tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/snakes-3471/articlesSnakes – The Conversation2024-03-17T08:37:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2244112024-03-17T08:37:05Z2024-03-17T08:37:05ZSnakebites: we thought we’d created a winning new antivenom but then it flopped. Why that turned out to be a good thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579144/original/file-20240301-30-2x5qov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A _Bothrops asper_ is prepared for its venom to be milked to use in making antivenom.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Snakebites kill <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrdp201763">over 100,000 people each year</a>, and hundreds of thousands of survivors are left with long-term disabilities such as amputations.</p>
<p>Africa, Asia and Latin America are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009073">the regions most heavily affected</a>. The most venomous snakes in Africa are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-knowing-what-black-mamba-venom-does-to-the-human-body-is-crucial-121386">black mamba</a>, cobras and saw-scaled and carpet vipers. In Asia, the Indian cobra, Russel’s viper, saw-scaled viper and common krait are the most venomous.</p>
<p>In the Central America and northern South America regions, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/viper-snake">venomous pit viper</a> <em>Bothrops asper</em> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22146491/">is responsible for most of the fatal and harmful bites</a>.</p>
<p>We are venom and antivenom specialists who spent four years developing a therapeutic antibody to mitigate the effects of the pit viper’s bites. We were certain that we’d met all the standards for an effective, safe and efficacious antivenom. But, at the last hurdle, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42624-5">we realised</a> the antibody didn’t neutralise the snake’s toxins: it enhanced them, worsening the venom’s effects.</p>
<p>Initially this was, of course, very disappointing. But it was also a valuable lesson. By reporting this new way that future antivenoms can fail, we have highlighted a problem with the <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/255657/9789241210133-eng.pdf#page=217">current recommendations for testing antivenoms</a> that was hidden until now.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mozambique-had-no-data-about-snakebites-our-new-study-filled-the-gap-and-the-results-are-scary-192106">Mozambique had no data about snakebites. Our new study filled the gap -- and the results are scary</a>
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<p>Our lesson is likely to have a much larger impact on the development of snakebite treatments than if the antibody had been a success, because the discovery will help antivenom researchers focus their efforts so they don’t fail at the last hurdle as we did. </p>
<h2>Developing our antivenom</h2>
<p>A large percentage of <em>B. asper’s</em> venom consists of potent muscle-damaging molecules called phospholipases A₂ (PLA₂s) and PLA₂-like toxins. These have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36632869/">severe effects</a>, often leading to irreversible damage and disability. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/finally-snakebite-is-getting-more-attention-as-a-tropical-health-issue-131016">Finally, snakebite is getting more attention as a tropical health issue</a>
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<p>Myotoxin II, a formidable PLA₂-like toxin within <em>B. asper’s</em> arsenal, is particularly significant. The precise mechanisms that underlie myotoxin II’s action aren’t fully understood. It is known to exert its effects locally, binding to muscle fibres and triggering muscle damage. This localised action poses a challenge for traditional antivenom treatments.</p>
<p>We have attempted to develop human monoclonal antibodies that target and neutralise this membrane-disrupting myotoxin II. For the first four years of our research project, the antibodies we discovered kept showing impressive effects in neutralising myotoxin II. </p>
<p>Even when tested in living mice, using the current gold standard for antivenom testing, the antibodies continuously showed impressive neutralisation. However, for our most promising antibody, we wanted to go a step further and carry out an experiment that more closely resembled a human envenoming, in which the antibody is injected after injection of the venom. </p>
<p>The results of this additional experiment were equal parts disappointing and surprising. Our most promising antibody in this last experiment changed its toxin-neutralising effect to toxin-enhancing instead, as we’ve <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42624-5">documented in a research paper</a>. </p>
<p>The results were so surprising that we decided to immediately repeat the experiment. We thought something must’ve gone wrong, like the antibody or other materials having gone bad. However, the results remained the same.</p>
<p>This curious phenomenon, which we termed “antibody-dependent enhancement of toxicity”, represents a novel discovery in toxin immunology. Similar phenomena have been observed in other contexts, such as with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19307220/">poisonous mushrooms</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3188055/">bacterial toxins</a>, but never before with toxins from the animal kingdom. </p>
<p>Additional studies will be needed to fully understand what causes antibody-dependent enhancement of toxicity. </p>
<h2>Reassessing preclinical models</h2>
<p>There’s good news about this failure. It’s a chance for antivenom researchers all over the world, no matter what snake species they’re working with, to reassess their preclinical models (like the <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/255657/9789241210133-eng.pdf#page=217">current gold standard model</a>).</p>
<p>We also think antivenom researchers should consider incorporating more sophisticated experiments like the ones used in our study, which more closely resemble a real-life envenoming case. By doing so, the antivenom research community can streamline the drug discovery process. This will expedite the identification and development of safer and more effective snakebite treatments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andreas Hougaard Laustsen receives funding from Wellcome, the European Research Council, the Villum Foundation, and Innovation Fund Denmark. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruno Lomonte receives funding from Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julián Fernández receives funding from Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christoffer Vinther Sørensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By reporting this new way that future antivenoms can fail, the research has highlighted a problem with current antivenom testing recommendations.Christoffer Vinther Sørensen, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Center for Antibody Technologies, Technical University of DenmarkAndreas Hougaard Laustsen, Professor & Center Director at the Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of DenmarkBruno Lomonte, Emeritus Professor, Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa RicaJulián Fernández, Researcher at Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa RicaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235492024-02-19T03:46:27Z2024-02-19T03:46:27ZScientists shocked to discover new species of green anaconda, the world’s biggest snake<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576419/original/file-20240219-26-4pucih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5294%2C3532&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The green anaconda has long been considered one of the Amazon’s most <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1916160_1916151_1916136,00.html">formidable and mysterious</a> animals. Our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/2/127">new research</a> upends scientific understanding of this magnificent creature, revealing it is actually two genetically different species. The surprising finding opens a new chapter in conservation of this top jungle predator.</p>
<p>Green anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, and among the longest. Predominantly found in rivers and wetlands in South America, they are renowned for their lightning speed and ability to asphyxiate huge prey then swallow them whole.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I were shocked to discover significant genetic differences between the two anaconda species. Given the reptile is such a large vertebrate, it’s remarkable this difference has slipped under the radar until now. </p>
<p>Conservation strategies for green anacondas must now be reassessed, to help each unique species cope with threats such as climate change, habitat degradation and pollution. The findings also show the urgent need to better understand the diversity of Earth’s animal and plant species before it’s too late.</p>
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<img alt="snake on branches above water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576390/original/file-20240219-30-pwv50z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Scientists discovered a new snake species known as the northern green anaconda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bryan Fry</span></span>
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<h2>An impressive apex predator</h2>
<p>Historically, four anaconda species have been recognised, including green anacondas (also known as giant anacondas).</p>
<p>Green anacondas are true behemoths of the reptile world. The largest females can grow to more than <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/anaconda#ref708759">seven metres long</a> and weigh <a href="https://taronga.org.au/news/2018-07-11/green-anaconda-weighs">more than 250 kilograms</a>.</p>
<p>The snakes are well-adapted to a life lived mostly in water. Their nostrils and eyes are on top of their head, so they can see and breathe while the rest of their body is submerged. Anacondas are olive-coloured with large black spots, enabling them to blend in with their surroundings.</p>
<p>The snakes inhabit the lush, intricate waterways of South America’s Amazon and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Orinoco-Basin">Orinoco</a> basins. They are known for their stealth, patience and surprising agility. The buoyancy of the water supports the animal’s substantial bulk and enables it to move easily and leap out to ambush prey as large as capybaras (giant rodents), caimans (reptiles from the alligator family) and deer. </p>
<p>Green anacondas are not venomous. Instead they take down prey using their large, flexible jaws then crush it with their strong bodies, before swallowing it.</p>
<p>As apex predators, green anacondas are vital to maintaining balance in their ecosystems. This role extends beyond their hunting. Their very presence alters the behaviour of a wide range of other species, influencing where and how they forage, breed and migrate.</p>
<p>Anacondas are highly sensitive to environmental change. Healthy anaconda populations indicate vibrant ecosystems, with ample food resources and clean water. Declining anaconda numbers may be harbingers of environmental distress. So knowing which anaconda species exist, and monitoring their numbers, is crucial.</p>
<p>To date, there has been little research into genetic differences between anaconda species. Our research aimed to close that knowledge gap.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-killing-brown-snakes-they-could-be-a-farmers-best-friend-222142">Stop killing brown snakes – they could be a farmer's best friend</a>
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<img alt="snake in water eating deer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576418/original/file-20240219-27-h8efx6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Green anaconda have large, flexible jaws. Pictured: a green anaconda eating a deer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JESUS RIVAS</span></span>
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<h2>Untangling anaconda genes</h2>
<p>We studied representative samples from all anaconda species throughout their distribution, across nine countries.</p>
<p>Our project spanned almost 20 years. Crucial pieces of the puzzle came from samples we collected on a 2022 expedition to the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We took this trip at the invitation of, and in collaboration with, Waorani leader Penti Baihua. Actor Will Smith also joined the expedition, as part of a series he is filming for National Geographic. </p>
<p>We surveyed anacondas from various locations throughout their ranges in South America. Conditions were difficult. We paddled up muddy rivers and slogged through swamps. The heat was relentless and swarms of insects were omnipresent. </p>
<p>We collected data such as habitat type and location, and rainfall patterns. We also collected tissue and/or blood from each specimen and analysed the samples back in the lab. This revealed the green anaconda, formerly believed to be a single species, is actually two genetically distinct species. </p>
<p>The first is the known species, <em>Eunectes murinus</em>, which lives in Perú, Bolivia, French Guiana and Brazil. We have given it the common name “southern green anaconda”. The second, newly identified species is <em>Eunectes akayima</em> or “northern green anaconda”, which is found in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.</p>
<p>We also identified the period in time where the green anaconda diverged into two species: almost 10 million years ago. </p>
<p>The two species of green anaconda look almost identical, and no obvious geographical barrier exists to separate them. But their level of genetic divergence – 5.5% – is staggering. By comparison, the genetic difference between humans and apes is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-does-the-fact-that-w/#:%7E:text=Most%20studies%20indicate%20that%20when,size%20of%20the%20comparison%20unit.">about 2%</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-amazon-as-a-critical-summit-nears-politicians-must-get-serious-about-deforestation-in-bolivia-205263">The forgotten Amazon: as a critical summit nears, politicians must get serious about deforestation in Bolivia</a>
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<img alt="green anaconda underwater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576399/original/file-20240219-18-42nfsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The two green anaconda species live much of their lives in water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Preserving the web of life</h2>
<p>Our research has peeled back a layer of the mystery surrounding green anacondas. This discovery has significant implications for the conservation of these species – particularly for the newly identified northern green anaconda. </p>
<p>Until now, the two species have been managed as a single entity. But each may have different ecological niches and ranges, and face different threats. </p>
<p>Tailored conservation strategies must be devised to safeguard the future of both species. This may include new legal protections and initiatives to protect habitat. It may also involve measures to mitigate the harm caused by climate change, deforestation and pollution — such as devastating effects of <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/critics-question-causes-behind-major-oil-spill-in-ecuadorian-amazon/">oil spills</a> on aquatic habitats. </p>
<p>Our research is also a reminder of the complexities involved in biodiversity conservation. When species go unrecognised, they can slip through the cracks of conservation programs. By incorporating genetic taxonomy into conservation planning, we can better preserve Earth’s intricate web of life – both the species we know today, and those yet to be discovered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Bryan G. Fry is a National Geographic Explorer and has previously received funding as part of this role.</span></em></p>Green anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, and among the longest. it’s remarkable this hidden species has slipped under the radar until now.Bryan G. Fry, Professor of Toxicology, School of the Environment, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221422024-01-29T19:05:19Z2024-01-29T19:05:19ZStop killing brown snakes – they could be a farmer’s best friend<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571808/original/file-20240129-27-4fxoz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4245%2C2819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians who work outdoors – especially farmers and graziers – attempt to kill every snake they encounter, especially those thought to be venomous. In fact, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1565247">research</a> in one part of rural Australia found 38% of respondents tried to kill snakes wherever possible.</p>
<p>This attitude is misguided and dangerous. Despite their fearsome reputation, venomous Australian snakes pose little risk to human health. And snakes are hugely beneficial on farms by consuming pests such as rodents. </p>
<p><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/acv.12925">New research</a> by myself and colleagues estimated the magnitude of that benefit. We found adult eastern brown snakes can collectively remove thousands of mice per square kilometre of farmland each year, which substantially increases farm productivity. </p>
<p>Our study suggests the benefits of snake populations on agricultural land far outweigh the potential costs, and farmers should tolerate rather than kill them.</p>
<h2>A persecuted serpent</h2>
<p>Brown snakes are the most common deadly snake species found in disturbed agricultural habitats in the southern half of Australia. </p>
<p>The snakes are fast-moving and active during the day. Brown snakes are generally persecuted in rural areas because the danger of fatal snake bites is seen to outweigh their benefits as pest controllers.</p>
<p>It’s true that brown snakes are the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320947425_Australia%27s_Dangerous_Snakes_Identification_Biology_and_Envenoming">most common</a> <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/eastern-brown-snakes-expert-reveals-what-makes-australias-deadliest-snake-so-lethal-what-to-do-if-bitten/9b454663-011e-4fa5-85a2-9d92888d0b30#:%7E:text=However%20according%20to%20statistics%20released,across%20most%20of%20eastern%20Australia.">cause</a> of fatal snake bite in Australia. But the bites are rarely fatal. Statistics show snakes of any species kill <a href="https://www.museum.qld.gov.au/learn-and-discover/animals-of-queensland/snakes#:%7E:text=Even%20dangerously%20venomous%20species%20pose,three%20snakebite%20deaths%20a%20year.">fewer than three</a> people per year in Australia, on average.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/qld/news/outback-survival-snakes-and-snakebites/">Around 3,000</a> snake bite cases are reported annually – a high proportion of which occur when a snake <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/207/3/australian-snakebite-project-2005-2015-asp-20">retaliates</a> to being attacked by a person.</p>
<p>Australian snakes, including brown snakes, <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/responses-of-free-ranging-brownsnakes-ipseudonaja-textilisi-elapi">generally retreat</a> rather than attack, even when provoked. Eastern brown snakes, in particular, tend to dwell in places where they are unlikely to be encountered by people. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/good-luck-fella-stay-safe-a-snake-catcher-explains-why-our-fear-of-brown-snakes-is-misplaced-150783">'Good luck fella, stay safe': a snake catcher explains why our fear of brown snakes is misplaced</a>
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<h2>An upside to venomous snakes</h2>
<p>The most obvious benefit of maintaining brown snake populations is to reduce rodent numbers. Introduced species of rats and mice are a <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=nwrchumanconflicts">major cost</a> to Australian agriculture. In extreme cases, mice can destroy most or all of a crop.</p>
<p>We wanted to calculate the number of rodents removed from Australian farmland by brown snakes. </p>
<p>First, we drew on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3892162">work</a> I had done in the 1980s, which involved dissecting museum specimens to find out what proportion of brown snake diets consisted of rodents.</p>
<p>We then estimated the number of prey consumed each year by brown snakes. This was based on the feeding rates of captive snakes, data from commercially farmed pythons in farms in Thailand and Vietnam, and studies on a species of North American snake which is similar to brown snakes.</p>
<p>To estimate the abundance of brown snakes on farms, we consulted previous research on brown snake abundance, and rates of capture from fieldwork involving red-bellied black snakes. We also obtained data from the Atlas of Living Australia, an online compendium of information about the continent’s plants and animals.</p>
<p>Based on the combined data, we found a square kilometre of farmland can contain 100 adult eastern brown snakes, even where rates of encounters between people and those snakes are low. If each adult brown snake consumes around 100 wild mice each year – which is likely an underestimate – together this must equate to about 10,000 mice per square kilometre. Each mouse removed by a brown snake may eat several kilograms of grain crops over its life. </p>
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<h2>Give snakes a chance</h2>
<p>Agricultural productivity gains are not the only benefits of tolerating brown snakes on farmland.</p>
<p>It would also allow a reduction in the use of chemical methods for rodent control, which can be expensive and ineffective. The chemicals can also threaten the <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8044n35x">health</a> of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9759690/">humans</a>, livestock, scavenging wildlife and pets.</p>
<p>Tolerating brown snakes might also reduce the incidence of snake bite. <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/animals/living-with/snakes#:%7E:text=Snakes%20usually%20prefer%20to%20retreat,the%20snake%20to%20move%20away.">Most snake bites</a> are inflicted when people are trying to catch or kill the reptile.</p>
<p>What’s more, one study <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320947425_Australia%27s_Dangerous_Snakes_Identification_Biology_and_Envenoming">suggests</a> snakes that are long-term residents of an area are less agitated by close encounters with people and know the location of nearby safe havens, and so pose relatively little threat. Culling snakes may create an influx of new animals unfamiliar with the location and not used to humans.</p>
<p>The obvious rebuttal is that killing snakes reduces the incidence of future snake bite, by reducing overall snake numbers. However, data suggests this is not necessarily the case. For example, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158397">one study</a> in Indonesia showed reticulated pythons remained abundant despite millions of individuals being removed over decades.</p>
<p>Maintaining viable populations of snakes has an ecological benefit. Removing high-level predators destabilises food webs and disrupts the way ecosystems function.</p>
<p>Finally, conserving snakes has merit in its own right. Many species of snakes are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001371/#:%7E:text=Although%20there%20is%20little%20evidence,(Mullin%20%26%20Seigel%202009).">in decline</a>, including in Australia, and should be protected.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest the need for a more balanced view of the costs and benefits of snakes, including brown snakes. Tolerating them may bring benefits that outweigh the already low chance of life-threatening snake bite. </p>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of Peter Mirtschin, Nathan Dunstan and Jeff Abraham to the research underpinning this article.</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-these-20-australian-reptiles-are-set-to-disappear-by-2040-145385">New research reveals these 20 Australian reptiles are set to disappear by 2040</a>
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<p><em>Correction: A figure relating to mice per square kilometre has been amended from 1,000 to 10,000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Shine receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The benefits of snake populations on agricultural land far outweigh the potential costs, and farmers should tolerate rather than kill them.Rick Shine, Professor in Evolutionary Biology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171112023-11-08T13:53:13Z2023-11-08T13:53:13ZDo you like snakes, lizards and frogs? Why herpetology might be the career for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557734/original/file-20231106-23-lkg44h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The author handling a boomslang as part of her work with a conservation organisation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Cooke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are so fortunate to share the world with a huge diversity of creatures. For me, some of the most fascinating are reptiles and amphibians. Collectively called <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/0220c4kherps.pdf">herpetofauna</a>, reptiles and amphibians are ectotherms; they rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature.</p>
<p>A person like me who works with these groups of animals is called a herpetologist. Among the reptiles and amphibians, my special interest is in snakes. I’ve always been interested in reptiles, from the days when I would chase common flat lizards in the Motobo Hills in Zimbabwe, where I grew up, and interact with snakes and other animals at our local rehabilitation centre. </p>
<p>Still, if somebody had told my teenage self that my job would entail working with snakes and encouraging other people to appreciate them, I never would have believed them. I didn’t even know you could make a career out of working with reptiles. Today, I’m studying towards my PhD in herpetology (which is technically a degree in ecology and conservation) while also working with a snake conservation organisation in South Africa.</p>
<h2>Learning about snakes</h2>
<p>Most people will be familiar with zoology, the branch of biology that focuses on the study of all animals. Some animals have their own speciality within the discipline of zoology. Herps (a slang term for herpetofauna) are one example.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.reptile-database.org/db-info/SpeciesStat.html">over 4,000 species</a> of snakes around the world. Each species has a unique adaptation to its own environment. Some snakes, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-in-stealth-puff-adders-employ-camouflage-at-every-level-53316">puff adders</a>, are scentless as a way to camouflage themselves from predators. Others, like southern African pythons, <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-insights-into-how-southern-african-pythons-look-after-their-babies-91276">show maternal care</a>, which is very unusual for snakes and much more common in mammals and birds. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-in-stealth-puff-adders-employ-camouflage-at-every-level-53316">The ultimate in stealth, puff adders employ camouflage at every level</a>
