesozoic Era, which some scientists are starting to call the "Age of the Crocs," University of Missouri researcher Casey Holliday said. "Aegisuchus witmeri or 'Shieldcroc' is the earliest ancestor of our modern crocodiles to be found in Africa," Holliday, co-researcher and assistant professor of anatomy in the MU School of Medicine, said in a...
The mating habits of marine turtle may help to protect them against the effects of climate change, according to new research led by the University of Exeter. Published Jan 25 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study shows how the mating patterns of a population of endangered green turtles may be helping them deal with the fact that global warming is leading to a disproportionate number of females being born. The gender of baby turtles is determined by the temperature of...
'Heat-proof' eggs help turtles cope with hot beaches [ Watch the Video ] Sea turtles face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens to reduce their reproductive viability. However, new research led by the University of Exeter and published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that some turtles are naturally heat-tolerant. The study focused on green turtles nesting on Ascension Island, a UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Scientists from...
Latest Reptiles of Australia Reference Libraries
The Children's Python (Antaresia childreni), is a non-venomous python found in Australia. It is found mainly in the extreme north of Western Australia, the northern third of Northern territory, and in northeastern Queensland. It is also found on the islands of the Torres Strait. It was named in honor of John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum around that time. No subspecies are currently recognized. Adults grow to about 30 inches in...
The Arafura File Snake (Acrochordus arafurae), is an aquatic species of snake found in northern Australia and New guinea. This quite common snake is often hunted by the indigenous people of northern Australia. They simply catch a snake and toss it on the bank as the snake is quite immobilized without the support of the water. The skin of the Arafura file snake is used to make drums in New guinea. Adult Arafura File Snakes grow to 8.25 feet in length. Females are known to grow larger than...
The Fierce Snake, also known as the Small Scaled Snake and Inland Taipan, is a highly venomous snake that belongs to the Elapidae family. The Fierce Snake is the most venomous snake in the world. A single bite from this snake can kill as many as 100 human adults. It is 50 times more venomous than the Indian Cobra, and as much as 850 times more venomous than the Diamondback. The victim of an intravenous bite from the fierce snake will die in less than two seconds. The Fierce Snake is...
The Tiger Snake, Notechis scutatus, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in Australia. They most often found along inland waterways and around the lower lakes of the River Murray. There are two species recognized; The Common Tiger Snake and The Tasmanian Tiger Snake. As with most snakes color varies widely among tiger snakes and is an unreliable means of identifying the species. Colors can vary from jet black, yellow/orange with gray bands, and sandy gray with no bands....
The Brown Tree Snake, Boiga irregularis, is an arboreal colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia. This is a nocturnal snake and is rarely seen by humans in its habitat. The snake is considered a pest in Guam where it is not native. It was carried there on a US military transport at the end of WWII. The slightly venomous, but rather harmless, snake killed almost the entire native bird...
