Herpetology Notes

Six predation events by the Red-banded Snake, Lycodon rufozonatus Cantor, 1842, on Tsushima Island, Japan

Ango Morikawa — 2025-04-13

A new record of the Endangered Zolio's Shield-backed Ground Lizard, Philochortus zolii Scortecci, 1934, from Algeria, with genetic insights and a geographic distribution review

Idriss Bouam — 2025-07-06

Bright marks, dark fate: records of predation on Coleodactylus meridionalis Boulenger, 1888 from a movement ecology study in a forest area in southern Bahia, Brazil

Lucca Izaguirres Souza — 2025-06-05

Preliminary data on saltwater crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus Schneider, 1801, and an updated assessment of threats in the Nilwala River, Matara, Sri Lanka

Trevor L. Proctor — 2025-06-05

Interaction between two Japanese Ratsnakes, Elaphe climacophora (Boie, 1826), at the nest of a Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes

Ayaka Soda — 2025-06-27

Insights from short-term post-fire monitoring of a population of Hermann’s Tortoise, Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789, in Calabria, southern Italy

Francesco L. Leonetti — 2025-06-13

Don't bother me, I'm venomous: first report of envenoming by an Aesculapian False Coralsnake, Erythrolamprus aesculapii (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Bolivian Yungas

Oliver Quinteros-Muñoz — 2025-07-05

Communal nesting behaviour of female American Alligators, Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1801) in southeastern Oklahoma, USA

Eric C.K. Gren — 2025-03-24

Potential predation by a carabid beetle (Catadromus sp.) larva on an adult Spotted Marsh Frog, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis Günther, 1858, in western Victoria, Australia

Dylan M. Westaway — 2025-06-13

First record of Kellogg’s Coralsnake, Sinomicrurus kelloggi (Pope, 1928), from Nghe An Province, Vietnam

Shinya Okabe — 2025-06-05

Rescue records of Leith’s Sandsnake, Psammophis leithii Günther, 1869, from Surat, Gujarat, India with some additional insights on pholidosis and natural history

Mehul Thakur — 2025-03-13

Third case of tail bifurcation in Cope’s Mabuya, Notomabuya frenata (Cope, 1863), in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Nelson R. de Albuquerque — 2025-06-27

Shedding excess: small tape patches as a lower-impact transmitter attachment method for snakes

Tyler C. Christensen — 2025-04-23

New records of the Ocellated Skink, Chalcides ocellatus (Forskål, 1775), reveal possible human-mediated translocation to Syros Island, Greece

Taxiarchis Danelis — 2025-07-05

An Eastern Ribbonsnake, Thamnophis saurita (Linnaeus, 1766), scavenging on a roadkilled Cuban Treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841), in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Sarah Payne — 2025-06-13

Amplexus between frogs in different families: a microhylid Nilphamarai Narrow-mouthed Frog, Microhyla nilphamariensis Howlader et al., 2015, grasps a Terai Cricket Frog, Minervarya teraiensis (Dubois, 1984), in Nepal

Tapil Prakash Rai — 2025-07-02

Tail movements as an anti-predatory behaviour in Hynobius okiensis Sato, 1940

Amaël Borzée — 2025-03-26

Initial survey of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis around Bouamir Research Station, Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon

Abraham G. Bamba-Kaya — 2025-07-05

New country records of the Laotian Wolfsnake, Lycodon laoensis Günther, 1864, in Myanmar, discovered via citizen science

Soe Thandar Aung — 2025-06-10

The use of fluorescent powdered pigments as a tracking technique for hatchling turtles in Belize

Jessica Henry — 2025-06-27

Hatchling freshwater turtles face significant challenges during early life stages, including predation, desiccation, and habitat loss. Despite their ecological importance, little is known about their movements and habitat preferences due to their cryptic behaviour and small size. In this study, we utilized fluorescent powder tracking, a non-invasive method, to investigate the spatial ecology of hatchling turtles in southern Belize. Forty-seven hatchlings from five species (Kinosternon acutum, K. leucostomum, Trachemys venusta, Claudius angustatus, and Chelydra rossignonii) were tracked across old-growth rainforest and pine savanna habitats. Hatchlings exhibited movement distances ranging from 3–1987 cm, with most activity concentrated in high-elevation rainforest, particularly in ephemeral aquatic habitats such as puddles and ditches. Species-specific preferences were observed, aligning with adult habitat use. Notably, the longest movement was recorded for a C. rossignonii individual, which travelled over 19 m in two days. Significant differences in habitat use were found between ephemeral, permanent, and upland microhabitats, highlighting the importance of temporary aquatic environments during the rainy season. The study confirmed the effectiveness of fluorescent powder tracking as a low-cost, low-impact tool for monitoring hatchling turtles. Despite potential concerns about increased visibility to predators, only one potential predation event occurred during tracking. These findings emphasize the critical role of ephemeral habitats in supporting hatchling survival and provide valuable insights for conservation planning. By addressing a key knowledge gap, this research supports efforts to protect threatened freshwater turtle species in Belize’s rapidly changing ecosystems.

First record of Trimerodytes praemaxillaris (Angel, 1929) from Xaisomboun Province, Laos, with additional comments on morphology, natural history, and the type locality

Yanpeng Shen — 2025-03-05

We describe the discovery of the 11th specimen of Trimerodytes premaxillaris and use this opportunity to make some clarifying remarks about the history of the species, its type locality, morphology, and natural history. The snake was found at the southernmost locality for the species and represents a new provincial record for Laos. It was in the process of swallowing a juvenile spiny bream (Scaphiodonichthys acanthopterus), the first identifiable prey for this snake. The snake was a female carrying two oviductal eggs indicating that the reproductive season of the species likely coincides with the monsoon season. This correlates with the collection of the hatchling type specimens in late 1925 or early 1926. Finally, we provide some additional detail regarding this species’ scale and colour pattern, as well as a more detailed account of the type locality and the time when the syntypes were collected.

Decoding the overlap: diagnostic acoustics to distinguish the endangered Magnificent Broodfrog, Pseudophryne covacevichae Ingram & Corben, 1994, from the common Montane Toadlet, Uperoleia altissima Davies et al., 1993 in northern Queensland, Australia

Emily R. Rush — 2025-07-01

Accurate species identification from passive acoustic monitoring data is critical for threatened species, particularly when vocal overlap with sympatric species risks misidentification. The Magnificent Broodfrog (Pseudophryne covacevichae), a narrowly endemic species of the Australian Wet Tropics listed as Endangered (IUCN) and Vulnerable (Australia EPBC), co-occurs and reproduces alongside the common Montane Toadlet (Uperoleia altissima), and the two species produce advertisement calls that overlap in structure and frequency. This study provides a diagnostic reference to reduce the potential risk of misidentification during acoustic analysis, particularly by those working in poorly documented areas between the Magnificent Broodfrog’s two main populations (Atherton Tablelands and Paluma Range). The advertisement and threat calls of the Magnificent Broodfrog are described in detail and compared with the advertisement call of the Montane Toadlet. Principal Component Analysis showed distinct clustering by species, and an analysis using the Multi-Response Permutation Procedure confirmed call duration contributes most strongly to species discrimination. The Magnificent Broodfrog’s advertisement call was longer, lower in frequency, and had more variation in pulse number than the Montane Toadlet’s short, repetitive call. These findings provide an applied framework to support accurate identification of the Magnificent Broodfrog from recordings and enhance the reliability of acoustic assessments for this threatened species.