Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “... more Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “cryptic color pattern” as their first line of defense against predation, and yet the degree to which Texas Horned Lizards color match their backgrounds has never been quantified. Several zoos and state wildlife agencies are releasing captive-bred and translocated lizards to parts of their former range. Background color matching may be important to consider when moving lizards into a new habitat where predation may be higher if they are not closely color matched to the local soils. We asked whether lizards more closely match their local soil colors and sun-bleached plant stems than soils and stems from other areas. We found that lizards more closely match their local soil colors than they do the soil colors of other areas and that their vertebral white stripe matches sun-bleached plant stems more than other objects in their environment. We also present background color-matching variation for this taxon in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico from in situ photos taken, as found, in the wild. We suggest that zoos and wildlife agencies score coloration in their captive populations of lizards, thus possibly enabling these institutions to objectively consider color matching a priori as an applied conservation strategy to potentially increase the survival of reintroduced Texas Horned Lizards.
Phrynosomatics: The Newsletter of the Horned Lizard Conservation Society, May 1, 2023
A short, non-technical article for a popular audience introducing readers to the creation of the ... more A short, non-technical article for a popular audience introducing readers to the creation of the first known commercially available native plant seed mix for a reptile—specifically, for Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum)—and their specific habitat & food web.
Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “... more Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “cryptic color pattern” as their first line of defense against predation, and yet the degree to which Texas Horned Lizards color match their backgrounds has never been quantified. Several zoos and state wildlife agencies are releasing captive-bred and translocated lizards to parts of their former range. Background color matching may be important to consider when moving lizards into a new habitat where predation may be higher if they are not closely color matched to the local soils. We asked whether lizards more closely match their local soil colors and sun-bleached plant stems than soils and stems from other areas. We found that lizards more closely match their local soil colors than they do the soil colors of other areas and that their vertebral white stripe matches sun-bleached plant stems more than other objects in their environment. We also present background color-matching variation for this taxon in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico from in situ photos taken, as found, in the wild. We suggest that zoos and wildlife agencies score coloration in their captive populations of lizards, thus possibly enabling these institutions to objectively consider color matching a priori as an applied conservation strategy to potentially increase the survival of reintroduced Texas Horned Lizards.
"“Who knows the life of Meyenberg, Brown’s collector?” —Wright and Wright (1957)
In 1882, Britis... more "“Who knows the life of Meyenberg, Brown’s collector?” —Wright and Wright (1957)
In 1882, British cobbler and amateur naturalist Walter Drawbridge Crick sent Charles Darwin a beetle he had collected. The beetle had a small clam attached to its leg, and the discovery of this beetle helped to explain the mysterious migrations of freshwater bivalves from one pond to another, which was an important question at the time and also the subject of Darwin’s last publication before his death. Remarkably, the collector of this beetle-hitchhiking clam indirectly linked Darwin to the discovery of the structure of DNA—Walter Drawbridge Crick was the grandfather of Francis Crick. Walter Crick died in 1903, but Darwin’s rather interesting link to the co-discoverer of the DNA structure was not known until 2004 (Ridley 2004).
It is unfortunate that the names and lives of amateur naturalists and collectors who make important contributions to science often remain obscure. Such is the case of another amateur naturalist and businessman, a dealer in leather products (in this instance, saddles), who in 1901 sent to Arthur Erwin Brown (Fig. 1), the second director of America’s first zoo (Philadelphia), two species of snakes unknown to science at the time (Brown 1901a, b)."
Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “... more Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “cryptic color pattern” as their first line of defense against predation, and yet the degree to which Texas Horned Lizards color match their backgrounds has never been quantified. Several zoos and state wildlife agencies are releasing captive-bred and translocated lizards to parts of their former range. Background color matching may be important to consider when moving lizards into a new habitat where predation may be higher if they are not closely color matched to the local soils. We asked whether lizards more closely match their local soil colors and sun-bleached plant stems than soils and stems from other areas. We found that lizards more closely match their local soil colors than they do the soil colors of other areas and that their vertebral white stripe matches sun-bleached plant stems more than other objects in their environment. We also present background color-matching variation for this taxon in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico from in situ photos taken, as found, in the wild. We suggest that zoos and wildlife agencies score coloration in their captive populations of lizards, thus possibly enabling these institutions to objectively consider color matching a priori as an applied conservation strategy to potentially increase the survival of reintroduced Texas Horned Lizards.
