vol. 31 (2011), no. 11
DESCRIPTION
The Minnesota Herpetological Society NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety
November 2011 Volume 31
the newsletter of the
Number 11
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PresidentBruce Haig [email protected]
Vice PresidentSonja Koolmo [email protected]
Recording SecretaryEllen Heck [email protected]
Membership SecretaryHeather Clayton 612.886.7175 [email protected]
TreasurerNancy Haig [email protected]
Newsletter EditorChristopher Rueber [email protected]
Members at LargeJeff LeClere [email protected]
Chris Smith [email protected]
Matt Carter [email protected]
Jacob Mee [email protected]
C ommitte es
AdoptionSarah Richard [email protected]
EducationJan Larson [email protected]
LibraryNancy Haig [email protected]
THE PURPOSE OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY IS TO
• Furthertheeducationofthemembershipandthegeneralpublicincareandcaptivepropagationofreptilesandamphibians;
• Educatethemembersandthegeneralpublicintheecologicalroleofreptilesandamphibians;
• Promotethestudyandconservationofreptilesandamphibians.
TheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyisanon-profit,tax-exemptorganiza-tion.Membershipisopentoallindividualswithaninterestinamphibiansandreptiles.TheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyNewsletterispublishedmonthlytoprovideitsmemberswithinformationconcerningthesociety’sactivitiesandamediaforexchanginginformation,opinionsandresources.
GeneralMeetingsareheldatBorlaugHall,Room335ontheSt.PaulCam-pusoftheUniversityofMinnesota,onthefirstFridayofeachmonth(unlessthereisaholidayconflict).Themeetingstartsat7:00pmandlastsaboutthreehours.PleasechecktheMHSVoicemailforchangesinschedulesorcancellations.
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AdsorNoticesmustbesubmittednolaterthanthenightoftheGeneralMeetingtobeincludedinthenextissue.Longerarticleswillbeprintedastimeandspaceallowsandshouldbeinelec-tronicfileformatifpossible.Seeinsidebackcoverforadrates.Submissionsmaybesentto:
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©Copyright2011,MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety.Exceptwherenoted,contentsmayberepro-ducedfornon-profit,non-commercialuseonly.Allmaterialmustbereproducedwithoutchange.Propercreditwillbegivenincludingtheauthor/photographerandtheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyNewsletterciting:volume,numberanddate.
BellMuseumofNaturalHistory,10ChurchStreetSoutheast,Minneapolis,Minnesota,55455-0104
November 2011 Volume 31 Number 11
CoverPhotodrawnfromMHSNewsletterArchive
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society November 2011 Volume 31 Number 11
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BySonjaKoolmo
OurNovemberspeakerwillbeoneofourfellowmembers,ErnieJohnson.Erniestartedkeepingtor-toiseswhenhewas14yearsold.ThefirstspeciesheworkedwithwastheTexasTortoise(Gopherusber-landieri).
Forthepast11years,hehasspecializedinRussian,GreekandRedfoottortoises,andhassuccessfullybredtheRedfoot(Geochelonecarbonaria).JoinupFriday,November4th,whenErnieshares
withushis40yearsworthoftortoisekeepingknowl-edge,andspecificallyhelpsustounderstandhowonecansuccessfullykeepandbreedbothRussianandRedfootTortoisesintheUpperMidwest.
November General Meeting Presentation - Friday, November 4th - Starting at 7 P.M.University of MN - St. Paul Campus, Borlaug Hall, Room 335
Ernie Johnson presents..
How to Successfully Keep and Breed Russian and Redfoot Tortoises in the Upper Midwest
ByEllenHeck
ThespeakerforOctoberwasTonyGamble.Tonywasalastminutereplacementbut,asheputit,heiswill-ingtotalkgeckosatthedropofahat.Heputtogeth-erhisfirsttalkongeckosin1999,whenhewasjustaguywithalotofgeckosandthepicturesthatwereon35mmslides.Todayheisapost-doctoralresearcherattheUniversityofMinnesotaintheDepartmentofGenetics,CellBiologyandDevelopment.
