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Tetrapod Zoology

Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals - living and extinct

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Naish-pterosaur-model-150-px.jpg Darren Naish is a science writer, technical editor and palaeozoologist (affiliated with the University of Portsmouth, UK) who mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs. He also studies such things as the swimming abilities of giraffes and fossil marine reptiles. An avid interest in modern wildlife and conservation has resulted in many adventures in lizard-chasing, bird-watching and litter-collecting. I've been blogging since 2006 and a compilation of early Tet Zoo articles is now available in book form as Tetrapod Zoology Book One. Additional recent books include The Great Dinosaur Discoveries and Dinosaurs Life Size. For more biographical info go here. I can be contacted intermittently at eotyrannus (at) gmail dot com. PLEASE NOTE: I am now completely unable to keep up with email correspondence. I do my best to respond to all queries and requests, but please don't be offended if I fail to reply. I blog from and about conferences - please contact me for more info. Follow me on twitter: @TetZoo.

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Tetrapod Zoology backstory

The ones I participate in

Mostly on extant tetrapods

Mostly Cenozoic

Mostly Mesozoic

Palaeozoic

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herpetology:

Geckos love Tet Zoo

Category: frivolous nonsense

If you didn't know, I've been away. The last four articles that have appeared here were all scheduled to publish in my absence. I've been in Romania and Hungary where I had a great time - saw lots of neat...

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How gekkotans evolved into predatory 'snakes' (gekkotans part XII)

Category: herpetology

In the previous article I provided brief reviews of all currently recognised pygopodid 'genera'*. Except one. I've left this one until last, largely because it's the most spectacular (up to 75 cm in total length) and (arguably) most fascinating...

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Blindsnake mimics, scaly-foots and javelin lizards (gekkotans part XI)

Category: herpetology

I really want to get these pygopodid articles finished. Actually, I really want to get the whole gekkotan series finished: the end is in sight and I know I'll get there eventually. In the previous articles on pygopodids (part...

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The pygopodid radiation: diverse diets and the 'pygopodids got there first' hypothesis (gekkotans part X)

Category: herpetology

The previous article - part of my now lengthy series on gekkotan squamates (see links below) - provided an introduction to the neat and fascinating near-limbless Australasian gekkotans known as the pygopodids. Disclaimer: the group being discussed here is 'Pygopodidae...

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Meet the pygopodids (gekkotans part IX)

Category: herpetology

One of my shortish-term goals at Tet Zoo has been to complete the series on gekkotan lizards I started in April 2010 (see below for links to previous parts). We continue with that series here, and this time round...

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Cambodia: now with dibamids!

Category: herpetology

Dibamids are a weird and very neat group of fossorial, near-limbless squamates that I've long planned to cover at Tet Zoo. Little is known about them and how they might relate to other squamates has long been the subject...

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Giant fossil matamata turtles (matamatas part V)

Category: herpetology

The Matamata is an incredible animal. A morphologically bizarre, highly cryptic, aquatic South American turtle, it's equipped with a super-specialised wide, flattened skull and a host of peculiar features that allow it to engulf fish and other prey in deft...

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Identifying Pleistocene animals from Malta, courtesy of paleocreations.com

Category: mammalogy

It's well known that the islands of the Mediterranean were formerly home to an assortment of island endemics, all of which are now extinct. Most of the best known ones are mammals like pygmy elephants, pygmy hippos, pygmy megacerine deer...

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Close up to Andrias, despite the smell and the teeth

Category: herpetology

Aww, look at that cute little face, those piggy little, opaque eyes, that wrinkled skin. I just know that you want a little refresher on giant salamanders, so - accompanied with new photos taken at the SMNK in Karlsruhe...

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Isopachys: worm-like skinks from Thailand and Myanmar

Category: herpetology

I've been ill, and pressing deadlines for book chapters and other projects have kept me busy. An inability to post stuff on Tet Zoo always frustrates me, as there's just so much Tet Zoo-relevant stuff to get through. And,...

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