PRZEMYSŁAW ZDUNEK

🐍𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦 !

For many years, it was believed that some vipers could not swim and were even prone to drowning easily.
The habitat of some European vipers kept them away from water and the food associated with it.

🕵All this shows us that we can still discover new behaviors and learn about the nature that surrounds us.

🕵Many people saw vipers near the water, some saw them swimming, some saw them running into the water. It is so important to document knowledge and observations so they are not lost and can be shared with others.

🐍How about a the Iberian Asp Viper, (Vipera aspis zinnikeri) that hunts frogs in the water? To devour their dead bodies moments later ?

🐸Hunting amphibians is not a behavior often documented for this species.
Amphibians themselves are also not commonly found in this snake's diet.

☠️Add to this scavenging, which is also rare in snakes, and you get a picture of our recently published work.

🤝Together with my friends, we published all of these behaviors with detailed photos and videos. Matthieu Berroneau et Thierry Gagliano

🐍Snakes adapt to their environment through their behavior, diet choices, and opportunism.

🗝Observations such as these, even as single events, can broaden the scope of information about the natural history and the plasticity of the ecology and diet of vipers.

I invite you to read the full text; the link is in the comments.

👉 LIKE AND SHARE SO THAT THE KNOWLEDGE SPREADS
@obserwujący

#reptile #reptiles #snake #serpent #squamata #squamates #squamate #vipere #vipera #viperaaspis #aspviper #spain #diet #frogs #wildlife #wildlifephotography #biodiversity #biodiversité ... See MoreSee Less

𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆.

The publication of the European Red List of Amphibians, a comprehensive assessment that measures the pulse of biodiversity across the continent.

This report details the conservation status of every amphibian species native to Europe, with a geographical scope extending from Iceland to the Urals and from Franz Josef Land to the Canary Islands.

Full free report here:

op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/92322336-a588-11f0-a7c5-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

#europeanredlist #biodiversity #conservation #EnvironmentalPolicy #EUGreenDeal #amphibians #IUCN #NaturePositive #IUCN #iucnspeciessurvivalcommission #europeancommission ... See MoreSee Less

Caudal autotomy is a self-amputation, in which an animal voluntarily loses its tail. It is a defense mechanism that results in the regrowth of the tail at the place of its loss. Once broken off from the caudal vertebra (in the “zone of weakness”), the tail stump heals quickly, and regeneration begins. This process occasionally results in malformation, after which a tail furcation appears as a split or multi-branched tail. In taxa exhibiting tail regeneration, a new tail may develop even when the original one is not entirely detached, leaving the animal with a seemingly forked tail, which is termed caudal bifurcation.

Here, I present a note on this subject, written by Paweł Błęcki, Piotr Kazimirski (Herpetolog - Piotr Kazimirski), and Przemysław Zdunek, which was published in Przegląd Przyrodniczy, Volume XXXVI, 2025, Issue No. 2. (link in the comment).

Then, Zuzanna Purwin, from Jagiellonian University, presented the above report, along with additional information and graphics, in the form of a poster at SEH 2025 - 23rd European Congress of Herpetology (SEH 2025) in Bonn. The topic concerned a review of this type of anomaly in lizards in Poland, together with a new observation by Paweł Błęcki.

#autotomy #caudalanomaly #reptiles #taildeformations #centralEurope #tailanomalies #lizards #Reptilia #Sauria #Poland #herpetology #animals #lacerta #lacertaagilis #zootoca #zootocavivipara ... See MoreSee Less

+2

𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - University of Western Cape, Africa

Prof Bryan Maritz
(The Maritz Lab)

The PhD project aims to investigate the ecology of mole snakes on Robben Island, with a special emphasis on the predation of African Penguin chicks and eggs.

They are seeking an enthusiastic candidate, proposal submission deadline is 30 November 2025.

Source:
Herpetological Association of Africa

#PhD #phdproposition #science #snakes #africa #doctorat #herpetology #reptiles #Serpentes ... See MoreSee Less