Herpetoculture

Pond Conservation, ARC & ARG UK have setup a joint project to find out more about the breeding success of Frogs & Toads in garden ponds across the UK. You can take part in their Big Spawn Count by going to your garden pond, counting the number of spawn clumps present and inputting your findings directly into the on-line forms provided on their website. For more details visit: Pond Conservation: Big Spawn Count

A giant Galapagos tortoise believed extinct for 150 years probably still exists, say scientists.

Chelonoidis elephantopus lived on the island of Floreana, and was heavily hunted, especially by whalers who visited the Galapagos to re-stock.

A Yale University team found hybrid tortoises on another island, Isabela, that appear to have C. elephantopus as one of their parents.

Some hybrids are only 15 years old, so their parents are likely to be alive.

The different shapes of the giant tortoises on the various Galapagos islands was one of the findings that led Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution through natural selection.

The animals are thought to have colonised the archipelago through floating from the shores of South America.

Colonies on each island remained relatively isolated from each other, and so evolved in subtly different directions.

C. elephantopus is especially notable for its saddleback-shaped shell, whereas species on neighbouring islands sported a dome-like carapace.

Three years ago, the Yale team reported finding some evidence of hybrids around Volcano Wolf at the northern end of Isabela Island, in amongst the native population of Chelonoidis becki.

They speculated that through careful cross-breeding, it might be possible to re-create the extinct lineage - a process likely to take many generations.

Now, in the journal Current Biology, they report that this might not be necessary. A further expedition to Volcano Wolf found 84 tortoises that appear, from genetic samples, to have a pure-bred C. elephantopus as a parent.

Thirty of these are less than 15 years old; so the chances of the pure-blood parents still being alive are high, given that they can live to over 100 years old.

"Around Volcano Wolf, it was a mystery - you could find domed shells, you could find saddlebacks, and anything in between," recounted Gisella Caccone, senior scientist on the new study.

"And basically by looking at the genetic fingerprint of the hybrids, if you do some calculations you realise that there have to be a few elephantopus around to father these animals.

"To justify the amount of genetic diversity in the hybrids, there should be something like 38."

This number appears to include both males and females, given that some of the hybrids carry C. elephantopus mitochondrial DNA, which animals inherit exclusively from their mothers.

The theory is that some of the tortoises were probably taken by whaling ships that sailed from Floreana via the relatively remote Volcano Wolf en route to multi-year cruises in the Pacific looking for sperm whales.

Some of the giants made it to shore on Isabela, somehow, and established a presence.

The tortoises made an ideal food stock for whaling ships, as they can go without food for months and provided a source of fresh meat whenever the captain decided to kill them.

The giant tortoises are so large, growing to nearly half a tonne, that you might think the elusive C. elephantopus would be easy to find.

The reality is rather different, according to Dr Caccone.

"The landscape on Volcano Wolf is hard, the vegetation thick with lots of bushes and nooks, and the carapaces are translucent so you need a trained eye to see the shininess of the shell," she told BBC News.

"The thing that struck us is that no-one knows what the population is on Volcano Wolf. We took 40 people [on our last expedition], and we had to stop collecting basically when we finished our supplies."

That trip took samples from over 1,600 individuals - which could be a small fraction of the population, indicating just how big a role the giant tortoises play in the ecosystem of the islands.

The Yale team now plans to discuss with Galapagos authorities whether to mount further exploratory expeditions, or whether to press ahead with a captive breeding programme.

via BBC News - 'Extinct' Galapagos tortoise may still exist.

A new species of brightly coloured snake has been found in a remote area of Tanzania in East Africa.The striking black-and-yellow snake measures 60 cm 2.1 ft and has horn-like scales above its eyes.The newly discovered snake, named Matilda's horned viper, has been described in the journal Zootaxa.The exact location of the new species is being kept a secret, because it could be of interest to the illegal pet trade.Campaign group the Wildlife Conservation Society said the snake's habitat, estimated at only a several square km, is already severely degraded from logging and charcoal manufacture.The authors of the study in Zootaxa expect the viper will be classified as a critically endangered species.They have already established a small captive breeding colony.

via BBC News - New viper snake species found.

