News

A new, very secretive species of frog has been discovered in the Amazon. And wouldn’t you know? It’s a zombie.

Well, sort of.

The creature, which frankly looks like a circus-colored blobfish with legs, has a name--the Zombie frog--that’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s the HUMANS who, after hearing the frog’s call and doing serious amounts of digging through mud to find it, end up looking like disheveled walkers of the Undead variety.

Researchers in Guyana—specifically a German herpetologist named Raffael Ernst—unearthed the frog after hearing its very unique call and getting down (and dirty) trying to trace it. This took place after dark, of course—this frog is nocturnal. In point of fact, what was discovered was an entire genus--Synapturanus--with three named species. (But calling them Zombie frogs seems friendlier somehow!)

And of course, these unique specimens already carry with them a threat—not of being zombies, but of going extinct. Amphibians, the article points out, are already among the animals most endangered on the planet. And in the Amazon, commercial interests continue to promote—often illegally yet inexorably—massive logging, mining, and other activities of deforestation that imperil the existence of these and countless other species, named and unnamed.

Let’s hold fast to the hope that the Zombie frog, along with his amphibian relatives, escape the fate of becoming a “real” Undead, alive only in memory.

It might sound peculiar, but being really bizarre-looking could possibly get you stricken from the menu of would-be predators. If you are a flying lizard, at least.

A recent, rather imaginative study centered on “flying” draco lizards put to the test the concept that looking flashy in nature was an instant signal that you are easy prey, no matter how attractive showiness might make you to the opposite sex. For the research, fortunately, no real draco lizards (which actually glide, not fly, within the forest canopy) were harmed or even jeopardized. Instead, researchers on the island of Borneo constructed and set up over 1500 robotic lizards. There were three types of these plastic mock-ups: ones with conspicuous, ostentatious display; “cryptic” lizards (hidden or no display); and ones with fixed ornaments—the obvious oddballs of the bunch. According to the study, the latter category emerged as the least likely to be bitten or attacked—as evidenced by the way the plastic showed definite predatory encounters. (There was no word about whether or not their robotic stare was off-putting.)

So perhaps elaborate get-ups that are not considered “normal” could merit you a Get Out of A Predator’s Mouth Free card. Might be worth a try, next time you put on that lizard costume!

A recent article has illuminated a potentially devastating turn among zoos: the recent rise in the illegal trade of rare and endangered animals, with little to no consequence to those responsible.

The species at the heart of this story is a strange and wonderful creature: the earless monitor lizard. Found only in Borneo--which includes Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia-- this odd-looking creature (some call it a “miniature Godzilla”) was known via preserved specimens alone for many decades, and was only very recently discovered still very much alive. It is consequently a species with protected status that cannot be legally exported out of its native territories.

But, of course, it was exported, especially  within the past ten years. And the monitor, the "holy grail of herpetology," has unwittingly become the centerpiece of contention regarding illegal trade in wildlife within established zoological facilities.

What has been exposed by these mysterious creatures is the use of myriad loopholes to laws barring  their acquisition. The zoos involved reported acquiring the monitors from private individuals, from third parties like the non-accredited iZoo in Japan, and from hobby breeders. Yet no permits for these animals were ever obtained.

Trade in endangered animals in zoos is nothing new; the practice sadly used to be a commonplace occurrence throughout the world. It is only relatively recently that ethical measures and laws have been put in place to stop acquisitions that imperil animals already threatened by poaching, habitat loss, and climate change. But they are imperfect tools at best.

We can, however, do our small part to put an end to this detrimental activity. Increased scrutiny of these shady acquisitions, as well as public awareness of the threat posed to already-endangered creatures, will put pressure on those involved in illegal trafficking. Let’s get the word out!

This short video provides a tantalizing view of what the venom of komodo dragons does to their prey, and what possibilities using it might have for medicine. It also gives us a glimpse at one of the sweetest komodo dragon faces ever!

The King (no, not THAT King) is sadly not around anymore. But a massive crocodile (sixteen feet long!) once roamed the prehistoric wetlands of Australia, devouring whatever toothsome marsupials fell into his path.

The so-called “Swamp King,” Paludirex vincenti (named after researcher Geoff Vincenti, who found a skull of the massive creature), has taken its time to be recognized. Biologists in Australia uncovered the fossils in the 1980s in Chinchilla, Queensland. The creature lived between 5 and 2.5 million years ago, so adding 40-some years to its discovery as a separate species really isn’t much, when you think about it.

Two species of crocodile still exist in Australia, and researchers do not know why the Swamp King died out. But with its broad head and enormous size, it would have truly been a mighty ruler!