Vol. 27 (2007), No. 5

t he n e w sl e t t e r o f t he

minnesota herpetological society

WEB VERSION

Information edited/removed to respect privacy concerns.

2007 MHS Field Surveys see page 3

May’s Speaker: Bruce Delles “Funny Mishaps and Mistakes in Herpetology”

Friday, May 4, 2007 7:00pm

MA Y 2 00 7

V OLUME 27

NUMBER 5

President Bruce Haig

Board of Directors

BELL MUSEUM

Vice Presid ent Jennifer Hensley

Recording Secretary Ellen Heck

Membership Secretary George Richard

Members at Large Todd Turner

The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to:

Sarah Richard David Dewitt

Carmelita Knudson

Library

Webmaster Anke Reinders

The Minnesota H er pet ol og i ca l S o c i e t y

May 2007 Volume 27, Number 5

Newsletter Editor Asra Halvorson

Education Jan Larson

NATURAL HISTORY, 10 CHURCH STREET SOUTHEAST, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55455-0104

V O I C E M A I L : 612.624.7065 • M H S W E B P A G E : HTTP :// WWW. MNHERPSOC . ORG M H S G R O U P E M A I L : H T T P :// W W W. G R O U P S . YA H O O . C O M / G R O U P / M N H E R P S O C

Treasurer Nancy Haig

Adoption Sarah Richard

OF

Committees

• of • •

Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation reptiles and amphibians; Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians; Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Membership is open to all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’s activities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, on the first Friday of each month (unless there is a holiday conflict). The meeting starts at 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

Submissions to the Newsletter Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included in the next issue. Longer articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electronic file format if possible. See inside back cover for ad rates.

Submissions may be sent to: The Minnesota Herpetological Society Attn: Newsletter Editor Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church St. SE. Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104

Copyright 2007, Minnesota Herpetological Society. Except where noted, contents may be reproduced for non-profit, noncommercial use only. All material must be reproduced without change. Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the MHS Newsletter citing: volume, number and date.

L...------- s The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

2007 MHS Field Surveys

Mareaya 1so9uatnhdo2f 0H2as0t0in7gss.and coulee Jsuunreve8y, a9t, F1r0on2t0e0n7a.cOStff.icPiaalrkM. HS field Please contact Jeff LeClere for questions or more information.

Attention: MHS Members!

As I am sure many of you are aware the MHS whitepages is normally published this time of year. Now that we have a photo contest winner (and a front cover) only one thing is lacking, All the members that want/need to be in the book.

Right now we would publish one of the smallest directories ever, missing many long term members that have failed or forgotten to renew. I will be holding open the final membership until after the June meeting then making any additions

and going to print. Please double check your information and status with me at the meeting or by email.

On another note I'm looking for a few good volunteers. If you enjoy the MHS and would like to work on a special committee planning ways to increase membership in the society please contact me by email or talk with me at the meeting.

Thanks, George Richard, Membership Secretary

The turtle lives ‘twixt plated decks Which practically conceal its sex.

--Ogden Nash (1902–1971), U.S. poet. The Turtle (l. 1–2). . .

Oxford Book of American Light Verse, The. William Harmon, ed. (1979) Oxford University Press.

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News, Notes, & Announcements

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

April Adoption Report

In and out, like a revolving door, that's how we like them at adoption time! Even the critter that didn't have any submissions put in for it found a happy home! We took in and sent right back out: Three Toed Box Turtle Chinese Box Turtle Small Snapping Turtle 2 Ball Pythons Boa Corn Snake Large Burmese Python Gopher Snake 2 Iguanas 2 Bearded Dragons 2 Nile Monotors Fat Tail Gecko Water Dragon

For a total of 17 animals placed or fostered. The smaller Iguana and 2 small Boas that didn't get to the meeting may be up at next months meeting.

Thanks to all who took home the animals; Thanks for making this a very successful adoption month!

