Latest research
Newly published papers on reptiles and amphibians from the HerpAtlas research library, updated automatically. Browse by animal on the species pages.
- Transcriptional control of male-specific pathway in temperature-dependent sex determination.
Ye YZ, Li J, Li W et al. · Science bulletin · 2025-07 · open access
How temperature affects the direction of sexual differentiation pathways in temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) remains a mystery despite decades of scientific investigation. In the accompanying study, we demonstrated the thermal switch mechanism within thermosensitive steroidogenic cells…
- Host-consumed resources increase pathogen load of endoparasites more than integument-infecting parasites.
Shayhorn BJ, Ramsay CT, Medina K et al. · Diseases of aquatic organisms · 2025-07
- Hologenomics Reveals Specialized Dietary Adaptations in the Mengla Snail-Eating Snake.
Yan C, Li XN, Peng ZL et al. · Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025-07 · open access
Introduction Dietary shifts have profoundly influenced species radiation into new ecological niches, driving both physiological and morphological adaptations. Although research on dietary specialization and its genetic underpinnings has primarily focused on mammals, serpents also exhibit…
- Cutaneous Innervation in the Red-Eared Slider Turtle: Novel Identification and Analysis of Scale Sensilla and Sensory Corpuscles With Immunofluorescence Insights and Ecological Implications.
Rashwan AM, El-Gendy SAA, Ez Elarab SM et al. · Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2025-07
- Thermal performance curves, activity and survival in a free-ranging ectotherm.
Wild KH, Roe JH, Curran J et al. · The Journal of animal ecology · 2025-07 · open access
INTRODUCTION In meeting competing demands on their time, animals must balance the costs and benefits of various behaviours to maximise their fitness (Huey & Slatkin, ). Energy expended in undertaking those behaviours needs to be weighed against fitness gains, where trade‐offs are inevitable and…
- Modeling current and future distribution of invasive tegu lizards along geopolitical boundaries in the contiguous United States: Implications for invasion threat
Amanda M. Kissel, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Andrea F. T. Currylow et al. · Climate Change Ecology · 2025-07 · open access
- Distribution and Habitat Suitability of the Introduced Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758) in Northeastern Thailand
Chantip Chuaynkern, Nuttapong Khajitmathee, Peerasit Rongchapho et al. · Ecologica Montenegrina · 2025-07 · open access
- Ecophysiological Suitability of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Mexico.
Gómez-Benitez A, Reyes-Velázquez EA, Pelz-Serrano K et al. · EcoHealth · 2025-07 · open access
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a fungal pathogen responsible for amphibian population declines worldwide. In Mexico, understanding the potential distribution of Bd is crucial for conservation. Here, we developed an ecophysiological suitability index that integrates five key physiological…
- Assessing the Impact of Environment on the Color of Painted Turtles ( Chrysemys picta ) in the Wild.
Jaimes G, Maki E, Reinke BA · Ecology and evolution · 2025-07 · open access
Animal coloration is a complex phenotype that may be affected by genetics, evolution, ecology, and environment. Disentangling the impact of environment on phenotype can often be done in laboratory studies, but the results do not necessarily correspond to the natural variation present in the wild.…
- Trophic niche partitioning among three sympatric anuran species in a South Korean forest ecosystem based on stable isotope analysis.
Lee SY, Song JY, Koo KS et al. · Scientific reports · 2025-07 · open access
- Metataxonomic profiles of bacterial and parasitic communities in Amblyomma spp. ticks collected from wildlife in Colombia: Implications for tick-borne diseases.
Ospina-Sánchez SS, Beltrán-Torres D, Angarita-Corzo K et al. · Medical and veterinary entomology · 2025-07
- Evolutionary insights into Na + /K + -ATPase-mediated toxin resistance in the Crested Serpent-eagle preying on introduced cane toads in Okinawa, Japan.
Tobe A, Sato Y, Kondo M et al. · BMC ecology and evolution · 2025-07 · open access
- Living in big houses: the role of parasitism on anacondas (Boidae: Eunectes), with new records, parasites catalog, and assessment perspectives.