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<p>These unique adaptations have allowed snakes to thrive in different environments. This makes them a great model in science: herpetologists can ask questions about their physiology, evolution, ecology and biology.</p>
<p>For anyone looking to become a herpetologist, a basic zoology degree will get you started. Most universities will have someone who specialises in teaching herpetology or someone who can point you in the right direction. Volunteering at institutions that have reptiles, like zoos, is also a great way to get some experience working with them. Once you get to postgraduate level, you can specialise in one of many different topics in herpetology and apply different techniques to answer questions that you are curious about. </p>
<p>As a specialist in reptiles and amphibians, you can merge that interest with other disciplines like photography, law or conservation, and this can open up many job opportunities. You can also pursue further research at a university, become a lecturer or school teacher, work at a zoo or become a museum curator. There are many options to explore. </p>
<h2>My research</h2>
<p>I completed my MSc in 2017 and my research focused on the evolution of diet in a group of snakes called <a href="https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/items/2d772155-77f6-4f7c-94db-b3e59fb0b22a">lamprophiids</a>. I loved learning about how diverse snakes are in the food they eat. For my PhD, I wanted my research to have a real-world application, so I waited until 2021 to start after getting some work experience in conservation. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-insights-into-how-southern-african-pythons-look-after-their-babies-91276">New insights into how southern African pythons look after their babies</a>
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<p><a href="https://hiralnaik.wordpress.com/contact-info/publications/">My current research</a> focuses on the way that snakes behave (behavioural ecology) to answer some of the bigger question of what leads snakes to bite people. Another year and I will have some answers for you on this. </p>
<p>Snakebite is a <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/snakebite">neglected tropical disease</a> according to the World Health Organization and affects millions of people around the world. When natural spaces are transformed and destroyed, many animals, like snakes, go looking for food and shelter – often in people’s homes. Many people are afraid of snakes, so encounters often lead to conflict as people try to kill the animals and get bitten in the process. </p>
<p>I am also fortunate to work for a non-profit organisation, <a href="https://savethesnakes.org/">Save The Snakes</a>, which allows me to educate people about snakes and do my part to conserve them by applying my research. My job includes researching information on snakes that live in different parts of South Africa and assessing threats to them, like habitat transformation, learning more about the relationship between humans and snakes, conducting fieldwork and running experiments to understand more about the behaviour and ecology of snakes.</p>
<h2>The circle of life</h2>
<p>I’m also passionate about education.</p>
<p>Learning about the world of snakes has allowed me to appreciate the natural world in a unique way. <a href="https://youtu.be/ltQcE0gapIo">As predators and prey</a>, snakes are an emblem of the circle of life. One of my favourite activities is going out at night looking for them (called “herping”) and watching them display different behaviours. After the summer rains, frogs and insects come out and the snake predators follow. When I take these moments to observe the world around me I feel fortunate to appreciate these animals in a way most people don’t. This is the feeling I like to share in my education efforts.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A southern African python being returned to the wild by Save the Snakes.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Some of my favourite moments in my current job have involved seeing the change in people’s perceptions about snakes. Snakes have been feared for many generations because of misinformation. Most snakes are harmless. They don’t chase people, and they stay hidden much of the time. By sharing the correct information about snakes, we show that fear can be changed to curiosity and that creates more motivation to learn about them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hiral Naik has received funding from the National Research Foundation. She is affiliated with Save The Snakes.</span></em></p>Learning about snakes offers unique insights into the natural world.Hiral Naik, PhD candidate: School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2151022023-10-16T15:36:34Z2023-10-16T15:36:34ZAncient Egypt had far more venomous snakes than the country today, according to our new study of a scroll<p>How much can the written records of ancient civilisations tell us about the animals they lived alongside? <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14614103.2023.2266631">Our latest research</a>, based on the venomous snakes described in an ancient Egyptian papyrus, suggests more than you might think. A much more diverse range of snakes than we’d imagined lived in the land of the pharaohs – which also explains why these Egyptian authors were so preoccupied with treating snakebites!</p>
<p>Like cave paintings, texts from early in recorded history often describe wild animals the writers knew. They can provide some remarkable details, but identifying the species involved can still be hard. For instance, the ancient Egyptian document called the <a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/60690">Brooklyn Papyrus</a>, dating back to around 660-330BC but likely a copy of a much older document, lists different kinds of snake known at the time, the effects of their bites, and their treatment. </p>
<p>As well as the symptoms of the bite, the papyrus also describes the deity associated with the snake, or whose intervention might save the patient. The bite of the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Apopis-Egyptian-god">great snake of Apophis</a>” (a god who took the form of a snake), for example, was described as causing rapid death. Readers were also warned that this snake had not the usual two fangs but four, still a rare feature for a snake today. </p>
<p>The venomous snakes described in the Brooklyn Papyrus are diverse: 37 species are listed, of which the descriptions for 13 have been lost. Today, the area of ancient Egypt is home to far fewer species. This has led to <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/339159652.pdf">much speculation</a> among researchers as to which species are being described. </p>
<h2>The four-fanged snake</h2>
<p>For the great snake of Apophis, no reasonable contender currently lives within ancient Egypt’s borders. Like most of the venomous snakes that cause the majority of the world’s snakebite deaths, the vipers and cobras now found in Egypt have just two fangs, one in each upper jaw bone. In snakes, the jaw bones on the two sides are separated and move independently, unlike in mammals. </p>
<p>The nearest modern snake that <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/9/5/171">often has four fangs</a> is the boomslang (<em>Disopholidus typus</em>) from the sub-Saharan African savannas, now only found more than 400 miles (650km) south of present-day Egypt. Its venom can make the victim bleed from every orifice and cause a lethal brain haemorrhage. Could the snake of Apophis be an early, detailed description of a boomslang? And if so, how did the ancient Egyptians encounter a snake that now lives so far south of their borders? </p>
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<img alt="Ancient Egyptian art depicting a hare-like creature battling a snake." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553356/original/file-20231011-17-79rkof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Representation of Apep (Apophis) in Ancient Egyptian wall painting. Note resemblance to boomslang (above).</span>
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<p>To find out, our masters student Elysha McBride used a statistical model called <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/climate/special_issues/Niche_Models">climate niche modelling</a> to explore how the ranges of various African and Levantine (eastern Mediterranean) snakes have changed through time.</p>
<p>Niche modelling reconstructs the conditions in which a species lives, and identifies parts of the planet that offer similar conditions. Once the model has been taught to recognise places that are suitable today, we can add in maps of past climate conditions. It then produces a map showing all the places where that species might have been able to live in the past.</p>
<h2>On the trail of ancient snakes</h2>
<p>Our study shows the much more humid climates of early ancient Egypt would have supported many snakes that don’t live there today. We focused on ten species from the African tropics, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Maghreb">Maghreb region</a> of north Africa and the Middle East that might match the papyrus’s descriptions. These include some of Africa’s most notorious venomous snakes such as the black mamba, puff adder and boomslang.</p>
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<p>We found that nine of our ten species could probably once have lived in ancient Egypt. Many could have occupied the southern and southeastern parts of the country as it then was – modern northern Sudan and the Red Sea coast. Others might have lived in the fertile, vegetated Nile valley or along the northern coast. For instance, boomslangs might have lived along the Red Sea coast in places that 4,000 years ago would have been part of Egypt. </p>
<p>Similarly, one entry of the Brooklyn Papyrus describes a snake “patterned like a quail” that “hisses like a goldsmith’s bellows”. The puff adder (<em>Bitis arietans</em>) would fit this description, but currently lives only south of Khartoum in Sudan and in northern Eritrea. Again, our models suggest that this species’ range would once have extended much further north.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wildlife-wonders-of-britain-and-ireland-before-the-industrial-revolution-my-research-reveals-all-the-biodiversity-weve-lost-208721">Wildlife wonders of Britain and Ireland before the industrial revolution – my research reveals all the biodiversity we've lost</a>
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<p>Since the period we modelled, a lot has changed. Drying of the climate and desertification had set in about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-022-09487-5">4,200 years ago</a>, but perhaps not uniformly. In the Nile valley and along the coast, for instance, farming and irrigation might have slowed the drying and allowed many species to persist into historical times. This implies that many more venomous snakes we only know from elsewhere might have been in Egypt at the time of the pharaohs.</p>
<p>Our study shows how enlightening it can be when we combine ancient texts with modern technology. Even a fanciful or imprecise ancient description can be highly informative. Modelling modern species’ ancient ranges can teach us a lot about how our ancestors’ ecosystems changed as a result of environmental change. We can use this information to understand the impact of their interactions with the wildlife around them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wolfgang Wüster receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabelle Catherine Winder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ancient texts are still teaching us new things about the prevalence of wildlife.Isabelle Catherine Winder, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Bangor UniversityWolfgang Wüster, Professor of Zoology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132942023-10-05T15:49:43Z2023-10-05T15:49:43ZFossil snake traces: another world-first find on South Africa’s Cape south coast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550184/original/file-20230926-29-aodxzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Puff adders leave linear, sometimes slightly undulating traces.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EcoPrint/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Snakes are familiar, distinctive – and often feared – reptiles. And they’ve been around for a long time: body fossils found in the UK, Portugal and the US stretch all the way back to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6996">the late Jurassic period</a>, about 150 million years ago.</p>
<p>Until now, though, there hasn’t been a single description of a surface fossilised snake trace – a mark on a surface that’s become cemented and re-exposed over time – anywhere in the world. </p>
<p>There are probably several reasons for this. One is that the tracks of large quadrupeds (four-legged animals), including dinosaurs, are easier to recognise than those of snakes. Another reason could be that snakes tend to avoid sandy or muddy areas in which their trails could be registered, preferring vegetated terrain. Maybe, as the weight of the snake is distributed over its entire length, the trails are shallow and are not easy to identify. </p>
<p>Or perhaps researchers are not adequately familiar with the types of traces that snakes can create. </p>
<p>We are part of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-job-is-full-of-fossilised-poop-but-theres-nothing-icky-about-ichnology-182906">ichnological team</a> – experts in identifying fossil tracks and traces. In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10420940.2023.2250062?src=">recently published article</a> in the journal <em>Ichnos</em>, we described the first snake trace in the fossil record, which we found on South Africa’s Cape south coast. It dates to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Pleistocene-Epoch">Pleistocene epoch</a>, and our studies have shown that it was probably made between 93,000 and 83,000 years ago, almost certainly by a puff adder (<em>Bitis arietans</em>).</p>
<p>As this is a world first, our research team was obliged to create a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, <em>Anguinichnus linearis</em>, to describe the distinctive pattern in the sand registered by the puff adder. </p>
<h2>A snake and a buffalo</h2>
<p>The puff adder is a not uncommon sight on the Cape south coast today and, with good reason, strikes fear into residents and visitors: its cytotoxic (tissue-destroying) venom can cause the loss of a limb or worse. It habitually suns itself on trails, staying motionless, and then strikes without warning.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-in-stealth-puff-adders-employ-camouflage-at-every-level-53316">The ultimate in stealth, puff adders employ camouflage at every level</a>
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<p>We found the trace fossil in the <a href="https://www.capenature.co.za/reserves/walker-bay-nature-reserve">Walker Bay Nature Reserve</a> (adjacent to <a href="https://www.grootbos.com/en">Grootbos Private Nature Reserve</a>), just over 100 kilometres south-east of Cape Town. </p>
<p>Intriguingly, a <a href="https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Pelorovis-antiquus">long-horned buffalo</a> – an extinct species – had walked across the same dune surface soon after the snake left its trace. We know this because one of the buffalo’s tracks is superimposed on the puff adder trace, slightly deforming it.</p>
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<img alt="A large, smooth, light grey rock surface on which the indent of a slithering snake is visible, as are several hoof prints" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551116/original/file-20230929-21-r9kbpi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The puff adder trail, crossed by a long-horned buffalo trackway. Geological hammer for scale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hayley Cawthra</span></span>
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<p>The puff adder and long-horned buffalo traces were found on the surface of a loose slab, 3 metres long and 2.6 metres wide, which had become dislodged and fallen down onto the beach from overlying cliffs. The slab is submerged twice a day by high tides. We were fortunate to discover it when its surface was bare, as repeat visits have shown that it is often covered in algae or by a thick layer of beach sand.</p>
<h2>Snakes in motion</h2>
<p>Snakes use four main types of locomotion. Each results in distinctive, recognisable traces. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s how snakes move through the world.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Puff adders are heavy, thick-set snakes with an average adult length of less than a metre. They mostly employ rectilinear motion, leaving a linear, sometimes slightly undulating trace, often with a central drag mark registered by the tail tip. In this form of motion the snake uses its weight and its belly muscles and grips rough areas on the surface with the posterior edges of its scales. It is drawn forwards through the muscular contractions, creating a linear trace. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A puff adder in motion, filmed by research team member Mark Dixon.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We also found possible trace evidence at other sites on the Cape south coast of sidewinding and undulatory motion, but this was inconclusive. We will be looking for further, more conclusive evidence. </p>
<h2>Filling important gaps</h2>
<p>The newly described puff adder traces help fill a gap in the Pleistocene trace fossil record from the region. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.039">More than 350 vertebrate tracksites</a> have been identified, of mammals, birds and reptiles. Most of these sites were registered on dune surfaces, which have now become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(01)00054-X">cemented into aeolianites and re-exposed</a>. Our latest find is yet another global first for the Cape south coast. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-fossil-trails-of-baby-sea-turtles-found-in-south-africa-122434">First fossil trails of baby sea turtles found in South Africa</a>
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<p>With other vertebrate groups, such as dinosaurs and crocodiles, the trace fossil record has substantially augmented the body fossil record, providing new insights. Hopefully this discovery will act as a spur to identify other snake traces from around the world from older deposits, and thus increase our understanding of the evolution of snakes and help to fill a substantial gap in the global trace fossil record.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The trace was probably made between 93,000 and 83,000 years ago, almost certainly by a puff adder.Charles Helm, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela UniversityHayley Cawthra, Specialist Scientist, Council for GeoscienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143292023-10-02T15:01:35Z2023-10-02T15:01:35ZNew species of cobra-like snake discovered – but it may already be extinct<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550600/original/file-20230927-23-z2mshp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C852%2C668&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hemachatus nyangensis in Nyanga National Park, Zimbabwe</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Donald Broadley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around the world, natural history museums hold a treasure trove of knowledge about Earth’s animals. But much of the precious information is sealed off to genetic scientists because <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/formalin">formalin</a>, the chemical often used to preserve specimens, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.6828890#:%7E:text=Formaldehyde%20caused%20the%20formation%20of,breaks%20produced%20by%20ionizing%20radiation.">damages DNA</a> and makes sequences hard to recover. </p>
<p>However, recent <a href="https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/43127/1/1446584_Barlow.pdf">advances in DNA extraction techniques</a> mean that biologists can study the genetic code of old museum specimens, which include extremely rare or even recently extinct species. We <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291432">harnessed this new technology </a> to study a snake from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe that was run over in 1982, and discovered it was a new species. Our research was recently published in PLOS One. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://zimfieldguide.com/manicaland/manicaland-zimbabwe%E2%80%99s-eastern-highlands">Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe</a>, a mountain chain on the border with Mozambique, <a href="https://www.gbif.org/dataset/1160e07d-3285-403e-8770-8426ef450bbf">create a haven</a> of cool and wet habitats surrounded by savannas and dry forest. They are home to many species that are <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23502383?typeAccessWorkflow=login">found nowhere else</a>. </p>
<p>Here, a mysterious population of snakes first drew the attention of scientists around 1920. An unusual snake displaying a cobra-like defensive hooding posture was spotted in the grounds of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32131829">Cecil Rhodes’</a> (prime minister of the Cape Colony in the late 19th century) Inyanga Estate in Nyanga. </p>
<p>This snake had unusual markings with red skin between its scales, creating the effect of black dots on a red background when its hood is extended. None of the other cobras found in the area match this description. </p>
<p>More snakes like this were reported in the 1950s, but no specimens were collected.</p>
<h2>A rare find</h2>
<p>The mystery surrounding these sightings piqued the interest of the late <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325450946_Donald_George_Broadley_Bibliography_taxonomic_discoveries_and_patronyms">Donald G. Broadley</a>, now considered to be the most eminent herpetologist (<a href="https://www.environmentalscience.org/career/herpetologist#:%7E:text=A%20herpetologist%20is%20a%20zoologist,conditions%20in%20a%20particular%20area.">reptile and amphibian expert</a>) of southern Africa. In 1961, Broadley was given some severed snake heads and identified the mystery snake as a <a href="https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/snake/rinkhals/">rinkhals (<em>Hemachatus haemachatus</em>)</a>, a species otherwise only found in South Africa, Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) and Lesotho. </p>
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<p>A handful of specimens were observed and measured in later years, but the landscape has been drastically altered by forestry. The rinkhals from Zimbabwe has not been seen in the wild since 1988 and is feared to be extinct.</p>
<p>This population lives 700km away from other, more southerly populations, which made us suspect it may be a separate species. But the genetic material contained within the specimen from Zimbabwe was degraded, meaning we couldn’t do the DNA studies needed to confirm whether it is a different species from other rinkhals. </p>
<h2>New technology</h2>
<p>However, the latest DNA extraction and sequencing methods have been developed over the last ten years to help biologists study the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/1755-0998.13433">remains of ancient animals</a>. We used the new techniques to examine the Zimbabwe rinkhals specimen. Our study showed they represent a long-isolated population, highly distinct from the southern rinkhals populations. </p>
<p>Based on their genetic divergence from the other rinkhals, we estimate that the snakes in Zimbabwe diverged from their southern relatives 7-14 million years ago. Counting a snake’s scales can help identify what species it is. Subtle differences in scale counts, revealed by our analysis of other specimens, provided enough evidence to classify the Zimbabwe rinkhals as a new species, <em>Hemachatus nyangensis</em>, the Nyanga rinkhals.</p>
<p>The scientific name <em>nyangensis</em> means “from Nyanga” in Latin.</p>
<p><em>Hemachatus nyangensis</em> has fangs modified to spit venom, although the behaviour was not reported from the few recorded interactions with humans. The closely related true cobras (<a href="http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Naja&submit=Search">genus Naja</a>), some of which are known to spit venom, do so with the same specialised fangs that allow venom to be forced forwards through narrow slits, spraying it toward animals that are threatening them. </p>
<p>Venom in the eyes causes severe pain, may damage the eye, and can cause blindness if left untreated. <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/spitting-cobras-venom-evolved-inflict-pain">Venom spitting</a> appears to have <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abb9303">evolved three times</a> within the broader group of cobra-like snakes, once in the rinkhals, and twice in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/30475-Naja">true cobras</a> in south-east Asia and in Africa.</p>
<h2>A connection between human and snake evolution</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/spitting-cobras-may-have-evolved-unique-venom-to-defend-from-ancient-humans-153570">Scientists think</a> this defence mechanism may have evolved in response to the first hominins (our ancestors). Tool-using apes who walked upright would have posed a serious threat to the snakes, and the evolution of spitting in African cobras roughly coincides with when hominins split from chimpanzees and bonobos 7 million years ago.</p>
<p>Similarly, the venom spitting in Asian cobras is thought to have emerged around <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abb9303">2.5 million years</a> ago, which is around the time the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/homo-erectus-our-ancient-ancestor.html">extinct human species <em>Homo erectus</em></a> would have become a threat to those species. Our study of Nyanga rinkhals suggests that the third time venom spitting evolved independently in snakes may also have coincided with the origin of upright-walking hominins. </p>
<p>If a living population of Nyanga rinkhals was found, fresh DNA samples would help us to more accurately determine the timing of the split between the two species of rinkhals and how this compares to hominin evolution. Technological advances may be giving us incredible insights into ancient animal lineages but they can’t make up for an extinction. We still hope a living population of Nyanga rinkhals will be found. </p>
