The amphibian and reptile fauna within a small area in a lowland rainforest fragment reserve in Amazonian Ecuador was intensively surveyed over an initial 2year period via removal sampling (1986–88), coinciding with the construction of a road through the area and a subsequent surge of increased forest conversion and fragmentation in surrounding areas. A time-constrained transect sampling techni...

BACKGROUND The present-day amphibian and reptile fauna of Western Siberia are the least diverse of the Palaearctic Realm, as a consequence of the unfavourable climatic conditions that predominate in this region. The origin and emergence of these herpetofaunal groups are poorly understood. Aside from the better-explored European Neogene localities yielding amphibian and reptile fossil remains, t...

The urinary tract includes kidneys, ureters, cloaca, and bladder in reptiles and amphibians. Problem-oriented medicine includes identifying clinical problems, defining diagnoses for each problem, implementing a plan to address each diagnosis, and reformulating the plan as indicated in follow-up evaluations. This paper is intended to serve as an instructional aide for those who are preparing for...

A malformed embryonic or neonate choristoderan reptile from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of northeastern China is described. The tiny skeleton exhibits two heads and two necks, with bifurcation at the level of the pectoral girdle. In a fossil, this is the first occurrence of the malformation known as axial bifurcation, which is well known in living reptiles.

BACKGROUND DNA barcoding of non-avian reptiles based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is still in a very early stage, mainly due to technical problems. Using a newly developed set of reptile-specific primers for COI we present the first comprehensive study targeting the entire reptile fauna of the fourth-largest island in the world, the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar. METHOD...