vol. 27 (2007), no. 4

minnesotaminnesotaherpetologicalherpetologicalsocietysociety

AAAA PPRRIILLPPRRIILL 22000077 VV22000077 VV OOLLUUMMEEOOLLUUMMEE 2277 NN2277 NN UUMMBBEERRUUMMBBEERR 44 44

tthhee nneewwsslleetttteerr ooff tthhee

SSppeecciiaall SSppeeaakkeerr AApprriill 66tthh::Dr. John Weins““TTrreeeeffrrooggss,, TTrreeeess,, aanndd tthhee RRoooottss ooff TTrrooppiiccaall BBiiooddiivveerrssiittyy””

AApprriill 1133tthh aatt tthhee GGeenneerraall MMeeeettiinngg::White Snake Sale!

((LLeett’’ss ttrryy iitt aaggaaiinn wwiitthh ggoooodd wweeaatthheerr tthhiiss ttiimmee..))

WEB VERSIONIInnffoorrmmaattiioonn eeddiitteedd//rreemmoovveedd ttoo rreessppeecctt pprriivvaaccyy ccoonncceerrnnss..

BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 10 CHURCH STREET SOUTHEAST, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55455-0104

TT hh ee MM ii nn nn ee ss oo tt aa

HH ee rr pp ee tt oo ll oo gg ii cc aa ll

SS oo cc ii ee tt yy

VVOOIICCEE MMAAIILL:: 612.624.7065 • MMHHSS WWEEBBPPAAGGEE:: HTTP://WWW.MNHERPSOC .ORG

MMHH SS GG RR OO UU PP EE MM AA II LL :: H T T P : / / W W W. G R O U P S . YA H O O. C O M / G R O U P / M N H E R P S O C

AApprriill 22000077 VVoolluummee 2277,, NNuummbbeerr 44

BBooaarrdd ooff DDiirreeccttoorrssPPrreessiiddeennttBruce Haig

VViiccee PPrreessiiddeennttJennifer Hensley

RReeccoorrddiinngg SSeeccrreettaarryyEllen Heck

MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp SSeeccrreettaarryyGeorge Richard

TTrreeaassuurreerrNancy Haig

NNeewwsslleetttteerr EEddiittoorrAsra Halvorson

MMeemmbbeerrss aatt LLaarrggeeTodd Turner

Sarah Richard

David Dewitt

Carmelita Knudson

CCoommmmiitttteeeessAAddooppttiioonnSarah Richard

EEdduuccaattiioonnJan Larson

LLiibbrraarryy

WWeebbmmaasstteerrAnke Reinders

The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:

• Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagationof reptiles and amphibians;• Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians;• Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Membership is opento all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological SocietyNewsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’sactivities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the University ofMinnesota, on the first Friday of each month (unless there is a holiday conflict). The meeting startsat 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedulesor cancellations.

Submissions to the NewsletterAds or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included inthe next issue. Longer articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electronicfile format if possible. See inside back cover for ad rates.Submissions may be sent to:

The Minnesota Herpetological SocietyAttn: Newsletter EditorBell Museum of Natural History10 Church St. SE.Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104

Copyright 2007, Minnesota Herpetological Society. Except where noted, contents may be reproduced for non-profit, non-commercial use only. All material must be reproduced without change. Proper credit will be given including the author/pho-

tographer and the MHS Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

3

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society April 2007 Volume 27 Number 4

Why are ther'e so many species in the tropics?

"Treefrogs, trees, and the roots of tropical biodiversity"

Dr. John Wi,ens Department of Eco logy and Evolution, Stony Brook University

Friday, Apr il 6th, 2007, 7:00 PM 335 Borlaug Hall, University of Minnesota, St .. Paul Campus

Free and op n to the public - present d by the Student Chapter of

The Minnesota Herpetological Society


4

News, Notes, & Announcements

Needed:Your FeedbackI recently set up an online form so that MHS newsletter readers can leave feedback wheneverthey’d like. I strongly encourage every reader to do so, so that I might get a better understandingof what each member is looking for in their membership publication. Please let me know what your tastes are!

hhttttpp::////wwwwww..ggeeoocciittiieess..ccoomm//aassrraa__vvaalloorrsshhoonn//ffeeeeddbbaacckk..hhttmm

MidwestHerpetologicalSymposium

OOuurr nneeiigghhbboorrss aarree hhoossttiinngg!!