<p>The possible relationship between venom spitting and our early ancestors is a reminder that we are part of the Earth’s ecosystem. Our own evolution is intertwined with that of other animals. When animals become extinct, we don’t just lose a species - they take part of our history with them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Axel Barlow has no active funding. He has previously received funding from NERC and Horizon 2020. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wolfgang Wüster receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Major does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Nyanga rinkhals can tell us about our own evolution.Tom Major, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Bournemouth UniversityAxel Barlow, Lecturer in Zoology, Bangor UniversityWolfgang Wüster, Reader in Zoology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999582023-02-15T05:47:20Z2023-02-15T05:47:20ZSnakes can hear you scream, new research reveals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510229/original/file-20230215-1870-tn2i1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C10%2C3340%2C2218&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina Zdenek</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Experts have long understood that snakes can feel sound vibrations through the ground – what we call “tactile” sensing – but we’ve puzzled over whether they can also hear airborne sound vibrations, and particularly over how they <em>react</em> to sounds.</p>
<p>In a new paper <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281285">published</a> in PLOS ONE, we conclude snakes use hearing to help them interpret the world, and finally dispel the myth that snakes are deaf to airborne sound. </p>
<p>Our research, which included 19 different snakes from seven species, reveals that not only do snakes have airborne hearing, but that different species react differently to what they hear. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-reasons-australia-is-the-lucky-country-when-it-comes-to-snakes-175188">7 reasons Australia is the lucky country when it comes to snakes</a>
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<h2>How snakes respond to airborne and ground-borne sounds</h2>
<p>Although seeing and tasting (the air) are the main ways snakes sense their environment, our study highlights that hearing still plays an important role in snakes’ sensory repertoire. </p>
<p>This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Snakes are susceptible to predators including monitor lizards, cats, dogs and other snakes. Hearing is an important sense for both predator avoidance and injury avoidance (such as being trodden on).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A coastal taipan sits at the centre of a large black and white grid on the ground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510230/original/file-20230215-26-xn6zpb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The coastal taipan was one of 19 snake species used in our research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina Zdenek</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For our experiments, we collaborated with the Queensland University of Technology’s <a href="https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-university/organisational-structure/faculty-of-creative-industries,-education-and-social-justice-old/school-of-creative-practice">School of Creative Practice</a> to fit-out a soundproof room and test one snake at a time.</p>
<p>Using silence as our control, we played one of three sounds, each including a range of frequencies: 1–150Hz, 150–300Hz and 300–450Hz. For comparison, the human voice range is about 100–250Hz, and birds chirp at about 8,000Hz.</p>
<p>In one <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/205/19/3087/9027/Response-of-western-diamondback-rattlesnakes">previous study</a>, researchers hung western diamondback rattlesnakes (<em>Crotalus atrox</em>) in a steel mesh basket and observed their restricted behaviours in response to sound frequencies between 200Hz and 400Hz. In another, <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/222/14/jeb198184/20779/Underwater-hearing-in-sea-snakes-Hydrophiinae">researchers</a> surgically implanted electrodes into the brains of partially anaesthetised snakes, detecting electrical potentials in response to sound up to 600Hz. </p>
<p>But our research is the first to investigate how multiple snake species respond to sounds in a space where they can move freely. We also used an accelerometer to detect whether the sounds produced ground vibrations. In this way we confirmed the snakes were indeed registering airborne sounds, and not just feeling ground vibrations.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510261/original/file-20230215-24-7w43c2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A coastal taipan near a sugarcane farm in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Hay</span></span>
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<h2>Do snakes move toward or away from sound?</h2>
<p>Most of the snakes exhibited very different types of behaviours in sound trials compared to the control.</p>
<p>Woma pythons (<em>Aspidites ramsayi</em>) – a non-venomous snake found throughout Australia’s arid interior – significantly increased their movement in response to sound and actually approached it. They exhibited an interesting behaviour called “periscoping”, in which snakes raise the front third of their body in a manner that suggests curiosity. </p>
<p>In contrast, three other genera – <em>Acanthophis</em> (death adders), <em>Oxyuranus</em> (taipans) and <em>Pseudonaja</em> (brown snakes) – were more likely to move away from sound, signalling potential avoidance behaviour. </p>
<p>Death adders are ambush predators. They wait for their prey to come to them <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01466.x">using the lure on their tail</a> (which they wiggle to look like a worm), and they can’t travel quickly. So it makes sense they trended away from the sound. For them, survival means avoiding being trodden on by large vertebrates such as kangaroos, wombats or humans. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510263/original/file-20230215-3672-ie0u3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A common death adder (<em>Acanthophis antarcticus</em>) in an ambush position at Mount Glorious, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
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<p>Brown snakes and taipans are active foragers that rapidly pursue their prey during the day. This means they may be vulnerable to daytime predators such as raptors. In our experiments, both of these snakes appeared to have acute senses. Taipans in particular were likely to display defensive and cautious behaviours in response to sound.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Coastal taipans displayed cautious behaviours in response to sound.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can snakes hear us?</h2>
<p>Our study further debunks the myth that snakes are deaf. They can hear – just not as well as you or I. Snakes can only hear low frequencies, roughly below the 600Hz mark, whereas most of us can hear a <a href="https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ChrisDAmbrose.shtml">much wider range</a>. Snakes probably hear muffled versions of what we do. </p>
<p>So, can snakes hear us? The frequency of the human voice is about 100–250Hz, depending on sex. The sounds we played in our trials included these frequencies, and were played at a distance of 1.2m from the snakes at 85 decibels. This is about the amplitude of a loud voice.</p>
<p>The snakes in our study responded to this sound, and many significantly so. So it’s probably safe to say snakes can hear people speaking loudly or screaming. That doesn’t mean they can’t hear someone talking (a normal conversation is about 60 decibels) – we just didn’t test sound at this noise level.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-we-track-down-and-very-carefully-photograph-australias-elusive-snakes-176971">Here's how we track down and very carefully photograph Australia's elusive snakes</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina N. Zdenek receives funding from the Australian Research Council and works for the Australian Reptile Academy.</span></em></p>It had long been thought snakes can only feel vibrations through the ground. New research shows they can not only sense airborne sound, but can likely detect human voices.Christina N. Zdenek, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Venom Evolution Lab, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990482023-02-06T06:08:47Z2023-02-06T06:08:47ZScientists ignored animal clitorises for centuries – now we’re discovering just how varied they are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507840/original/file-20230202-5832-ry9pr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C35%2C5936%2C3918&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-red-paper-boat-female-palms-1649695717">Mikhaylovskiy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The sometimes astonishing sex lives of animals are well known, especially the <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/474417/12-weirdest-animal-penises-earth-updated">huge range in penis structures</a>, evolved to increase the number of offspring that males father. For example, <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/duck-penis-corkscrew/">ducks have corkscrew-shaped penises</a>, and echidnas (also known as spiny anteaters) have a <a href="https://gizmodo.com/heres-why-sharks-have-two-pensies-1701514732">four-headed penis</a>. But what about female genitalia? </p>
<p>For hundreds of years, scientists assumed most animals didn’t have a clitoris. But new discoveries are revealing how female sex organs are just as interesting and varied as male ones. </p>
<p>The female reproductive tracts often mirror those of the males – genital tracts of female ducks are also corkscrew-shaped – and co-evolve to promote successful sperm transfer. But it turns out that scientists often overlook or miss the clitoris altogether. </p>
<p>Although the clitoris has been documented in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/62/3/559/6602356?login=true">some lizard species</a> including geckos and monitor lizards, it had never been studied before in snakes, so many scientists assumed there wasn’t one. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-clitoris-a-brief-history-196817">The clitoris – a brief history</a>
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<p>However, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1702">research published in December 2022</a> revealed snakes have not one but two, located under the tail. Mistaken as scent glands for many years, the clitoris does exist in snakes, and is made up of two connected parts. </p>
<p>Once scientists looked for it, the clitoris (known as a hemiclitore in snakes and lizards) was actually found in nine species of snake, from four different families, including the cantil viper, death adder and carpet python. It is made up of erectile tissue and bundles of nerves, which indicates it is more than just an underdeveloped penis and probably has a reproductive function.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507841/original/file-20230202-18-vbbp5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rare photo of snakes mating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rare-photo-snakes-mating-2219577665">Anish Anil/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do we know so little about clitorises?</h2>
<p>Science used to be dominated by men, who weren’t as interested in the female anatomy as they were in the male anatomy. And a penis is more obvious than a clitoris, making it easier to study. </p>
<p>Until recently, it was not socially acceptable to talk about the clitoris at all. Witch hunting guides from the middle ages referred to it as the <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/2018-09-06/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-devils-teat-a-brief-history-of-the-clitoris/0000017f-e2e4-d7b2-a77f-e3e72d050000">“devil’s teat”</a> and claimed <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/3d-clitoris/518991/">only witches had one</a>. </p>
<p>The taboo is largely because the clitoris is a sexual organ, known to give pleasure in humans. In fact, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Female_Intimacies_in_Seventeenth_Century/EPgGDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Female+intimacies+in+17th+century+french+literature&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover">French 17th-century literature</a> referred to the clitoris as the “gaude mihi”, which roughly translates as “please me”. </p>
<p>The clitoris is a region with thousands of nerve cell endings, making it highly sensitive. It is formed from the same tissue as the penis, so when it is aroused, it becomes engorged and swells in size. When a penis or clitoris is stimulated, it causes muscle contractions. These can result in ejaculation in males, but what about females? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Netherlands dwarf lops nudge each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507884/original/file-20230202-5127-32ypu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Clitoris stimulation may increase the chance of baby rabbits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/netherlands-dwarf-lops-pet-rabbits-give-1739418743">Rhys Leonard/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is evidence having an orgasm is linked to
higher fertility. For example, artificial insemination <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17250159.pdf">studies in cattle</a> have found stimulation of the clitoris can help increase pregnancy. As <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-9967-x">stimulation results in contractions</a> of the reproductive tract, it is likely that sperm is then drawn further in to the uterus, increasing fertilisation success. </p>
<h2>Once you start looking</h2>
<p>The clitoris is more noticeable in several species than others, such as <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=https://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/Geni-4343c282.pdf&ust=1675353600000000&usg=AOvVaw1yeBcsBfh5n9QDZyXzInw3&hl=en&source=gmail">crocodiles</a> and non-human primates like <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7577954/&ust=1675353600000000&usg=AOvVaw1rTh9E4dreQ8EdJqeFxvLe&hl=en&source=gmail">capuchins</a>, and tends to be positioned in a way as that creates stimulation during copulation (again, probably to increase reproductive success). Actually, in species such as rabbits and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article-abstract/107/6/1490/6694142">camels</a>, where ovulation needs to be induced by copulation, it is possible that stimulation of the clitoris could cause ovulation.</p>
<p>Several studies have noted that female primates, such as macaques, <a href="https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/fyi-do-animals-have-orgasms/">experience orgasms</a>, both during copulation and through self-stimulation or homosexual encounters. This is also true of <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326335">bonobos who indulge</a> in homosexual and heterosexual encounters for pleasure, to maintain pair bonds or to resolve aggressive encounters. </p>
<p>In these species, as well as <a href="https://www.insidescience.org/news/research-suggests-dolphins-clitorises-are-human-clitorises-better-placed">dolphins</a>, the clitoris is relatively large compared to other animals which makes homosexual stimulation easier. In a few species, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffroy%27s_spider_monkey">spider monkey</a>, the clitoris is so enlarged that it can resemble a penis.</p>
<p>However, the most notable clitoris is that of the spotted hyaena. The females urinate and give birth through their huge penis-like clitoris, and even signal dominance with erections.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-and-power-in-the-animal-kingdom-seven-animals-that-will-make-you-reconsider-what-you-think-you-know-191369">Sex and power in the animal kingdom: seven animals that will make you reconsider what you think you know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The majority of birds lack a penis or a clitoris. Instead they have a single orifice called a cloaca that is used for defecation as well as reproduction in both males and females. However, some male bird species such as the <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/finally-the-ostrich-penis-provides-the-answer-to-a-long-standing-question">ostrich</a> have a penis. Interestingly, the <a href="https://allyouneedisbiology.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/animal-genitalia-bird-fish/">female ostrich has a clitoris</a> to complement the male penis.</p>
<p>So, it is likely that wherever there is a penis, there is also a clitoris.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199048/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Gentle works for Nottingham Trent University. </span></em></p>It was assumed snakes didn’t have a clitoris – now it turns out they have two.Louise Gentle, Principal Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1977912023-01-16T00:00:44Z2023-01-16T00:00:44ZOn a tiny Australian island, snakes feasting on seabirds evolved huge jaws in a surprisingly short time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504388/original/file-20230113-26-n7w7hz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C416%2C1599%2C646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chappell_Island_tiger_snake.jpg">Benjamint444/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When we think of evolution, we tend to picture slow changes occurring over very long periods of time, typically millions of years. However, evolution can actually happen much faster, over only a few generations: think COVID-19 strains, for example. And this fast evolution isn’t just restricted to viruses and microbes.</p>
<p>Our study, recently published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11692-022-09591-z">Evolutionary Biology</a>, documents rapid evolution in tiger snakes (<em>Notechis scutatus</em>). In less than a century, these snakes evolved the ability to swallow whole seagull chicks, allowing them to survive on a tiny island.</p>
<h2>Marooned survivors</h2>
<p>Most Australians are familiar with the <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/tiger-snake/">tiger snake</a>, one of our most iconic animals. The snakes in our study were from <a href="https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/carnac-island-nature-reserve">Carnac Island</a>, a tiny islet off the coast of Perth in Western Australia. They were <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/carnac-island-tiger-snakes-population-story/ac2ac027-3e11-4e71-a71a-81bdebb5ad61">introduced here less than a century ago</a>, possibly dumped by a travelling snake performer to avoid trouble with the law.</p>
<p>These marooned tiger snakes are now adept at swallowing the large chicks of the seagulls that nest there. Adult snakes have little else to eat on this island in order to survive and reproduce.</p>
<p>But how did they adapt so well, and so quickly? Tiger snakes on the mainland (the ancestral stock of the snakes on Carnac Island) typically feed on much smaller creatures, especially frogs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tiger snake with light bands on its body huddled next to a sandstone rock" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504368/original/file-20230113-14-fmi5s3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The heads of tiger snakes can evolve rapidly in response to feeding on large prey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Lee</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The secret is a process called “phenotypic plasticity”, which is a phenomenon where an organism physically changes its body within its own lifetime to match the environment it is experiencing. </p>
<p>Myriad examples exist: from water fleas (<em>Daphnia</em>) that can develop a <a href="https://www.livescience.com/55297-how-water-fleas-grow-body-armor.html">spiky “helmet”</a> in the presence of predators, to the tadpoles of some spadefoot toads (<em>Spea</em>), which morph from <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/north-american-spadefoot-toads-and-their-incredible-fast-metamorphosing-polymorphic-tadpoles/">omnivore to carnivore bodies</a> when exposed to environments packed with small prey (including other tadpoles!). </p>
<h2>Rearing baby snakes</h2>
<p>Our research team took a detailed look at how the snakes from Carnac Island have adapted to survive there. We raised some baby snakes taken from the island and some from the nearby mainland, and divided them further into two groups – one group fed on small mice, and the other on large mice.</p>
<p>After the snakes matured, we looked into their heads using a high-resolution version of a medical CT scanner and took measurements of the different skull bones. This showed us how the island and mainland groups responded to different prey sizes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-venomous-snakes-got-their-fangs-165881">How venomous snakes got their fangs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Mainland snakes always had the same head shape, regardless of whether they were fed small or large prey. But Carnac Island snakes showed an intriguing reponse: those fed large prey developed a much bigger bite, with longer jaw bones (especially in the lower jaw and palate).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/big-headed-tiger-snakes-support-long-neglected-theory-of-genetic-assimilation">Previous studies</a> had only looked at external head dimensions. We confirmed their conclusions and further revealed exactly which skull bones were responding to the drastic dietary change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three renderings of a snake's skull with a wide open mouth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504348/original/file-20230112-12-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 3D model image of a tiger snake skull showing the bones that increase in length in the snakes from Carnac Island after being fed large prey for a prolonged period of time: lower jaws (red) and palate bones (yellow).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Palci</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Easy-gainers</h2>
<p>The explanation behind our results can be more easily understood if we compare our snakes to people at a gym – a human example of phenotypic plasticity. As all gym-goers know, some people can quickly build up muscle from weight training, the so-called easy-gainers (who doesn’t envy those!), while others struggle more – hard-gainers.</p>
<p>The snakes from Carnac Island are easy-gainers: they have a stronger intrinsic (genetic) capability to change their shape in response to a stimulus, in this case large prey items. This means they have a higher level of phenotypic plasticity.</p>
<p>In any population, some individuals are more plastic than others. Of the tiger snakes marooned on Carnac Island and forced to exist on seagull chicks, the most “plastic” snakes would develop the biggest bites – and be more likely to survive and pass down their easy-gainer genes to their descendants.</p>
<p>Over the course of a few generations (and less than 100 years), the entire population of tiger snakes would become easy-gainers.</p>
<h2>The march of evolution</h2>
<p>But evolution doesn’t stop there. Eventually, genetic mutations occur so that snakes are <em>born</em> with longer jaws; these would have a survival advantage even over the easy-gainers (who only develop longer jaws after “training”), and eventually replace them.</p>
<p>Thus, a wide gape becomes fixed at birth. This phenomenon is called “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/big-headed-tiger-snakes-support-long-neglected-theory-of-genetic-assimilation">trait canalisation” or “assimilation</a>”.</p>
<p>In our study we observed examples of this as well: some skull bones were relatively longer in the Carnac Island snakes from birth, regardless of their diet. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A curled up tiger snake with yellow and dark bands on a grey sandy background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504352/original/file-20230112-24-hk0dm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiger snake from Lake Alexandrina in South Australia. The skulls of tiger snakes on the mainland don’t change shape when forced to feed on large prey for a prolonged period of time, unlike the skulls of snakes from Carnac Island, which grow longer jaws and palates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Max Tibby</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So how much change has occurred in the Carnac Island snakes? We found that certain jaw bones can lengthen by about 5% simply as a result of feeding on large prey for a year.</p>
<p>On top of this, the bones of the snakes from Carnac Island were also about 5% longer at birth than those in the mainland snakes (because of “trait canalisation” mentioned above). The island snakes are indeed on a rapid path to evolve very big jaws to effortlessly swallow baby seabirds.</p>
<p>Our study delves deeply into how rapid evolution occurs in complex organisms, and shows how diet has profound effects, even greatly affecting individual skull bones. It also reveals the resilience of tiger snakes, and how their “easy-gainer” bodies help them adapt almost instantaneously to extreme new environments.</p>
<p>This is one of the likely reasons tiger snakes have been so successful at colonising islands.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-suns-shining-and-snakes-are-emerging-but-theyre-not-out-to-get-you-heres-what-theyre-really-up-to-168089">The sun's shining and snakes are emerging, but they're not out to get you. Here's what they're really up to</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandro Palci's research is made possible by funding provided by the Australian Research Council and is currently affiliated with the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Sherratt works for University of Adelaide, is an Honorary Researcher at the South Australian Musueum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Lee works for Flinders University and the South Australian museum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p>Less than a century ago, a slither of tiger snakes was abandoned on one of Western Australia’s tiny islets. Here’s how they adapted to survive.Alessandro Palci, Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, University of AdelaideEmma Sherratt, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of AdelaideMike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1965532022-12-14T03:29:05Z2022-12-14T03:29:05ZSnakes have clitorises<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500911/original/file-20221214-14-cj88o9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C1904%2C1260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luke Allen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Snakes have clitorises – and we have given a full anatomical description of them for the first time.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1702">research</a> published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, we describe the size and shape of the snake clitoris (or hemiclitores) across nine species. </p>