The Devon Wildlife Trust has this month received funding to support a new project which is set to boost populations of reptiles and amphibians at four sites across the county.
The project is being undertaken by Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) thanks to a grant of almost £50,000 from Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services through the Landfill Communities Fund.  DWT was able to secure this grant thanks to generous donations from The Marjorie and Geoffrey Jones Charitable Trust and Sibelco UK.
The project will run over three years, starting this month, and will take place at the following DWT nature reserves: Bovey Heathfield and Chudleigh Knighton Heath in the Bovey Basin, along with Lickham Common and Ashculm Turbary in the Blackdown Hills.
The programme of work will help reptiles and amphibians animals by restoring lowland heathland habitat and enhancing existing areas. Along with this work, ponds, egg laying heaps and hibernacula for hibernation will be created for a variety of species including adders, great crested newts and grass snakes.
Via CJS.

Registration is now open for Amphibian & Reptile Conservations 2012 Herpetofauna Workers' Meeting. The event will take place at the International Centre in Telford on the 28th & 29th of January.

Full details can be found on the ARC website: http://www.arc-trust.org/events/HWM.php

Something big is apparently stalking geese in the River Lea, six years after it 'disappeared'.

Back in 2005 there were several incidents of large birds being pulled underwater from the surface.

It was thought at the time that a large turtle or giant pike might be the culprit. Some people even speculated that a crocodile might have been released into the river or nearby waterway after Lea Rivers Trust staff reported seeing a Canada goose being dragged beneath the surface on the Old River Lea alongside Hackney Marshes and several large holes were found burrowed into the river bank. Otters were dismissed as a possible explanation back then because they don't inhabit the local area and don't normally attack geese.

But before the mystery could be solved, the monster suddenly vanished.

Now the goose-eating predator seems to have returned and whatever it is, it's big. Mike Wells, who lives on a barge on the River Lea in East London told Express.co.uk: "We were just passing the time of day looking at a Canada goose 30 yards away, but then it just suddenly disappeared.

"It went down vertically. There wasn’t any hesitation, it went straight down. It didn’t come back up. My friend and I looked at each other slack-jawed.

"A Canada goose is not a small bird. They weigh about 16lb, so whatever took it was also large."

Mr Wells is hoping that the Environment Agency will investigate.

via Mystery monster returns to London river | News | Practical Fishkeeping.

The Eastern Herpetological Society will be holding their Private Breeders' Reptile Show on Sunday 8th July 2012.

The venue is St. Walstan Hall, The Royal Norfolk Showground, Dereham Road, Costessey, NR5 oTT.

There will be Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates & equipment for sale from private breeders. Show opens 10.00am till 3.30pm.

We have more dates for next years diary, the FBH's Joint Societies Reptile Expo will be held at the Kempton Park Racecourse on August 19th.

The Eastern Herpetological Society will be hosting their show in Norwich on the 8th July.

We will bring you more details as and when they are announced.

A leatherback turtle washed ashore on the Cumbrian coast is evidence that the Irish Sea is hiding wonderful wildlife.   Unfortunately the dead turtle raises concerns over the critically endangered species and about pollution and overuse of our seas and oceans.
While the discovery of the turtle proves the importance of the Irish Sea for wildlife it also reinforces calls by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust for the introduction of Marine Conservation Zones to protect this vital environment.  Trainee Marine Conservation Officer Nicola Taylor said: "Having these majestic animals in our waters is a privilege, but seeing them alive and well in their environment is surely preferable than washed up on our beaches, and sadly enough it is often human influence that lands them there.  Leatherbacks have a soft shell unlike its relatives, so a hit from a boat propeller is often fatal. They can be caught in nets both above water, and drown in our nets below. But maybe the biggest sin of all is the introduction of ‘false jellyfish’ in the form of plastic bags, which can easily be mistaken for food and are frequently found in the stomachs of dead turtles."

Via CJS