Scientists create transparent frog

This transparent frog was created by a research team led by professor Masayuki Sumida at Hiroshima University’s Institute for Amphibian Biology.  They weren’t just trying to make a froggy freak – the idea behind it is that the transparency will allow the status of internal organs and blood vessels to be observed by lab scientists while the frog is alive and without having to dissect it.

It was developed through selective breeding -  two specimens of Japanese brown frog (Rana japonica) that had a genetic mutation giving them pale skin were bred, then their offspring were selectively bred to focus on the transprarency.   The frog is something of a rarity – most of the world’s known transparent creatures live underwater, and few are four-legged animals.

Professor Sumida says, “Transparent frogs will prove useful as laboratory animals because they make it easier and cheaper to observe the development and progress of cancer, the growth and aging of internal organs, and the effects of chemicals on organs.”

From ForteanTimes

Pythons skinned and left to die. The shocking reality behind fashion’s new obsession

Pythons skinned alive and left to die in agony. Alligators killed with hammers and chisels. This is the truly shocking reality behind fashion’s shameful new obsession:

At a slaughterhouse, deep in the Javanese jungle, blood-stained hands untie a wriggling sack and pull out a ten-foot long python.

The snake is stunned with a blow to the head from the back of a machete and a hose pipe expertly forced between its jaws. Next, the water is turned on and the reptile fills up — swelling like a balloon.

It will be left like that for ten minutes or so, a leather cord tied around its neck to prevent the liquid escaping.

Then its head is impaled on a meat hook, a couple of quick incisions follow, and the now-loosened skin peeled off with a series of brutal tugs – much like a rubber glove from a hand.

From there the skin will be sent to a tannery before being turned into luxury shoes or handbags. Finally, they will be snapped up by an army of pampered Western fashionistas desperate for the latest look and happy to pay thousands of pounds to get it.

Animal instincts: Naomi Cambell models a snake-skin dress at a Dolce & Gabbana show.

Meanwhile, back in Indonesia, the python’s peeled body is simply tossed on a pile of similarly stripped snakes. After a day or two of unimaginable agony it will die from the effects of shock or dehydration.

Barbaric, cruel, stomach turning – those are just a few of the words used by those who have witnessed snakes being skinned alive. But in Europe, the mention of reptile skin – be it snake, lizard, alligator or crocodile – draws a very different response and a very different vocabulary.

‘Exotic skins are hot right now, there’s a real buzz,’ enthuses designer Roberto Cavalli, who has dressed Kate Moss to Sharon Stone.

‘I love to use reptile skins because it excites me to take material that is seen as “wild” and mix it with a look that shouts glamour and sophistication.’

Sad to say, Cavalli is not alone in the fashion world in his attitude to the latest must-have ‘fabric’. The European Union is the world’s biggest importer of reptile skins.

Between 2000 and 2005, it is estimated that 3.4 million lizard, 2.9 million crocodile and 3.4 million snake skins were brought into the EU.

And this year, like never before, skin is most certainly ‘in’. Indeed, the hottest fashion debate in town is not about the ethics of the trade – but whether to opt for python or anaconda.

Take, for example, Jimmy Choo, makers of shoes and bags. The high-end fashion house’s £1,695 Rio clutch handbag is available in the skins of either of the above.

Or what about treading in Sienna Miller’s fashion footsteps with a pair of python-skin boots by the American designer Devi Kroell? Yours for just a shade under £1,000. Something else? Try Calvin Klein’s alligator jackets, Celine’s white python skirt or a metallic python bag by Zagliani – injected with silicone for an ultra-soft feel.

Jennifer Lopez has been spotted out and about sporting the Zag-bag while Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria’s passion for a giant £1,300 python bag by Prada saw websites inundated with drooling postings from envious fashion-watchers.

‘Wow will you look at that!!!,’ wrote one such contributor. ‘You get a lotta python for your money. It’s beautiful!’ But, as environmentalists are only too quick to point out, it looks a whole lot more beautiful on the snake.

On the banks of the River Arno there’s an Italian town whose motto goes as follows: ‘Always make sure people walk on Santa Croce shoes and dress in Santa Croce skins’.

As the saying implies, Santa Croce has been the home of the Italian tanning industry for centuries. But, while it has traditionally specialised in treating hides from cattle and sheep, nowadays the factories are full of the skins of exotic species such as snakes, crocodiles and ostriches.