Camera BF, Prudente ALC, Pesenato IP et al. · Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias · 2025-07
- Assessing Judgment Bias in Ambassador Animals: Two Case Studies
Jordyn Truax, Jennifer M. Vonk · International Journal of Comparative Psychology · 2025-07 · open access
Judgment bias tasks assess optimism and pessimism through responses to ambiguous stimuli. Optimistic individuals anticipate receiving a reward whereas pessimistic individuals anticipate a lack of reward when interacting with ambiguous stimuli, which is reflected in approach time. Researchers have…
- Study on the Preference of the Dybowski's Frog ( Rana dybowskii ) for Different Covering Shelter.
Wang M, Li Y, Hu N et al. · Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS · 2025-07
- Could Horizontal Gene Transfer Explain 5S rDNA Similarities Between Frogs and Worm Parasites?
Gatto KP, Targueta CP, Vittorazzi SE et al. · Biomolecules · 2025-07 · open access
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the non-Mendelian transfer of genetic material between organisms, is relatively frequent in prokaryotes, whereas its extent among eukaryotes remains unclear. Here, we raise the hypothesis of a possible cross-phylum HGT event involving 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). A…
- Coelomic foreign bodies in wild-caught Python spp. in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA
Gretchen E. Anderson, McKayla M. Spencer, Ray W. Snow et al. · NeoBiota · 2025-07
- Virulence gene landscapes of Salmonella in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Mohamed MI, Habib I · Frontiers in microbiology · 2025-07 · open access
1 Introduction Health authorities worldwide continue to consider Salmonella as a major public health threat that causes 93.8 million foodborne infections with around 150,000 deaths annually each year. Such infections stand as major contributors to global expenses from foodborne diseases (EFSA.,;…
- Hematology of East Pacific green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Southern Gulf of California, Mexico: reference intervals of healthy turtles and intra-population comparisons.
Fernández-Sanz H, Seminoff JA, Mancini A et al. · Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2025-07
- Fluoxetine exposure alters behavior and morphology of Xenopus laevis tadpoles.
Cordero LJ, Smithwick Z, Cederlund B et al. · microPublication biology · 2025-07 · open access
This study exposed developing Xenopus tadpoles to the common antidepressant fluoxetine (FLU). Behaviorally, stage 46 control (0 nM) tadpoles significantly preferred white over black backgrounds, a potential anti-predation behavior, while tadpoles reared in 0.3 or 300 nM FLU did not display this…
- Determination of tortoises origin based on SNPSTR markers: a case study of melanistic Testudo hermanni
Annika Mozer, Albia Consul, Emina Šunje et al. · Conservation Genetics Resources · 2025-07 · open access
Abstract Nine out of the ten most commonly seized CITES-listed reptiles are tortoises and freshwater turtles. It is often necessary to prove the geographic origin of these animals, which may be challenging when using only morphological characters. Molecular tools are needed to detect and prove…
- Developmental temperature has sex-specific effects on behavioural plasticity.
de Jong M, Chapple DG, Wong BBM · Journal of thermal biology · 2025-07
- It's not fur: newspaper article reporting of abandonment and relinquishment of pets exhibit taxonomic biases in framing and language use.
Bielby J, McMillan K, Davies G · Royal Society open science · 2025-07 · open access
Animal companionship holds cultural and economic significance, but there are downsides too, including welfare compromises, the risk of pathogen spillover and the relinquishment or abandonment of animals (cessation of ownership). The topic of cessation of ownership attracts a great deal of media…
- Growth Rates and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Bothrops jararacussu in Captivity (Viperidae, Crotalinae).
Wilwert DC, Stuginski DR · Zoo biology · 2025-07
- Ranavirus Epizootics and Gut Bacteriome Dysbiosis in Tadpoles: Evidence for the Anna Karenina Principle?
Billet LS, Hernández-Gómez O, Skelly DK · Molecular ecology · 2025-07
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