A monumental new study has addressed the likely impacts of climate change on the activity of desert lizards in Africa and Australia. Hotter temperatures will likely ‘squeeze’ the activity window of some lizards, especially those active during the day. We chat about the ramifications of this paper, before turning to news of dogs being attacked by anacondas.

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Main Paper References:

Wild KH, Huey RB, Pianka ER, Clusella-Trullas S, Gilbert AL, Miles DB, Kearney MR. 2025. Climate change and the cost-of-living squeeze in desert lizards. Science 387:303–309. DOI: 10.1126/science.adq4372.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Starace, F., & Ineich, I. (2025). Predation on dogs by Green Anacondas, Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758): two cases from French Guiana. Herpetology Notes, 18, 415-419.

Other Links/Mentions:

Rhinella alata call from James LS, O’Mara MT, Touchon JC, Ryan MJ, Bernal XE, Page RA. 2025. The ontogeny of decision-making in an eavesdropping predator. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292:20250450. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0450.

AmphibiaWeb - Rhinella alata. Available at https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-scientific_name=Rhinella+alata&rel-scientific_name=contains&include_synonymies=Yes (accessed June 19, 2025).

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Bats have famously good hearing, and fringe-lipped bats in Panama have tuned theirs to listen out for frogs calling out for mates. But these bats are quite particular about which amphibians they eat. New research has revealed that bats have to learn these skills, as the youngsters have way less idea which frogs they can safely tackle. We finish off talking about a newly described skink from urban China.

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Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop

Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

James LS, O’Mara MT, Touchon JC, Ryan MJ, Bernal XE, Page RA. 2025. The ontogeny of decision-making in an eavesdropping predator. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292:20250450. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0450.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Jia R-W, Gao Z-Y, Wu D-H, Wang G-Q, Liu G, Liu M, Jiang K, Jiang D-C, Ren J-L, Li J-T. 2025. Hidden Urban Biodiversity: A New Species of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Southwest China. Animals 15:232. DOI: 10.3390/ani15020232.

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

New research suggests that tokay geckos can distinguish between different people, shedding further light on the intelligence of lizards. We delve into this study and voice warranted concerns about the intelligence of these little maniacs.

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Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Damas-Moreira I, Bégué L, Ringler E, Szabo B. 2025. Tokay geckos adjust their behaviour based on handler familiarity but according to context. Scientific Reports 15:11364. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-95936-5.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Correa, C., Riveros-Riffo, E., & Donoso, J. P. (2025). Lost for more than a century: the rediscovery of Alsodes vittatus (Philippi, 1902)(Anura, Alsodidae), one of the rarest and most elusive amphibians from Chile. ZooKeys, 1230, 195.

Other Links/Mentions:

Pensoft Publishers. 2025.Ghost Frog Found: Scientists Stumble Upon Species Missing Since 1902. Available at https://scitechdaily.com/ghost-frog-found-scientists-stumble-upon-species-missing-since-1902/ (accessed May 1, 2025).

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com