The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has launched a citizen science project to track the distribution of eastern box turtles and is asking the public to report sightings of the important but declining reptile. Leer más.

The crocodiles of La Ventanilla, Oaxaca, have taken to the beach for the first time in decades in the absence of human activity during the Covid-19 emergency. Leer más.

Together with an international team, Senckenberg scientist Uwe Fritz described a new species of mata mata turtle based on genetic analyses. Until now, it had been assumed that the genus Chelus only contained a single species. Leer más.

Relocated in small groups to experimental islands, lizards rapidly and repeatedly developed new chemical signals for communicating with each other. Free from the risk of predators and intent to attract potential mates, male lizards produce a novel chemical calling card, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. Leer más.

When I hear or read Salmonella, I think of my mom explaining to my 7-year-old self why I shouldn’t eat raw chicken (to be clear, I never expressed interest in doing this, but lesson learned nonetheless). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most instances of Salmonella bacteria making people sick do in fact result from transmission by food. But Salmonella infection can come from other sources, including direct contact with living animals, particularly reptiles (including birds which, in case you haven’t heard, are reptiles). So I was only a little surprised when I came across a recent paper in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, based in Japan, documenting the prevalence of Salmonella in the green anole, Anolis carolinensis, on Okinawa Island, Japan. Leer más.