<p>We also closely studied the cellular makeup of the clitoris in Australian death adders, finding it to be composed of erectile tissue and bundles of nerves.</p>
<p>The discovery of what appears to be a functional clitoris offers a new perspective on snake courtship and mating. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sex-life-aquatic-how-moving-from-land-to-water-led-to-the-surprisingly-touchy-courtship-of-sea-snakes-159431">The sex life aquatic: how moving from land to water led to the surprisingly touchy courtship of sea snakes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Finding the snake clitoris</h2>
<p>As part of her PhD research, our student Megan Folwell at the University of Adelaide had been dissecting snake specimens in museums. She came across a heart-shaped structure in the female tail, nestled between two scent glands, that she thought was the clitoris (or the hemiclitores, as it is called in snakes) and showed me.</p>
<p>I wasn’t sure what we were looking at, so we got in touch with Patricia Brennan at Mount Holyoke College in the US, who is an expert in how genitals have evolved in vertebrates. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An animation showing a wireframe drawing of the lower half of a snake's body with the clitoris highlighted." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500876/original/file-20221213-151-bqi4g7.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The snake clitoris is a heart-shaped structure in the tail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Folwell et al</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On closer inspection, we found it was a structure full of red blood cells and nerve tissue, as we would expect for erectile tissue. This suggests it is indeed the clitoris, and may swell and become stimulated during mating.</p>
<p>We went on to examine nine different species of snakes representing the major branches of snake evolution. All had a clitoris, though their sizes and shapes varied.</p>
<h2>Why didn’t we know about this already?</h2>
<p>Across all species, researchers have given female genitalia <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35353194/">a lot</a> <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001851">less attention</a> compared to its male counterpart. </p>
<p>What’s more, it’s hard to get a good look at snake genitalia. It’s all internal to the snake’s tail, for the most part, though the snake penis (or hemipenes) inflates for mating. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500912/original/file-20221214-13-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The clitoris of an Australian death adder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Folwell et al.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There has been quite a bit of research into the snake penis, but the snake clitoris has been missed.</p>
<p>While there are earlier reports, most actually referred to lizards, or mistakenly described the penis or scent glands, or featured only vague descriptions without anatomical references. Studies of species in which intersex individuals are relatively common heightened this confusion.</p>
<p>However, we have shown that the snake clitoris, although it shares its developmental origins with the penis, is very different from the penis – and our detailed anatomical description should help prevent this kind of confusion occurring in future.</p>
<h2>A crucial piece of anatomy</h2>
<p>In other species, we know the clitoris has <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/articleSelectSinglePerm?Redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0065345420300012%3Fvia%253Dihub&key=22f7498e0cabf6da1cbf5bbec791b299065c7bd7">important functions</a> in reproduction. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-female-mammals-have-a-clitoris-were-starting-to-work-out-what-that-means-for-their-sex-lives-114916">All female mammals have a clitoris – we're starting to work out what that means for their sex lives</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Perhaps because many scientists assumed female snakes had no clitoris, and hence no capacity for arousal, it has generally been assumed that mating in snakes is largely a matter of males coercing females. </p>
<p>But a crucial piece of anatomy was missing from this conversation. Our discovery suggests female arousal – and something more like seduction – may play a role.</p>
<p>We still have a lot to learn. It may turn out that variation in the clitoris between species will be correlated with courtship and mating behaviours, and help us understand how females choose mates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196553/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenna Crowe-Riddell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The first description of the snake clitoris may change what we think we know about mating and courtship among the slithering reptiles.Jenna Crowe-Riddell, Postdoctoral Researcher in Neuroecology, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1921062022-10-12T14:08:31Z2022-10-12T14:08:31ZMozambique had no data about snakebites. Our new study filled the gap – and the results are scary<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488755/original/file-20221007-7785-4xd2be.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Stiletto Snake is one of the species found in Mozambique. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">extinctorshy.org - Ali Puruleia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year between 20,000 and 32,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa die after being <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/snakebite">bitten by snakes</a>. That’s more than five times the number of deaths caused by <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/hippos-flooding-fishing-covid-collide-kenya">hippos</a>, <a href="http://www.crocodile-attack.info/">crocodiles</a>, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/448169/deadliest-creatures-in-the-world-by-number-of-human-deaths/">elephants, lions and buffalo</a> combined. </p>
<p>At least, that’s what the available data suggests. But, the World Health Organization (WHO) <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/324838/9789241515641-eng.pdf#page=17">acknowledges</a>, that statistics – as well as figures related to non-fatal injury and disability caused by snakebites – are incomplete. Not all snakebite victims are treated in hospitals, especially in poorer countries and communities. Some may be treated by traditional doctors. Others may die before receiving any treatment.</p>
<p>But without accurate data, it is difficult to see how the WHO will meet its <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/324838/9789241515641-eng.pdf">global target</a> of reducing death and disability from snakebites by 50% by 2030. Without it, it’s difficult to prioritise which countries or regions require financial resources or antivenom, for instance.</p>
<p>We wanted to find a different way to quantify snakebites. So my colleagues and I from Mozambique’s Lúrio University embarked on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004101012200277X">a household survey</a> across nine rural villages in Cabo Delgado Northern Mozambique. Before this, the only existing snakebite data for Mozambique was extrapolated from incidents in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0041010118311802">suggested</a> there were 6996 snakebite cases and 319 deaths annually in Mozambique.</p>
<p>Our results offer a very different and extremely worrying picture. From our data we extrapolated snakebite figures for the entire area and for Mozambique as a whole. Despite being an underestimation (since we favoured a conservative approach) they increase snakebite incidence levels ten-fold and the number of deaths by 30-fold. </p>
<p>Urgent and widespread surveys are needed to further assess the full extent of snakebites in sub-Saharan Africa, explore regional patterns and develop mitigation plans. Obtaining this sort of data is critical: the WHO has placed snakebite in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)31751-8/fulltext">category A</a> (the most severe or urgent) of neglected tropical diseases. Its 2030 target underscores that this is a priority area. But how can this metric be checked without accurate data?</p>
<h2>Gathering data</h2>
<p>We gathered data from 1037 households. We asked about snakebite incidents in people’s own homes and among their neighbours, as well as details about the species of snake, the symptoms, and what sort of treatment the victim received, if any. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/snakebites-still-exact-a-high-toll-in-africa-a-shortage-of-antivenoms-is-to-blame-80982">Snakebites still exact a high toll in Africa. A shortage of antivenoms is to blame</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There were 296 reported snakebites and most (60%) were treated exclusively by traditional doctors; 15% went to hospitals for treatment and 25% died before reaching any doctor. </p>
<p>Using a conservative estimation where we assume our results to be extrapolatable for the whole of rural Mozambique, but considering snakebites in urban areas to be inexistent, we propose that every year in Cabo Delgado, at least 6124 people are victims of snakebites. Of these at least 791 result in deaths. </p>
<p>In Mozambique, we extrapolated that every year at least 69,261 people are victims of snakebite; at least 8950 result in death, meaning that one in eight snakebites is fatal. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1268021/main-causes-of-deaths-in-mozambique/">For comparison</a>, 37,000 people die in Mozambique (which is home to more than 30 million people) each year because of respiratory infections and tuberculosis while 21,000 die from malaria.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.resakss.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/MozSAKSS_ATOR_2010.pdf">Most</a> (68%) of the population live in rural areas and practice subsistence farming for a living. This means that millions of people are exposed to snakebites. The country is home to at least <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13002-021-00493-6">14 snake species of medical importance</a> – those whose bites can kill or lead to limb amputation. This is a fairly standard number of such snakes for the continent’s less tropical regions.</p>
<p>The number of medically important snakes in the country, the percentage of people living in rural areas, and the total absence of snakebite incidence data, make Mozambique a good place to focus on when trying to quantify and model snakebite data.</p>
<h2>Who gets bitten and where</h2>
<p>Some of our other key findings included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Most bites occurred on farms and during the rainy season (December to April).</p></li>
<li><p>The type of snake was important when people were choosing between hospitals or traditional doctors. Those bitten by dangerous species such as the <a href="https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/snake/puff-adder/">Puff Adder</a> were usually taken to hospitals. Bites from less dangerous species like the <a href="https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/articles/beware-of-the-stiletto-snake/">Stiletto Snake</a> were taken to traditional doctors. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/finally-snakebite-is-getting-more-attention-as-a-tropical-health-issue-131016">Finally, snakebite is getting more attention as a tropical health issue</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One exception was made for victims of <a href="https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/black-mamba/">Black Mambas</a>. This deadly snake has extremely fast-acting venom: its bite can kill in less than an hour. In the communities we surveyed, Black Mamba victims were usually taken to traditional doctors close to home, to avoid long trips to hospitals up to 20km away and queues at the facilities. </p>
<h2>Figures may be higher</h2>
<p>It is possible that our figures are too low. That’s because we took a conservative approach when extrapolating data – and because we assumed that every interviewee had 100% recall, as well as assuming a 0% snakebite incidence in urban areas, which make up 30% of the country.</p>
<p>So, the figures for snakebite incidence are very likely still an underestimation of the true incidence in both Cabo Delgado and Mozambique more broadly. </p>
<p>Local universities should consider using our approach to engage with communities and retrieve household data. This will help researchers and health authorities to assess the full extent of snakebites in sub-Saharan Africa, explore regional patterns and develop mitigation plans.</p>
<p>Such mitigation might include training both traditional doctors and hospital staff in snakebite treatment; public education campaigns to encourage people to use hospitals for treating snakebites; and making antivenom widely available. It may also be useful to generate local literature to guide snake identification and share first-aid measures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harith Omar Morgadinho Farooq does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even by conservative estimates, Mozambique’s snakebite figures are far higher than previously thought.Harith Omar Morgadinho Farooq, Post-doc, University of CopenhagenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1911522022-09-27T13:11:58Z2022-09-27T13:11:58ZNigeria’s sacred Osun River supports millions of people - but pollution is making it unsafe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486262/original/file-20220923-9077-t1qt1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C5%2C3578%2C2382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Osun River has become turbid and unsafe for consumption - threatening its cultural and biodiversity significance. Photo by: Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-throws-a-sacrificial-chicken-into-the-sacred-river-news-photo/1018606984?adppopup=true">from www,gettyimages.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Pollution has become a worrying threat to Nigeria’s Osun River. The river supports millions of people who rely on the water for agriculture as well as industries. It is also an integral part of Nigeria’s treasured Osun-Osogbo sacred grove, a UNESCO world heritage site. Emmanuel O. Akindele unpacks what’s causing the pollution, what harm it’s causing and what must change to preserve the river’s biodiversity.</em> </p>
<h2>How important is the Osun River to Nigeria?</h2>
<p>The Osun River is one of the major rivers in southern Nigeria, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-020-08763-8">draining into the Gulf of Guinea</a>. The river takes its source from Ekiti State. But it’s culturally linked to the ancient city of <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/236410037.pdf">Osogbo</a>. A stretch of the river that flows by a sacred grove in the ancient town of Osogbo has been designated a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118/">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> due to its <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1118">cultural</a> significance. It is one of two such designated sites in <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/ng">Nigeria</a>. </p>
<p>The river provides a wide range of cultural ecosystem services such as <a href="https://afribary.com/works/assessment-of-the-ecotourism-potentials-of-osun-osogbo-world-heritage-site-osun-state-nigeria">natural scenes</a> for eco-tourists and the site for filming Nollywood movies. A large number of foreign tourists <a href="https://www.academia.edu/52361771/HARNESSING_CULTURAL_HERITAGE_FOR_TOURISM_DEVELOPMENT_IN_NIGERIA_A_STUDY_OF_THE_OSUN_OSOGBO_SACRED_GROVE_AND_FESTIVAL">visit</a> the river each year. The visits are either to pay homage to the river goddess (Osun) or to join others in celebrating the <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/08/2022-osun-festival-begins-with-spiritual-cleansing-of-roads/">annual Osun festival</a>. </p>
<p>The river also has enormous environmental value given its rich <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aje.12482">biodiversity</a>. It supports <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21658005.2017.1357290?journalCode=tzec20">plankton</a>, <a href="https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442007000200034">snakes</a> and <a href="https://www.frim.gov.my/v1/JTFSOnline/jtfs/v26n1/5-15.pdf">endangered plants</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A flowing river bordered by dense forest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486269/original/file-20220923-2090-r25747.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Osun River is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria - UNESCO World Heritage Site. But pollution is threatening the river.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/osun-river-osun-osogbo-sacred-grove-osogbo-osun-royalty-free-image/1141985549?adppopup=true">from www.gettyimages.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Along its whole course, the Osun River also plays a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/16583655.2019.1567899">critical part</a> in supporting the livelihoods of people. In many areas of Osogbo and Osun State, it provides irrigation for nearby farmlands. A significant number of abattoirs are also situated close to the river bank along several stretches of its course. </p>
<p>The Osun River flows through other human settlements in southwest Nigeria as well as the historic city of Osogbo.</p>
<h2>What are the main sources of the pollution?</h2>
<p>Plastic pollution is the main one. My research has shown that some <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerian-river-snails-carry-more-microplastics-than-rhine-snails-126622">aquatic snails</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-microplastics-found-in-nigerias-freshwaters-raise-a-red-flag-147432">insects</a> of the river carry microplastic pollutants. Plastic pollution is a common phenomenon in many inland waters of Nigeria. </p>
<p>Heavy metals also pollute the river. Heavy metals like gold, mercury and cadmium <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144270/">occur naturally</a> in the Earth’s crust. But they can also be introduced through domestic and industrial wastes, or atmospheric sources. Heavy metals can be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020315346">amplified</a> by human activities like waste deposition or mining. Mining loosens heavy metals buried in the earth, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129257/">adding more of them</a> to water. </p>
<p>Artisanal gold mining within the catchments of the Osun River, especially around the Ijesha land area of Osun State, have further worsened the ecological condition of the river and made the water <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/548204-osun-osogbo-festival-govt-warns-devotees-tourists-against-drinking-from-river.html">unsafe</a> for human use. </p>
<p>The impact of illegal gold mining on the river cannot be over-emphasised. First, the impacts have been felt on the river’s water quality, which has deteriorated. This has grave implications for its <a href="http://medcraveonline.com/BIJ/water-pollution-and-aquatic-biodiversity.html">biological diversity</a>.</p>
<p>Aside from the introduction of toxicants, the river, which was once <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21658005.2017.1357290?journalCode=tzec20">transparent</a> enough for photosynthetic production, is now very turbid (cloudy) with a characteristic gold colour. At extremely low water transparency, a river’s phytoplankton primary production could be <a href="https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=oak-lake_research-pubs">threatened</a>, and by implication, its secondary (fish) production could also be threatened. It can also cause fish to die by <a href="https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/255660.pdf">blocking</a> their gills and destroying their reproductive sites. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMmMsKIVuTk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Osun river pollution. Credit: UrbanAlert,</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another source of pollution is human-generated <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/nigeria-s-osun-river-sacred-revered-and-increasingly-toxic/6708178.html">waste</a> that lands up in the river. This is due to <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-pollution-is-harming-the-environment-steps-to-combat-it-are-overdue-177839">poor waste management practice</a> – a feature common in many urban areas in Nigeria. </p>
<h2>What are the solutions?</h2>
<p>The government must first halt all mining near the river until environmental audits have been conducted, placing urgent human welfare ahead of short-term economic gains. Although the river has already suffered significant harm, it is still possible to halt mining operations so that toxicant concentrations do not keep rising and the river can recuperate from the stress of pollution. </p>
<p>Through natural processes, rivers and streams have the ability to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187802961101022X?via%3Dihub">purify</a> themselves. However, in the instance of the Osun River, this can only happen after the various sources of pollution are stopped. </p>
<p>If further gold mining operations are suggested following an environmental audit of the Osun River, it will be crucial to reroute effluents from all natural waters in the basin. A special reservoir can be constructed in a location far away from where people live and make their living.</p>
<p>A polluted and unsafe environment for plants and animals is a reliable indicator of a similarly unsafe environment for people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel O. Akindele receives funding from the British Ecological Society. </span></em></p>The ability of the Osun River to support biodiversity is being threatened by pollution and can only be rescued if the contamination ends.Emmanuel O. Akindele, Senior Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1906062022-09-20T03:19:34Z2022-09-20T03:19:34ZYoung cold-blooded animals are suffering the most as Earth heats up, research finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485445/original/file-20220920-18478-bj2hb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C15%2C5160%2C3422&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/">making heatwaves</a> worse. Many people have already noticed the difference – and so too have other animals.</p>
<p>Sadly, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14083">research</a> by myself and colleagues has found young animals, in particular, are struggling to keep up with rising temperatures, likely making them more vulnerable to climate change than adults of their species.</p>
<p>The study focused on “ectotherms”, or cold-blooded animals, which comprise <a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.2">more than 99%</a> of animals on Earth. They include fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The body temperature of these animals reflects outside temperatures – so they can get <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1316145111">dangerously hot</a> during heat waves.</p>
<p>In a warming world, a species’ ability to adapt or acclimatise to temperatures is crucial. Our study found that young ectotherms, in particular, can struggle to handle more heat as their habitat warms up. That may have dramatic consequences for biodiversity as climate change worsens.</p>
<p>Our findings are yet more evidence of the need to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic global heating. Humans must also provide and retain cool spaces to help animals navigate a warmer future.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="large and small beetles move across a log" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485449/original/file-20220920-14334-jailsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A species’ ability to adapt or acclimatise to higher temperatures is crucial.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tolerating heat in a changing climate</h2>
<p>The body temperature of ectotherms is extremely variable. As they move through their habitat, their body temperature varies according to the outside conditions. </p>
<p>However, there’s only so much heat these animals can tolerate. Heat tolerance is defined as the maximum body temperature ectotherms can handle before they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/z97-783">lose functions</a> such as the ability to walk or swim. During heat waves, their body temperature gets so high they can <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1316145111">die</a>. </p>
<p>Species, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12911">including ectotherms</a>, can adapt to challenges in their environment over time by evolving across generations. But the rate at which global temperatures are rising means in many cases, this adaptation is not happening fast enough. That’s why we need to understand how animals acclimatise to rising temperatures within a single lifetime. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, some young animals have little to no ability to move and seek cooler temperatures. For example, baby lizards inside eggs cannot move elsewhere. And owing to their small size, juvenile ectotherms cannot move great distances.</p>
<p>This suggests young animals may be particularly vulnerable during intense heat waves. But we know <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jez.2414">very little</a> about how young animals acclimatise to high temperatures. Our research sought to find out more.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="snakes hatching from eggs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485446/original/file-20220920-18498-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ectotherms cannot escape their eggs to avoid a heatwave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Young animals at risk</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14083">Our study</a> drew on 60 years of research into 138 ectotherm species from around the world. </p>
<p>Overall, we found the heat tolerance of embryos and juvenile ectotherms increased very little in response to rising temperatures. For each degree of warming, the heat tolerance of young ectotherms only increased by an average 0.13°C.</p>
