Pink-headed Reed Snake (Calamaria schlegeli)
by Serin Subaraj
World Sea Turtle Day 2021
We’ve written on sea turtles a couple of times before this. If you haven’t already, check the posts out here and here. June 16th is World Sea Turtle Day! Join us in celebrating these fascinating and threatened creatures. Sea turtles have a tough life – to the point of briefly becoming internet memes in 2020.Continue reading “World Sea Turtle Day 2021”
Here be Dragons
14th August is World Lizard Day! This year we are going to be featuring dragons. Dragons are found in one form or another in nearly every culture in the world. And every dragon has its style; fire-breathers, gold-hoarders, princess-stealers, and more. But these dragons are of lore. We are going to meet some real-life dragonsContinue reading “Here be Dragons”
World Snake Day Special – Species Spotlight!
Happy World Snake Day! To celebrate, we have a special two-part blog post. Take a look at the first part of our special here! For part 2, we have a special ‘Species Spotlight’. Two weeks ago, we asked our followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to vote on which species of snake we should featureContinue reading “World Snake Day Special – Species Spotlight!”
World Snake Day Special – #AskHSS
July 16th is World Snake Day! To celebrate, we’ll be doing a special two-part blog post. We asked our followers on Instagram @herpsocsg for their burning questions about snakes! Thank you to all who contributed your questions – we’ve answered them below. Without further ado, let’s dive straight into #askHSS! GENERAL QUESTIONS How many species ofContinue reading “World Snake Day Special – #AskHSS”
Borneo Herp Trip 2019
The rainforests of Borneo, considered by many to be the crown jewel of biodiversity in Sundaland. We start our story in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia. As the wheels of the plane touched the ground, I felt a surge of excitement swell within me. I was finally in Borneo once again! After notContinue reading “Borneo Herp Trip 2019”
The Making of ‘The Herp Squad and the Mystery of the Missing Bluebird’
In 2019, we were approached by the Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme to advise a group of students, as they created a children’s book about Singapore’s biodiversity. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity. Joon Khai, Pyari, Seng Kitt, Shanyl, Dayna, Justine and Sheu Wen published an amazing book titled ‘The Herp Squad and the Mystery ofContinue reading “The Making of ‘The Herp Squad and the Mystery of the Missing Bluebird’”
World Congress of Herpetology 2020!
The 9th World Congress of Herpetology was held in Dunedin, New Zealand from 5-10 January 2020. HSS Co-founder, Sankar was fortunate enough to attend the conference and present on “A metabarcoding study of diet and parasites in reticulated pythons in Singapore”. It might seem strange to host a herpetology conference in New Zealand, a countryContinue reading “World Congress of Herpetology 2020!”
Ask HSS #1
We realise that Herpetology doesn’t come up too often in day-to-day life. So, we put up a series of Instagram Stories on @herpsocsg asking if you guys had any burning questions on Herps and Herping in Singapore. Many of you have quipped in with awesome questions, and they shall be answered below! On Herps inContinue reading “Ask HSS #1”
Snakes – Why No Legs?
One of our members, Jonathan Tan, recently wrote an essay on why snakes have evolved to be legless. We’ve invited him to share it here to help our readers better understand their fascinating evolutionary history. Disclaimer: our understanding of the evolution of snakes is itself continuously evolving, so this essay may contain points of contention. What […]
Genomics and Venomics of the sexually dimorphic Temple Pitviper
If you would like to see our project—the only project from Singapore and the only one utilizing a herp species—succeed, you can help by voting for us.
Vote at: http://www.pacb.com/smrt-science/smrt-grant/pag2017/temple-pitviper/
Herping Ubin
Today was the HSS’ first Herp Walk held on Pulau Ubin! Previously, night walks had been held in collaboration with the Vertebrate Study Group (VSG) branch of the Nature Society as part of Pesta Ubin 2016, and HSS members also helped survey for herptiles during BioBlitz Ubin in December last year. Given the rich herpetofauna that we observedContinue reading “Herping Ubin”
Of Vipers and Vivipary
Having had to cut short the previous walk in August due to rain, we were delighted to have clear weather for our latest walk in September, once again at the MacRitchie Treetop Walk! We also welcomed two members of the Little Green Men, Sarah and Frances, to join us on our walk; if you’re interested in makingContinue reading “Of Vipers and Vivipary”
Happy World Snake Day!
Snakes: among the most misunderstood, yet revered creatures in the world. Over 3000 species are known to mankind, and they are distributed across every continent except Antarctica. For thousands of years, these legless reptiles have inspired fear and struck awe into the hearts of humans. Even today, many people who encounter snakes react in fear andContinue reading “Happy World Snake Day!”
World Sea Turtle Day
June 16th is World Sea Turtle Day, made in honour of Dr. Archie Carr (June 16th, 1909 – May 21st, 1987), who has been regarded as the father of sea turtle biology. He founded the Sea Turtle Conservancy and turned the tide of sea turtle extinction into a road to recovery with many of hisContinue reading “World Sea Turtle Day”
Herps in the Sky? – Part 3
True flight is something that is restricted to birds, bats and insects. It is distinguished from gliding and parachuting in that flying animals are able to produce thrust, to sustain their upward path. This is done by way of the “flight stroke”. It is an important thing to note that no herps are capable of true flight.Continue reading “Herps in the Sky? – Part 3”
HSS Turns 1!
On April 3, 2015 we published our first proper blog post. Now, 12 months later, we’ve turned one! This is a major milestone for us and we’re really happy that we’ve come this far. In the last 12 months, we have: Written 29 Blog Posts! Conducted 7 Herp Walks at Lower Peirce, Treetop Walk, Dairy FarmContinue reading “HSS Turns 1!”
HSS at Temasek Polytechnic!
The Temasek Polytechnic Green Interest Group (TPGIG) invited the HSS down to give a talk at Bonita Tierra (Spanish for “Beautiful Earth”)! Despite the fact that it was raining on a Friday evening, there was a good turnout. It was very heartening to see so many people who cared about the environment. After a brief introduction, SankarContinue reading “HSS at Temasek Polytechnic!”
Beware of Snakes? Be Aware of Snakes!
What a walk! For the first Herp Walk of 2016, the HSS ventured into Treetop Walk, along with a group of enthusiastic participants who were keen to see the herps that they shared Singapore with. Participants were first wowed by a couple of Black-bearded Gliding Lizards (Draco melanopogon) perched on a tree. The guides explained howContinue reading “Beware of Snakes? Be Aware of Snakes!”
Dairy Farm Nature Park is Alive!
For our fourth walk we decided to venture out of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve so we went to Dairy Farm Nature Park, nestled aside Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. With Serin at the helm as our lead guide we led the group into the nature park. As we headed into Wallace Trail, Serin spotted a Colugo (GaleopterusContinue reading “Dairy Farm Nature Park is Alive!”
Third time’s the charm: Lizards, Colugos and Birds galore @ Lower Peirce
It was back to Lower Peirce Reservoir for our third walk and the weather could not have been any more perfect. After a brief history lesson on the reservoir, which was officially opened in 1912, our participants jumped straight into looking for herps. Before we saw any reptiles, we encountered a Colugo and its baby! As weContinue reading “Third time’s the charm: Lizards, Colugos and Birds galore @ Lower Peirce”
Herps in the Sky? – Part 2
True flight is something that is restricted to birds, bats and insects. It is distinguished from gliding and parachuting in that flying animals are able to produce thrust, to sustain their upward path. This is done by way of the “flight stroke”. It is an important thing to note that no herps are capable of true flight.Continue reading “Herps in the Sky? – Part 2”
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