Sincehefirststartedresearchinggeckosalothasbeendiscovered,includingover300newspecies,howtheyarerelatedandhowtheycansticktoglass.Firstthough,somevocabularyisneeded.Phyloge-neticsisthestudyofhowanimalsarerelatedandisdeterminedthroughmolecularsequencing.Thiscanbedisplayedasabranchingtree.Thebasestartsinthepastandbranchesintonewgroupsfromanodeasitmovesforwardintime.Thenodespeciesareextinct.Theresultingdiagramshowshowdifferentspeciesarerelated.Closelyrelated“sister”species,oracompletegroupofbranches,arereferredtoasaclade.Thetreeanditsbranchescanberotated,buteveniftheresultingtreelooksdifferent,therelation-shipsbetweenthespeciesremainthesame.Thetreecanbeusedfortaxonomy,biogeography,comparativebiology,evolutionarymedicineandconservation.
ThenextquestionTonyaddressedwaswhatisagecko?Gekkonidaeisthelargestfamilyoflizardsintheworld.Althoughthereareanumberoftraitsas-sociatedwithgeckos,almostallhaveanexceptiontothem.Theyareuniqueinthelizardworldbecauseoftheirvocalizations.Theyroutinelychirpwheninter-actingwithothergeckos;inthecaseofthetokay,itisalmostconstant.Manyhavethe“sticky”toesthatallowthemtoclimbsurfacesandevenglass,butnotalldo.Manylayeggswithahardshell,makingthemuniqueinthereptileworldwhereleathery-shelledeggsarethenorm.Theyhaveafixedclutchsize–two.Somesmallgeckosonlylayone.Mosthavenoeyelidsandarenocturnal,buttherearenotableexceptionstobothtraits.Someareevenparthenoge-netic,whichallowsafemaletobreedwithoutamale.
Oneofthetraitsthatmaketheminterestingisthesheerdiversity–thereare1428speciesin114genera.Therehasbeenahugespikeinthenumberofspeciesdiscoveredinthelast30yearsorsoandnosignofslowingdown;in1999therewere1100species.Thisdiversityallowsresearchersmoreoptionsinstudyingthevarioustraitsandinpickingamodalorganismieaspeciesthatexhibitsthetraitsofmostspeciesintheclade.
In case you missed the October speaker (who stepped up to the plate at the last minute):
Tony Gamble on Geckos...
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society November 2011 Volume 31 Number 11
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Geckosaregloballydistributedinwarmclimates.TheyarefoundinthefossilrecordbacktotheJurassicandsoco-existedwiththedinosaurs.Theyhoweversurvivedwhatevercataclysmkilledoffthedinosaurs.Specimenshavebeenfoundembeddedinamber,whichshowsthattheadhesivetoepadsexistedatleast70millionyearsago.Theyaremorphologi-callydiverse,withthelargestknown(althoughprob-ablyextinct)speciesabout24”longandthesmallest1.6cm(usuallyphotographedonacoin).
Thereare7describedfamiliesofgeckos.
PygopodidaeisfoundinAustraliaandNewZealandandhas412speciesin7genera.Thesearetheleastgecko-likeandhavenolegs.Fordecadestheywerenotevenconsideredtobegeckos.Theyfeedoninsectsandotherlizardsandsomeevenburrowlikeotherleglesslizards.Despitethistheydoexhibitonecommongeckotrait–theyhaveflattongues,whichtheyflickovertheirlidlesseyes
Carphodactylidaearetheleaf-tailedgeckosfromAus-traliaandconsistof7generawith29species.
Diplodactylidae19genera121speciesnewCaledo-niageckocrestedvelvetgeckosSomehaveglandsintailandsquirtblacktarliquid
Eublepharinaeareliddedgeckos,30speciesin6gen-era.Theyhaveawidedistributionandincludetheleopardgecko,oneofthemostrecognizablegeckosthatdoesn’tactuallysellinsurance.Theyarecharac-terizedbytheireyelidandnon-stickytoepads.Theireggsareleatheryratherthanhard.