<p>The physiology of heat acclimatisation in animals is very complex and poorly understood. It appears linked to a number of factors such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145208">metabolic activity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-011-9578-9">proteins</a> produced by cells in response to stress. </p>
<p>Our research showed young land-based animals were worse at acclimatising to heat than aquatic animals. This may be because moving to a cooler temperature on land is easier than in an aquatic environment, so land-based animals may not have developed the same ability to acclimatise to heat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-photos-captured-by-everyday-australians-reveal-the-secrets-of-our-marine-life-as-oceans-warm-189231">Thousands of photos captured by everyday Australians reveal the secrets of our marine life as oceans warm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Large striped fish swimming with smaller fish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485448/original/file-20220920-376-ydzc7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aquatic animals appear better able to acclimatise to warmer conditions than land-based animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heat tolerance can vary within a species. It can <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2015.0401">depend on</a> what temperatures an animal has experienced during its lifetime and, as such, the extent to which it has acclimatised. But surprisingly, our research found past exposure to high temperatures does not necessarily help a young animal withstand future high temperatures. </p>
<p>Take, for example, Lesueur’s velvet gecko which is found mostly along Australia’s east coast. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.152272">Research shows</a> juveniles from eggs incubated in cooler nests (23.2°C) tolerated temperatures up to 40.2°C. In contrast, juveniles from warmer nests (27°C) only tolerated temperatures up to 38.7°C.</p>
<p>Those patterns can persist through adulthood. For example, adult male <a href="https://www.proquest.com/pagepdf/305356367">mosquito fish</a> from eggs incubated to 32°C were less tolerant to heat than adult males that experienced 26°C during incubation.</p>
<p>These results show embryos are especially vulnerable to extreme heat. Instead of getting better at handling heat, warmer eggs tend to produce juveniles and adults less capable of withstanding a warmer future.</p>
<p>Overall, our findings suggest young cold-blooded animals are already struggling to cope with rising temperatures – and conditions during early life can have lifelong consequences.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-know-heatwaves-kill-animals-but-new-research-shows-the-survivors-dont-get-off-scot-free-184645">We know heatwaves kill animals. But new research shows the survivors don’t get off scot-free</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="baby turtles moving across sand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485447/original/file-20220920-17325-deaukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young cold-blooded animals are already struggling to cope with higher temperatures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>To date, most studies on the impacts of climate change have focused on adults. Our research suggests animals may be harmed by heatwaves long before they reach adulthood – perhaps even before they’re born. </p>
<p>Alarmingly, this means we may have underestimated the damage climate change will cause to biodiversity. </p>
<p>Clearly, it’s vitally important to limit global greenhouse gas emissions to the extent required by the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a>. </p>
<p>But we can also act to protect species at a finer scale – by conserving habitats that allow animals to find shade and shelter during heatwaves. Such habitats include trees, shrubs, burrows, ponds, caves, logs and rocks. These places must be created, restored and preserved to help animals prosper in a warming world.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-net-zero-we-should-if-we-can-cool-the-planet-back-to-pre-industrial-levels-187781">Beyond net-zero: we should, if we can, cool the planet back to pre-industrial levels</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrice Pottier works for The University of New South Wales. He is supported by a UNSW Scientia Doctoral scholarship. </span></em></p>In a warming world, a species’ ability to acclimatise to temperatures is crucial. But young ectotherms can struggle to handle the heat.Patrice Pottier, PhD Candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886802022-09-13T17:43:35Z2022-09-13T17:43:35ZInvasive reptile and amphibian species are causing billions of dollars in damages globally<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482138/original/file-20220831-4764-z2dv88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Invasive alien species are a growing concern for both the environment and economy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Economic growth and globalization have connected the world’s most distant places. Rapid trade and transport have boosted economic growth globally, but not without consequences: many species have been introduced to new regions, far from where they evolved.</p>
<p>Alien species are those introduced by humans to regions outside their natural range. Invasive alien species are a growing concern for both the environment and economy. </p>
<p>In recent decades, alien herpetofauna — amphibians and reptiles — have increasingly gained attention on social media, with more information being circulated about the impacts these species have on native flora and fauna. </p>
<p>And yet, the number of invasive reptiles and amphibians is increasing, facilitated by the persistently high globalization of human activities. </p>
<h2>Detrimental effects</h2>
<p>Some invasive species arrive unintentionally as hitchhikers on planes, ships and cars. Others are sold intentionally as exotic pets, which then escape or are released into the wild. Of those that survive and establish, some are able to spread with severe negative impacts, giving them the title of “invasive.” </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153404">These impacts can be massive</a>. Alien species are a leading cause of biodiversity loss and extinction worldwide, affecting human welfare and quality of life. </p>
<p>While alien species can also have detrimental effects on the economy, this is often complex to assess. Available information is often scattered, covers different scales or periods, recorded using variable measurements and currencies and presented in many languages. </p>
<p>The InvaCost database, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-00586-z">the most comprehensive database of the cost of alien species and a global initiative of scientists</a>, gathers this information and makes it accessible to researchers and the public.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a Burmese python swimming through shallow water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482402/original/file-20220901-9301-wcqbt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The alien Burmese python has successfully established itself in the Everglades National Park in Florida, where it has decimated local mammal populations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Surprising impacts</h2>
<p>The most common pathway for invasive reptiles and amphibians is the often-illegal trade of exotic snakes and frogs as pets. </p>
<p>Another common pathway is release for biological control, where a new species is introduced in an attempt to control a pest species. This is how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00319.x">the cane toad was introduced in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Other pathways include aquaculture enterprises, such as those that raise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-007-9178-x">American bullfrogs for human consumption</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2984/1534-6188(2007)61%5B307:BAIOPI%5D2.0.CO;2">species hitchhiking on planes or boats</a>.</p>
<p>Alien reptiles and amphibians can have quite unusual and surprising economic impacts. For instance, after the arrival of the coquí frog to Hawaii via contaminated nursery plants, <a href="https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/21313/">its very loud mating song caused severe declines in property values in infested areas</a>.</p>
<p>More typical economic impacts stem from programs for the control or eradication of these species. Management programs are needed due to the damage these invaders cause on biodiversity by eliminating native species, including at-risk amphibians and reptiles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An American bullfrog with a large goldfish of approximately equal size in its mouth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481903/original/file-20220830-37919-2ltj1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">American bullfrogs have the largest reported economic impacts of any amphibian.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bullfrog_tries_to_swallow_huge_Goldfish_-_Fish_survived.jpg">(Rusty Clark/Wikimedia Commons)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is the case for one of the most famous snakes in the pet trade, the California kingsnake, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-12-invasive-snake-gran-canaria-native.html">for which numerous eradication programs on the Canary Islands exist</a>.</p>
<h2>Quantifying the damage</h2>
<p>Our team of researchers quantified and synthesized, for the first time, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15079-9">the economic costs of invasive reptiles and amphibians worldwide using the InvaCost database</a>. Between 1986 and 2020, we found that the cost of invasive reptiles and amphibians was massive, totalling approximately US$17 billion — with US$10.4 billion due to reptiles and US$6.3 billion due to amphibians. </p>
<p>Further, the bulk of these costs was from a small subset of highly impactful species. Most notably, the brown tree snake alone has resulted in a loss of US$4.5 million per year in Guam due to island-wide power outages and costing a total of US$10.34 billion during the study period (1986-2019).</p>
<p>The runner-up in terms of total impacts was the American bullfrog, whose impacts of US$6.04 billion accounted for approximately 97 per cent of the total amphibian cost, mostly due to control and eradication measures in Europe.</p>
<p>The types of costs incurred varied across species. In the case of amphibians, costs mostly originated from government expenditures — US$6.25 billion, or 99.6 per cent. These costs are derived from mitigating the spread or impacts of invaders through prevention, control, research, long-term management or eradication. </p>
<p>Reptile costs, however, mostly affected the public and social welfare sector, reportedly causing staggering damages — US$10.02 billion, or 96.6 per cent. These costs are incurred directly due to the impact of invaders, such as yield loss, infrastructure damage or income reduction.</p>
<p>Geographically, we found that economic impacts were present across all continents, except for amphibians in Africa, likely due to the lack of information. The geographic regions most affected were Europe by amphibians (US$6.04 billion), and Oceania and the Pacific Islands by reptiles (US$10.35 billion, 99.61 per cent).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BsR3Q1XgUjH","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Prevention is the better solution</h2>
<p>The economic costs of herpetofauna invasions are massive across all continents, but also underestimated. The vast part of our estimated total cost originated from only two species: the brown tree snake and the American bullfrog, which is likely, at least in part, due to missing data. </p>
<p>Further, only 21 species (six amphibians and 15 reptiles) were reported in InvaCost, out of 280 alien amphibians and reptiles recorded worldwide. </p>
<p>It should nevertheless be acknowledged that not all invasive reptiles and amphibians will have tangible monetary impacts, so some gaps are expected. Nonetheless, a greater research effort is needed to distinguish the true absence of economic cost from gaps in cost detection — especially for those species known to cause detrimental ecological impacts.</p>
<p>And as shown, investments in preventive measures can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153404">an important money-saving measure for the public over the long term</a>, compared to reactive control approaches once a species has successfully invaded. </p>
<p>We propose the compilation of national lists for species facing import and selling bans, better screening for potentially harmful species and a more comprehensive effort to obtain information on the actual and species-specific costs. Our research highlights the importance of these measures to prevent future immense economic costs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>EJH was funded by a B3X postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ismael Soto Almena does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research has found that since the mid-1980s, the economic impact of invasive reptiles and amphibians totals more than US$17 billion.Ismael Soto Almena, PhD Student, Protection of Waters, University of South BohemiaEmma J. Hudgins, Postdoctoral fellow, Biology, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1769712022-05-19T05:13:32Z2022-05-19T05:13:32ZHere’s how we track down and very carefully photograph Australia’s elusive snakes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458300/original/file-20220414-12571-z0vibq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5760%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A mulga snake </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/149281781@N05/">Christina N. Zdenek</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Environmental scientists see flora, fauna and phenomena the rest of us rarely do. In this series, we’ve invited them to share their unique <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/photos-from-the-field-92499">photos from the field</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>While most people go out of their way to avoid snakes, we’re the opposite. We’re crazy about snakes. As wildlife photographers, we’ve spent months in the Australian bush and in overseas jungles tracking down beautiful snakes. </p>
<p>Photographing snakes is no easy task. Apart from wild weather, long hours, biting insects and lack of sleep, there’s one final hurdle to overcome: actually finding the elusive reptiles. Australia’s snakes, for instance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-reasons-australia-is-the-lucky-country-when-it-comes-to-snakes-175188">usually flee</a> when they hear humans, and they’re very good at hiding. </p>
<p>But it’s all worth it for those moments when we round a corner and spot the scaly body of a species we haven’t seen before. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451804/original/file-20220314-27-puzg9q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A juvenile King Cobra we photographed in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do we spend so much time looking for snakes?</h2>
<p>Australia’s snakes are remarkably diverse and adaptable. We have over 200 different species across the land and sea. They have carved out niches in every possible habitat, from coastal rainforests to arid deserts to alpine regions. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to put into words about why we love snakes so much, but we have both been obsessed with the beauty and mystery of snakes since we were young children. This obscure obsession has developed into fascinating careers for both of us, which is also how we found each other.</p>
<p>Even though they’re found across the continent, our snakes are notoriously difficult to find. They’re exceptionally good at hiding. When we go herping (searching for snakes), we don’t just wander through the bush hoping to stumble across one. There’s quite a process we go through to boost our chances. </p>
<h2>Snakes are hard to find. Here’s how we improve our chances.</h2>
<p>First, we decide which species we want to photograph. To make our trips worthwhile, we often look for spots where the ranges of several target species overlap. Once we choose an area, we take a deep dive into the details of each species. </p>
<p>Combined, we have more than 50 years of snake knowledge to draw on. We use this to examine each species’ preferred habitats and microhabitats and where these features occur in our area. </p>
<p>To home in further, we focus on behaviour. Is it nocturnal? Is it active only in daytime? Or is it crepuscular, moving around only at dusk? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451852/original/file-20220314-17-ydyvzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indonesian Russell’s Viper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once we’ve figured out the most likely spots to look, we have to choose the best time of year to go. </p>
<p>You might think summer is always the best, given reptiles are more active in the warmth. For some species, we’ve had better luck in cooler months, when they’re inactive. This can make them easier to find. </p>
<p>Once we’ve picked a time to go, we look at the local climate and weather forecasts to help predict the location and severity of storms. </p>
<p>Heavy rain is generally not good for herping, unless you’re looking for one of Australia’s 46 species of <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/blind-snake/">blind snakes</a>, which come up from underground to escape drowning in water-logged soils. </p>
<p>But for the above-ground species we look for, the best conditions come when there’s been recent rain or the threat of rain. This is because rain leads to vegetation growth, which in turn increases insect activity and animals that feed on them, and so on and so forth. It stimulates activity throughout the food chain. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451803/original/file-20220314-13-gfyeoi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our simple camp set-up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once we’ve done all of this, we plan our trip and hopefully find some remarkable species to photograph. Success is, of course, not guaranteed. We once went looking for a species of whipsnake, spending a full week and $3000 in the process and still didn’t find the snake. But we did find many unusual lizards. </p>
<p>Herping is no relaxing holiday. It is very hard work requiring early mornings and late nights. To find nocturnal snakes, for instance, we have to stay up until the early hours of the morning. (Nocturnal snakes are active only in warmer months, and soak up radiant heat left over after the day). We often start early, too, since the best natural light for photography is early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky. </p>
<p>We’re both registered snake catchers, so sometimes we’ll be called out to a job and find an interesting snake which we can photograph before releasing it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sweaty husband and wife team holding a large Reticulated Python." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451805/original/file-20220314-19-13ibazc.JPEG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Reticulated Python we caught and relocated away from houses while in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a Death Adder on a boulder in a dry creek bed with beautiful lighting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451854/original/file-20220314-17-ofmttv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Common Death Adder on Magnetic Island in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Safety comes first</h2>
<p>When the stars align and we find one of the snakes we’ve been looking for, we have to make sure we don’t get too excited. Our safety is more important than any photograph. </p>
<p>We’re often in remote parts of Australia, hundreds of kilometres from any help. If one of us gets a snake bite, it would mean real trouble. </p>
<p>When you’re looking through a camera’s eye-piece, you can get the impression you’re further away from the snake than you really are. We’ve had to learn how to choose the right lens for each species, to ensure we can keep a safe distance without making the snake too small in the frame. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man and woman photographing a cobra" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451807/original/file-20220314-18-1d2ms0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The authors demonstrating the level of safety required when photographing a Javan Spitting Cobra in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Mandarino</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Only one of us takes the photographs at any one time. That’s because you need someone to watch the situation and make sure you’re not taking risks. As a husband and wife team, we place our full trust in each other. Distractions are not an option. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Central Ranges Taipan on the sandy ground with spinifex grass in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451802/original/file-20220314-22-18qvcic.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The little-known Central Ranges Taipan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We don’t intend this to be a how-to guide for people to find dangerous reptiles and photograph them. Snake photography is not a hobby to dive into without a great deal of preparation and knowledge. </p>
<p>Having said that, it is a rewarding profession – particularly when you get a shot of a rare reptile that’s very hard to find. Getting a shot like this and seeing it used in books, field guides and online makes all the preparation worthwhile. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A strap-snouted brown snake in Brigalow country in Queensland" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451800/original/file-20220314-24-1xrpwm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Strap-snouted Brown Snake photographed in brigalow habitat in St George, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176971/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most people try their best to avoid snakes. This snake photographer couple spends their free time searching for them.Chris Hay, Honorary Fellow, The University of QueenslandChristina N. Zdenek, Lab Manager/Post-doc at the Venom Evolution Lab, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1819012022-04-27T15:37:49Z2022-04-27T15:37:49ZReptiles: why one in five species face extinction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460029/original/file-20220427-24-6xgf41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3814%2C2540&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A yacare caiman (_Caiman yacare_) in the Pantanal wetlands of Bolivia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crocodile-catch-fish-river-water-evening-1112389226">Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reptiles are cold-blooded and scaly animals, the majority of which are predators. They include some of the <a href="https://www.animalwised.com/the-8-most-dangerous-reptiles-in-the-world-2758.html">most deadly and venomous</a> creatures on Earth, including the spitting cobra and saltwater crocodile.</p>
<p>Many of these fascinating creatures are <a href="https://www.history.com/news/snake-symbol-history-mythology">feared by humans</a> and inhabit hard-to-traverse places such as swamps. Compared with <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">birds, amphibians and mammals</a>, there is little data available on the distribution, population size and extinction risk of reptiles. This has meant that wildlife conservationists have largely helped reptiles indirectly in the past by meeting the needs of other animals (for food and habitat for example) living in similar places.</p>
<p>Now, a first-of-its-kind <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04664-7">global assessment</a> of more than 10,000 species of reptiles (around 90% of the known total) has revealed that 21% need urgent support to prevent them going extinct. But since <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059741">reptiles are so diverse</a>, ranging from lizards and snakes to turtles and crocodiles, the threats to the survival of each species are likely to be equally varied. </p>
<p>Here are five important findings the new study has unveiled.</p>
<h2>Crocodiles and turtles among most threatened</h2>
<p>Well over half (58%) of all crocodile species and 50% of all turtles are at risk of extinction, making them the most threatened among reptiles. This is comparable to the most threatened groups of amphibians and mammals, so reptiles are not faring any better than other animals. </p>
<p>The biggest threats to crocodiles and turtles are hunting and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18523-4">illegal wildlife trade</a>. This trade, often to supply distant customers with pets (or luxury handbags), threatens 31% of turtles. They are also the groups of reptiles most frequently associated with <a href="https://www.wwt.org.uk/our-work/threats-to-wetlands/#:%7E:text=Unsustainable%20development,for%20housing%2C%20industry%20and%20agriculture.">wetlands</a>, habitats which are <a href="https://www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org/">under siege globally</a> by the development of urban space and farmland, as well as climate change.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reptiles-one-in-three-species-traded-online-and-75-arent-protected-by-international-law-147122">Reptiles: one in three species traded online – and 75% aren't protected by international law</a>
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<h2>Conservation works</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44JUXPzEI2U">tuatara</a> is the only survivor of an ancient order of reptiles called the Rhynchocephalia, which roamed the Earth alongside dinosaurs 200 million years ago. </p>
<p>To help you understand how isolated this species is in evolutionary terms, rodents belong to a single order which makes up 40% of mammals. Thankfully, populations of this species have stabilised, largely due to the protection they have received by law since 1895, which makes it an offence to kill individuals or their eggs or to take them from the wild.</p>