The 2007 Midwest Herpetological Symposium will be held bythe Iowa Herpetological Society on November 9, 10, & 11,2007. More details to come, but mark your calendars now!

RReemmiinnddeerr!!

MHS’s White Snake Salehas been rescheduled toour April 13th meeting!Also, mark your calendarsfor a special seminar April6th, with Dr. John Weins.Details for Dr. Wein’spresentation is on page 3.

April’s a double-dose ofherps month!

CCoovveerr pphhoottoo ©© JJeeffff LLeeCClleerreec )


5

If you haven’t noticed, several months ago I made the decision to cut out four pages of thenewsletter due to an overabundance of space. Even with that decision, it’s been hard to getsome original work from our members into this newsletter lately. Here’s a list of ways thatyou as an MHS member can contribute!

AArrttiicclleess

Articles are one area where I know you members out there have some stories to tell! Perhapsyou’ve had a memorable visit to the Reptile Gardens, perhaps your uncle works at an alliga-tor farm, perhaps your herp made a miraculous recovery or was lost and happened to wanderback one day. Maybe you have a story about joining the herpetological society. Maybeyou’ve been a member of another herpetological society and would like to tell the differ-ences between them. For reference, one page in the newsletter is equal to approximately 640 words.

CCoovveerr PPhhoottooss

These should have a resolution of 200-300dpi and be about 8x6in. Horizontal formats workbest, as they don’t require significant cropping. If they’re in color, I can easily turn them intoblack and white, not a big deal.

OOrriiggiinnaall AArrttwwoorrkk

Back in the day, there was a member named Fran Frisch who would often jot down amusinglittle cartoons to put in the newsletter. I’m sure you’ve seen them, as we’ve been puttingthem in here and there during the past few years. Perhaps you enjoy doodling herps; youcould very easily submit these to the newsletter! Cartoons, realistic works, photoshoppedhumorous items, etc. All are welcome! Give your right brain a workout!

GGeenneerraall MMeeeettiinngg PPhhoottooggrraapphheerr

This has been a relatively recent need, as I’ve recently started a new job which requires thatI work most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Consequently, my attendance has been scat-tered, and I haven’t been able to get pictures at the meetings. If there’s anyone who wouldlike to photograph the goings-on at the meetings, including getting a good picture of thespeaker, any hands-on animals & owners, etc., that would be greatly appreciated!

Please email me if you are interested in being the General Meeting Photographer, or if youhave submissions for the newsletter.

Wanted:Newsletter Submissions


6

April’s looking to be pretty special. Not only do we have two great events this month, but April is also Zoo &Aquarium Month, as well as the month containing Earth Day, April 22. So, get out to a zoo or two this month,read up on some environmental literature, and attend our speaker and the White Snake Sale (great for reusing andrecycling!).

APRIL...

GGooaannnnaass uunnddeerr tthhrreeaatt aafftteerrccaannee ttooaadd iinnvvaassiioonn

A Northern Territory environmentalgroup is appealing to Darwin residentsto keep an eye out for cane toads intheir back yards, fearing the Top End'slargest goanna will soon be endangered.

Frogwatch says the yellow-spottedmonitor - or flood-plain monitor - eatscane toads and dies as a result.

Frogwatch's Ian Morris says numbershave dropped dramatically since thetoads came along.

"There are still yellow-spotted monitorsin Darwin that haven't been invaded bytoads," he said.

"East Point still has them, and areas likethat that we've been able to isolate fromtoads so far at least, but most areaswhere they were common they wentdown like a tonne of bricks."

-ABC News, 7 March 2007.http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1865057.htm

Ask a toad what beauty is, the supremebeauty, the to kalon. He will tell you itis his lady toad with her two big roundeyes coming out of her little head, herlarge flat snout, yellow belly, brown back.

-Voltaire

The giant palm salamander of Central America shoots out itstongue with more instantaneous power than any knownmuscle in the animal kingdom, a new study finds.

The salamander, Bolitoglossa dofleini, can shoot out itstongue with 18,000 watts of power per kilogram of muscle.This is nearly double the power output of the previouschamp, the Colorado River toad Bufo alvarius.

