Happy #WorldLizardDay 
#Reptiles are fascinating creatures, sadly feared and persecuted by humans. Stand up for #lizards don't buy them as #pets - as many are #endangered by the #pettrade! When u shop #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect.bsky.social https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/11/05/reptiles-why-one-in-five-species-face-extinction-heres-how-you-can-help-them/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer
A young Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni), spotted in a park in #Halandri, #Athens, #Greece, 08-Aug-2025
#photography #nature #wildlife #reptiles #tortoises
(photo: @kernpanik | license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
just vibing on a crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii). A fantastic endorsement from renowned palaeontologist & bestselling author, Steve Brusatte. Also, enjoy this sneak peek of an illustration from the book. “THE SECRET LIVES OF DINOSAURS”, by Dean Lomax, illustrated by @BobNicholls & published by Columbia University Press. Coming September 2025.
Still 1 week left to buy tickets to DinoCon!
See: https://www.dinocon.co.uk/
I will be there all weekend and taking part in the palaeoart panel discussion on Sunday 17th.
Aussie skinks have evolved a molecular shield to resist deadly snake venom allowing them to survive long enough to be raptor prey
#NewSpecies!
New forest-dwelling bent-toed gecko from #thailand just climbed in:
Cyrtodactylus sakaeratensis
Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1A1FEE3B-FFA9-FF9A-0BE1-FF4AFBAA5F90
Publication: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5666.3.3
#Zootaxa #CyrtodactylusSakaeratensis
#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #herpetology #herps #reptiles #gecko
If you’ve been following my adventures, you know I have two massive female Northern Watersnakes this summer. Yesterday was drizzly and only hit 70°. Usually they tuck themselves away in the wood in those conditions. But late in the afternoon I found this skin running alongside a small stone wall. The skin measures 50 inches and would probably be a few more if I had stretched it out.
Flipping.rocks is a Hometown Mastodon server for people who appreciate arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, fungi, etc. If you want a general Fediverse home, that’s okay too.
This server has a post size of up to 5000 characters, and has been operating since 2022.
You can find out more at https://flipping.rocks/about or contact the admin @a
My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...
Into 2024 with a new version of "Elevenses," featuring Sinosauropteryx, for the cover of Vertebrate Palaeontology, Fifth Edition, by Prof Michael J. Benton.
#NewSpecies!
New velvet gecko from #madagascar just climbed in:
Blaesodactylus ganzhorni
Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0392D205-FF82-FF8E-FF61-FF6D986AFE63
Publication: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5620.2.2
#Zootaxa #BlaesodactylusGanzhorni
#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #herpetology #herps #reptiles #gecko
"A new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society looks beneath their skin. For the first time, it reveals hidden bone structures that may hold the key to the evolutionary success of goannas in Australia."
Paper [ https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/204/3/zlaf070/8203240 ]
