A ‘Big Night’ for Newts, and for a California Newt Brigade

Salamanders get a little help across the road from some two-legged friends in Northern California.

#automobiles, #newts, #petaluma-calif, #rain, #reptiles, #roads-and-traffic, #salamanders, #san-francisco-bay-area-calif, #volunteers-and-community-service, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

They May Have Love on Their Lizard Brains

An accumulation of scientific research suggests that there’s a lot more to the social lives of reptiles.

#animal-behavior, #animal-cognition, #lizards, #reproduction-biological, #reptiles, #research, #snakes, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

20 Percent of Reptiles Risk Extinction, From King Cobras to Geckos

The first global analysis of its kind found that logging and farming are taking away reptile habitat at an unsustainable pace, exacerbating a worldwide decline in biodiversity.

#biodiversity, #crocodiles, #endangered-and-extinct-species, #global-warming, #greenhouse-gas-emissions, #international-union-for-conservation-of-nature, #komodo-dragons-lizards, #nature-journal, #reptiles, #research, #wildlife-trade-and-poaching

Fossil Reveals Secrets of One of Nature’s Most Mysterious Reptiles

The specimen shows that modern tuataras found in New Zealand are little changed from ancestors that lived 190 million years.

#communications-biology-journal, #evolution-biology, #fossils, #paleontology, #reptiles, #research, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

A Naturalist Stumbled on an Ichthyosaur Skeleton, the Largest in U.K. History

The fossilized remains of the marine reptile, often referred to as a “sea dragon” and believed to be 180 million years old, were discovered at a nature reserve.

#conservation-of-resources, #dinosaurs, #england, #fish-and-other-marine-life, #fossils, #great-britain, #museums, #paleontology, #reptiles, #rutland-england, #skeletons, #university-of-leicester, #university-of-manchester, #wildlife-sanctuaries-and-nature-reserves

Komodo Dragons Are Now Endangered and ‘Moving Toward Extinction’

A top conservation organization updated the status of the fierce giant lizards on its Red List of threatened species.

#conservation-of-resources, #endangered-and-extinct-species, #flores-indonesia, #global-warming, #indonesia, #international-union-for-conservation-of-nature, #komodo-dragons-lizards, #reptiles, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

How Some Skinks Lost Their Legs and Then Evolved New Ones

The lizards have complicated a rule of thumb that in evolution, once you lose a body part, you don’t regain it.

#evolution-biology, #philippines, #proceedings-of-the-royal-society-b-journal, #reptiles, #research, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

Are Exotic Skins Out of Fashion?

Covid-19 may be the tipping point when it comes to crocodile, python, ostrich, and clothes.

#agriculture-and-farming, #alligators, #animal-abuse-rights-and-welfare, #animals, #biodiversity, #convention-on-international-trade-in-endangered-species, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #fashion-and-apparel, #fur, #kering-sa, #luxury-goods-and-services, #lvmh-moet-hennessy-louis-vuitton-sa, #minks-animals, #people-for-the-ethical-treatment-of-animals, #phillips-van-heusen-corporation, #regulation-and-deregulation-of-industry, #reptiles, #wildlife-trade-and-poaching, #your-feed-fashion

Making Sense of ‘One of the Most Baffling Animals That Ever Lived’

Important mysteries have been solved about a reptile with a giraffe-like neck that hunted prey 242 million years ago.

#alps-mountains, #current-biology-journal, #neck, #paleontology, #reptiles, #research, #skull-body-part, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

She Doesn’t Make Animals Cry, but She Collects Their Tears

By studying the numerous ways animals keep their eyes wet and healthy, scientists hope to help address human vision problems.

#animals, #birds, #crying, #evolution-biology, #eyes-and-eyesight, #frontiers-in-veterinary-science, #reptiles, #research, #turtles-and-tortoises, #veterinary-medicine, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

Dolphins Have Hidden Fingers. So Do Seals. These Sea Creatures Did Not.

A recent analysis of the flippers of living and extinct marine animals shows the enduring power of “baby mittens.”

#biology-letters-journal, #crocodiles, #dolphins-and-porpoises, #endangered-and-extinct-species, #evolution-biology, #fingers, #fish-and-other-marine-life, #paleontology, #penguins, #reptiles, #research, #sea-lions, #seals-animals-and-sealing, #whales-and-whaling, #your-feed-animals, #your-feed-science

Lizard Popsicles, Anyone?

The coolest reptiles on the planet occasionally freeze solid.

#argentina, #evolution-biology, #lizards, #patagonia-argentina, #reptiles, #research, #your-feed-science

How We Get Stronger

Weight training prompts changes in the nervous system that prime the muscles to get bigger and stronger.

#exercise, #isabel-glover, #journal-of-neuroscience, #monkeys-and-apes, #muscles, #nerves-and-nervous-system, #newcastle-university, #reptiles, #research, #stuart-baker, #weight-lifting

Tracks Hint at a Crocodile Ancestor That Walked on 2 Legs

Over 100 million years ago in what is now South Korea, evolution experimented with nine-foot-long bipedal reptiles.

#crocodiles, #fossils, #kim-kyung-soo, #lockley-martin-1950, #paleontology, #reptiles, #research, #scientific-reports-journal, #south-korea, #your-feed-science

Life Hatched From Soft Eggs, Some a Foot Long, in Dinosaur Era

A football-size egg from Antarctica and baby dinosaurs from Mongolia and Argentina shine new light on ancient reptile reproduction.

#dinosaurs, #eggs, #endangered-and-extinct-species, #fabbri-matteo, #fish-and-other-marine-life, #fossils, #legendre-lucas, #nature-journal, #norell-mark-a, #paleontology, #reptiles, #research, #wiemann-jasmina, #your-feed-science