vol 32 (2012), no. 8
DESCRIPTION
Minnesota Herpetological Society NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety
August 2012 Volume 32
the newsletter of the
Number 8
C o n t e n t s
Speaker: Noah Anderson on the Conservation of North American HerpsMay Speaker Recap: Fossile History of Crocodilians
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S
PresidentChristopher E Smith [email protected]
Vice PresidentDāv Kaufman [email protected]
Recording SecretaryEllen Heck [email protected]
Membership SecretaryHeather Clayton 612.886.7175 [email protected]
TreasurerNancy Haig [email protected]
Newsletter EditorChristopher Rueber [email protected]
Members at LargeJeff LeClere [email protected]
Jacob Mee [email protected]
Beth Girard [email protected]
Peter [email protected]
C O M M I T T E E S
AdoptionSarah Richard [email protected]
EducationJan Larson [email protected]
LibraryNancy Haig [email protected]
THE PURPOSE OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY IS TO
• Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation of reptiles and amphibians;
• Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians;
• Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.
TheMinnesotaHerpetologicalSocietyisanon-profit,tax-exemptorganiza-tion. Membership is open to all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’s activitiesandamediaforexchanginginformation,opinionsandresources.
GeneralMeetingsareheldatBorlaugHall,Room335ontheSt.PaulCam-pusoftheUniversityofMinnesota,onthefirstFridayofeachmonth(unlessthereisaholidayconflict).Themeetingstartsat7:00pmandlastsaboutthree hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.
SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER
Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meetingtobeincludedinthenextissue.Longerarticleswillbeprintedastimeandspaceallowsandshouldbeinelec-tronicfileformatifpossible.See inside back cover for ad rates. Submissions may be sent to:
The Minnesota Herpetological Society -or- [email protected]: Newsletter EditorC/O Bell Museum of Natural History10 Church St SEMinneapolis,MN55455-0104
Stay informed! Join us on our forums!And,youcanstillleaveusaVoice Mail:612.326.6516
SNAKE BITE EMERGENCY
HENNEPIN REGIONAL POISON CENTER 800-222-1222
©Copyright2012,MinnesotaHerpetologicalSociety.Exceptwherenoted,contentsmayberepro-ducedfornon-profit,non-commercialuseonly.Allmaterialmustbereproducedwithoutchange.Proper credit will be given including the author/photographer and the Minnesota Herpetological SocietyNewsletterciting:volume,numberanddate.
C/OBellMuseumofNaturalHistory,10ChurchStreetSoutheast,Minneapolis,Minnesota,55455-0104
August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8
Cover Photo Credit: Bonnie ClineAbout.com-TimberRattlesnakeatthePitts-
burgh Zoo.
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8
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April General Meeting Presentation - Friday, August 3rd-Startingat7P.M.UniversityofMN-St.PaulCampus,BorlaugHall,Room335
Noah Anderson will be presenting on...
The Conservation of North American Herps
And,incaseyoumissedtheJulygeneralmeeting,hereisarecapjustforyou!
Fossil History of CrocodiliansThespeakerforJulywasDr.ChristopherBruchu,an associate professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Iowa in the Geoscience de-partment. His topic was “The myth of the living fossil-Diverseapproachestowardcrocodyliformhistory”.
Crocodiles are widely considered to be “living fossils”. The common belief is that they have retained basically the same form for millions of years,appearinginthefossilrecordprettymuchas they do today. There had been a few offshoots fromthelinewhichshowsomedifferenttraits,but the main line remained unchanged. How-ever,Dr.Bruchuchallengesthisideaandbelievesthatthelinehasinfactvariedovertimejustasmuch as any other group.
Initially,whenpeopleweretryingtoclassifyani-mals,alltheyhadtogoonwaswhattheanimalslooked like now and what their apparent ances-tors look like in the fossil record. This method is strictlyempirical;thatis,astudyofvisiblephysi-caltraits.WiththeadventofDNAcollectionandanalysis,animalsandplantscanbecomparedgenetically to determine their relationships to each other. Sometimes this supports the empiri-calclassification,butsometimesitdoesnot.
Today,theorderofcrocodyliaconsistsofthreefamilies:crocodylidae,alligatoridae(whichincludesthecaiman)andgavialidae,whicharethe gharials. One differentiating feature between crocodiles and alligators is the teeth – alligators haveacompleteoverbite,whereascrocodileshave teeth that mesh and a notch in the upper jaw.Bothevolvedfromacommonancestordifferent from the modern forms that appears to
have both a notch and an overbite; alligators lost the notch and the crocodiles the overbite. Ghari-als are distinguished by a long narrow snout.
