217 Blindsnake Takeover

Herpetological Highlights

Blindsnakes have taken over the continent of Australia at rapid speed. We chat about their different body types and finish with some listener-submitted wild observations of unusual reptile behaviour.

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Main Paper References:

Tiatragul S, Skeels A, Keogh JS. 2024. Morphological evolution and niche conservatism across a continental radiation of Australian blindsnakes. Evolution 78:1854–1868. DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae132.

Other Links/Mentions:

Robles-Gil A. 2024.After the Death of Cassius, the World’s Largest Captive Crocodile, Scientists Are Trying to Solve the Mystery of His Age. Available at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-the-death-of-cassius-the-worlds-largest-captive-crocodile-scientists-are-trying-to-solve-the-mystery-of-his-age-180985422/ (accessed December 5, 2024).

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Intro visuals – Paul Snelling