Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota)
Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles. What an amazing group these critters are. Amphibians undergo an astounding transformation, growing from waterbabies into air-breathing creatures over the course of their life cycle. Reptiles include some of the most ancient of animal species. Some fascinate us, others repel us. All play an important role in their respective ecosystems.
Now there is a new blog carnival to celebrate herps and bring together interesting posts from the blogosphere in one handy location. Please visit the first carnival ever at House of Herps for encounters with some cool animals and great writers. There’s even an irreverent, but not irrelevant, clip from South Park.
American Toad (Bufo americanus)
View Ted’s (Beetles in the Bush) candidate for North America’s most beautiful lizard, the Eastern Collared Lizard that he photographed in Oklahoma. Admire Kenton and Rebeccas’ (Wild About Nature) ambassador corn snakes. Read Hugh’s (Rock Paper Lizard) book review of Snakebit: Confessions of a Herpetologist by Leslie Anthony. This is just a tiny sampling of the great posts “packaged” on the carnival ready for you to open.
There is also information from Amphibian Ark, a conservation effort whose introduction begins: The world’s amphibians are disappearing. More than one hundred species may have already gone extinct and thousands more are threatened with extinction. Many of the threatened species cannot be safeguarded in the wild and require management away from their natural habitat if they are to persist. Aside from their obvious appeal to nearly all humans, amphibians play a critical role in the global ecosystem, provide us with important pharmaceuticals, and may act as our environmental barometers. There is simply too much at stake in losing them.
Willow House is represented by a post about snapping turtles. The frogs shown on this post were photographed here in September.
Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)
Willow House Chronicles 
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