reptiles

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Komodo Dragon's Orange Teeth Hide a Deadly Power
Komodo Dragon's Orange
Teeth Serve Practical Purpose
NEW STUDY
Jul 25, 2024 12:28 PM CDT

Komodo Dragon's Orange Teeth Serve Practical Purpose

Unprecedented iron coating keeps serrated teeth razor sharp

(Newser) - The Komodo dragon might be the closest thing to a living dinosaur, with its muscular tail, scaly skin, sturdy claws, and, it turns out, razor-sharp teeth unlike any seen before. The largest living lizard has curved, serrated teeth, similar to those of carnivorous dinosaurs, which help to rip apart the...

'Fluffy' Won't Leave Her Car, So Woman Just Drives With It
'Fluffy' Won't Leave Her Car,
So Woman Just Drives With It
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 18, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

'Fluffy' Won't Leave Her Car, So Woman Just Drives With It

'Fluffy' being a poisonous red-bellied black snake that 4 separate snake handlers can't remove

(Newser) - A venomous snake that Lisa Kournelis believes has been living in her SUV since March apparently has no intention of leaving—and so the Aussie woman now simply throws on protective gear and drives around with it. Kournelis tells ABC Australia she thinks a red-bellied black snake snuck into her...

Girl, 11, Helps Discover Largest Ever Reptile
Girl, 11, Helps Discover
Largest Ever Reptile
NEW STUDY
May 11, 2024 1:50 PM CDT

Girl, 11, Helps Discover Largest Ever Reptile

Ichthyotitan severnensis estimated at 82 feet long, with a 7-foot-long jawbone

(Newser) - It was the largest reptile to ever prowl Earth's oceans. At some 82 feet, this giant ichthyosaur would've been nearly as large as a blue whale, a marine mammal and the largest animal known to exist at any point in the planet's history. Yet the ichthyosaur, dubbed...

Man Loses Emotional Support Gator: 'Bring My Baby Back'

Joie Henney was vacationing in Georgia when Wally vanished

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally for helping relieve his depression for nearly a decade says he's searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia. Joie Henney has thousands of social media users following his pages devoted to...

It May Have Been the Biggest Snake Ever
It May Have Been
the Biggest Snake Ever
new study
Apr 22, 2024 12:15 PM CDT

It May Have Been the Biggest Snake Ever

Experts estimate that Vasuki inidicus in ancient India was up to 50 feet long

(Newser) - Scientists in India may have unearthed the biggest snake ever to have slithered across the planet. From a mine, they unearthed skeletal remains of an ancient beast estimated to have been up to 50 feet long—meaning longer than a typical school bus, reports Smithsonian . Paleontologists, who published their findings...

Man Rails Against Seizure of His 750-Pound 'Son' Albert
Man Rails Against Seizure of
His 750-Pound 'Son' Albert
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 23, 2024 1:05 PM CDT

Man Rails Against Seizure of His 750-Pound 'Son' Albert

Albert is an 11-foot-long gator, and New York DEC authorities say his owner was harboring him illegally

(Newser) - Hamburg, New York, is known for its ample snowfall , the Erie County Fair, and ... alligators? The Western New York town south of Buffalo picked up the latter honorary last week, when local authorities seized an 11-foot-long, 750-pound reptilian resident from a home there, where a man had apparently been keeping...

His Pet Gila Monster Bit Him. He Was Dead Within Days
His Pet Gila Monster Bit Him.
Within Days, He Was Dead
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 24, 2024 12:45 PM CST

His Pet Gila Monster Bit Him. Within Days, He Was Dead

Experts say this was a rare event

(Newser) - A Gila monster, one of two a Colorado man had as pets, bit the 34-year-old man on February 12. Four days later, the man died in a hospital in what experts say was a rare occurrence. While Gila monster bites can be so painful they cause victims to lose consciousness,...

It's Not Truly Winter in Florida Until the Iguanas Start Falling

Cold snap in Sunshine State has temporarily paralyzed lizards, causing them to drop from trees

(Newser) - The weather forecast for the next few days is out in the Sunshine State, and it's an unusual but not completely foreign prediction. "*FALLING IGUANAS* possible this weekend in Southwest Florida," a WINK meteorologist warned Thursday on social media, citing a phenomenon that often happens when Florida'...

This Is Not What You Want to Find in Your Toilet

Tucson woman discovers a snake in her bathroom after 4 days away

(Newser) - Like a scene out of a horror movie, Michelle Lespron returned to her home in Tucson, Arizona, to find a snake had set up camp in her toilet. "I'd been gone for four days and was looking forward to using my own restroom in peace. I lifted up...