Bolitoglossa can extend itstongue more than half itsbody length in about 7 mil-liseconds, or about 50 timesfaster than an average eyeblink.

Stephen Deban of theUniversity of South Floridaand his colleagues usedhigh-speed video camerasand electrodes implanted inthe salamanders’ tonguemuscles to monitor the animals as they launched at livecrickets.

The findings revealed the tongues were propelled outwardmuch faster than could be achieved by muscle contractionalone.

The researchers think that still unidentified elastic tissueattached to the salamander’s tongue stores up energy in

preparation for an explosive action.

Deban likens the process to stretching and shooting a rubberband: the recoil occurs faster than the act of releasing a rub-ber band pulled taut.

“The amount of energy doesn’t change; it’s just releasedfaster,” Deban told LiveScience.

How the salamanderachieves its recordpower output isstill unclear.Tongue-launch-

ing systems inother animals require

three components: a motorto generate energy, a spring to storethe energy and a latch to control thetiming of unloading of the spring.Scientists have so far identifiedonly the motor in the salamander

system.

“What remains to be discovered are the anatomical struc-tures that make up the spring and the latch,” the researcherswrite in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of ExperimentalBiology.

Than, Ker. “The World’s Most Explosive Tongue.” MSNBC web-site. 6 March 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17484183/


7

The World's Most Explosive Tongue:SSaallaammaannddeerr ccaann eexxtteenndd iittss ttoonngguuee hhaallff iittss bbooddyy lleennggtthh iinn 77 mmiilllliisseeccoonnddss

-Emily Dickinson, from “In Winter in My Room”

lines 14–17

I’ve gotta work out more.

AA ssnn aakk ee ,, ww ii tthh mmoo tt tt ll ee ss rr aa rr ee ,,SSuu rr vv ee yy eedd mmyy cchhaa mmbbee rr ff ll oooo rr ,,II nn ff eeaa tt uu rr ee aa ss tt hhee wwoo rr mm bbee ff oo rr ee ,,BBuutt rr ii nn ggee dd ww ii tt hh pp oowwee rr ..


8

RReeggeenneerraattiivvee mmeeddiicciinnee:: TTaaddppoollee aarrttiiffiicciiaallllyyiinndduucceedd ttoo ggrrooww bbaacckk ttaaiill

Scientists at Forsyth may have moved one step closer toregenerating human spinal cord tissue by artificially induc-ing a frog tadpole to re-grow its tail at a stage in its devel-opment when it is normally impossible. Using a variety ofmethods including a kind of gene therapy, the scientistsaltered the electrical properties of cells thus inducing regen-eration. This discovery may provide clues about how bio-electricity can be used to help humans regenerate.

This study, for the first time, gave scientists a direct glimpseof the source of natural electric fields that are crucial forregeneration, as well as revealing how these are produced.In addition, the findings provide the first detailed mechanis-tic synthesis of bioelectrical, molecular-genetic, and cell-biological events underlying the regeneration of a complexvertebrate structure that includes skin, muscle, vasculatureand critically spinal cord. Although the Xenopus (frog) tad-pole sometimes has the ability to re-grow its tail, there arespecific times during its development that regeneration doesnot take place (much as human children lose the ability toregenerate finger-tips after 7 years of age). During theForsyth study, the activity of a yeast proton pump (whichproduces H+ ion flow and thus sets up regions of higherand lower pH) triggered the regeneration of the frog’s tailduring the normally quiescent time.

This research will be published in the April issue ofDevelopment and will appear online on February 28, 2007.

According to the publication’s first author, Dany Adams,Ph.D., Assistant Research Investigator at the ForsythInstitute, applied electric fields have long been known toenhance regeneration in amphibia, and in fact have led toclinical trials in human patients. “However, the molecularsources of relevant currents and the mechanisms underlyingtheir control have remained poorly understood,” saidAdams. “To truly make strides in regenerative medicine,we need to understand the innate components that underlie

bioelectrical events during normal development and regen-eration. Our ability to stop regeneration by blocking a par-ticular H+ pump and to induce regeneration when it is nor-mally absent, means we have found at least one criticalcomponent.”

