Herp of the day: Rinkhals

Rinkhals, or the Ring Necked Spitting Cobra (Hemachatus haemachatus) is a venomous snake species from Africa. Although it looks similar to a cobra, they are not, these spitting snakes can spray its venom up to 2.5 m. Its spitting mechanism is primitive and it has to rear up and fling its body forward to spray … Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Equatorial Anole

The Equatorial Anole (Anolis aequatorialis) is a small lizard species native to Ecuador and Colombia. They are known to inhabit low montane and cloud forest on the western slopes of the Andes, between 1300 and 2300 m elevation. Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Puget Sound Garter Snake

The Puget Sound Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii) is a subspecies of Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) that exhibits striking black and blue colors. Adult males are typically approximately 70 – 80 cm long and they are relatively slender build while females become much larger and heavier, around 80 – 100 cm. Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Mutable Rainfrog

The Mutable Rainfrog (Pristimantis mutabilis)  is a species of frog found in the Ecuadorian Andes in the Pichincha and Imbabura Provinces. It is the first known amphibian species that is able to change skin texture from tuberculate to almost smooth in a few minutes, an extreme example of phenotypic plasticity. The specific epithet mutabilis (changeable) refers … Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Paradise Flying Snake

The Paradise Flying Snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) is a mildly venomous species native to southeast Asia.  These brilliantly colored snakes are one of the few adapted to long-distance gliding, able to flatten their bodies and soar 100 meters (328 feet) between trees. Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Catesby’s Pointed Snake

The  Catesby’s Pointed Snake (Uromacer catesbyi) also known as Blunt-headed Green Tree Snake is a mildly venomous species endemic to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This species is often found sitting in bushes and low branches. It is both an active forager and a sit-and-wait forager and it preys on both frogs and lizardsmainly. Some … Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Pinocchio Anole

The Pinocchio Anole (Anolis proboscis) also known as the Proboscis anole, Ecuadorian horned anole or Pinocchio lizard, is a small lizard belonging to the genus Anolis.  A single male specimen was discovered in 1953 in Ecuador and formally described by Peters and Orces in 1956, but the species then went unreported until a rediscovery in 2007. It … Continue reading →

Herp of the day: Usambara Bush Viper

The Usambara Bush Viper (Atheris ceratophora) is a venomous snake found in Tanzania.  This arboreal viper is found only in the Usambara and Uzungwe mountains at altitudes of 700-2,000 meters (2,300-6,600 feet). Information about this species is sparse due to its rarity and remote habitat. It grows to a maximum total length of 54 cm … Continue reading →