rhamphotheca:

Close up of the face of a Eurasian Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis), a common legless lizard

(photo: Valerius Geng)

rhamphotheca:

Yemen Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx yemenensis)

The Uromastyx is a genus of lizard whose members are better-known as Spiny-tailed lizards, uromastyxs, mastigures, or dabb lizards. Uromastyx are primarily herbivorous, but occasionally eat insects, especially when young. They spend most of their waking hours basking in the sun, hiding in underground chambers at daytime or when danger appears. They tend to establish themselves in hilly, rocky areas with good shelter and accessible vegetation… (read more: Wikipedia)

(photo: Yousif Al-Mulla)

rhamphotheca:

Ornate Spiny-Tailed Lizard (Uromastyx ornata ornata)

The generic name (Uromastyx) is derived from the Ancient Greek words ourá (οὐρά) meaning “tail” and mastigo (Μαστίχα) meaning “whip” or “scourge”, after the thick-spiked tail characteristic of all Uromastyx species… (read more: Wikipedia)

(photo: Iwishmynamewasmarsha)

rhamphotheca:

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi)

An agitated Philippine eagle raises its head feathers in Mount Apo National Park in the Philippines in an undated picture. The world’s second largest eagle is one of several species native to the Philippines forest hot spot (see map). The hot spot is one of the most endangered areas due to extensive logging and farming by some 80 million people dependent on natural resources, according to Conservation International.

(via: National Geo)   (image: Neil. L. Retig, Nat. Geo.)

rhamphotheca:

Newly Discovered Frogs, India:  Spinular Night Frog

by Christine Dell’Amore

Known from only a single area in Kerala state, the spinular night frog is also among the largest of its genus, reaching up to 2.6 in (6.6 cm). Its scientific name, Nyctibatrachus acanthodermis, derives from two Greek words—acanthos, meaning “spine” or “thorn,” and dermis, meaning “skin”—a reference to the spiny skin on the frog’s back.

(via: National Geo)   (photo: Biju Das)

rhamphotheca:

Newly Discovered Frogs, India:  Coorg Night Frog

by Christine Dell’Amore

Rediscovered after 90 years, the Coorg night frog was originally described in 1920 by CR Narayana Rao, “the pioneer of Indian amphibian research,” researcher Biju Das said. The species was discovered in Coorg—now Kodagu—an area in India’s Karnataka state. Das and colleagues found just one male frog in Mercara, a town near Kodagu.

(via: National Geo)   (photo: Biju Das)

rhamphotheca:

Newly Discovered Frogs, India:  Gavi Night Frog

by Christine Dell’Amore

Researcher Biju Das and colleagues found the loud-singing Gavi night frog in a cardamom plantation in India’s Kerala state. It’s named after Gavi, a village in the middle of the plantation. Several of the 12 newly discovered species are very rare, existing only in small pockets of protected forests, Das noted. Others, like the Gavi night frog, live outside reserves and need conservation attention, he said. 

(via: National Geo)   (photo: Biju Das)

rhamphotheca:

Newly Discovered Frogs, India:  Wayanad Night Frog

by Christine Dell’Amore

With males measuring up to 3 inches (7.7 centimeters), the robust-bodied Wayanad night frog is the now biggest of the Nyctibatrachus genus. Unlike their brethren, which abandon their eggs when threatened, Wayanad frogs will stay and fight aggressors. For example, “when the [egg] site was approached too closely by the investigator, the guarding animals … instantly inflated or raised the body, and did not hesitate to bite a twig or a finger,” according to the study.

 (via: National Geo)   (photo: Biju Das)

rhamphotheca:

White-lipped Pitviper (Trimeresurus albolabris) male from Situgede, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia

(photo: W.A. Djatmiko)