Sphaerodactydaehas12generaand202species.TheyarefoundincentralandsouthAmericaaswellasAfrica.ThisgroupcontainssomeofTony’sfavoritegeckos,withgonatodesbeinghistoppick.Theyarethesmallestgeckos-functionallyandecologicallytheyaretheequivalentofinsects.
Phyllodactylidaeconsistsof11generawith119spe-cies.Theiradhesivetoepadslooklikeginkoleavesandtheyincludethefan-footedgeckos.Theyhaveatrans-Atlanticdistribution
Gekkonidaeisthelargestfamily,with882speciesin52generaandthenumberofdescribedspeciesis
growingrapidly.Itincludesthetokaygecko(whichwasusedformuchoftheadhesivetoeresearch),lepi-dodactylislugubris(aparthenogeneticspecies)andthepachydactylusorweb-footedgecko,sonamedbecauseofitssnowshoe-likefeetthatallowittorunoverthesanddunesthatmakeupitshabitat.
Becauseofthesheernumberofspecies,gettingsamplesofthemallfortestingcanbeachallengeinandofitself.Historically,empiricaltraits,suchasthestickytoepads,eyelidsandscalepatternshavebeenusedtosortgeckos.However,thesesomephysicaltraitshaveevolvedseparatelyindivergentgroups,whichleadstoincorrectclassification.Itwasn’tuntil2004thatamolecularphylogenyofgeckoswasstarted.WorkingwithAaronBauerandothers,thiswascompletedin2008.
Oncethiswascompleted,othertopicscouldbeap-proached,suchasthewidedistributionofgeckosfromthesamefamilyacrossmultiplecontinentsandevenhemispheres.Onepossibilityisthatthespeciesexistedbeforethecontinentssplitfromeachother.Thisdoesnot,however,explaintheexistenceonvolcanicislands,sincethesewereneverpartofthemassedcontinents.Thisiswheretheuniquegeckohard-shelledeggcomesintoplay.Beingmorerobust,theycansurviveimmersioninsaltwaterfordaysonendandstillhatch.Sincetheyadheretothesurfacetheyarelaidon,theycouldtravelhundredsofmilesacrosstheocean.Also,theoceansseparatingthecontinentsaremuchlargerthantheyoncewere.
Anotherpossibilityistheuseoflandbridges.Theclimatemillionsofyearsagowasverydifferentthanitistoday,allowinggeckostosurvivefurthernorthandsouththantheycantoday,allowingthemmorepos-siblelandroutes.Andmorerecentlyofcoursethereistravelonships.Allinall,itisestimatedthattherehavebeennofewerthan11independententriesintothenewworld.
Asmentionedearlier,mostofthestickytoepadre-searchwasconductedusingtokaygeckos.ThesecretisintheforceofattractioncalledvanderWaalsadhe-sionbetweenthegecko’sfootandthesurfacetheyareclimbing.Basically,theirfeethavemillionsofsmallhair-likefiberscalledsetae,whichbranchandre-branchattheendstoincreasesurfacearea.Therearesomanythatthecombinedtotalcouldholdapproxi-
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Upcoming Hands-on Event ScheduleFri. Nov 11, 4-9PMSat. Nov. 12,10AM-5PMTradeShowMplsConventionCenterHallELotsofVolunteersNeeded!
LookingtomeetotherMHSmembers?Helpassistthesocietyachieveit’sgoalsofeducatingthepublic?Orjusthaveagoodtimeshowingoffyourherps?Here’stheperfectopportunity!
Here’s the deal-Bringyourherp(s)tooneoftheshowslistedabove,andtalkaboutthem.That’sit!Youdon’thavetobeanexpert,you’renotgivingspeech-es.Mostofthetimeyouwillfindthatpeoplearemorethanopentohearingaboutourmisrepresentedcritters.
