Five things make a post:
- New tree frog genus. North American (and a few Asian) tree frogs previously included in the genus Hyla — including Gray and Green Tree Frogs — have been moved to a new, sister genus, Dryophytes, thanks to a major revision of tree frog taxonomy (PDF). This follows other moves to split genera that spanned continents: Bufo (toads), Rana (true frogs) and Elaphe (rat snakes) have all been split up; North American toads are now Anaxyrus, North American true frogs are now Lithobates (except on the Pacific coast), and North American rat snakes are now Pantherophis. So this is not really a surprise move.
- Water snake outreach. The Lake Erie Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon insularum) remains on Canada’s endangered species list, but it was removed from the U.S. list in 2011, after a rebound in its U.S. population, which now numbers 10,000 adults. An invasive fish, the round goby, has something to do with it: the water snakes happily feed on them. But public outreach played a role as well. On Cool Green Science, the Nature Conservancy’s blog, Ted Williams looks at the outreach efforts of Dr. Kristin Sanford, whose research showed that habitat loss was less of a factor than human persecution. Her (now quite dated) website: Respect the Snake.
- Don’t shoot snakes. An Arizona bill that would lift a ban on firing a gun within city limits if it’s to shoot a rat or a snake is facing opposition — from people opposed to shooting snakes.
- Do snakes fart? Scientists are building an animal fart database, and yes, snakes are included. While passing gas might not be a good sign for an obligate carnivore, if by fart we mean making noise while defecating, I can attest that snakes certainly do. (With some of my larger and stinkier charges, I usually hear it before I smell it — at least if I’m in the same room.)
- Stressed snakes strike first. A snake’s background level of stress — rather than the stress of encounter, handling or confinement — may determine how likely it is to strike, according to a new study. [LiveScience]