Steve's Herpetological Blog

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

Amphibians

#ToyTuesday: Of Amphibians and Reptiles

Toy animals hold a unique and profound power to bridge the gap between humans and the natural world, fostering a sense of wonder, empathy, and connection across all ages. For children, these small replicas ignite curiosity and imagination, serving as…

#SciFri: ARC-BHS Joint Scientific Meeting 2024

In an usual twist of fate, it wasn’t the first weekend of December this year but the last weekend of November! For most of you, I suspect that will mark the start of your Christmas countdown, and make you panic…

#SciFri: Herpetofauna Workers Meeting 2024

Regular readers of this blog, as well as those in the field will know that the beginning of February is a busy time for herpetologists. It is a time which has historically marked the beginning of the field season, when…

#SciFri: ARC-BHS Joint Scientific Meeting 2023

Ahhh, the first weekend of December. For most of you it may be the start of your Christmas countdown, but for us herpetologists it is the timing of the annual Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust – British Herpetological Society Join…

#SciFri: 22nd European Congress of Herpetology

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you’re probably aware that earlier in September I spent a week in Wolverhampton for the 22nd European Congress of Herpetology, organised by the Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH) and a…

#StevesLibrary: Tadpole Hunter

It is rare that I get the chance to review a book with a herpetological theme (there aren’t many of them out there despite my best efforts to pitch my ideas to publishers), but that changes this week! Tadpole Hunter…

#SciFri: Searching for salamanders in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

If you wanted to create somewhere for herpetologists to flock in their hundreds, I could think of no better place than the Appalachian Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the…

#SciFri: GARD2022

If you read last week’s #SciFri post, you’ll know know that this time last year I was visiting Knoxville, Tennessee for the first Global Amphibian and Reptile Disease (GARD) conference. Aside from being the ideal place to network, and hear…

#SciFri: ARC-BHS Joint Scientific Meeting 2021

It’s a shame that we are still yet to return to in-person conferences, I’m still looking forward to that day. However, with the ongoing uncertainty of the Omicron variant, and COVID transmission this winter (despite the fact most people have…

#SciFri: The potential for damage from the JNCC 7th Quinquennial Review

Something happened this week but it’s taken a few days to sink in. There was news from the Amphibian and Reptile Groups UK (ARG UK), that the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) was recommending the removal of protections to species…