Herpetological Highlights
In Herpetological Highlights we will explore the recent scientific discoveries in the field of Herpetology. We'll cover everything from lizards to frogs, snakes, and toads. Every episode we'll be digging into the biology and ecology of these reptiles and amphibians in an attempt to disentangle the science. Hosted by Tom Major and Ben Marshall. Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/herphighlights
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 49 minutes
- Episodes
- 238
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
195 What makes a snake bite?
Snake bite is a global health issue. This episode we look at a paper that tries to determine the factors that make snakes more or less likely to bite.
194 Mighty Morphing Salamanders
Some species come in different colour morphs, but how do species maintain these different morphs? Do they end up behaving differently? This episode we look at the territorial behaviour of salamanders…
193 Snakes Can Smell Themselves
The mirror test is often used to try and determine if animals have self recognition. If they recognise it is them in the mirror, they will react to a change in their appearance. But for snakes, sight…
192 Night of the Natrix
Common grass snakes are a widespread European species that are often spotted by people and recorded using apps. To the surprise of scientists, they have an interesting nightlife.
191 History Inside Frog DNA
This episode we chat about the thousands of frog ancestors whose stories can still be heard in the DNA of modern frogs. How did these frogs from the past deal with dramatic changes, and is modern urb…
190 Snake Food Fights
This episode is all about questioning the assumption that snake male-male combat is driven by competition for mates. We look at a paper that presents evidence showing that food might be behind the co…
189 What can Brown Snakes do for you?
Killing snakes is bad karma, but it might also be bad for business.
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188 Big Wetlands for Big Snakes
Giant garter snakes are big beasts that like wetland areas - we chat about how they get on when faced with the challenge of moving to a new wetland. Then, a brand new species of banded venomous snake…
187 Anoles on the Night-shift
Anoles are adaptable creatures, but can they make the most of artificial light?
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186 Sleeping Dragons
Hibernation is a pretty extreme biological process that shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. Bearded dragons are one of many beasts that have it perfected, and in this episode we look at how. Species of …
185 The tortoises are back in town
Tortoises return to an island in the Galapagos and prove themselves to be solid ecosystem engineers.
184 Skin-eating Caecilians
Caecilians, the strange underground amphibians, are known to let their babies eat their skin. But the full benefits of this practice are only now becoming clear.
183 Lizards Disrupting Dinner
A wildly ambitious study which fundamentally alters the ecology of islands? Count us in.
182 Sea Snake Squad
More evidence of social behaviour in snakes, this time from snakes that live underwater. Then we chat about a new species of alligator-looking lizard.
181 Piebald Pythons
Royal pythons, ball pythons, regardless of their name the colour morphs can be stunning. But have folk found which gene is responsible? And can that gene create the same patterns in other reptiles?
180 Urban Chameleon Warfare
Urban environments can be dramatically different from natural ones. New challenges face any animal finding themselves in the big city. This episode we look at some tiny chameleons adapting to urban l…
179 Well-armed Newts
An arms race between newts and snakes means biological warfare.
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178 Meadow Vipers like Grazed Grass
New research sets out to work out what the meadow vipers like.
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177 Are Iguanas Unwelcome Guests?
Gopher tortoises build wonderful and important burrows, but what happens when an invasive species decides to move in.
176 Snakes and Pharaohs
We are relatively familiar with modern snake bite advice, but what snakes did the ancient Egyptians deal with?