Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Steven Allain

#FeatureFriday: Herping in the Chocó

Ever since I started blogging on a regular basis about 4 years ago, a number of people have started to follow in my footsteps with their own blogs. I’ve asked a number of these wonderful people to write me a…

#StevesLibrary: Arrival of the Fittest

Recently, I read Arrival of the Fittest: How Nature Innovates by Andreas Wagner, those of you familiar with this regular section on my blog will know that I enjoyed it very much. Most biologists are familiar with Charles Darwin’s theory…

#SciFri: Visiting the Grant Museum of Zoology

The Grant Museum of Zoology is a small natural history museum that is open to the public, in central London not far from Euston Station. The museum itself is part of University College London (UCL) and was established by Robert…

#SteveReviews: Terra

Recently I sat down with a group of friends to watch the 2015 film Terra. I’ll start from the very beginning by saying that the film was nothing like what I was expecting based on the trailer (below) and what…

#StevesLibrary: The Unexpected Truth About Animals

Over Christmas and the New Year I managed to finish off a book I’d been meaning to finish for a while, that is Lucy Cooke’s The Unexpected Truth About Animals. The book itself is extremely well written, being both a…

#SciFri: Conferences Galore!

At the moment this blog post goes live I will be on a train towards London as part of the first leg of my journey to Bangor for the annual Venom Day conference that takes place there. It will be…

#SteveReviews: Jane

Jane is a heartwarming documentary about the early years of Jane Goodall’s career, when she first set foot in Africa and tried to gain the acceptance of chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania. If you’re unaware of who Jane Goodall…

#StevesLibrary: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Every now and again you need to pick up a book that helps change your perspective on life and respect just how short a time mankind has been on Earth, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is just that. The…

#SciFri: From stoned sloths to farting fish…

Those of you that read this blog regularly or follow me on social media will know that I enjoy reading books. Most of the books I read are popular science but there are the occasional fiction stories thrown in there…

#SciFri: How climate change is affecting amphibian phenology

It is no surprise to many to find out that I have a high affinity for amphibians, I have been studying them in an academic setting since 2012 but my love for them spans much further back than that. During…