WiththeadventofDNAanalysis,therewereanumber of discrepancies between the genetic and empiricalphylogenies.However,DrBruchufeelsthatalotoftheconfusionstemsjustfromnam-ing conventions rather than the data itself. When thisisclearedup,thetreesarealmostidentical.Theonlythingthatstilldoesn’tfitisthegharials.More data can be added to help resolve the dif-ferences,butitmustbeaddedcorrectly.
What it gets down to is morphology vs. molecular data.Justbecausetwospecieslookalikedoesnot mean that they are closely or directly related.
The fossil record for crocodylia does back more than80millionyears,andtheancestralgroupsback to the Triassic period over 200 million years ago. There are many fossils for them as they tend tohaveaheavy,denseskeletonthatfossilizeswell.However,therearefewcompleteskel-etons;asiscommonwithmostfossils,bitsandpieces of the skeleton have been found.
Although there have been crocodile-like crea-turesaroundformillennia,thereisalotofvarietyto be found. Some have incredibly long noses; some like notosuchus had noses that were very shortandpig-like.One,mourasuchus,lookedlike “a surfboard with teeth”. Some had teeth more designed for crushing rather than tearing. Another,purussaurus,hadincrediblylargenos-trils.Dr.Bruchusaysthattheyareactuallylargeenough for a person to stick their head into the skullandjokinglysuggestedthatperhapsthis
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8
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Upcoming Hands-on Event ScheduleContact Jan for Specific Dates
Minnesota Renaissance FestivalMid-August to Early-October Put on by Como Cottage Contact Brandi Snyder or Raelene Rueber
LookingtomeetotherMHSmembers?Helpassistthesocietyachieveit’sgoalsofeducatingthepublic?Orjusthaveagoodtimeshowingoffyourherps?Here’stheperfectopportunity!
Here’s the deal-Bringyourherp(s)tooneoftheshowslistedabove,andtalkaboutthem.That’sit!Youdon’thavetobeanexpert,you’renotgivingspeech-es.Mostofthetimeyouwillfindthatpeoplearemorethanopentohearingabout our misrepresented critters.
Sound fun? Great! Therearejustafewrequirements:Bringonlyhealthyanimals.Makesureyouknowthebasicsaboutyouranimal;Whattheyeat,howlongtheylive,adultsize,cageneeds.Thereisnosizelimitsaslongasthe handler can comfortably keep control. We do not let viewers pat them on the head and do not allow them to directly hold the animal. If the animals are veryyoung,displayinacageisrecommended.Childrenmayparticipateaslong as they have adult supervision.
Contact: Jan Larson 507-263-4391 [email protected]
crocodile inhaled its prey. Pristichampsus had serratedteeth,aflattenedsnoutandhoof-likefeet. Others took to the oceans and developed flippersandadolphin-likefluke.
So although there have been creatures in the past thatverycloselyresembletoday’sspecies,thereare a great many more that clearly belong in the group but have very different characteristics. The assumption in the past has always been that the onesthatlookliketheextantgroupsweretheirancestors and the others were evolutionary side roads.ThisisthetheorythatDr.Bruchuischal-lenging; he feels that the real ancestors are some of the “oddities” and that reclassifying the groups willreconcilethedifferencesbetweentheDNAand the morphology.
Thespeciessamplingwillmakeadifference,
and the data set used must be appropriate for the questions.Theskullsshouldbeexaminednotjustforobvioustraitslikesnoutlengthandwidth,butmoresubtlecharacteristicsliketheexternalmandibularfenestrae(theholeinthejawofanalligator)aswellaswhereandhowthemusclesattach,whichvariesorcanevenbeabsent.Trac-ingthingslikebrainsizeisabitdifficult,asthebrainofacrocodyliandoesnotfillthebraincasein the skull.
NextyeartherewillbeagatheringinWashingtonDC,andhopefullyiftheycangetenoughpeopleinaroomtalkingitoverforlongenough,muchmayberesolved.Afterall,Dr.Bruchuwasableto show several slides and skull drawings proving thatBarneywasnotadinosauroranewt,butafish(andno,Iamnotkiddingaboutthat!)
ATTENTION ALL EDUCATORS!Attend a FREE
“Intro to Conducting Schoolyard Herp Surveys” and“DigitalPhotographyBridgetoNature”Workshop
on Saturday, August 4thatSherburneNationalWildlifeRefuge
Contact Beth Girard at 612/616-8431 or [email protected] for details!
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The 2012 Minnesota State Fair will take place between Thursday, August 23rd, and Monday, September 3rd. On each of these twelve days, the Minnesota Herpetological Society provides animals for an exhibit in the DNR build-ing (located at the corner of Carnes Avenue and Nelson Street). Thanks to this display, visitors to the building can
view six species of native snakes and four species of turtles. Jim Gerholdt, a lifetime member of MHS, graciously allows us to use one of his timber rattlesnakes for the centerpiece each year! Longtime member, John Moriarty, provides four species of turtles for the two display tanks. The other snakes are on-loan from the personal collections of other
MHS members.
