Discovery of a New Species of Odd-Scaled Snake from Vietnam

During the summer of 2019, I conducted an expedition to remote, biologically unexplored areas of Vietnam with colleagues from the University of North Carolina Asheville, University of Washington, and the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) as part of a Global Genome Initiative award to assess amphibian and reptile […]

Characterizing a cryptic radiation of Asian gracile skinks in Myanmar (Freitas et al., 2020).

I’ve always had a special affinity for scincid lizards. Riopa skinks are one of the many poorly known skink genera of SE Asia, especially in Myanmar. In this study, led by Dr. Elyse Freitas, we generate novel morphological (meristic and mensural) and multi-locus genetic data from specimens collected throughout central and northern Myanmar to better […]

The discovery of two new gecko species from southern Myanmar

We have discovered the first members of the lizard genus Cnemaspis on the mainland of Myanmar. Published in the journal Zootaxa, we report the discovery of three Cnemaspis species in the country’s southernmost subdivision called the Tanintharyi Region. Out of the three species, two are new to science— the Tanintharyi Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis tanintharyi) and […]

Field work in northern Vietnam

I have recently concluded some field work in Vietnam with colleagues Dr. R. Graham Reynolds, Dr. Truong Quang Nguyen, Dr. Cuong The Pham, and Hayden R. Davis. One of the most notable finds was this remarkable endemic tiger gecko (Goniurosaurus catbaensis). The specimens collected during our surveys will join a growing repository of life on […]

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of the Lesser Antillean Iguana

In a collaboration with researchers from UNC Asheville, Mississippi State University, the University of Amsterdam, and the Shedd Aquarium, we have recently characterized the first mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima). We deployed a combination of off-target sequence capture and targeted Sanger reads to assemble the complete mitogenome. The paper […]

First record of the Malaysian Bridle Snake in Myanmar

Our manuscript in Check List documenting the first record of Dryocalamus subannulatus in Myanmar has been published. This is the first of many forthcoming range extensions into the Tanintharyi for a diversity of taxa from the Isthmus of Kra region. In this note, we provide comparative morphological and molecular data of the Tanintharyi specimen. Link: https://checklist.pensoft.net/articles.php?journal_name=checklist&id=23034

New paper out in PBSW!

Our manuscript redescribing Xenochrophis bellulus (Stoliczka, 1871) and detailing its taxonomic status has now been published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. A lost holotype and cluttered taxonomic history has led us to designate a neotype and provide detailed morphological redescriptions based on a small series of museum specimens. We additionally delve into the […]