Make no mistake, it’s big business – the Centro Rettili, one of the largest tanneries, last year dealt with 3,000 individual crocodile skins and 50,000 snakes – producing 170,000 metres of python skin (roughly 100 miles, the distance from London to Birmingham).

The three-storey factory is run by Roberto Bachi, who set up the company in 1985 and has 20 employees.

Their work consists of turning the sundried skins that arrive at the tannery into a material that is both workable and highly desirable.

‘We work for all the big designer labels – Versace, Gucci, Chanel, La Croix and Fendi and the skins are used for handbags, belts and shoes,’ explains Mr Bachi.

Clutch of rare lizard eggs hatch

Nine critically-endangered lizards, native only to a small Caribbean island, have been born at London Zoo. The Utila iguana eggs hatched at the Regent’s Park site in July as part of a programme to save them from extinction.

Native to the island of Utila, the creatures measure up to 15cm (6in) and are the only type of spiny-tailed iguana to live in mangrove swamps.

The babies will be exported to zoos in Spain, Poland and California next month to continue the breeding programme.

Known as Swampers, because of their habitat, they survive on a diet of small insects and leafy greens.

Zoological Society of London’s Richard Gibson, said: “The future of the Utila iguana is currently hanging in the balance as their habitat, especially nesting beaches, is under threat from tourist and residential developments.

“It was less then 10 years ago that the species arrived in European zoos and the breeding project has proven so successful, it should ensure their long-term survival if something terrible were to happen in the wild.”

From BBC News

Nigeria: Gombe to Establish Anti-Snake Venom Drug COY

Abdulraheem Aodu
Kaduna

In a bid to reduce deaths from snakebites an anti-venom drug factory is to be built in Gombe state, the commissioner for health has said.

Alhaji Dahiru Uthman Buba who disclosed this to reporters in Kaduna at the weekend said the drug manufacturing company would be built in Kaltungo. The town is famous for its specialist snakebite clinic.

He said: “Snakebite has been a critical issue in some local government area in Gombe State especially in Kaltungo Local Government Area for some time now, but government is doing everything possible to eradicate the problem of death through snakebite poison.

We have been buying anti-snake venom drugs to combat the problem. But the state government has concluded plan to establish a station to manufacture anti-snake venom drug that would be effective against snakebite in Kaltungo.”

Buba said following the election of Governor Adamu Abdullahi Goje in 2003, the state government has taken several efforts to improve healthcare delivery to the people through the improvement of healthcare facilities in the state adding that they would continue to work hard until there is clear improvement in the state of health of the people of the state.

“The entire system and healthcare facilities in Gombe State in 2003 was in dilapidated state but now they are fully renovated in line with Governor Adamu Abdullahi Goje’s drive towards affordable and effective healthcare services and good healthcare facilities in the state. We want to collaborate with local government councils to further improve the healthcare centres in their domain,” the health commissioner added.

From allAfrica

Lizards of Southwest Florida

Escape artists

Lizards thrive in southern Florida’s subtropical environment. Their presence includes about 10 native species, but these are now outnumbered in Southwest Florida by at least 16 kinds of lizards from around the world.

Most lizards are relatively small and the largest (longest) of our native lizards are the glass lizards — lizards that have no legs, thus superficially appearing snake-like. The name glass lizard comes from their ability to leave their tail behind if grabbed by a predator — often leaving the predator with the tail while they escape.

This ability is characteristic of all lizards and one of the characteristics that separates lizards from snakes. Lizards also have external ear openings and most have eyelids that allow the animal to blink; snakes have neither. A lizard also generally has a long tail, while the tail of a snake is short — a difference that at first seems incomprehensible. It all has to do with how you define “tail.” The tail begins at the opening where waste and eggs or young pass out — and in lizards this is often midway on the underside of the animal, whereas in snakes it is very close to the end of the animal.

We have no venomous lizards in Florida and none that would attack a human. We do have some that can and will bite strongly to defend themselves if captured. The exotic Nile monitor, which can reach over 7 feet in length, is a lizard that poses a serious threat of bodily harm to those who would grab one.

Some of the exotic lizards, however, pose serious threats to native lizards, other native animals and native and non-native plants. A few cause other problems — such as iguanas that dig burrows in yards and sometimes short-circuit electrical systems. All (and most other creatures) have the potential of carrying salmonella, a bacterium that can make humans and pets sick, and some may be reservoirs for human illnesses such as West Nile virus transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks.

