Herpetological Conservation International

Michael Dee Grant Recipient Earyn McGee continues to make headlines! "In the two and a half years since McGee started #FindThatLizard, she has found that sharing images of lizards and their environments is a useful avenue for communicating some of her research. 'I’ll post facts about the lizards themselves, but then also about their habitat, talking about habitat loss and human encroachment,' McGee said. 'I like to incorporate my own research sometimes and talk about stream drying and things like that. Just using it as an opportunity to get people to think more deeply about lizards and what has changed over time.' https://www.gvnews.com//article_7ce467bc-9192-11eb-869a-53

Cupola gecko population discovered more than 50 years after first sighting! Read more here: https://www.stuff.co.nz//cupola-gecko-population-discovere

On Sunday, 185 Galápagos tortoises were seized from a smuggling attempt. So sad to see. We hope many of these little guys recover. "On the afternoon of Sunday, March 28, Galapagos National Park staff discovered 185 Critically Endangered tortoise hatchlings inside a suitcase bound for mainland Ecuador during a routine luggage inspection at Seymour Airport on Baltra Island. The tortoises were individually wrapped in plastic to limit their movement and subsequent detection, and at least 10 of the tortoises had died in the suitcase when they were discovered. Most of the young tortoises are estimated to be between 1-6 months of age, with some appearing to be newly hatched." Read more here: https://www.galapagos.org/news/tortoise-smuggling-attempt/

Welcome the newest volunteer to the team Evan Wooldridge. Evan will be filling the role of Social Media Manager as well as aiding in the expansion of our members discounts program. Evan Wooldridge is currently an undergraduate Posse Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a degree in Business: Marketing. He is currently working on research under the Schoville Lab on identifying microbial organisms in resistant and susceptible Colorado potato beetle whole tr...anscriptome RNA read data from Wisconsin. Evan also works part-time at the Morgridge Institute for Research under the PATh Project, and his primary duties include office support, metrics reporting, social media marketing, and external communication. Outside of this, he is the host of the Strength In Leos Podcast and produces high-quality Leopard Geckos at Decked Out Geckos. Herpetology, education, and outreach are the passions that have brought Evan to HCI and aid in contributing to their growing social media and sponsorships. See more

NEW SKINK FROM MEXICO’S SIERRA MADRE DEL SUR Uri Garcia and collaborators have described yet another species from the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca and Guerrer...o. The new species, Plestiodon longiartus is named for its elongated limbs. A link to the full description is available in the comments. See more

Check out our Q&A with Michael Dee Grant recipient Anna Thonis here: https://herpconservation.com/thonis-2020.html