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

Rants?

Raves?

Try our feedback form for the MHS newsletter!

http://www.geocities.com/asra_valorshon/feedback.htm

Brandy Snyder, Adoption Committee Sarah M. Richard, Adoption Chair

Upcoming Speakers Friday May 4th – Bruce Delles – One of the founding members of the Minnesota Herpetological Society.

“Funny Mishaps and Mistakes in Herpetology” Friday June 1st – T. Keyler and Friend Trip to Australia

Cover photo © Asra Halvorson

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L...------- s The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

May 2007

White Snake Sale Recap & Results

Volume 27

Number 5

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our 2007 White Snake Sale.

Whether it was items for sale, time helping with the sale or bidding on items everything worked to make our fund raising successful. We sold over 240 items to 47 bidders and raised over $970.00. Very successful when compared to the first Great White Snake Sale in 1985 which pulled in $533.29 and had a meeting attendance of 62 people total.

The computer system created by Ellen Heck worked very well, with only a few minor bugs. Since I was behind the scene most of the time I would like to know how things went “outside” in the sales room. What did you like or dislike about the sale? Bear in mind this was the first run of the new system and we had a bit of a learning curve at the start. If you have any suggestions for improvement or something you would really like to change let me know by snail mail to our address at the Bell Museum, listserve, or at the next meeting.

For those who donated items but did not see them up for auction, I apologize.

Because of time & space limits we couldn’t put everything out. Fear not, they will show up at some future raffle or sale and still benefit the society. Thanks again for all your help Nancy Haig, MHS Treasurer

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

(§) - - - Ancient Lizard Missing Front Limbs.

Remains from a 95-million-year-old marine creature with nubs for legs is clarifying how some lizards shed their limbs as they crept through evolutionary time and morphed into slinky snakes.

Described in the current issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the snake-like lizard had a small head and willowy body. Extending 10 to 12 inches from snout to tail, the aquatic creature also sported a lengthy neck and relatively large rear limbs. Missing were all the bones of its forearms, including the hands and digits found in modern lizards.

The oddball creature, Adriosaurus microbrachis, is a member of a lineage of lizards thought to be snakes' closest relatives.

“It adds to the picture we have of what was happening 100 million years ago,” said lead researcher Michael Caldwell, a paleontologist at the University of Alberta, in Canada. “We now know that losing limbs isn't a new thing and that lizards were doing it much earlier than we originally thought.”

The new fossil reveals the earliest record of this limb-shedding in a lizard and gives scientists a rare glimpse back to the time when terrestrial lizards evolved to be limbless and returned to their watery origins. In fact, the ancestors of all animals lived in aquatic and marine environments.

Steps to limb loss

Body parts once used in an animal’s evolutionary past but tossed aside or morphed via natural selection to provide another function are called vestigial limbs.

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“It has been clear for centuries that snakes are tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that lost their limbs,” Caldwell told LiveScience. “The process and pattern of this limb-loss has remained a mystery for a long time.”

Fossils of lizards in transitional states—as the four-legged critters begin to evolve into snakes—have been rare.

“What we have not had to this point is a fossil record of vestigial limbs in lizards,” Caldwell said. “This is the first.”

Morphing lizard

Scientists initially collected the fossil during the 19th century from a limestone quarry in Slovenia. For nearly 100 years, the little lizard remained in a collection bin at the Natural History Museum in Trieste, Italy, before Caldwell and a colleague found it in 1996 during a visit to Europe.

The scientists were surprised to find the lizard’s forelimbs were too small to be useful for walking, while its hind limbs appeared to be functional.

"For some oddball reason, the forelimbs were lost before the rear limbs, when you would think it would be the opposite," Caldwell said. "The front limbs would be useful for holding onto dinner or digging a hole, but it must be developmentally easier to get rid of the forelimbs."