Jerome Jackson is host of “With the Wild Things” on WGCU/WMKO, 90.1/91.7 FM

Green anole

A common native anole (pronounced: an o lee) throughout much of southeastern North America. These long-nosed, long-tailed, slender, often lime-green lizards change color with temperature and their mood, often turning a pale gray brown when it’s cold. They are sometimes called “chameleons” — a name that refers properly to a group of African lizards. Anoles are well known for their “dewlaps” or “throat fans” — colored patches of skin on the throat that they extend to defend a territory or attract a mate. The female lays tiny, white, jelly-bean-shaped eggs — but not all at once. She lays one egg about every seven to nine days (a total of about 15 to 18 eggs per summer). Each is buried in loose soil or mulch, or in material collected in depressions on tree surfaces. The female never returns to it, and six to eight weeks later the egg hatches and the tiny green lizard fends for itself, catching larger and larger insects as it grows.

Brown anole

The most common anole found in Florida today is an exotic invasive species from Cuba and the Bahamas that may have arrived as a stowaway with humans or goods traveling from those areas. It first appeared in the Florida Keys in the late 1800s and has expanded northward throughout the state and into Georgia, and across coastal areas of the Gulf states. Feeds on insects, spiders and much smaller lizards. Male and females are often easy to distinguish: males are usually darker and have a prominent crest from the back of the head down the spine; females lack this crest and are generally smaller. Lacks the ability to dramatically change color, although it can vary from a light brown to a very dark brown.

Western knight anole

The largest species of anole, sometimes reaching 18 inches in length. Scattered populations are known across southern Florida, including some in Collier and Monroe counties, and the species’ range and numbers are growing. These lizards are tree-dwellers, often basking high in the canopy. They change color with temperature and temperament — from green to a near chocolate brown. They feed on a greater diversity of small animals, including nestling birds and many other lizards. They’re relatively slow moving, but capturing one can be a problem because they have a very strong bite when threatened. Because of their size and green color, they are sometimes misidentified as iguanas.

Eastern glass lizard

Much like fragile glass, this lizard’s tail easily breaks off when predators attack, enabling them to make a clever escape. This is a characteristic of all of our lizards and their tails do grow back — sort of. It is a living-tissue “prosthesis” that serves many of the functions of the original tail. Florida has four species and three live in Southwest Florida. All tend to be straw yellow to bronze in color with some stripe pattern extending down the body. All are legless, leading to some misidentification as snakes. But these lizards have eyelids and can blink; snakes have no eyelids. They also have external ear openings; snakes do not. They can reach 28 inches in length, most of that being tail, and tend to be of a larger diameter than other glass lizards. These feed extensively on crickets, grasshoppers and other insects.

Nile monitor

Can grow to 7 feet and feeds on virtually anything that moves — including such things as burrowing owl chicks and eggs, the eggs and young of gopher tortoises and many other small animals. A native of Africa, this is the most commonly sold monitor lizard in the pet trade. A hatchling can be purchased for as little as $10. Unfortunately, the baby monitor that feeds on crickets quickly graduates to mice and larger food — and develops a nasty disposition. A growing population in Cape Coral and elsewhere in Southwest Florida likely originated from pets released because they became too difficult to handle and feed.

Black spiny-tailed iguana

Since the late 1970s there have been growing populations on Key Biscayne on the east coast and on Gasparilla Island in Southwest Florida. The Key Biscayne population seems to have come from iguanas that escaped from Crandon Park Zoo. The Gasparilla Island population resulted from iguanas from Mexico that were deliberately introduced. The Gasparilla Island population has grown to at least several thousand and its numbers continue to grow — as has the realization that this iguana poses a threat to hibiscus flowers and other landscape plants, and to gopher tortoises and burrowing owls that compete for food and burrows. They’re good swimmers and some have made it from Gasparilla to the adjacent mainland and Cayo Costa. Large populations also occur now on Keewaydin and Little Marco Islands in Collier County.

Green iguana

A native of the American tropics and primarily a vegetarian, this iguana starts out at about 6 inches and can grow to 6 feet. It can breed at two years of age and females can produce as many as 50 eggs at a time, although only a few of their young survive to adulthood. In some recent years more than a million have been brought to the United States in the pet trade. Not surprisingly, some escape. Others are illegally released because an owner is tired of them. Because they are primarily vegetarians, these lizards pose little direct threat to native animals. But some south Florida populations now number in the thousands and this can mean trouble, because they love hibiscus flowers and other ornamentals, and consume many native and exotic fruits.

