Latest news with #Herpetozoa
Newsweek
02-07-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Video Shows Snake Trying To Eat Prey 10 Times Her Size
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A snake in Denmark has been spotted attempting to consume an oversized hare that's 10 times larger than itself. The chance observation of an adult female common European adder killing and intending to swallow a much larger prey—a European young hare—was captured in a series of videos by Klaus Birch, the co-author of a study on the encounter published in the journal Herpetozoa. The moment unfolded on the island of Læsø in the Kattegat region of northern Denmark—near a dirt road in open grassland around 32 feet from a sandy beach—back in August 2022. The snake appeared to be in a low nutritional status, likely after having given birth recently, the study said. "The adder under these circumstances might have benefited from a large prey to gain maximum energy after likely having given birth," the researchers said. Stills from videos showing a female Vipera berus snake biting and pulling the hare's front leg (pictured left) and examining and biting the head (pictured right). Stills from videos showing a female Vipera berus snake biting and pulling the hare's front leg (pictured left) and examining and biting the head (pictured right). Klaus Birch Birch arrived at the scene and found the adder examining the young hare and biting its left hind leg. "The hare was lying on the ground moving its four legs jerkily and head with difficulty and was unable to stand up," the researchers wrote in the study. The adder was startled by Birch's presence and escaped into the grass nearby. Within seconds, the adder returned to the hare and continued examining it, especially the front legs and the head, before zipping away into the grass again. However, around 20 seconds later, the snake returned to the scene and examined the hare "carefully and energetically," starting with its posterior parts, biting and moving the right hind leg, the study notes. The snake then examined the anterior parts of the hare, biting and pulling a front leg, before also biting its head. "The hare was still breathing but moved less than before," the study said. Birch chased the snake away and took the hare to attempt to save its life, but it died after around 30 minutes. While it is unknown whether the adder would have tried to swallow the hare had Birch not intervened, the researchers believe it is "likely" that the snake "would have abandoned its excessively large prey after careful examination." The study noted that it is unusual for snakes to regularly attack vastly oversized prey items that are clearly impossible to swallow. However, cases like this have been reported in previous research, such as an earlier observation of snakes that overestimated their abilities to swallow young rabbits and died while trying to do so. A previous study also noted a case of a snake that was found dead after it had just swallowed a large field vole. "The mass of the prey was 26g and the snake's mass after the prey had been removed was 28g. The adder had therefore consumed a meal equivalent to 92.9 percent of its mass," the team noted. The researchers concluded: "The above cases indicate that snakes killing and subsequently abandoning oversized prey items may well be an underreported phenomenon." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about snakes? Let us know via science@ Reference Bringsøe, H., Jablonski, D., & Birch, K. (2025). Overly optimistic adder, Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758), killing and intending to swallow an oversized young hare, Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778. Herpetozoa, 38, 155–159. Bull, D. (2016). Vipera berus (northern viper): Morphometrics of feeding on a common field vole. Herpetological Bulletin, 136, 33–34.
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Creature with ‘horned' eyelids discovered on China mountain. It's a new species
Researchers on an expedition to survey amphibians in southern China encountered several unfamiliar frogs with 'horned' eyelids on a mountain peak. Five males and three females were collected for analysis and later revealed to be members of a new species, according to a study published June 13 in the peer-reviewed journal Herpetozoa. Boulenophrys yezhongensis, also called the Yezhong horned toad, was discovered in Yezhong Nature Reserve and can only be found on 'a single peak within the Wumeng Mountain Range,' according to researchers. The new species is described as having a 'shield-like' snout that sticks out beyond its lower jaw, 'horn-like' growths on the upper eyelids, slender limbs, rough wart-covered skin and 'copper-brown' irises, according to the study. The existence of the Yezhong horned toad is likely the result of isolation-driven speciation, according to the study. This process can happen when members of one species are geographically separated and isolated from the rest of the group and develop into a new species. The Yezhong horned toad is separated from the nearest related populations by just over 7 miles of 'valleys crossed by the deeply incised Beipan River,' researchers said. No populations of the new species were found in 'adjacent low-elevation regions,' researchers said. According to the study, the Yezhong horned toad lives roughly 2,600 feet higher in elevation than the nearest related species. This elevation difference also brings an average temperature difference of about 40 degrees. The Yezhong horned toad has adapted to survive at high elevations in a narrow range of cold temperatures, which researchers said is an 'extinction risk' in tropical mountain ecosystems that may be impacted by climate change. Researchers recommended the new species be listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List considering its extremely limited distribution and single known location. Yezhong Nature Reserve is in Shuicheng County in China's Guizhou Province. The research team included Jing Liu, Chao-Bo Feng, Tuo Shen, Shi-Ze Li, Yanlin Cheng, Gang Wei, Bin Wang and Haijun Su.
Miami Herald
09-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Visitors find large reptiles on Greek island in first-of-their-kind sightings
A group disembarked from a boat and surveyed the uninhabited Greek island in front of them. Most visitors come for the ancient ruins or the goat grazing, but they had another goal in mind: find some reptiles. The team of scientists visited Despotiko island, a tiny island in the Aegean Sea, several times in June 2024 to search for reptiles and amphibians. The 'Aegean Islands are a known hotspot' for these animals so most islands 'have been extensively studied' — but not Despotiko, according to a study published April 3 in the peer-reviewed journal Herpetozoa. 'Records of fauna on Despotiko are relatively limited,' researchers said. Scientists had surveyed the island in the 1970s as part of a regional project but only identified five reptile species. In hopes of finding some more animals, researchers spent several days systematically walking sections of the island and 'flipping rocks,' the study said. They also spoke to archaeologists, the island's most routine visitors, about 'past ad-hoc' animal sightings. Their efforts paid off. The team recorded two first-of-their-kind reptile sightings for Despotiko. The first new record involved Eryx jaculus, or the javelin sand boa, from 2019, the study said. A group of archaeologists reported finding the snake 'curled under a white rock.' A photo shows the patterned snake coiled up on a shovelful of dirt. 'Reptiles in Greece often use archaeological sites (for hibernation) and, when excavations resume in the spring, it is quite common for archaeologists to encounter snakes,' researchers said. Still, 'the javelin sand boa follows a cryptic behavioural pattern and, thus, is rarely observed.' The second new record involved Lacerta citrovittata, a large lizard species referred to as both the Cycladic green lizard and the Tinos green lizard. Researchers found two of these lizards during their surveys and heard of two more sightings from 'within the archaeological site.' A photo shows one of these lizards. Researchers also found geckos, skinks and several other species of snake and lizard, the study said. They also noticed the island's 'enclosed archaeological site had greater reptile diversity and richness than outside the site.' No amphibians were found. 'Our study on Despotiko (reptiles and amphibians), with two new records, comes to improve our knowledge and understanding of the reptilian diversity of the archipelago,' researchers said. Despotiko is off the southeastern coast of mainland Greece and roughly midway between Greece and Turkey. The research team included Jennifer Rose Poole, Joshua Smith, Thomas Hesselberg and Panayiotis Pafilis.
