Herpetological Highlights

The big 250! We celebrate with a listener-favourite quiz, with a twist (thanks to Tom's wife Maya for being such a good sport).

Then we delve into a paper about snakes swimming across the ocean to make lizards extinct, before discussing four brand new forest-dwelling chameleon species coming out of Mozambique.

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Main Paper References:

Casbas G, Vez‐Garzón M, Sanglas A, Colomar V, Cardona E, Montes E, Pleguezuelos J, Lapiedra O. 2026. Swimming snakes wipe out endemic lizards from Mediterranean islets. Ecology 107:e70373. DOI: 10.1002/ecy.70373.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Tolley K, Conradie W. 2026. Sky Islands of Mozambique harbour cryptic species of chameleons: Description of four new species of sylvan chameleons (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae: Nadzikambia Tilbury, Tolley & Branch, 2006). Vertebrate Zoology 76:207–246. DOI: 10.3897/vz.76.e178403.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Silva-Rocha I, Salvi D, Sillero N, Mateo JA, Carretero MA. 2015. Snakes on the Balearic Islands: An Invasion Tale with Implications for Native Biodiversity Conservation. PLOS ONE 10:e0121026. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121026.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Lizards can get stressed just like everyone else, and this week we are talking two extremes: weird legless ones living under the ground, and chameleons up in the trees. Chameleons are responding to heat and cold, while the underground amphisbaenians are feeling social stress thanks to some magic gel.

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Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Martín J, Cuervo JJ, Recio P, Rodríguez-Ruiz G, Barja I, López P. 2026. Going stressed underground: corticosterone-induced stress responses alter the movement and spatial ecology of males in a fossorial reptile. Movement Ecology 14:48. DOI: 10.1186/s40462-026-00655-9.

Tolley KA, Barends JM, Stanton-Jones WK, Alexander GJ. 2026. Natural history observations of the Knysna Dwarf Chameleon, Bradypodion damaranum (Boulenger, 1887): thermal extremes and feeding on flora. Herpetology Notes 19:219–228.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Anoles aren't known for being tolerant, but when it comes to lead they seem to be able to tolerate monumental amounts that would spell disaster for a puny human. We delve into how they survive being so lead-laden, as well as where that lead has come from, and what this might mean for lizard-kind. Then we hit upon a newly described species of snake which is even more slender than most.

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Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Blanchette A, Su K-J, Frick AJ, Karubian J, Gunderson AR. 2025. Unprecedented lead tolerance in an urban lizard. Environmental Research 285:122531. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122531.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Chen H-L, Zhang L, Liu G-X, Liu Z-F, Kwok C-T, Vogel G, Wang J-Y, Wu Z-J, Chen Z-N. 2026. A new genus and species of Dipsadidae (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) from Guangdong and Hunan Provinces in Southern China. Zootaxa 5849:213–226. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5849.2.5.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Chen M, Gazze L, DiTraglia FJ, Das R, Nriagu J, Erel Y, Boyle EA, Taylor CM, Weiss D. 2025. Environmental lead risk in the 21st century. Communications Earth & Environment 6:776. DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02735-x.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Big brains are very useful, but they cost ENERGY and RESOURCES, at least for mammals and birds. Now a new study has shed light on what determines whether reptiles and amphibian species have evolved to be clever, or nice but dim. We also discuss cannibalism by snakes, which is actually pretty common albeit difficult to document due to their secretive lifestyles.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Song Z, Griesser M, Schuppli C, Van Schaik CP. 2023. Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles? BMC Ecology and Evolution 23:77. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02188-w.

Falcão BB, São Pedro VA, Entiauspe‐Neto OM. 2026. Occurrence and evolution of cannibal behaviour in extant snakes. Biological Reviews 101:644–664. DOI: 10.1111/brv.70097.

Other Links/Mentions:

Rana catesbeiana call by Carlos Davidson and Cynthia Kaufman, from AmphibiaWeb. 2026. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 30 Apr 2026. https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?special=call&genus=Rana&species=catesbeiana 

Turtle Alliance conference (no tickets yet but will appear here): https://www.turtlesurvival.eu/category/events/ 

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

This week we delve into the evolutionary history of a fascinating little salamander from North America: the cascade torrent salamander. Volcanoes and flooding have shaped this species' history over the last 15 million years, but they remain steadfast. Then we chat about some newly described frogs from Ecuador.

Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights

Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Cousins CD, Olson DH, Millward LS, Adams MJ, Pearl CA, Rowe JC, Garcia TS. 2026. Genomics Reveals Extensive Population Structure and Undescribed Phylogenetic Relationships in the Cascade Torrent Salamander ( Rhyacotriton cascadae ). Journal of Biogeography 53:e70167. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.70167.

Falcão BB, São Pedro VA, Entiauspe‐Neto OM. 2026. Occurrence and evolution of cannibal behaviour in extant snakes. Biological Reviews 101:644–664. DOI: 10.1111/brv.70097.

Song Z, Griesser M, Schuppli C, Van Schaik CP. 2023. Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles? BMC Ecology and Evolution 23:77. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02188-w.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Székely P, Hualpa-Vega S, Hualpa-Vega D, Székely D. 2026. Three new Pristimantis species in the subgenus Huicundomantis (Amphibia: Anura: Strabomantidae) from Reserva Biológica Cerro Plateado, southern Ecuador. PeerJ 14:e20930. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.20930.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com