<p>Tuataras, which are greenish brown and grey, measure up to 80cm from head to tail and have a spiny crest along their backs, were once widespread across New Zealand but became extinct on the main islands around 200 years ago – the same time that invasive rats, brought there by European colonisers, became established. <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/tuatara/">Conservation efforts</a>, such as captive breeding and targeted reintroductions, have meant that tuataras are once again breeding in the wild on New Zealand’s North Island.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tuataras-rare-reptiles-genes-longevity-cool-weather">Interestingly</a>, this species has one of the longest lifespans of any reptile (more than 100 years) and a body temperature of around 10°C – more than 10°C lower than most reptiles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A green iguana-like reptile." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460031/original/file-20220427-26-h8cxkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tuataras can continue breeding well past their 100th birthday.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-zealand-native-tuatara-1345787294">Mark Walshe/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Habitat destruction the biggest threat overall</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421004157">Habitat loss</a>, caused by expanding farmlands, urbanisation and logging, contributes more to the extinction risk of most reptiles than any other factor. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/50/8/653/243214">Other major threats</a> include the displacement of native reptiles by invasive species and hunting. These threats are all <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn">human-induced</a> and pose a problem for all other groups of animals.</p>
<h2>Most threatened in the tropics</h2>
<p>South-east Asia, west Africa, Madagascar and the Caribbean are <a href="http://www.gardinitiative.org/">hotspots</a> for reptiles at risk of extinction. According to the new assessment, some of these areas contain twice as many threatened reptiles as those from other groups of animals. </p>
<p>More than half of threatened reptile species <a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/kids/elementary/204.html">live in forests</a>, where habitat destruction is a looming threat. The picture is similar for birds and mammals, so conserving forested areas for one group of species will help to protect them all.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-forest-loss-has-changed-biodiversity-around-the-globe-over-the-last-150-years-140968">How forest loss has changed biodiversity around the globe over the last 150 years</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Climate change</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/ever-wondered-about-warm-blooded-and-cold-blooded-animals/2015/11/27/575d30ca-6c57-11e5-aa5b-f78a98956699_story.html">Cold-blooded</a> reptiles must warm up in the sun to function properly. But if they are heated above their optimum temperature, their metabolism is less efficient and they need to move into the shade to cool down. </p>
<p>Increasing global temperatures reduce the windows available to reptiles for daily foraging – when it is not too cold but not too hot either – and shrink their habitable range overall. For some reptile species, ambient temperature influences the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-temperature-sex-determination-reptiles/">sex of offspring</a>. Cooler temperatures cause many turtle eggs to develop into males, so climate change may see <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/turtle-populations-danger-hatchlings-female-climate-change-981184">male turtles die out</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large sea turtle depositing white eggs in the sand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460034/original/file-20220427-10052-6cn3i6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A male-female imbalance could prevent populations reproducing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/turtles-nesting-during-sunrise-ostional-beach-1921648922">Jarib/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s good for other animals…</h2>
<p>Where reptiles are restricted to a particular range – endemic to a single small island, for example – the species is generally so specialised that a conservation effort focused on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12210-020-00922-w">needs of that species</a> is prudent.</p>
<p>But on the whole, birds and mammals are good surrogates for the conservation of reptiles, despite being so different. This is because the threats imposed on all groups of animals are broadly the same. Conservation efforts employed for one species can benefit all. </p>
<p>While this new assessment casts more light than has ever been shed before on the plight of the world’s scaly masses, it nevertheless shares universal lessons for what’s needed to preserve Earth’s biodiversity: space and freedom from persecution in a stable climate. </p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Gentle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than half of all crocodile species are a high priority for conservation according to the assessment.Louise Gentle, Principal Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1751882022-02-06T19:06:41Z2022-02-06T19:06:41Z7 reasons Australia is the lucky country when it comes to snakes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/444632/original/file-20220206-23-1lf3f24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2038%2C1321&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A dugite (Pseudonaja affinis) </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/96574168@N02/">Chris Hay</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has a global reputation as a land full of danger, where seemingly everything is out to kill you. Crocodiles lurk in estuaries, large spiders hide in bathrooms, and we share our suburbs with some of the world’s most venomous snakes.</p>
<p>Snakes hold a particular fear and fascination for many people. The bite of an <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053188">eastern brown snake</a> can kill an adult in under an hour. And that’s just one of more than <a href="https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?taxon=Elapidae&location=Australia&submit=Search">150 venomous snakes</a> inhabiting the island continent across land and sea. Australian snakes are well and truly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0041010179902459">overrepresented</a> out of the world’s top 25 most venomous snakes. </p>
<p>Terrifying, right? Not quite. Australians are actually extremely lucky when it comes to snakes. Here are seven reasons why. </p>
<h2>1) Our snakes bolt away from us</h2>
<p>The best way to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-10-30/snakes-venomous-how-to-survive-a-bite/100406488">survive a snakebite</a> is of course not to be bitten. Keeping your distance is the easiest way to avoid a bite. </p>
<p>But what if you’re walking through the bush and don’t see the snake? Luckily, most Australian snakes will rapidly <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR98042">slither away</a> from us. </p>
<p>It could be much worse. Imagine if most of our snakes were like vipers or rattlesnakes, which hold their ground and can be easily trodden on. And imagine if our venomous snakes could sense our body heat, as pit vipers and rattlesnakes do with their heat-sensing pits. For Australians, simply staying still can keep you safe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A blue pit viper from Komodo Island flicks its tongue upwards" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443274/original/file-20220130-17-4jsreu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pit vipers like this white-lipped pit viper (<em>Trimeresurus insularis</em>) from Indonesia can sense heat but can’t bolt away.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2) We have very few snakebite deaths</h2>
<p>Compared to other countries with many snake species, Australia has orders of magnitude fewer <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28905944">snakebites and related deaths</a>. South Africa has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.12.002">476 snakebite deaths</a> on average every year. By contrast, Australia has <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imj.13297">two or three</a>.</p>
<h2>3) If you do get bitten, you’re very unlikely to lose a limb</h2>
<p>Most snakebites in Australia are completely painless. This is in part due to the short fangs of our brown snakes (<em>Pseudonaja</em> spp.), who are responsible for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19570990/">most bites in Australia</a>, but mainly because most Australian snakes have venom which <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1580/0953-9859-2.3.219">works internally</a>, rather than locally at the bite site. This means snakebites in Australia very rarely result in amputations. </p>
<p>By contrast, across sub-Saharan Africa it is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.12.022">sadly common</a>, with almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.12.002">2400 amputations</a> reported in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, every year. Unfortunately, the people <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0000569">most at risk of snakebite</a> are the ones least able to afford the high treatment costs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Dugite's fangs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443255/original/file-20220129-15-1orl5i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brown snakes like this dugite (<em>Pseudonaja affinis</em>) have small fangs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek & Chris Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4) We have great access to excellent antivenom and other treatments</h2>
<p>For snakebites, antivenom is the only <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29746978/">specific treatment</a>. If you’re unlucky enough to be bitten by a highly venomous snake, getting the antivenom as quickly as possible is vital. Luckily, antivenoms work quickly, and ours are high quality. </p>
<p>Antivenom is often produced from purified horse antibodies. It’s well known antivenom can cause anaphylaxis, which occurs <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18429716">around 10%</a> of the time in Australia. These reactions can be quickly reversed by adrenaline administered in a hospital. </p>
<p>By contrast, some other countries have <a href="https://theconversation.com/unsuitable-antivenoms-are-being-sold-in-africa-costing-lives-83658">alarmingly ineffective antivenoms</a> as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.12.009">triggering anaphylaxis</a> 57% of the time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-australia-really-have-the-deadliest-snakes-we-debunk-6-common-myths-145765">Does Australia really have the deadliest snakes? We debunk 6 common myths</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>You can get antivenom at 750 hospitals across Australia. For more remote regions, snakebite victims benefit from <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(79)90580-4/fulltext?cc=y">proven pressure-immobilisation </a> which should be applied before the Royal Flying Doctors come to the rescue. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Seven Australian snake antivenoms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443306/original/file-20220131-15-1r8713j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many quality snake antivenoms are available in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christina N. Zdenek</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5) We have the world’s only snake venom detection kits</h2>
<p>Using the wrong antivenom can lead to the treatment failing. So how do doctors know which antivenom to administer? It’s not via snake identification by the victim because, more often than not, Australians <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10871209.2020.1769778?journalCode=uhdw20">get it wrong</a>. </p>
<p>In 1979, Australia became the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.661457/full">first country in the world</a> to have a commercial snake venom detection kit to make antivenom choice more accurate. Even now, we’re the only ones with this option. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-suns-shining-and-snakes-are-emerging-but-theyre-not-out-to-get-you-heres-what-theyre-really-up-to-168089">The sun's shining and snakes are emerging, but they're not out to get you. Here's what they're really up to</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Every other country has to rely on more dangerous options. Either the victim brings the snake to hospital for a professional ID, or doctors have to <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/safp/article/view/13271">rely on the patient’s symptoms</a> and location where they were bitten to take an educated guess as to which antivenom will work. </p>
<p>As you’d expect, this can be a challenge. Why? Because there can be a great deal of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33153179/">overlap of symptoms</a> caused by venom from unrelated species. Plus, picking the species responsible can take years of experience treating snakebite which many doctors do not have. </p>
<p>In Australia, there’s another option if the kit is unavailable: <a href="https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder/polyvalent-snake-antivenom-concentrate-for-infusion">polyvalent antivenom</a>, effective against all our most dangerous snakes. </p>
<h2>6) Snakebites are covered by Medicare</h2>
<p>Antivenom can be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0887233318304399?via%3Dihub">prohibitively expensive</a>, costing thousands of dollars per dose. </p>
<p>Our nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is a snakebite hotspot. But many people simply do not have the money to pay for the antivenom. In some areas, taipans kill <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-03/an-png-trials-new-snake-anti-venom/4606988">more people than malaria</a> due to the cost of treatment. </p>
<p>In Australia, treatment for a bite may cost around AUD$6,000, but this cost is covered by Medicare. In my lab, we’re working to make snakebite treatment more affordable by testing <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.688802/full">next-generation snakebite treatments</a>. </p>
<h2>7) Snake venom is actually saving lives</h2>
<p>To top it all off, snake venom is saving lives. There are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/11/10/564">six therapeutic drugs</a> on the global market derived from snake venoms, with another two in clinical trials. </p>
<p>Our many venomous snake species hold in their venom glands a mini drug library, a cornucopia for scientists to trawl through looking for promising new therapeutic drugs. In fact, a toxin from the venom of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00647-9">eastern brown snakes</a> (<em>P. textilis</em>) is <a href="https://www.varmx.com/news/first-subjects-dosed-first-human-trial-varmxs-anticoagulant-reversal-agent-vmx-c001-0">being tested</a> as a drug used to reverse life-threatening bleeding complications.</p>
<p>Rather than fearing our venomous snakes, let’s try seeing them as they are. </p>
<p>They pose little risk to us. They flee from us. Their bites can usually be cured quickly. Their venom holds therapeutic promise. And they play a <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr00106">vital role</a> in keeping down the numbers of introduced rats and mice. </p>
<p>So let’s take a moment to appreciate Australia’s wealth of beautiful snakes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina N. Zdenek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Over 150 types of venomous snake live in Australia. But deaths from snakebite are vanishingly rare. From snake behaviour to human innovation, here are the reasons why.Christina N. Zdenek, Lab Manager/Post-doc at the Venom Evolution Lab, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1715682021-11-18T14:06:23Z2021-11-18T14:06:23ZA fossil of a snake-like lizard has generated controversy beyond its identity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432215/original/file-20211116-13-uqcclg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C6%2C1503%2C1246&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With four tiny legs and an extraordinarily long body, a fossil of the snake-like lizard Tetrapodophis amplectus has created controversy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Julius Csotonyi)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/a-fossil-of-a-snake-like-lizard-has-generated-controversy-beyond-its-identity" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>More than 120 million years ago in what is now modern Brazil, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103573">an ancient waterway was filled with all manner of strange creatures</a>. These included dinosaurs, pterosaurs, sharks, bony fishes, a dizzying array of insects, strange plants and an oddly long and small lizard: <em>Tetrapodophis amplectus</em>.</p>
<p>In 2015, the journal <em>Science</em> published a paper claiming that this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9208">elongate lizard was a snake with four legs</a>. The discovery of such a specimen could tell us a great deal about the pattern and process of snake evolution — if it was indeed a snake.</p>
<h2>Lizard, not snake</h2>
<p>Extraordinary claims attract extraordinary attention, and this means such claims require reanalysis — and possibly refutation or corroboration. In scientific research, the data must fit the hypothesis, and if it does not, then the hypothesis is rejected.</p>
<p>In late 2015, two members of our research team travelled to Solnhofen, Germany, to study the specimen and conduct firsthand observation of the anatomy of the fossil. After all, the preserved anatomy is the data upon which all subsequent hypotheses are based.</p>
<p>The results of our team’s <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2021.1983044">detailed anatomical restudy of <em>Tetrapodophis</em> refute the hypothesis that it is a snake</a>. We also challenged the claims in the original article that it possessed both a wide gape for eating large prey and the ability to coil its body and constrict its prey. </p>
<p>Using these corrected data, our analyses of evolutionary relationships found <em>Tetrapodophis</em> to be a dolichosaur, not a snake. Dolichosaurs are an extinct group of elongated, limb-reduced lizards related to mosasaurs. Both are thought to be close relatives of snakes. It is therefore not surprising that there are some anatomical similarities between <em>Tetrapodophis</em> and snakes.</p>
<h2>It’s all in the bones</h2>
<p>Many fossils are found by splitting open a slab of rock using a hammer and chisel. The fossil of <em>Tetrapodophis</em> was found this way and is now on two slabs of rock. </p>
<p>The skull slab includes impressions of the skeleton, while the second slab preserves the natural mould of the skull and most of the remaining skeleton. The preserved skull bones are shattered into tiny bits and the ones that remain intact are from the left side of the skull. Only the front part of the left lower jaw is relatively well-preserved and it is similar to that of a dolichosaur, not a snake.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The skull of the snake-like lizard, mostly the bones of the left side of the head, and the natural mould of the right side of the head" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431351/original/file-20211110-27-fnljtr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The fossil’s skull provided the most revealing clues about the creature’s identity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Michael Caldwell)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The bones of the right side of the skull are gone, but their impressions are preserved on the other slab and were not described in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9208">first article detailing the find</a>. The bones behind the eye that form a barrier for the jaw closing muscles are complete in <em>Tetrapodophis</em>. But they are absent in all fossil and living snakes. </p>
<p>The quadrate bone, which suspends the lower jaw from the skull in lizards, is also preserved. In <em>Tetrapodophis</em> it is identical to that of a dolichosaur and other mosasaurians, not as in snakes.</p>
<p>Limb reduction and loss are not unique to snakes. Numerous living lizards — for example, skinks, anguids and pygopodid geckos — are legless or limb-reduced. They all evolved leglessness independent of each other — <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/convergent-evolution">known as convergent evolution</a> — but retained the skull features of their respective lizard kind. The same is true for snakes.</p>
<h2>A bizarre little lizard</h2>
<p><em>Tetrapodophis</em> is an amazing and bizarre little lizard even without being interpreted as a four-legged snake. It is very small, yet the body skeleton, from the back of the skull to the tip of the tail, is exceptionally elongated. Unlike any other lizard with limbs, <em>Tetrapodophis</em> has about 148 vertebrae between the front legs and the hips. Also, its tail is very long and has an additional 112 vertebrae.</p>
<p>No other lizard with four legs shows this anatomy, and it is not seen or predicted in snakes either. The body is flattened from side to side, which would have helped it swim in the water. The limbs are tiny, with the front legs being almost vestigial, and most of the wrist and ankle elements are not ossified. Clearly, it could not walk on land using its limbs. Nor could it dig or grasp any prey as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9208">originally argued</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photograph of two sides of the fossil of a snake-like lizard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431341/original/file-20211110-27-7eqmtl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part and counterpart specimens of Tetrapodophis amplectus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Michael Caldwell)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fossils and belonging</h2>
<p>Scientific research is not independent from <a href="https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/40344-science-and-politics-why-science-should-be-a-central-piece-of-policy-making">social, political and economic contexts</a>. Scientific specimens — in paleontology, genetics, archeology or any other field — have a provenance and are intimately linked to people, culture, countries and laws.</p>
<p>Scientific specimens are governed by legislation that outlines how they can be collected and used. This includes countries that in the past suffered from “parachute science” <a href="https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/parachute-science-falls-to-earth">where specimens were removed, legally or illegally, and local scientists were excluded from participating in the research</a>. This practice is now widely condemned as scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01588-9">collectively work to decolonize science</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, <em>Tetrapodophis</em> is embroiled in such legal and ethical issues. Since 1942, the law in Brazil has been clear: <a href="http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto-lei/1937-1946/Del4146.htm">no fossils can be privately owned</a>. And since 1990, <a href="http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/1990-1994/d98830.htm">international researchers may only collect in Brazil in partnership with local institutions</a>. The type specimen — the specimen used as a reference point — of any new species must also remain in Brazil. </p>
<p>These legal requirements have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac8899">ignored and publicly mocked</a> by one of the authors of the 2015 study. </p>
<p>As of November 2021, the specimen of <em>Tetrapodophis</em> remains in Germany in a private collection, on loan to a private museum: the <a href="https://www.museum-solnhofen.de/startseite-museum">Bürgermeister-Müller Museum Solnhofen</a>. Its passage from Brazil to that private German collection is unknown.</p>
<h2>Ethical matters</h2>
<p>The scientific study of privately owned fossil specimens also runs afoul of ethics policies, such those of the <a href="https://vertpaleo.org/governance-documents/">Society of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>. If science is based on the ability to test and retest ideas by re-examining data, then the specimens must always be openly available for study. The concern in paleontology is that private owners of specimens can block that freedom of access and thus unethically limit the science.</p>
<p><em>Tetrapodophis</em> is proof of this problem. Because of damage to the specimen in 2016 by another <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.aal0327">research team</a>, and contrary to <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.aac8899">claims that the specimen would be publicly accessible</a>, the owner blocked access to the specimen. </p>
<p>Some scientists have pronounced that this means <em>Tetrapodophis</em> is dead to science.</p>
<p>We disagree with this conclusion. Despite the controversies, the original paper has not been retracted by <em>Science</em>, and there are also thousands of published references to “<em>Tetrapodophis</em> the four-legged snake.”</p>
<p>We completed our re-examination of the specimen in an effort to correct the record and describe this bizarre fossil lizard for what it is. We also hope that by doing so, we will have reignited the discussion around the specimen with the goal of repatriating it to Brazil.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Caldwell receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tiago Rodrigues Simoes receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. </span></em></p>In 2015, a published article described the fossil of a four-legged snake. New research has revealed that it is in fact a lizard, and the fossil is the centre of a scientific ethics debate.Michael Caldwell, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of AlbertaTiago Rodrigues Simoes, Postdoctoral Fellow, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology & Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1680892021-09-23T20:04:15Z2021-09-23T20:04:15ZThe sun’s shining and snakes are emerging, but they’re not out to get you. Here’s what they’re really up to<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422809/original/file-20210923-15-yxnhp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4914%2C3057&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s early spring in southern Australia and the sun is, gloriously, out. You decide to head to your local patch of greenery – by the creek, lake, or foreshore – with the sun on your face, the breeze in your hair, and your dog’s tongue blissfully lolling. </p>
<p>Suddenly you see it. Paused on the path just a few meters in front of your feet, soaking up those same springtime rays — a snake.</p>
<p>Love them or loathe them, snakes have been co-existing with, and haunting us, since well before our ancestors called themselves “human”. From the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Genesis%203%3A1">subtle tempter of Genesis</a> to the <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Quetzalcoatl/">feathered serpent deities of Mesoamerica</a>, snakes have always been potent symbols of otherness. </p>
