Frogs and Reptiles News

October 13, 2025

Top Headlines

The Red Sea That Vanished and the Catastrophic Flood That Brought It Back

Oct. 8, 2025 — Researchers at KAUST have confirmed that the Red Sea once vanished entirely, turning into a barren salt desert before being suddenly flooded by waters from the Indian Ocean. The flood carved deep channels and restored marine life in less than ...

Black Mamba Venom Has a Deadly Hidden Second Strike

Sep. 30, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a dangerous hidden feature in Black Mamba venom that explains why antivenoms sometimes fail. The study revealed that several mamba species launch a dual neurological attack, first causing limp paralysis and then unleashing ...

Miscarriages, Down Syndrome, and Infertility All Linked to This Hidden DNA Process

Sep. 28, 2025 — Human fertility hinges on a delicate molecular ballet that begins even before birth. UC Davis researchers have uncovered how special protein networks safeguard chromosomes as eggs and sperm form, ...

Egg-eating Worms Could Be the Secret to Saving Chesapeake Bay’s Blue Crabs

Sep. 19, 2025 — Egg-eating worms living on Chesapeake Bay blue crabs may hold the key to smarter fishery management. Once thought to be a threat, these parasites actually serve as natural biomarkers that reveal when ...

Hidden Venom Divide in Australia’s Deadliest Snake Raises Urgent Treatment Questions

Aug. 22, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a startling split in the venom of Australia’s Eastern Brown Snake. In the south, bites cause rock-solid blood clots, while in the north, they trigger flimsy clots that ...

Ancient Predators and Giant Amphibians Found in African Fossil Treasure Trove

Aug. 14, 2025 — Over 15 years of fossil excavations in Tanzania and Zambia have revealed a vivid portrait of life before Earth s most devastating mass extinction 252 million years ago. Led by the University of ...

Drones Reveal 41,000-turtle Nesting Mega-site Hidden in the Amazon

July 29, 2025 — A team at the University of Florida used drones and smart modeling to accurately count over 41,000 endangered turtles nesting along the Amazon’s Guaporé River—revealing the world’s largest known turtle nesting site. Their innovative ...

These Dogs Are Trained to Sniff Out an Invasive Insect—and They're Shockingly Good at It

July 17, 2025 — Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their ...

Corals in Crisis: A Hidden Chemical Shift Is Reshaping Hawaiian Reefs

July 16, 2025 — Hawaiian coral reefs may face unprecedented ocean acidification within 30 years, driven by carbon emissions. A new study by University of Hawai‘i researchers shows that even under conservative climate scenarios, nearshore waters will change more ...

Can These Endangered Lizards Beat the Heat? Scientists Test Bold Relocation Plan

June 26, 2025 — South Australia’s tiny pygmy bluetongue skink is baking in a warming, drying homeland, so Flinders University scientists have tried a bold fix—move it. Three separate populations were shifted ...

Cluck Once, and the River Shakes: Inside the Amazon’s Giant Snake Saga

June 16, 2025 — A lifelong fascination with nature and fieldwork led this researcher to the world of ethnobiology a field where ecology, culture, and community come together. Investigating how local people relate to species like the anaconda, their work blends ...

Cleaner Fish: Tiny Healers or Hidden Spreaders in Coral Reef Ecosystems?

June 12, 2025 — Reef "beauty salons" staffed by tiny cleaner fish aren t just for parasite removal they may also shape the microbial life of the entire ecosystem. A fascinating new study shows these bustling fish stations influence which microbes move around the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:26pm EDT

Glowing Shark and Hidden Crab Found Deep Off Australia

Oct. 9, 2025 — In a stunning glimpse into the mysteries of the deep, scientists have uncovered two new marine species off Western Australia—a glowing lanternshark and a tiny porcelain crab. The discoveries, made ...

Scientists Uncover a Mysterious Jurassic Lizard With Snake-Like Jaws

Oct. 3, 2025 — A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, ...

This Tiny Butterfly Has the Most Chromosomes of Any Animal on Earth

Sep. 29, 2025 — Scientists have confirmed that the Atlas blue butterfly carries the most chromosomes of any animal, with 229 pairs. Unlike duplication, its chromosomes split apart, reshaping its genome in surprising ...

Fossils in Germany Reveal a Jurassic Sea Monster With a Swordfish Snout

Sep. 29, 2025 — Scientists have named a new ichthyosaur, Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from fossils found in Mistelgau, Germany. The marine reptile had a dramatic overbite similar to swordfish and unique skeletal ...

A Pink Bumpy Snailfish Was Just Discovered Miles Beneath the Ocean

Sep. 26, 2025 — Scientists have identified three new species of deep-sea snailfish, including the strikingly pink “bumpy snailfish,” thanks to MBARI’s advanced technology and global collaborations. Found ...

Scientists Discover Armored “goblin Monster” in Prehistoric Utah

Aug. 29, 2025 — Scientists have identified a new giant lizard, Bolg amondol, from Utah’s Kaiparowits Formation, named after Tolkien’s goblin prince. Part of the monstersaur lineage, Bolg reveals that multiple ...

70-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Relative With Dinosaur-Crushing Jaws Found in Argentina

Aug. 29, 2025 — Seventy million years ago, southern Patagonia was home to dinosaurs, turtles, and mammals—but also to a fierce crocodile-like predator. A newly ...

The Bright Yellow Worm That Turns Ocean Poison Into Golden Survival Crystals

Aug. 27, 2025 — Deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, a bright yellow worm thrives where no other animals dare, in toxic hydrothermal vents saturated with arsenic and ...