The research team, led by Michael Levin, Ph.D., Director ofthe Forsyth Center for Regenerative and DevelopmentalBiology has been using the Xenopus tadpole to study regen-eration because it provides an opportunity to see how muchcan be done with non-embryonic (somatic) cells duringregeneration, and it is a perfect model system in which tounderstand how movement of electric charges leads to theability to re-grow a fully functioning tail. Furthermore, saidDr. Levin, tail regeneration in Xenopus is more likely to besimilar to tissue renewal in human beings than some otherregenerative model systems. The Forsyth scientists previ-ously studied the role that apoptosis, a process of pro-grammed cell death in multi-cellular organisms, plays inregeneration.

Michael Levin, PhD. is an Associate Member of the Staff inThe Forsyth Institute Department of Cytokine Biology andthe Director of the Forsyth Center for Regenerative andDevelopmental Biology. Through experimental approachesand mathematical modeling, Dr. Levin and his team exam-ine the processes governing large-scale pattern formationand biological information storage during animal embryoge-nesis. The lab investigates mechanisms of signalingbetween cells and tissues that allows a living system to reli-ably generate and maintain a complex morphology. TheLevin team studies these processes in the context of embry-onic development and regeneration, with a particular focuson the biophysics of cell behavior.

The Forsyth Institute is the world’s leading independentorganization dedicated to scientific research and educationin oral, craniofacial and related biomedical sciences.

-press release, forsythe.org. 28 February 2007

Sounds like one leap backfor frogkind. I just got rid of

that #*&$% tail.


9

AAnnoollee LLiizzaarrddss ““SShhoouutt”” AAggaaiinnsstt aa NNooiissyy BBaacckkggrroouunndd

Lizards that signal to rivals with a visual display “shout” to get their pointacross, UC Davis researchers have found.

Male anole lizards signal ownership of their territory by sitting up on a tree trunk, bobbing their heads up and down and extendinga colorful throat pouch. They can spot a rival lizard up to 25 meters away,said Terry Ord, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis who is workingwith Judy Stamps, professor of evolution and ecology.

The lizards’ signals need to be strong enough for a rival to see, but notvivid enough to say “Eat me” to a passing predator. But their forest homecan be a visually noisy environment, with branches and leaves waving inthe breeze and casting patterns of light and shade.

“They have to have a strategy to get their message across,” Ord said. Ordvideotaped two species of anole lizards, Anolis Cristatellus and AnolisGundlachi, in the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico. He found thatthe more “visual noise” in the background, the faster and more exaggerated the movements of the lizards.

Anole lizards are interesting to evolutionary biologists because differentspecies are found on different islands all over the Caribbean. The lizardsare not particularly closely related—they are separated by 30 millionyears of evolution—but they live in similar environments with the sameobstacles to communication. So Ord is using them as a model to investi-gate the evolution of such signals.

The other authors on the paper, which is published online in Proceedingsof the Royal Society Part B, are Richard A. Peters, Australian NationalUniversity, Canberra; and Barbara Clucas, a graduate student in AnimalBehavior at UC Davis. The work was supported by grants from theNational Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation and theAustralian Research Council.

UC Davis Press Release, February 21, 2007,accessed from HerpDigest Vol.1#27.

�TThhee ssnnaakkee tthhaatt ccaannnnoott sshheedd iittss sskkiinnppeerriisshheess.. LLiikkeewwiisseetthhoossee ssppiirriittss wwhhooaarree pprreevveenntteedd ffrroommcchhaannggiinngg tthheeiirr ooppiinniioonnss;; tthheeyy cceeaasseettoo bbee ssppiirriittss..

-Friedrich Nietzsche,Sämtliche Werke: KritischeStudienausgabe, vol. 3, p.330, eds. Giorgio Colli andMazzino Montinari, Berlin,de Gruyter (1980). Dawn,“Fifth Book,” aphorism330, “Shedding OurSkins,” (1881).