<p>Today, to encounter a snake is to brush up against the wild and mysterious heart of the natural world. Snakes are important members of every terrestrial ecosystem across Australia. Even in the most populous parts of the country, snakes inhabit the remnant bushland dispersed throughout our major cities. </p>
<p>But what exactly influences human–snake interactions? Whether you’re hoping to maximise your chances of seeing one of these shy, fascinating critters or wanting to avoid them at all costs, this article is for you.</p>
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<h2>Snakes in southern springtime</h2>
<p>In southern Australia, a flurry of animal activity occurs in spring. As resources start becoming plentiful after the relatively lean months of winter, spring is the reproductive season for many plants and animals. </p>
<p>One such resource is heat — a particularly crucial resource for organisms such as reptiles, which don’t make their own body heat (unlike mammals). It’s a common misconception, however, that snakes want as much heat as they can get. Like Goldilocks, snakes want the temperature to be just right. </p>
<p>Southern springs are the right temperature for snakes to bask during the times of day we humans are also out and about. In summer, snakes, including venomous species such as tiger snakes and brown snakes, are typically more active very early in the morning, late in the evening, or during the night when temperatures are not too high for them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422824/original/file-20210923-15-13vcmkp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">During spring in south-eastern Australia, red-bellied blacksnakes are common in suburban areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After a slow winter, snakes are both hungry (they may have been fasting for months!) and on the lookout for eligible members of the opposite sex. Basking, hunting, and searching for a mate brings snakes out into the open in spring a bit more than at other times of year, so we’re most likely to encounter them during this time.</p>
<h2>Snake activity in northern Australia</h2>
<p>Like all things, snake activity is a little different in the north. Spare a thought for those poor northern Australians who will never know the joys of a snake-filled springtime. </p>
<p>Still, the north has far more snake species than the south, including many species of non-venomous python — the farther south you go, the more our snake fauna is dominated by venomous species (check out <a href="http://www.arod.com.au/arod/">Australian Reptile Online Database</a> for distribution maps).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422836/original/file-20210923-22-e8ozjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Darwin carpet pythons (<em>Morelia spilota variegata</em>) are most often encountered in the cooler months of the year following the annual wet season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Jolly</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of the unforgiving year-round heat across northern Australia, temperature doesn’t drive snake activity as it does in the south. You will rarely see a basking snake in Australia’s Top End, they’re too busy avoiding the heat.</p>
<p>Instead, snake activity is driven by another important resource – rain. In the Top End, this means <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aec.12990">snakes are most often encountered following the wet season</a> (April–June) when prey and water abound. </p>
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<p>In other, more arid “boom and bust” systems, large rainfall events may only happen every five to ten years. When they do, they can trigger huge flurries of snake activity as the serpents emerge to take advantage of fleetingly available prey.</p>
<h2>Snakes indicate ecosystem health</h2>
<p>From the moment of birth, all species of snake are predatory, although some, like <a href="http://www.arod.com.au/arod/reptilia/Squamata/Elapidae/Brachyurophis">shovel-nosed snakes</a>, prey only upon eggs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422822/original/file-20210923-15-1u7uqly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shovel-nosed snakes prey only on eggs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In some terrestrial Australian ecosystems, snakes are near the top of the food chain. After reaching a certain size, they have few predators of their own. A two-metre coastal taipan in the cane fields of northern Queensland, for example, has more to fear from harvesters than it does from any natural predator. </p>
<p>For large snakes to persist in an environment, they need an abundance of their prey (mice, frogs and lizards), as well as all the species their prey feed upon (invertebrates, even smaller animals, or plants).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422838/original/file-20210923-17-14dxlnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coastal taipans (<em>Oxyuranus scutellatus</em>) are exceptionally elusive, but when they are (rarely) encountered, it is most often males observed while they are on the hunt for females during northern Australia’s winter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Jolly</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Snakes often also have specific habitat requirements. In general, they need shelter and protection from bigger predators, which might include birds of prey, predatory mammals such as native marsupials or introduced cats and foxes, or other snakes. They also need opportunities for safely regulating their body temperature. </p>
<p>This means a snake will only call a place home if it has both a functioning food-web and the necessary habitat complexity. So remember, if you see snakes in your backyard or local park, it’s a sign the ecosystem is doing pretty well.</p>
<h2>Snakes don’t want to bite you</h2>
<p>Snakes are awesome predators, but no Australian snake is interested in eating a human. In fact, they want as little to do with us giant hairless apes as possible.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422813/original/file-20210923-22-1018xx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Merri Creek in inner-city Melbourne is famously home to many snakes, including tiger snakes, who bask in the sun at springtime.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why? Because snakes are actually quite vulnerable animals. Compared to many other species, they are small, have no sharp claws or strong limbs, and limited energy to put up a fight — they are basically limbless lizards with different teeth. </p>
<p>For those that possess it, venom is a last resort and only a minority of species —such as taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, and death adders — can deliver a life-threatening bite to a person. But snakes would much rather use their venom to subdue prey (that’s what they have it for) than to defend themselves.</p>
<p>When snakes bite humans in Australia, it’s a defensive reaction to a large animal they view as a potential predator. Remember, they can’t understand your intentions, even if those intentions are good. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422823/original/file-20210923-23-1dae3xb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiger snakes and other venomous snakes won’t bite you if you respect their boundaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you’re lucky enough to see a wild snake, and if you respect its boundaries and give it personal space, it’s sure to do the same for you. Keep dogs on the lead in snakey areas and educate your kids to be snake-smart from as young as possible. </p>
<p>Even though snakes don’t want to bite, snakebite envenoming can be a life-threatening emergency. Learn <a href="https://biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/departments/department-of-biochemistry-and-pharmacology/engage/avru/advice-and-resources/first-aid">first aid</a>, and when you go for a walk in one of those sanctuaries of greenery that snakes like as much as we do, carry a compression bandage (or three). </p>
<p>It’s almost certain you will never need it, but it could just save a life.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-australia-really-have-the-deadliest-snakes-we-debunk-6-common-myths-145765">Does Australia really have the deadliest snakes? We debunk 6 common myths</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy N. W. Jackson receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris J Jolly receives funding from National Environmental Science Program (Threatened Species Hub).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Lettoof receives funding from HWRE. </span></em></p>Whether you’re hoping to maximise your chances of seeing one of these shy, fascinating critters or wanting to avoid them at all costs, this article is for you.Timothy N. W. Jackson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of MelbourneChris J Jolly, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Charles Sturt UniversityDamian Lettoof, PhD Candidate, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1662572021-08-23T16:17:17Z2021-08-23T16:17:17ZLizards, snakes and turtles: Dispelling the myths about reptiles as pets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417105/original/file-20210819-15-1pi9z04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C16%2C5422%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Leopard geckos make fun and entertaining pets.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reptiles are all the rage. Mochi the bearded dragon is a viral sensation, <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/bearded-dragon-comes-running-towards-211839614.html">with over 1.8 million views on YouTube</a>. Meanwhile, Chris Pratt is <a href="https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/actor-chris-pratt-takes-his-bearded-dragon-out-for-a-walk/">singing to his bearded dragon while walking it on a leash</a>, and he is just one of <a href="https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/blog/10-celebrity-reptile-owners/">many other celebrities</a> with pet reptiles. It is obvious that having reptiles as pets has gained popularity in recent years. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D4-VgAeUssI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Mochi the bearded dragon responds to his name being called.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But there is a growing number of people opposed to <a href="https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2021/02/25/emotions-proposed-florida-reptile-ban-run-raw/4553754001/">owning these animals as pets</a>. Their concerns range from reptiles posing a serious danger to public health to beliefs about reptiles being too cold to love. Why do reptiles get a bad rap?</p>
<h2>Reptile-borne diseases</h2>
<p>Critics of reptile pet ownership often state that <a href="https://arav.org/salmonella-bacteria-reptiles/">reptiles are riddled with diseases</a>, and while it is true that reptiles do harbour disease, the risk is often far lower than people realize. This fear may be due to outbreaks of salmonella in people that occurred nearly half a century ago: In the 1970s, turtles suddenly became a popular pet, and reptile-borne salmonella incidences increased, representing about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121418">11 per cent of all human cases</a>. </p>
<p>In North America, people are more likely to acquire salmonella from consuming animal products. Education campaigns and legislation in the 1990s led to a significant reduction in reptile-borne salmonella, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2207.150685">decreasing it to just six per cent of cases</a>. </p>
<p>However, close study of reptile-caused illnesses in humans has only examined trends up to the early 2000s, so public health data may be subject to change <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2016.21.34.30324">as reptiles increase in popularity</a>.</p>
<p>Interestingly, although diseases are highlighted as a reason to avoid pet reptiles, pet mammals like dogs and cats have been repeatedly linked to a variety of health problems, <a href="https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.252.8.945">such as rabies</a> <a href="https://asthma.ca/get-help/asthma-triggers/pets-asthma/">and asthma</a>. Yet these dangers are deemed acceptable by society, despite the public health risks (<a href="https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw181108">rabies is incurable and fatal</a>).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A turtle with a red streak on its head surrounded by greenery" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417106/original/file-20210819-15-egca5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turtles, like this red-eared slider, became popular as household pets in the 1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Companionship and entertainment</h2>
<p>Another common critique is that reptiles simply do not make good pets. This belief stems from the view that reptiles are lumbering, boring creatures. However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104296">this could not be further from the truth</a>. </p>
<p>There are some incredible examples of reptile nimbleness. For example, <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/secret-social-lives-reptiles">basilisks can run on two legs on the surface of water for more than 20 metres, and crocodiles can use their massive jaws to delicately move their babies and eggs without damaging them</a>. Some lizards can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0480">solve food puzzles</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-014-0803-7">tortoises and bearded dragons can take cues from others of the same species to speed up problem-solving tasks</a>, both of which are abilities <a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199738182.013.0008">once thought to be present only in birds and mammals</a>. </p>
<p>While affection is harder to prove using current scientific methods, <a href="https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v9i2.540">tests have shown that some tortoises</a> (likely dependent on personality) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21227">prefer having their shells scratched by familiar humans</a> to food or toys when making a choice.</p>
<h2>Reptile welfare</h2>
<p>Beyond the risks for people, owning a reptile does pose some threat to the animals themselves. While there is no evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104296">reptiles suffer disproportionately poor welfare compared to other pets</a>, it is easy to access misleading and conflicting information online. Well-intentioned owners can end up keeping reptiles in substandard conditions, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.k4836">eventually causing a variety of preventable health issues</a>. </p>
<p>Due to their ectothermic (cold-blooded) nature, reading body language can be tricky, making it difficult to tell when reptiles are suffering. Making things worse, reptiles can often endure severe health conditions longer than mammals. Ultimately, this means that <a href="https://www.chippingnortonvets.co.uk/uploads/Factors%20contributing%20to%20poor%20welfare%20of%20pet%20reptiles.pdf">reptiles can be kept in neglectful conditions for months, or even years</a>. </p>
<p>Thankfully, some <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdvancingHerpHusbandry/">reptile welfare groups on social media</a> are doing their best to collect and communicate the most up-to-date standards of reptile care. Herpetologists — who study reptiles and amphibians — are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105324">continually refining</a> the best husbandry practices and methods for evaluating reptile welfare. </p>
<h2>Reptile abuse</h2>
<p>Outdated beliefs about reptiles, often spurred on by a misguided distrust, can do real harm by allowing reptile mistreatment to persist. For example, perhaps one of the most astonishingly cruel reptile-related practices are the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/outlawing_rattlesnake_roundups/index.html">annual rattlesnake rodeos taking place in the southern United States</a>. </p>
<p>Rattlesnakes are taken from the wild and stored for up to eight months, usually without food, water or regular cage maintenance. If the snakes survive this process, <a href="https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/beauty-and-the-beast-at-the-worlds-largest-rattlesnake-roundup/">they are brought to the rodeo where they are physically beaten, taunted, stomped on or hastily decapitated all while fully conscious</a>. </p>
<p>The manner in which snakes are treated at these events would cause mass outrage if the same practices were performed on any mammal or bird — so why is it acceptable for a reptile? </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6TfBBN8vqs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A National Geographic story on the Sweetwater, Texas, rattlesnake roundup.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Championing reptiles</h2>
<p>Perhaps, through the proper ownership of reptiles as pets, and by dispelling the myths surrounding them, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100821">we can raise awareness of their cognitive abilities and better appreciate their unique appeal</a>.</p>
<p>Though often overlooked, reptiles can make incredible pets. Many owners find themselves captivated by their stoic beauty, and others find even the simplest behaviour endearing. With proper education, owners are able to care for a pet reptile for many years in a way that ensures the health of both the animal and their owner.</p>
<p>Pet ownership may inspire positive change for the welfare of reptiles, putting an end to inhumane practices and promoting conservation goals <a href="http://doi.org/10.12966/abc.08.01.2015">for one of the most underfunded and under-researched groups of animals</a>. </p>
<p>In light of all this, perhaps it is time we show some warmth to our cold-blooded companions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Denomme receives support from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada given to Glenn Tattersall.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenn Tattersall receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Reptiles get a bad rap, but this is because they’re misunderstood. Promoting healthy reptile pet ownership can contribute to conservation and education efforts.Melanie Denomme, PhD Student, Biological Sciences, Brock UniversityGlenn J Tattersall, Professor, Biological Sciences, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1658812021-08-10T23:08:34Z2021-08-10T23:08:34ZHow venomous snakes got their fangs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415385/original/file-20210810-27-uyosvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C1699%2C1077&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tontan Travel</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Venomous snakes inject a cocktail of toxins using venom fangs — specialised teeth with grooves or canals running through them to guide the venom into a bite wound. Uniquely among animals, grooved and tubular teeth have evolved many times in snakes.</p>
<p>Our new research, published today in <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1391">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, reveals this happened via a modification of tooth structures that probably served to help anchor snakes’ teeth in their sockets. In certain species, these structures evolved into grooves running the length of the tooth, which served as a handy conduit to deliver venom. </p>
<p>Of the <a href="http://www.reptile-database.org/db-info/SpeciesStat.html">almost 4,000 species</a> of snakes, about 600 are considered “medically significant”, meaning they can deliver a bite that would require hospital treatment, but many more have small fangs and are only mildly venomous. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_venom">appearance of mild venoms</a> is thought to predate the appearance of venom fangs in snakes.</p>
<p>Venom fangs are positioned in one of three main ways: fixed at the back of the mouth, as in crab-eating water snakes, cat-eyed snakes, twig snakes and boomslangs; fixed at the front of the mouth, as in cobras, coral snakes, kraits, taipans and sea snakes; or at the front of the mouth and able to fold backwards or sideways, as in adders, vipers, rattlesnakes and stiletto snakes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of different fang types" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415371/original/file-20210810-13-36yzmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Types of snake fangs and their position in the mouth. Left, a rear-fanged crab-eating water snake; middle, a taipan with fixed front-fangs; right, a Gaboon viper, a snake with hinged front-fangs that can be folded backwards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Palci</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The repeating history of fangs</h2>
<p>By looking at snakes’ evolutionary tree, we can assume the most recent common ancestor of all fanged snakes was probably fangless. This seems much more likely than the alternative: that fangs were acquired once and then lost independently in dozens of different snake lineages. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-snake-fangs-evolved-to-perfectly-fit-their-food-159932">How snake fangs evolved to perfectly fit their food</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So how did snakes repeatedly evolve syringe-like teeth from the simpler cone-shaped teeth of their ancestors?</p>
<p>To address this question, we took a closer look at snake teeth and how they develop. We examined 19 species of snakes, including both venomous and non-venomous species and one early fossil form. We used both traditional methods, such as studying slides under a microscope, and cutting-edge <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_microtomography">microCT scans</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_element_method">biomechanical modelling</a>. </p>
<h2>The secret to snake teeth: dental origami</h2>
<p>We found that nearly all snakes — whether venomous or not — have teeth that are tightly infolded at their base, and look wrinkly in cross-section (the wrinkles in the red part of the diagram below).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of taipan skull showing fangs and venom groove" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415372/original/file-20210810-21-1jo6ebz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The skull of a taipan, a venomous snake, showing a close-up of its left fang sectioned longitudinally and transversely to show the relationship between plicidentine infoldings at its base and the venom groove.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Palci</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These folds or wrinkles occur in a tooth layer called dentine, and are known as “plicidentine”, from the Latin word “plica”, meaning “fold”. Plicidentine has been found in many extinct animals and a handful of living fish and lizard species. The function of these folds is not clear, but one theory is they make teeth less likely to break or bend during biting. </p>
<p>However, when we tested this idea using computer simulations on digital tooth models with and without these folds we found that this is not the case. </p>
<p>Snakes replace their teeth throughout their life, rather like sharks, and their teeth do not have deep sockets. So we think the folds could improve the initial attachment of new teeth to shallow sockets by providing a larger area for attachment.</p>
<p>Regardless of the original function of folded snake teeth, what is really interesting is that in venomous snakes, one of those folds is much larger than the others and extends up the tooth to produce a groove: the venom groove. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-some-snakes-so-venomous-22821">Why are some snakes so venomous?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These long, single grooves have occasionally been found in the teeth of other species, such as the venomous <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/Gila-monster">Gila monster</a>, which has plicidentine folds and associated grooves in all of its teeth. Importantly, the grooved teeth of the Gila monster can occur in the mouth away from the venom glands, implying a disconnection between the two. We also found that some venomous snakes occasionally have grooves on teeth other than the venom fangs; such teeth are not connected to the venom glands. </p>
<p>So, grooved teeth can occur all over the mouth, even away from the venom glands and their ducts, and we found a clear connection between the presence of plicidentine and venom grooves. This led us to hypothesise that the original condition for venomous snakes could have been that of randomly expressing grooves on their teeth simply as a result of enlarged plicidentine folds, independently of venom glands.</p>
<p>Next, we looked at how the grooved fangs and venom glands of venomous snakes could have evolved together to become an efficient structure for delivering venom. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Venom fang of Gaboon viper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415387/original/file-20210810-21-1crfwvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Venom fang of a Gaboon viper, with the venom groove running along the top.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Palci</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Among the ancestors of today’s venomous species, the presence of venom glands (or their precursors, the modified salivary glands called Duvernoy’s glands) was an important prerequisite for the refinement of grooved teeth into enlarged venom fangs. </p>
<p>We think that when a grooved tooth appeared near the discharge orifice of the venom gland, natural selection likely favoured its increase in size and efficiency, as that tooth was more effective at injecting venom. </p>
<p>This refining evolutionary process would eventually produce the large, syringe-like fangs we see today in snakes such as cobras and vipers, where the edges of the groove meet to form a needle-like tubular structure.</p>