Though the lizard find does not make for a “missing link,” Caldwell suggests it suffices as a critical data point for helping scientists understand the aquatic process of limb loss.

Bryner, Jeanna. “Ancient Lizard Missing Front Limbs”.

LiveScience. 26 March 2007 http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/070326_lizard_limbs.html

A modern day legless lizard

The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

Thank You 2006 MHS Volunteers!

Many thanks to the MHS members who, as usual, generously contributed their time and talents to support the MHS and its public education goals during 2006. The members that contributed over ten hours will be receiving a small gift in appreciation at the May general meeting. If your name is not among those that contributed over ten hours and you feel it should be, please send me an email describing your contribution before the May meeting.

Members contributing 10 hours or more:

Allard, Roger Anding, Rachel Backer, Kia Backer, Mike Backer, Sage Banovitz, Tim Bernfeld, Angela Bittner, Linda Blasus, Marilyn Blasus, Randy Bliese, Tom Bosman, Fred Bosman, Liz Bouley, Skyler Bouley, Yevette Braucks, Andrea Brumfield, Judy Calander, Donna Clayton, Heather Crnobrna, Brian Curry, Connie Danathar, Chad Danathar, Christina Delles, Chase

Dewitt, Amanda Dewitt, Dave Evans, Heather Fremouw, JW Gamble, Tony Gilbertson, Darren Gilbertson, Theo Grassel, Amanda Grassel, Laurie Grassel, Vern Haig, Bruce Haig, Nancy Hakomaki, Nancy Halvorson, Asra Heck, Ellen Hensley, Jennifer Hewitt, August Hewitt, Michelle Hewitt, Sean Holmboe, Jennifer Holmstrom, Jody Housewright, Renee Housewright, Victoria Jacobsen, Jake

Janni, Mike Kazeck, Peter Knudson, Carmelita Knudson, Daniel Lang, Casey Lang, Mariah Lang, Marit Larson , Jan Larson, Christina Larson, Merle LeClere, Jeff Lillo, Jason Lillo, Larry Lucas, Richard Mahlow, Josh Martin, Skyler Menke, Sean Merck, Gordon Miller, Anna Minor, Natash Monson, Dan Morris, Lily Moss, Bill Pafarr, Harley

Pastika, Jamie Printy, Jeff Reinders, Anke Rex, Alexandra Richard, George Richard, Sarah Rohweders, Mike Rose, Jo Rose, Tali Sandburg, Bill Sasse, Tom Schaak, Cory Schaak, Tabitha Schmidtke, Mark Schmidtke, Zach Smith, Chris Smyder, Brandy Snyder, Brandy Turner, Todd Ulvenese Domonique Wold, Abby

Albrecht, Kara Austin, Ed Bemis, Chynthis Bonk, Liam Bonk, Richard Bouley, Arielle Claugherty, Kathy Carver, Caitlin Christoffel, Rebecca Eschbach, Robert

Gatz, Erin Gerholt, Jim Giefer, Kare Girard, Becky Homich, April Howard, Mike Ingebritson, Brian Ingebritson, Heather Jones, Delvin Karsten, Sam

Keyler, Cheryl Keyler, Dan Larson, Beau Liz Mahling, Laurie McKenzie, Ann McNeal, Marcy McNeal, Sarah Meehan, Julie Moriarty, Caitlin

Moriarty, Daniel Nolt, Jackie Sasse, Cheri Schmidtke, Nick Schuak, Nathan Solick, Donald Solick, Rene Strand, Megan Vadnais, GG

Other generously contributing members:

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The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

(§) - - - -

2007 MHS Photo Contest

The votes were cast and the ballots were counted! The People’s Choice winner and First Prize Amateur Photo went to Amanda Dewitt (pictured top left) for her photo of a corn snake (shown above).

Here’s a sampling of some of the awesome entries received for this year’s contest.