Southeastern five-lined skink

Found throughout Florida and much of the Southeast. Skink scales are tiny and smooth, giving them a shiny appearance. These have tiny, short legs and are rather secretive, but active by day and often bask in the sun. This skink often burrows into sand or loose soil or beneath debris. This is a ground-dwelling species of pine flatwoods, south Florida hammocks, backyards and piles of debris — rotting logs, tangles of decaying vegetation and other features that provide shelter and an environment rich in insects, spiders and other small invertebrates. Juveniles are conspicuous because of their bright blue tail and shiny black body with five narrow yellow to orange stripes.

Six-lined racerunner

The speedster of the Florida lizard community. These are the slender, long-tailed, yellow-striped lizards that race across dry, open sandy soil throughout the region. Unlike skinks and legless lizards, racerunner scales are not shiny. The six stripes for which they are named include three along each side. The stripes can range in color from pale blue to yellow, but are usually yellow. They feed on small insects, spiders, snails and other invertebrates, and are voracious feeders, doing a great deal of good in controlling pest species. Can grow to 9 inches, and are rather sensitive lizards, quickly racing off to take shelter if a human approaches.

Amerafrican house gecko

Among the exotic lizards now breeding in the wild in Florida are several species of geckos, including this one, which is increasingly common in homes throughout Southwest Florida. Geckos are known for unusual characteristics, including broad, “fringed-toed”-appearing feet that allow them to race across smooth ceilings and walls. Many gecko species have voices and males give audible chirping calls as they defend territories and interact. Many gecko females can produce young without mating — all clones of their mother. These geckos are harmless to humans and beneficial because of the numbers of insects they consume. They have wonderful eyes, which can narrow to a cat-like slit in bright light or open to reveal a most unusual octagonal pupil in dim light.

UK : Egyptian cobra keeps watch over exotic shoes

Shoes are one thing that women just cannot resist! No matter what they can afford, a lady can just not take her eyes or heart away from a striking pair.

Well, London-based Harrods, known for its unique shoe creations, has added one more temptation in its bag of goodies! This retailer has designed exquisite sandal studded with ruby, sapphire and diamond that is priced at US $120,000.

Company unveiled this exceptional piece yesterday. Infact, this footwear had an unusual guard, an Egyptian Cobra, that hissed around during the launch.

The poisonous reptile had been especially hired for the event, which not only kept the itching hands away but also added to the glamour and grandeur of the sandal!

From fibre2fashion

Snake in Hospital Gurney Kills Thai Man

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A cancer patient lying on a gurney waiting to be treated was fatally bitten by a snake, a hospital in western Thailand said Friday.

A pit viper bit the man last week at Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital in Kanchanaburi province, 70 miles west of Bangkok. He died on Tuesday, four days after the snake bit.

Gurneys at the hospital, in a semi-rural area, usually are laid outside the hospital buildings to wait for incoming patients, and the snake apparently slithered onto the gurney when it was outdoors.

Chamni Chittriprasert, a spokesman of the Health Ministry’s Medical Science Department, said that it is rare for a person to die from a pit viper bite, but that the man’s case was fatal because his liver cancer had weakened his body.

His wife called for the hospital to take responsibility for the death.

The deputy director of the private hospital, Jindawan Phromsiriphat, called the death a regrettable accident that staff would have prevented if they could have, and said that the hospital would pay for one night of the victim’s weeklong Buddhist funeral.

She said compensation to his family had not yet been discussed.

A Health Ministry spokesman, Suphan Srithamma, said the ministry would send officials to inspect the hospital.

From AP

Sand lizards to be released in Dorset

UNDER THREAT: Captive-bred sand lizards which are being released on Dorset Wildllife Trust reserve at Coombe Heath near Wool Picture: Herpetological Conservation Trust

SAND lizards from Marwell Zoo are being released at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Coombe Heath reserve near Wool.

The sand lizard is the most threatened of Britain’s six reptile species and has suffered from massive loss of heathland habitat due to urban development and changes in land use.

Listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, it is now benefiting from efforts to join up the remaining fragments of heath in Dorset.

