"When it comes to dedicated mothering, #caecilians have got us beat. These tube-like #amphibians sacrifice the very skin off their backs (and pretty much everywhere else) to keep their squirming offspring well-fed".
"When a #mama caecilian is taking care of a brood, she grows an extra-thick outer layer of skin that's rich in nutrients and fat. Her writhing mass of noodle-like babies use specially adapted teeth to tuck into #mom's fat suit, using a "death roll" technique".
"It's a behaviour called dermatotrophy and caecilians #mothers seem to be the only creatures that do it".
"But that's just the egg-layers. About three-quarters of Caecilian species give birth to live young and they do things a little differently. Their babies develop teeth while they are still foetuses so that the little angels can munch on mum's reproductive organs before birth".
The salamander #chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, #Bsal), that is causing massive mortality of #salamanders in Europe, was not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American #amphibians!
Through intensive survey efforts, a collaborative team of over 35 researchers led by the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative and USGS National Wildlife Health Center has found no detection of Bsal across the US and one site in Mexico.
The results published on August 3 in Scientific Reports by Waddle et al. found no evidence of Bsal in over 11,000 collected skin swabs. These findings suggest that if Bsal does occur in the US it is not likely to be widespread in many of the high-risk areas that were sampled.
Sign and share this petition requesting that 1) all mining concessions be removed from protected forests in Ecuador, and 2) Reserva Los Cedros be incorporated into the nearby Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve
The highest court in Ecuador has agreed to hear a precedent-setting rights-of-nature case brought on behalf of Reserva Los Cedros, a biodiversity hotspot.
But mining concessions illegally granted by the government in 2017 now put 6 million acres of this area at risk.
The Reserva Los Cedros is home to 207 #threatened species, from spectacled bears to brown-headed spider monkeys, as well as the headwaters of four rivers. It's also critical for trapping carbon.
We are very happy 🐸 to share the news that Dr. @simonstuartSE, the Acting Chair of ASA Global Council, Director of Strategic Conservation at ASA partner @SynchEarth and Former Chair of @IUCNssc has won the 2020 Blue Planet Prize by @afinformation_e
Simon led the development of the categories and quantitative criteria for the @IUCNRedList and contributed to the expansion of the number of species assessed. This scientific basis has established the Red List as the most reliable, widely used data on species extinction risk.
Also, conceiving and leading the Global Amphibian Assessment, Simon warned that the decline in the number of amphibians indicates that not only their habitats but also the surrounding ecosystems are deteriorating.