Scientists Unlock the Gene That Lets Bearded Dragons Switch Sex

Aug. 20, 2025 — Two independent research teams have unveiled near-complete reference genomes of the central bearded dragon, a reptile with the rare ability to change sex depending on both chromosomes and nest ...

Stunning “wonder Reptile” Discovery Rewrites the Origins of Feathers

Aug. 9, 2025 — The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like ...

Scientists Found the Gene That Makes Aussie Skinks Immune to Deadly Snake Venom

Aug. 6, 2025 — Australian skinks have developed a remarkable genetic defense against venomous snake bites by mutating a key muscle receptor, making them resistant to neurotoxins. These tiny but powerful molecular ...

Scientists Reexamine 47-Year-Old Fossil and Discover a New Jurassic Sea Monster

Aug. 4, 2025 — A new long-necked marine reptile, Plesionectes longicollum, has been identified from a decades-old fossil found in Germany’s Posidonia Shale. The remarkably preserved specimen rewrites part of the ...

400-Million-Year-Old Fish Exposes Big Mistake in How We Understood Evolution

July 29, 2025 — A fish thought to be evolution’s time capsule just surprised scientists. A detailed dissection of the coelacanth — a 400-million-year-old species often called a “living fossil” — revealed ...

Beneath the Scales: The Secret Bone Armor That Helped Lizards Survive Australia

July 22, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered hidden bony armor—called osteoderms—beneath the skin of 29 goanna species across Australasia, a discovery that radically changes what we thought we knew about lizard ...

Brighter, Bolder, Hotter: Why Female Guppies Can't Resist Orange

July 10, 2025 — Male guppies that glow with more orange aren’t just fashion-forward — they’re also significantly more sexually active. A UBC study reveals that brighter coloration is linked to virility and is ...

North America’s Oldest Pterosaur Unearthed in Arizona’s Triassic Time Capsule

July 8, 2025 — In the remote reaches of Arizona s Petrified Forest National Park, scientists have unearthed North America's oldest known pterosaur a small, gull-sized flier that once soared above Triassic ...

Mammals Didn't Walk Upright Until Late—here's What Fossils Reveal

June 25, 2025 — The shift from lizard-like sprawl to upright walking in mammals wasn’t a smooth climb up the evolutionary ladder. Instead, it was a messy saga full of unexpected detours. Using new bone-mapping ...

Rainbow Reefs Revealed: The Secret 112-Million-Year Saga of Glowing Fish

June 17, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered that fish biofluorescence a captivating ability to glow in vivid colors has ancient roots stretching back over 100 million years. This trait evolved independently in reef ...

600-Million-Year-Old Body Blueprint Found in Sea Anemones

June 16, 2025 — Sea anemones may hold the key to the ancient origins of body symmetry. A study from the University of Vienna shows they use a molecular mechanism known as BMP shuttling, once thought unique to ...

Something More Toxic Than Gators Is Hiding in the Swamps

June 12, 2025 — Mercury contamination is surfacing as a serious concern in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, particularly in regions like the Okefenokee Swamp. University of Georgia researchers found alarmingly ...

How Madagascar’s Lizards Became the Island’s Last Hope for Reforestation

June 10, 2025 — After millions of years of evolutionary isolation, Madagascar developed an unparalleled array of wildlife, and recent research has uncovered an unsung ecological hero: the lizard. Though often ...

Scientists Reveal the Hidden Pause That Keeps Bee Colonies Alive

June 10, 2025 — Bumblebee queens don t work nonstop. UC Riverside scientists discovered that queens take strategic reproductive breaks early in colony formation likely to conserve energy and increase the chance of ...

160 Million Years Ago, This Fungus Pierced Trees Like a Microscopic Spear

June 8, 2025 — In a paper published in National Science Review, a Chinese team of scientists highlights the discovery of well-preserved blue-stain fungal hyphae within a Jurassic fossil wood from northeastern ...

Extreme Weather Is Wiping out amphibians—Here’s Where It’s Worst

June 6, 2025 — Frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians are not just battling habitat loss and pollution they're now also contending with increasingly brutal heat waves and droughts. A sweeping 40-year study ...

The Sweet Spot: Sugar-Based Sensors to Revolutionize Snake Venom Detection

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have published the first example of a synthetic sugar detection test for snake venom, offering a new route to rapid diagnosis and better ...

Amphibian Road Mortality Drops by Over 80% With Wildlife Underpasses, Study Shows

May 29, 2025 — A new study shows that wildlife underpass tunnels dramatically reduce deaths of frog, salamanders, and other amphibians migrating across ...

Huge Sea-Urchin Populations Are Overwhelming Hawaii's Coral Reefs

May 28, 2025 — This study measured the growth rate of coral reefs in Honaunau Bay, Hawaii, using on-site data gathering and aerial imagery. Researchers found that the reefs are being eroded by sea urchin ...

Mystery of 'Very Odd' Elasmosaur Finally Solved: Fiercely Predatory Marine Reptile Is New Species

May 23, 2025 — A mysterious sea monster fossil discovered decades ago in British Columbia has finally revealed its true identity — and it’s unlike anything scientists have seen before. Named Traskasaura ...

Study Discovers DNA Switch That Controls TB Growth, and Could Help Unlock Its Antibiotic Resistance Secrets

May 22, 2025 — The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) may have an 'on-off switch' that lets them pause and restart growth, according to a new study. The research helps explain why TB is so hard to ...

Why Some Spiders Are More Venomous Than Others

May 21, 2025 — A new study has revealed why some spiders possess venom that is far more potent than others. By analyzing the venoms of more than 70 different spider species, the team explored whether factors such ...