The Herpetological Conservation Trust and Natural England have been working with Marwell Zoo to breed these rare lizards in conditions as close as possible to their natural habitats. The enclosures are outdoors, south-facing and predator-proof, with some natural vegetation. Success rates are good, provided a suitable site can be found for release.

The trust’s Nick Moulton said: “The site habitat at Coombe has been well managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Weld Estate and is now ideal for the sand lizard to be returned to the site.

“This has every chance of success and will ensure that all six of the UK’s native terrestrial reptiles are present again on Coombe.”

The first sand lizards are due to be released at Coombe next week.

From Dorset ECHO

Conservation Partners Embark on a Five-Year Experiment to Revive Declining Populations of the Rare Gopher Frog

Biologist release an experimental population of gopher frogs in Early County, Georgia

EARLY COUNTY, GA — September 4, 2007— A rare frog has been given a fresh start in southwest Georgia, thanks to teamwork between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), The Nature Conservancy, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Jones Ecological Research Center.

Biologists released 68 gopher frog tadpoles and four newly-metamorphosed gopher frogs recently in an artificial pond at The Nature Conservancy’s Williams Bluffs Preserve in Early County. The release marks the start of a multi-year collaborative effort to establish a self-sustaining gopher frog population at the 1,980-acre preserve.

“This project would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of all parties involved,” said John Jensen, a senior wildlife biologist with the Nongame Conservation Section of the DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division. “Only the Jones Center has donor eggs from a nearby source. Wildlife Resources does not have the expertise that Atlanta Botanical Garden does for raising the eggs and tadpoles. And The Nature Conservancy has the best suitable habitat currently without gopher frogs for releasing them.”

Information gathered from the project could help inform other conservation partners throughout the species’ six-state range on how best to protect and save the gopher frog from further decline.

Scientists Work to Revive Gopher Frog Populations
In preparation for the August release, biologist collected eggs from the wild at the Jones Ecological Research Center in Baker County, Georgia. These eggs were then nurtured to legged tadpoles and metamorphs – the stage in which young frogs develop lungs and four legs and no longer need the water – at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG).

“While we seem to get a lot of attention for amphibian work in Latin America, we also care about species here in our backyard, and thanks to the dedication and expertise of ABG amphibian specialist Beth Timpe, we were very happy to participate in this collaboration,” said Ron Gagliardo, amphibian conservation coordinator at the Garden.

Typically, the tadpoles and metamorphosed frogs would have been released in the preserve’s limesink wetlands on the outer edge of the longleaf pine forest. However, drought conditions caused the wetlands to dry out.

“We built a shallow pond next to the natural wetland and planted aquatic vegetation to create a structurally diverse habitat for the tadpoles and frogs to live and hide among,” said Malcolm Hodges, an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy in Georgia. “We have the pond well protected from predators, so this is an ideal environment for them to continue to grow and then, hopefully, they will return to breed in the natural ponds once the water levels return.”

Before they were released, Jensen injected all four metamorphosed frogs and many of the tadpoles with a small amount of fluorescent elastomer under the skin of the thighs. Harmless to the critters, this bright orange substance illuminates under black light, allowing biologists to track the progress of the tagged individuals as they continue to grow and breed.  

Subsequent stockings will have a different color, allowing scientists to identify the year class of stocked frogs. The goal is to release about 500 tadpoles annually for at least five years. Biologists will continue to monitor the site with the hope that surviving gopher frogs will return to the natural pond to breed.

About the Gopher Frog
Only two to four inches long with heavy dark spots covering their body, gopher frogs have been documented at fewer than 10 sites in Georgia. Easily heard by its loud, guttural call, sounding similar to a snore, this unique frog with a large head and an appetite for other frogs is found almost exclusively in the Coastal Plain’s longleaf pine ecosystem.

Gopher frogs spend most of their time in stump holes and burrows – often those made by the gopher tortoise, another imperiled species. Breeding adults and tadpoles, however, thrive in shallow, fishless ephemeral and isolated wetlands embedded within the longleaf pine woodlands.

Unfortunately, the species is declining drastically as a result of significant threats: habitat destruction, the decline of gopher tortoises, fish stocked in breeding areas, and a lack of natural and prescribed fires in longleaf pine forests.   

Photo credit: © Christine Griffiths/TNC (from top: Gopher frog; Malcolm Hodges with gopher frog tadpoles

From The Nature Conservancy