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L...------- s The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society

MHS Treasurer's Report

Prepared by Nancy Haig, Treasurer

For January 2007 Beginning Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . 22,430.33

Income: Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.00 Library Fines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Raffle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139.00 Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Rodent Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523.25 Hands Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.00 Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Total Income: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,203.25 Expense: Newsletter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309.00 Misc. Printing and Postage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Hands-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Rodent Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387.66 Adoption Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 Voicemail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96.08 Holiday Banquet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150.00 Total Expense: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946.66

Cash Increase/(Decrease): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256.59

Ending Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,430.33 Placement of Cash Holdings

Checking Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,430.33 Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.00

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,585.33

May 2007

Volume 27

Number 5

2006 Year-End Treasurer's Report

Prepared by Nancy Haig, Treasurer

Beginning Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . 18,347.82

Income: Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,920.50 Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.00 Library Fines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00 Raffle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958.00 Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,543.00 Rodent Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,822.00 Hands Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 999.45 Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.00 White Snake Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,141.50 Banquet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.00 Renfest donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,311.17 Renfest payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500.00 Donations Misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504.72 DNR Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412.00 Total Income: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,904.34

Expense: Newsletter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,037.70 Misc. Printing and Postage . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,244.41 Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,294.31 Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.97 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96.68 Hands-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207.91 Rodent Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,391.25 Adoption Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716.97 Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,485.00 Voicemail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,033.97 Bulk Mail Permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160.00 White Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464.48 Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,122.00 Renfest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283.13 Banquet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296.56 Field Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.49 Volunteer Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413.71 Bank Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.99 Midwest Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (281.11)

Total Expense: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,078.42

Cash Increase/(Decrease): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,825.92

Ending Checkbook Balance: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,173.74 Placement of Cash Holdings

Checking Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,173.74 Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.00

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,328.74

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G E T YOUR ME S SA GE TO Y O UR T AR GE T A UD I EN CE W I T H A 1 / 4 PA G E A D. $10 PER MONT H $ 1 10 P ER Y EA R *

*112th month is free on a one year commitment Advertising Policies

MHS AD RATES

Business card 1/4 Page 1/2 Page Full Page

$5/Month $10/Month $20/Month $40/Month

$55/Year* $110/Year* $220/Year* $440/Year*

* Note: 12th month is free on a one year commitment

New

MHS Ad Policy: The MHS assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY regarding the health or legality of any animal, or the quality or legality of any product or service advertised in the MHS Newsletter. Any ad may be rejected at the discretion of the Newsletter Editor. Due to space limitations, unpaid and complimentary advertisements are subject to occasional omission.

Classified Ads: All active members are allowed a classified ad, run free of charge as space permits. Ads may be run three consecutive months, after which time they may be resubmitted. Corresponding members are allowed a complimentary business card advertisement monthly as space permits. Due to federal restrictions on non-profit mailing permits, we are not allowed to run ads for travel, credit, or insurance agencies.

Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Editor, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Deadline is the night of the General Meeting for inclusion in the next newsletter. Make checks payable to: Minnesota Herpetological Society.

Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership Application

Renewal Membership# Type Check #

Name

Address City, State, Zip, Phone

Email

List in MHS Directory?

Yes

No

Herp related interests

Active Memberships:

Sustaining ($60/year)

Contributing ($40/year)

Basic ($20/year)

Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year, 2 business card ads/year) Required check info. Drivers Lic #

State

DOB

Please enclose the proper payment with your application. Make Checks Payable To: Minnesota Herpetological Society. Membership is for 12 months from the date of approval, a receipt will be sent only upon request. Mail to: Minnesota Herpetological Society, Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing.

MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY BELL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 10 CHURCH STREET SE MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0104

Non-Profit Rate U.S. Postage PAID Mpls, MN Permit No. 2275

POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER BY MAY 1

Next Meeting: Friday, May 4, 2007 7:00 PM Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus MHS Voice Mail: 612.624.7065

MHS Web Page:

www.mnherpsoc.org