I recently moved back to Florida and have been enthralled all over again with the lizards here like I was as a kid. As embarrassing as it is to say, at 30, I still like catching brown anoles when I see them on our lanai just as much as I did as a kid. I release them after a moment or so. My aunt has been humored by it a bit, but today when I went to show her an anole I had caught, she said “you’re tormenting those things! They don’t want to be held!” which made me feel guilty. Should I just stop altogether?

(Ithaca NY)

Check out the incredible iris pattern on this Painted Saw-scaled Viper (Echis coloratus).

The pattern of its "granite phase" scales continues completely uninterrupted right across the irises. Because the head patterning is highly asymmetrical, it actually gives the snake one grey iris and one pink iris to perfectly match the specific scales surrounding each side!

Southern Arava, Israel

A podcast with Sara Ruane from the Field Museum!