<p>This discovery shows how a simple ancestral feature, such as plicidentine (wrinkles on the tooth base likely related to tooth attachment), can be modified and re-purposed for a completely new function (a groove for venom injection). And this could help explain why snakes, uniquely among all animals, have evolved venomous fangs so many times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandro Palci is affiliated with Flinders University and the South Australian Museum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron LeBlanc currently receives funding from the European Commission for a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship and previously received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for a Postdoctoral Fellowship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Olga Panagiotopoulou is affiliated with Monash University, Australia and previously received funding from EU Marie Curie and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). </span></em></p>How have snakes evolved venom fangs so many times in their evolutionary history? Research suggests it’s due to a structure called ‘plicidentine’ in their teeth that can evolve into venom grooves.Alessandro Palci, Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, Flinders UniversityAaron LeBlanc, Postdoctoral Fellow in Vertebrate Palaeontology, King's College LondonOlga Panagiotopoulou, Senior lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1423632021-06-16T12:35:58Z2021-06-16T12:35:58ZSmelling in stereo – the real reason snakes have flicking, forked tongues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403812/original/file-20210601-15-15hx7un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5121%2C3427&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Long misunderstood, snake tongues have fascinated naturalists for centuries.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/red-tailed-green-rat-snake-gonyosoma-oxycephalum-royalty-free-image/499911945">reptiles4all/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As dinosaurs lumbered through the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Jurassic-Period">humid cycad forests of ancient South America</a> 180 million years ago, primeval lizards scurried, unnoticed, beneath their feet. Perhaps to avoid being trampled by their giant kin, some of these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500743">early lizards sought refuge underground</a>. </p>
<p>Here they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/15.2.455">evolved long, slender bodies and reduced limbs</a> to negotiate the narrow nooks and crevices beneath the surface. Without light, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1439015">their vision faded</a>, but to take its place, an especially acute sense of smell evolved.</p>
<p>It was during this period that these proto-snakes evolved one of their most iconic traits – a <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-snakes-flick-their-tongues-29935">long, flicking, forked tongue</a>. These reptiles eventually returned to the surface, but it wasn’t until the extinction of dinosaurs many millions of years later that they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-015-0358-5">diversified into myriad types of modern snakes</a>.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=G-2IS0oAAAAJ">evolutionary biologist</a>, I am fascinated by these bizarre tongues – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.263.5153.1573">the role they have played in snakes’ success</a>.</p>
<h2>A puzzle for the ages</h2>
<p>Snake tongues are so peculiar they have fascinated naturalists for centuries. Aristotle believed the forked tips provided snakes a <a href="https://archive.org/details/worksofaristotle512aris">“twofold pleasure” from taste</a> – a view mirrored centuries later by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède, who suggested the twin tips could adhere more closely to “<a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54321#page/9/mode/1up">the tasty body</a>” of the soon-to-be snack.</p>
<p>A 17th-century astronomer and naturalist, Giovanni Battista Hodierna, thought snakes used their tongues for “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1683.0010">picking the dirt out of their noses … since they are always grovelling on the ground</a>.” Others contended the tongue captured flies “<a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/lhbcb.27239">with wonderful nimbleness … betwixt the forks</a>,” or <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/24612#page/7/mode/1up">gathered air for sustenance</a>.</p>
<p>One of the most persistent beliefs has been that the <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31811#page/5/mode/1u">darting tongue is a venomous stinger</a>, a misconception perpetuated by Shakespeare with his many references to “stinging” serpents and adders, “<a href="https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/richard-ii/act-3-scene-2/?search=adder/#line-3.2.4">Whose double tongue may with mortal touch throw death upon thy … enemies</a>.”</p>
<p>According to the French naturalist and early evolutionist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, snakes’ limited vision obliged them to use their forked tongues “<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/274830">to feel several objects at once</a>.” Lamarck’s belief that the <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31811#page/5/mode/1up">tongue functioned as an organ of touch</a> was the prevailing scientific view by the end of the 19th century.</p>
<h2>Smelling with tongues</h2>
<p>Clues to the true significance of snake tongues began to emerge in the early 1900s when scientists turned their attention to two bulblike organs located just above the snake’s palate, below its nose. Known as Jacobson’s, or vomeronasal, organs, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(00)88953-3">each opens to the mouth through a tiny hole in the palate</a>. Vomeronasal organs are found in a variety of land animals, including mammals, but not in most primates, so humans don’t experience whatever sensation they provide.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing the location of the vomeronasal organ on a snake." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406283/original/file-20210614-126997-r2t1cy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tongue tips deliver odor molecules to the vomeronasal organ.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kurt Schwenk</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists found that vomeronasal organs are, in fact, an offshoot of the nose, lined with similar sensory cells that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/000348943404300311">send impulses to the same part of the brain as the nose</a>, and discovered that tiny particles picked up by the tongue tips ended up inside the vomeronasal organ. These breakthroughs led to the realization that snakes use their tongues to collect and transport molecules to their vomeronasal organs – not to taste them, but to smell them.</p>
<p>In 1994, I used film and photo evidence to show that when snakes sample chemicals on the ground, they separate their tongues tips far apart just as they touch the ground. This action allows them to sample odor molecules from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.263.5153.1573">two widely separated points simultaneously</a>. </p>
<figure>
<img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1596/ezgif.com-gif-maker.gif?1622555314">
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sampling two points at once. <i>Credit: Kurt Schwenk</i></span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Each tip delivers to its own vomeronasal organ separately, allowing the snake’s brain to assess instantly which side has the stronger smell. Snakes have two tongue tips for the same reason you have two ears – it provides them with directional or “stereo” smell with every flick – a skill that turns out to be extremely useful when following scent trails left by potential prey or mates.</p>
<p>Fork-tongued lizards, the legged cousins of snakes, do something very similar. But snakes take it one step farther.</p>
<h2>Swirls of odor</h2>
<p>Unlike lizards, when snakes collect odor molecules in the air to smell, they oscillate their forked tongues up and down in a blur of rapid motion. To visualize how this affects air movement, graduate student <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=8jJWMBgAAAAJ">Bill Ryerson</a> and I used a laser focused into a thin sheet of light to illuminate tiny particles suspended in the air.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A snake flicking its toungue through a veil of smoke creating two swirls." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404121/original/file-20210602-21-1tj11os.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tongue-flicking creates small eddies in the air, condensing the molecules floating within it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kurt Schwenk</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We discovered that the flickering snake tongue generates two pairs of small, swirling masses of air, or vortices, that act like tiny fans, pulling odors in from each side and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.725">jetting them directly into the path of each tongue tip</a>. </p>
<p>Since odor molecules in the air are few and far between, we believe snakes’ unique form of tongue-flicking serves to concentrate the molecules and accelerate their collection onto the tongue tips. Preliminary data also suggests that the airflow on each side remains separate enough for snakes to benefit from the same “stereo” smell they get from odors on the ground.</p>
<p>Owing to history, genetics and other factors, natural selection often falls short in creating optimally designed animal parts. But when it comes to the snake tongue, evolution seems to have hit one out of the park. I doubt any engineer could do better.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kurt Schwenk receives funding from The National Science Foundation and The University of Connecticut</span></em></p>Two tongue tips are better than one – an evolutionary biologist explains why snakes have forked tongues.Kurt Schwenk, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1609972021-06-16T05:39:43Z2021-06-16T05:39:43ZCurious Kids: when a snake sheds its skin, why isn’t it colourful?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403301/original/file-20210528-13-sesoel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C8%2C5406%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bush viper slithering out of its skin. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>When a snake sheds its skin, why isn’t it colourful? Yahya, aged eight</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291898/original/file-20190911-190031-enlxbk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>Thanks for the question Yahya! </p>
<p>Snakes come in all sorts of colours and patterns, especially in Australia. Our prettiest snakes include the Jan’s banded snake, the black-striped snake and the broad-headed snake (but this one is endangered, which means there aren’t very many broad-headed snakes left in the world). </p>
<p>You can see each of these snakes in the photos I’ve taken below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Orange snake with a black stripe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403305/original/file-20210528-15-kh2s8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The black-striped snake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and yellow snake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403306/original/file-20210528-13-q5dufr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The endangered broad-headed snake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Orange and black striped snake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403307/original/file-20210528-15-bhxik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jan’s banded snake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Snakes are well known for being able to shed their entire skin in one piece. But why isn’t the shed skin of a snake colourful, like the snake itself? </p>
<p>To answer your question, we should explore how snake skin and colour works. </p>
<p>All animals grow new skin over their lifetime. This replaces old skin, heals wounds and lets the animal grow bigger. Most animals, including humans, shed tiny pieces of dead skin all the time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-snakes-make-an-sssssss-sound-with-their-tongue-poking-out-81086">Curious Kids: How do snakes make an 'sssssss' sound with their tongue poking out?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But snakes have to do it all at once, and this is because snake skin is quite different to a lot of other animals. </p>
<p>Snake skin is actually made up two main layers: the soft, colourful tissue (what scientists call the “dermis”), and hard, mostly see-through scales. </p>
<p>The dermis is filled with nerves, which is what we use to feel things touching us, as well as tiny grains called pigments, which is what gives skin its colour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403308/original/file-20210528-15-12hqk84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scales sit on top of the snake’s soft dermis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scales sit on top of the snake’s soft dermis. These are much harder than the skin because scales are made of “keratin” — the same thing our fingernails and hair are made of. </p>
<p>In mammals, like us, the keratin grows from a single point and keeps on growing — think how your fingernails grow from the end of your finger. But in snakes, keratin grows all over, and is stuck on top of the soft dermis, protecting it like a thin shield.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-happens-if-a-venomous-snake-bites-another-snake-of-the-same-species-81564">Curious Kids: What happens if a venomous snake bites another snake of the same species?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While the keratin in snake (and lizard) scales is mostly see through, it also holds lots of tiny dark brownish black grains called “melanin”, which protects snakes from harmful sun rays. This means scales themselves are mainly either colourless or dark brownish black, depending on the snake.</p>
<p>But sometimes, like for Australian water pythons, the outer layer of scales can shine rainbow colours when the light hits it at the right angle.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403310/original/file-20210528-13-1bde24h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The outer layer of some snake scales, like for Australian water pythons, can shine rainbow colours when the light hits it at the right angle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So let’s say it’s time for a snake to shed its skin</h2>
<p>First, it’ll grow a new layer of keratin scales underneath the old layer. When the new layer has finished growing, the snake rubs its body along rocks, plants and other rough things to peel the old layer of keratin off — often in a single, snaky piece.</p>
<p>Because all the brightly coloured pigments live in the soft dermis, and not the scales, the colour mainly stays on the snake, not the part it sheds. </p>
<p>But every so often, the shed skin can show dark brownish black stripes or blotches, because of melanin in the scales. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403312/original/file-20210528-18-1bka6pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A little bit of melanin sometimes make the shed skin looks black, so it isn’t always see through.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Have you ever touched a snake’s shed skin?</p>
<p>Since it’s made up of both the hard keratin scales and a bit of the softer dermis, it feels both rough and soft. And because it’s so stretchy, it can be much longer than snake itself!</p>
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<p><em>Damian Lettoof will be taking questions from kids at the Perth launch of our new Curious Kids picture book <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/why-do-tigers-have-whiskers--sunanda-creagh/book/9781760760915.html?irclickid=S-e0ZFQ3exyLWWn0GtxSTziGUkBw9pVl4RB3Uo0&irgwc=1&utm_campaign=The%20Conversation&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=Impact">Why Do Tigers Have Whiskers</a>, published by Thames and Hudson.</em> </p>
<p><em>Venue: <a href="https://www.paperbird.com.au/">Paperbird Books</a></em></p>
<p><em>Date: July 10, at 10:30am</em></p>
<p><em>Price: Free, but space is limited and bookings are essential.</em></p>
<p><em>If you’re a Curious Kid with a question you’d like an expert to answer, ask an adult to send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Lettoof is affiliated with the Australian Society of Herpetologists, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the Ecological Society of Australia and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.</span></em></p>When the snake is ready to shed its skin, it rubs its body along rocks, plants and other rough things to peel the old layer of scales — often in a single, snaky piece.Damian Lettoof, PhD Candidate, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1615722021-06-01T20:10:39Z2021-06-01T20:10:39ZHundreds of Australian lizard species are barely known to science. Many may face extinction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403481/original/file-20210530-17-i4ac6g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6020%2C4019&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">E Vanderduys</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of the incredible diversity of life on Earth is yet to be discovered and documented. In some groups of organisms – terrestrial arthropods such as spiders and scorpions, marine invertebrates such as sponges and molluscs, and others – scientists have described fewer than 20% of species.</p>
<p>Even our knowledge of more familiar creatures such as fish and reptiles is far from complete. In our <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001210">new research</a>, we studied 1,034 known species of Australian lizards and snakes and found we know so little about 164 of them that not even the experts know whether they are fully described or not. Of the remaining 870, almost a third probably need some work to be described properly.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Map of Australia shaded in colours from blue to red." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403295/original/file-20210528-17-gl4crn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Return on investment for taxonomic research on lizards and snakes in Australia. Red areas have high numbers of species and high conservation value. Hotspots include the Kimberley in WA, northern tropical savannas and also far north eastern QLD.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R. Tingley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Documenting and naming what species are out there – the work of taxonomists – is crucial for conservation, but it can be difficult for researchers to decide where to focus their efforts. Alongside our lizard research, we have developed a new “return on investment” approach to identify priority species for our efforts. </p>
<p>We identified several hotspots across Australia where research is likely to be rewarded. More broadly, our approach can help target taxonomic research for conservation worldwide. </p>
<h2>Why we need to look at species more closely</h2>
<p>As more and more species are threatened by land clearing, climate change and other human activities, our research highlights that we are losing even more biodiversity than we know.</p>
<p>Conservation often relies on species-level assessments such as those conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org">Red List</a>, which lists threatened species. Although new species are being discovered all the time, a key problem is that already named “species” may harbour multiple undocumented and unnamed species. This hidden diversity remains invisible to conservation assessment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403299/original/file-20210528-19-1j58gc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Roma Earless Dragon (<em>Tympanocryptis wilsoni</em>), described in 2014, lives only in grasslands in the western Darling Downs QLD and has recently been listed as Vulnerable in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A. O'Grady</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One such example are the Grassland Earless Dragons (<em>Tympanocryptis</em> spp.) found in the temperate native grasslands of south-eastern Australia. These small secretive lizards were grouped within a single species (<em>Tympanocryptis pinguicolla</em>) and listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. </p>
<p>But recent taxonomic research split this single species into four, each occurring in an isolated region of grasslands. One of these new species may represent the first extinction of a reptile on mainland Australia and the other three have a high probability of being threatened. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-were-not-giving-up-the-search-for-mainland-australias-first-extinct-lizard-117831">Why we're not giving up the search for mainland Australia's 'first extinct lizard'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Scientists call documenting and describing species “taxonomy”. Our research shows the importance of prioritising taxonomy in the effort to conserve and protect species. </p>
<h2>Taxonomists at work</h2>
<p>Many government agencies do take some account of groups smaller than species in their conservation efforts, such as distinct populations. But these are often ambiguously defined and lack formal recognition, so they are not widely used. That’s where taxonomists come in, to identify species and describe them fully.</p>
<p>Our new research was a collaboration of 30 taxonomists and systematists, who teamed up to find a good way of working out which species should be a priority for taxonomic research for conservation outcomes. This new approach compares the amount of work needed with the likelihood of finding previously unknown species that are at risk of extinction.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403297/original/file-20210528-14-109lmby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Barrier Range Dragon (<em>Ctenophorus mirrityana</em>), described in 2013, is restricted to rocky ranges in western NSW and is listed as Endangered in NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Wilson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The research team, who are experts on the taxonomy and systematics of Australia’s reptiles, implemented this new approach on Australian lizards and snakes. This group of reptiles is ideal as a test case because Australia is a global hotspot of lizard diversity – and we also have a strong community of taxonomic experts.</p>
<h2>Australia’s lizards and snakes</h2>
<p>Of the 1,034 Australian lizard and snake species, we were able to assess whether 870 of them may contain undescribed species. This means we know so little about the remaining 164 species that even the experts could not make an informed opinion on whether they contain hidden diversity. There is so much still to learn!</p>
<p>Of the 870 species experts could assess, they determined 282 probably or definitely needed more taxonomic research. Mapping the distributions of these species indicated hotspot regions for this taxonomic research, including the Kimberley, the Tanami Desert region, western Victoria and offshore islands (such as Tasmania, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands). Some areas in the Kimberley region had more than 60 species that need further taxonomic research.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403293/original/file-20210528-23-1dfev38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this map, red hotspot areas have lower species diversity but still a very high average return on investment. National hotspots include Tasmania, western Victoria and the Tanami Desert region in WA and NT.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R. Tingley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found 17.6% of the 282 species that need more taxonomic research contained undescribed species that would probably be of conservation concern, and 24 had a high probability of being threatened with extinction. Taxonomists know that there are undescribed species because there is some data available already but the description of these species – the process of defining and naming – has not been done. </p>
<p>These high-priority species belong to a range of families including geckos, skinks and dragons found across Australia.</p>
<p>The high number of undescribed species, especially those with significant likelihood of being endangered, was a shock to even the experts. The IUCN currently estimates only 6.3% of Australian lizards and snakes require taxonomic revision, but this is obviously a significant underestimate.</p>
<h2>A race against extinction</h2>
<p>Beyond lizards, there is a huge backlog of species awaiting description. </p>
<p>Recent projects have used genetic analyses to discover unknown species, including a $180 million global BIOSCAN effort aiming to <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/06/180-million-dna-barcode-project-aims-discover-2-million-new-species">identify millions of new species</a>. However, genetics is only a first step in the formal recognition of species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/about-500-000-australian-species-are-undiscovered-and-scientists-are-on-a-25-year-mission-to-finish-the-job-161793">About 500,000 Australian species are undiscovered – and scientists are on a 25-year mission to finish the job</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The taxonomic process of documenting, describing and naming species requires multiple further steps. These steps include a comprehensive diagnostic assessment using a combination of evidence, such as genetics and morphology, to uniquely distinguish each species from another. This process requires a high level of familiarity and scholarship of the group in question.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403300/original/file-20210528-14-1hs18dy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Mt Elliot Sunskink (<em>Lampropholis elliotensis</em>), described in 2018, is found in leaf litter of highland rainforest above 600m on Mt Elliot in Bowling Green Bay National Park. Queensland, and is probably Vulnerable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">C. Hoskin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Among the Australian lizards and snakes alone, there is a backlog of 59 undescribed species for which only the final elements of taxonomic research are awaiting completion.</p>
<p>To work through these taxonomic backlogs – let alone species that are so far entirely unknown – resources need to be invested in taxonomy, including research funding and increased provision of viable career paths. </p>
<p>Without taxonomic research, the conservation assessment of these undocumented species will not proceed. There are untold numbers of species needing taxonomic research that are already under threat of extinction. If we don’t hurry, they may go extinct before we even know they exist.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161572/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Melville undertook this work supported by an Australian Fulbright Commission scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Reid Tingley receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>There are too many little-understood species for scientists to study them all. A new approach helps decide which ones to tackle first.Jane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria Research InstituteReid Tingley, Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.