Phrynosomatics: The Newsletter of the Horned Lizard Conservation Society, May 1, 2023
A short, non-technical article for a popular audience introducing readers to the creation of the ... more A short, non-technical article for a popular audience introducing readers to the creation of the first known commercially available native plant seed mix for a reptile—specifically, for Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum)—and their specific habitat & food web.
Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “... more Most of the literature on the basic ecology of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) cites “cryptic color pattern” as their first line of defense against predation, and yet the degree to which Texas Horned Lizards color match their backgrounds has never been quantified. Several zoos and state wildlife agencies are releasing captive-bred and translocated lizards to parts of their former range. Background color matching may be important to consider when moving lizards into a new habitat where predation may be higher if they are not closely color matched to the local soils. We asked whether lizards more closely match their local soil colors and sun-bleached plant stems than soils and stems from other areas. We found that lizards more closely match their local soil colors than they do the soil colors of other areas and that their vertebral white stripe matches sun-bleached plant stems more than other objects in their environment. We also present background color-matching variation for this taxon in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico from in situ photos taken, as found, in the wild. We suggest that zoos and wildlife agencies score coloration in their captive populations of lizards, thus possibly enabling these institutions to objectively consider color matching a priori as an applied conservation strategy to potentially increase the survival of reintroduced Texas Horned Lizards.
"“Who knows the life of Meyenberg, Brown’s collector?” —Wright and Wright (1957)
In 1882, Britis... more "“Who knows the life of Meyenberg, Brown’s collector?” —Wright and Wright (1957)
In 1882, British cobbler and amateur naturalist Walter Drawbridge Crick sent Charles Darwin a beetle he had collected. The beetle had a small clam attached to its leg, and the discovery of this beetle helped to explain the mysterious migrations of freshwater bivalves from one pond to another, which was an important question at the time and also the subject of Darwin’s last publication before his death. Remarkably, the collector of this beetle-hitchhiking clam indirectly linked Darwin to the discovery of the structure of DNA—Walter Drawbridge Crick was the grandfather of Francis Crick. Walter Crick died in 1903, but Darwin’s rather interesting link to the co-discoverer of the DNA structure was not known until 2004 (Ridley 2004).
It is unfortunate that the names and lives of amateur naturalists and collectors who make important contributions to science often remain obscure. Such is the case of another amateur naturalist and businessman, a dealer in leather products (in this instance, saddles), who in 1901 sent to Arthur Erwin Brown (Fig. 1), the second director of America’s first zoo (Philadelphia), two species of snakes unknown to science at the time (Brown 1901a, b)."
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In 1882, British cobbler and amateur naturalist Walter Drawbridge Crick sent Charles Darwin a beetle he had collected. The beetle had a small clam attached to its leg, and the discovery of this beetle helped to explain the mysterious migrations of freshwater bivalves from one pond to another, which was an important question at the time and also the subject of Darwin’s last publication before his death. Remarkably, the collector of this beetle-hitchhiking clam indirectly linked Darwin to the discovery of the structure of DNA—Walter Drawbridge Crick was the grandfather of Francis Crick. Walter Crick died in 1903, but Darwin’s rather interesting link to the co-discoverer of the DNA structure was not known until 2004 (Ridley 2004).
It is unfortunate that the names and lives of amateur naturalists and collectors who make important contributions to science often remain obscure. Such is the case of another amateur naturalist and businessman, a dealer in leather products (in this instance, saddles), who in 1901 sent to Arthur Erwin Brown (Fig. 1), the second director of America’s first zoo (Philadelphia), two species of snakes unknown to science at the time (Brown 1901a, b)."
In 1882, British cobbler and amateur naturalist Walter Drawbridge Crick sent Charles Darwin a beetle he had collected. The beetle had a small clam attached to its leg, and the discovery of this beetle helped to explain the mysterious migrations of freshwater bivalves from one pond to another, which was an important question at the time and also the subject of Darwin’s last publication before his death. Remarkably, the collector of this beetle-hitchhiking clam indirectly linked Darwin to the discovery of the structure of DNA—Walter Drawbridge Crick was the grandfather of Francis Crick. Walter Crick died in 1903, but Darwin’s rather interesting link to the co-discoverer of the DNA structure was not known until 2004 (Ridley 2004).
It is unfortunate that the names and lives of amateur naturalists and collectors who make important contributions to science often remain obscure. Such is the case of another amateur naturalist and businessman, a dealer in leather products (in this instance, saddles), who in 1901 sent to Arthur Erwin Brown (Fig. 1), the second director of America’s first zoo (Philadelphia), two species of snakes unknown to science at the time (Brown 1901a, b)."