Sound fun? Great! Therearejustafewrequirements:Bringonlyhealthyanimals.Makesureyouknowthebasicsaboutyouranimal;Whattheyeat,howlongtheylive,adultsize,cageneeds.Thereisnosizelimitsaslongasthehandlercancomfortablykeepcontrol.Wedonotletviewerspatthemontheheadanddonotallowthemtodirectlyholdtheanimal.Iftheanimalsareveryyoung,displayinacageisrecommended.Childrenmayparticipateaslongastheyhaveadultsupervision.
Contact: Jan Larson 507-263-4391 [email protected]
ELECTIONS!
Theupcominggeneralmeet-ingisknownasthe‘an-nual’meeting.ItiswheretheelectionofthecomingyearsBoardMemberswillbedeter-mined.
MakesureyourvoteisheardonNovember4,2011at7:00PMatBorlaugHallontheUofMSaintPaulcampus.
Ifyouareinterestedinserv-ingontheboard,pleasecontactEllenHeckbeforethemeeting.
mately290lbs.Whilethismayseemlikeover-kill,sincegeckosseldomweighmorethanafewounces,itshouldbekeptinmindthatthesurfacestheynor-mallyscamperaroundonarenotsmoothandsonotallsetaewillmakecontact.Plusthereisthatpeskyforceofgravitywhenageckofallsandmustcatch
itself,orisrunningupside-downontheceiling.
Toreleasethegrip,thegeckomustchangetheangleofthefoot.Itactuallytakesmoreenergytounstuckitsfootthantostick,whichiswhyevenafterdeath,ageckostaysstuck.
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society November 2011 Volume 31 Number 11
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Notices
BoardMinutesforSeptemberwereunavailable.Theywillbepostedinthecomingnewsletter.
Ifyouareinterestedinservingonthewebsitecomittee,pleasecontactaboardmemberformoredetails.
Treasurer’s Report for Sept 2011PreparedbyNancyHaig
Beginning Balance $11,013.61
Income:Membership $340.00Raffle $34.00Hands-on $388.00RodentSales $274.00RenfestDonations $2,204.75MidwestRegistration $1,535.00Total Income $4,775.75
Expense:Newsletter $150.82Program $381.17RodentCost $0.00adopt/Vet $0.00Supplies $430.63Midwest $0.00Hands-on $26.70Renfest $0.00Total Expense $989.32
Cash Increase/Decrease +$3,786.43
Ending Balance $13,415.54
Placement of cash holdings CheckingAccount $13,415.54 TCF/Paypal $1,429.42 Paypal $164.28 Cashonhand $175.00
Total $15,184.24
Notes:SeptRenfestdonationincomeswillap-pearonOctstatement.Supplyexpenseisforbulkpensandlanyardstobeusedashandouts.TransferofincomefrompaypaltoTcf/paypalisfrommemberships
October Adoption ReportPostedbySarahRichard,EditedbyChrisRueber
TwoRedEaredSliders,aMapTurtle,aRedFootTortoise,twoIguanas,twoBoas(1RF),aBallPython(RF),aCorn
Snake,aKingSnake(RF)
Upcoming Speakers
December General Meeting: CindySteinle-WomeninHerpetologyDecember Banquet: CindySteinle-HerpingtheSoutwhest
Candidates for Board Positions President No candidate. Vice President No candidate. Treasurer Nancy Haig Recording Secretary Ellen Heck Membership Secretary Heather Clayton Newsletter Editor Chris Rueber Members-At-Large (4) Jeff LeClere Jacob Mee Chris Smith No candidate.
As you can see, this is not a full docket of candidates. The Minnesota Herpetological Society is run by its members, and by those that have interest in the welfare of herps throughout our area. Time must be dedicated to the position, but it’s very worthwhile, and a lot of fun can be had.
The entire membership is encourage to take charge, consider becoming a board member, and casting your vote for all the board positions.
NextMeeting:Friday - November 4th - 7:00 pmRoom335BorlaugHall,UofMSt.PaulCampus
MHS Voice Mail:612.326.6516
MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.com
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