Snakes Appear to Comfort Each Other
Snakes
Appear
to Comfort
Each Other
New Study
Jul 22, 2023 7:10 AM CDT

Snakes Appear to Comfort Each Other

How ssssssssweet

(Newser) - Only the most adamant reptile lover would use words like "cuddly" or "sweet" where snakes are concerned. New research, however, has found that the cold-blooded creatures may have some semblance of emotional life, even comforting fellow legless wonders when they are upset. CNN reports that a study published...

Croc's Virgin Birth Suggests Dinos Were Also Capable
Virgin Birth Is a First
for This Species
NEW STUDY
Jun 7, 2023 12:30 PM CDT

Virgin Birth Is a First for This Species

Parthenogenesis found in crocodile suggests that dinosaurs may have been capable as well

(Newser) - A crocodile has for the first time been found capable of a virgin birth—a finding that suggests the species' dinosaur cousins were capable of the same feat. An 18-year-old female crocodile who'd been isolated from other crocodiles since the age of 2 laid 14 eggs at a Costa...

911 Call Was for Unresponsive Man. Cops Found a Lot More

Police find dead body, but also 200 snakes, a crocodile, and a toddler in Pennsylvania home

(Newser) - Police in Pennsylvania's Beaver County made quite a find this week while responding to a call about an unconscious man. The Beaver County Times reports that when officers arrived at the rental residence in Aliquippa, they didn't find an unconscious man, but a dead one—a 23-year-old whose...

Ancient Marine Graveyard May Have Been Maternity Ward
Fossil Site May Be
'Ancient Maternity Ward'
NEW STUDY
Dec 20, 2022 1:17 PM CST

Fossil Site May Be 'Ancient Maternity Ward'

Researchers describe how ancient ichthyosaurs traveled to Nevada site to give birth

(Newser) - Scientists have uncovered new clues about a curious fossil site in Nevada, a graveyard for dozens of giant marine reptiles. Instead of the site of a massive die-off as suspected, it might have been an ancient maternity ward where the creatures came to give birth, per the AP . The site...

'Needless to Say, the Addressee Was Quite Startled'

Live lizards were mailed to the wrong address near New York City

(Newser) - Several live lizards were wrongly delivered to a residence in a village north of New York City. "Needless to say the addressee was quite startled when they opened the box," Port Chester police wrote on Facebook. Police received the call about the reptiles just after noon on Saturday....

For the First Time, a Major Analysis of Threat to Reptiles

21% of 10K reptile species reviewed are endangered

(Newser) - Even the king cobra is "vulnerable." More than 1 in 5 species of reptiles worldwide are threatened with extinction, according to a comprehensive new assessment of thousands of species published Wednesday in the journal Nature . Of 10,196 reptile species analyzed, 21% were classified as endangered, critically endangered,...

Authorities Charge Siblings in Reptile Smuggling Scheme

30-year-old Calif. man caught at Mexican border allegedly smuggled 1.7K creatures since 2016

(Newser) - A California man who allegedly tried to cross into the US from Mexico last month with dozens of reptiles crammed under his clothing has been charged, and authorities say he was involved in a yearslong scheme. Per NBC San Diego , 30-year-old Jose Manuel Perez, aka Julio Rodriguez, is accused of...

All These Snakes Were Under and in a Man's Clothes

30-year-old US citizen was arrested at the California-Mexico border

(Newser) - A man who tried to slither past US border agents in California had 52 lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing, authorities said Tuesday. The man was driving a truck when he arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico on Feb. 25 and was pulled out for additional...

If You See This Snake in NC, Don't Go Near It—Call 911

Police are on the lookout in Raleigh for an escaped zebra cobra

(Newser) - If you're out for a jog or walking your dog in Raleigh today, you might want to steer clear of the Brittany Woods neighborhood. WRAL reports that residents there "are waking up to another day of anxiety" after police reported that a highly toxic zebra cobra is on...

Reptile That Fits on Fingertip May Be World's Smallest

It could take years to confirm that Madagascar's 'Brookesia nana' chameleon is the tiniest

(Newser) - It fits on a human fingertip, but this chameleon could make a big splash. Scientists from Madagascar and Germany say a newly discovered species of chameleon is a contender for the title of world's smallest reptile, the AP reports. Frank Glaw, who was part of the international team of...

He Thought Aliens Were Invading Humans, According to His Killer

Barbara Rogers gets 15 to 40 years for third-degree murder

(Newser) - "To me, it's amazing that somebody could put a gun to somebody's head, blow their brains out essentially, and a jury finds them guilty of third-degree murder and not first." With that, Jackie Mineo sums up the outrage over her nephew's 2017 murder and 44-year-old...

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