MMiinnnneessoottaa HHeerrppeettoollooggiiccaall SSoocciieettyy MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp AApppplliiccaattiioonn

AAccttiivvee MMeemmbbeerrsshhiippss:: Sustaining ($60/year) Contributing ($40/year) Basic ($20/year)

CCoorrrreessppoonnddiinngg MMeemmbbeerrsshhiippss:: Commercial ($25/year, 2 business card ads/year)

Required check info. Drivers Lic # State DOB

Please enclose the proper payment with your application. Make Checks Payable To: MMiinnnneessoottaa HHeerrppeettoollooggiiccaall SSoocciieettyy.. Membership is for 12months from the date of approval, a receipt will be sent only upon request. Mail to: MMiinnnneessoottaa HHeerrppeettoollooggiiccaall SSoocciieettyy,, BBeellll MMuusseeuumm ooff NNaattuurraallHHiissttoorryy,, 1100 CChhuurrcchh SStt.. SSEE,, MMiinnnneeaappoolliiss,, MMNN 5555445555. Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing.

NNeeww

RReenneewwaall

MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp##

TTyyppee

CChheecckk ##

NNaammee

AAddddrreessss

CCiittyy,, SSttaattee,, ZZiipp,,

PPhhoonnee EEmmaaiill LLiisstt iinn MMHHSS DDiirreeccttoorryy?? YYeess NNoo

HHeerrpp rreellaatteedd iinntteerreessttss

GGGG EEEE TTTT YYYY OOOO UUUU RRRR MMMM EEEE SSSS SSSS AAAA GGGG EEEE TTTT OOOOYYYY OOOO UUUU RRRR TTTT AAAA RRRR GGGG EEEE TTTT AAAA UUUU DDDD IIII EEEE NNNN CCCC EEEE

WWWW IIII TTTT HHHH AAAA 1111 //// 4444 PPPPAAAA GGGG EEEE AAAA DDDD ....

$$$$ 1111 0000 PPPP EEEE RRRR MMMM OOOO NNNN TTTT HHHH$$$$ 1111 11110000 PPPP EEEE RRRR YYYY EEEE AAAA RRRR ****

AAddvveerrttiissiinngg PPoolliicciieess

MMHHSS AAdd PPoolliiccyy: The MHS assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY regarding the health or legality ofany animal, or the quality or legality of any product or service advertised in the MHSNewsletter. Any ad may be rejected at the discretion of the Newsletter Editor. Due to spacelimitations, unpaid and complimentary advertisements are subject to occasional omission.

CCllaassssiiffiieedd AAddss: All active members are allowed a classified ad, run free of charge as spacepermits. Ads may be run three consecutive months, after which time they may be resub-mitted. Corresponding members are allowed a complimentary business card advertisementmonthly as space permits. Due to federal restrictions on non-profit mailing permits, we arenot allowed to run ads for travel, credit, or insurance agencies.

SSuubbmmiissssiioonnss: All advertisements should be submitted to the MMHHSS EEddiittoorr,, BBeellll MMuusseeuumm ooffNNaattuurraall HHiissttoorryy,, 1100 CChhuurrcchh SStt.. SSEE,, MMiinnnneeaappoolliiss,, MMNN 5555445555. Deadline is the night of theGeneral Meeting for inclusion in the next newsletter. Make checks payable to: MinnesotaHerpetological Society.

MMHHSS AADD RRAATTEESS

BBuussiinneessss ccaarrdd $$55//MMoonntthh $$5555//YYeeaarr**11//44 PPaaggee $$1100//MMoonntthh $$111100//YYeeaarr**11//22 PPaaggee $$2200//MMoonntthh $$222200//YYeeaarr**FFuullll PPaaggee $$4400//MMoonntthh $$444400//YYeeaarr**

** NNoottee:: 1122tthh mmoonntthh iiss ffrreeee oonn aa oonnee yyeeaarr ccoommmmiittmmeenntt

*1122tthh mmoonntthh iiss ffrreeee oonn aa oonnee yyeeaarr ccoommmmiittmmeenntt

Next Meeting:Friday, April 13, 2007 7:00 PMRoom 335 Borlaug Hall,U of M St. Paul Campus

MHS Voice Mail:612.624.7065

MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.org

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETYBELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY10 CHURCH STREET SEMINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

Non-Profit RateU.S. Postage

PAIDMpls, MN

Permit No. 2275

POSTMASTER:PLEASE DELIVER BY APRIL 10

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

vol. 27 (2007), no. 4

Documents