To adequately provide care for these animals, twelve MHS members agree to serve as “Daily Investigators”. It is necessary for a member to check on the snakes and turtles each evening when the DNR building closes. At this time, the enclosures can be opened so water levels in each bowl and aquarium can be maintained, as well as the removal of any feces or shed skins. The DI must arrive at the DNR building no later than 8:50pm to gain access to the animal area. If you are interested in participat-ing, please contact Beth Girard, MHS State Fair Chair, at 612/616-8431 or by e-mail at [email protected]
Board Minutes for May 5th, 2012The meeting was called to order at 6:09pm. The cal-endar was reviewed for action items. Ellen read the minutes. Motion to accept the minutes: Chris R; 2nd: Peter. Motion passed.
Old Business
Adoption Amendment: There was a proposal to change the 1.5 clause of the adoption policy to read as follows:1.5 Venomous1.5.1 MHS does not accept venomous animals from the general public.1.5.2 Venomous animals received will not be placed at the general meeting.
Motion to accept amendment as stated above: Heather; 2nd: Chris R. Motion passed.
New Business
Hands-on Trunks: Right now there are 3 trunks. Jan has one and one is usually kept by the Bosman’s, who live on the northwest side of the cities. The third should be placed with someone on the north or north-east side of the cities, to make them accessible as needed. Beth volunteered to keep the third trunk.
Fostering/Euthanasia: The number of animals coming in and needing fostering is increasing. Ways of deal-ing with the surplus were discussed, including renting fostering facilities, euthanizing – how, when and who -and allowing the general public to adopt unplaced animals after their 3 months is up.
Motion to adjourn: Ellen; 2nd: Jeff. Meeting adjourned 8:02 pm.
Minnesota State Fair Announcement
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President: The president is the good will ambas-sador and spokesmen for the society. They chair monthly membership meetings and board meet-ings. Appoint all special and standing comittee chairs;subjecttotheapprovaloftheBoard.Ensure all decisions by the board are followed. Notify people of the board’s decisions. Maintain alistofallvolunteers,andkeepatallyoftotalhours. Prepare an annual schedule of society eventsandtasks.Confirmthatmandatoryde-liverablesarecompleted.Confirminsurancecoverageisadequate.Confirmthatclubdutiesarecompletedbyofficersandcommittees.
Vice President: The Vice President is responsible for coordinating and introducing the speakers at the monthly meetings. He/She also assesses andfacilitatestheneedsofthespeakers,aswellasadjustingthelightingintheroomasneeded.The Vice Presidential duties also include as-sistingthePresident,performinghis/herdutiesincaseofabsence,notifyingthenewsletterofupcoming speakers and generating an article
to promote those upcoming speakers. He/She is also to attend the board meetings which are held the Saturdays following the monthly meet-ing.
Treasurer:Responsibleforallfundsandassetsof the MHS. Maintain checkbook and banking accounts. Sets-up and maintains ledgers. Pres-entmonthlyfinancialreportatboardmeetingandfornewsletter.Maintainsexpenseaccounts.Reconcilesstatements.Preparesfinancialdocu-mentation on all club activities. Prepares year-end report and submits the records for audit. Serves on the annual audit committee.
Membership Secretary: Collect payment for membershipandprovidefundstotreasurer,maintain and update membership database. Ac-tivatesnewmembersonthewebsite.Respon-sible for supplying a monthly summary of mem-bershipactivities,andmaintainingafileofpriornewsletters and responding to all information andmembershipinquiries.Insurestheprinting
Be Part of the Board of MHS!It’sthattimeoftheyearagain!Youwillbehear-ing more about the coming elections in the upcominggeneralmeeting,butuntilthendotryto think of any nominations you might like to make!
The Minnesota Herpetological Society is com-prisedentirelyofunpaid,volunteerpositions.Virtually everything accomplished by the Soci-ety is done through individual or group incen-tive,effortandvision.Muchofwhatisdonemaynotbevisible,butisnecessaryforthesuccess of the Society. MHS is very proud of thehighpercentageofactive,dedicatedvolun-teers. There are many opportunities available to those willing to devote their time and energy by becoming a contributor. Contributions need
not be monetary to be effective. Participation of our active membership determines the direc-tion of MHS. Think of how you can help MHS grow,moveforward,andfindnewdirectionstoexplore.Thisis,afterall,yoursociety.Getinvolved!We’veincludedthedutiesandde-scription of MHS board and chair positions so youcanseewhateachjobentails.Formoreinformation contact someone on the board.
Inordertojointheboard,youmustbeacur-rent,activememberofMHS,andhavereachedtheageofmajority.
Come and join the board- Be part of the adven-ture!
Board Positions
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8
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of the annual white pages. Making backups of all reports. Newsletter label creation and distribu-tion.
Recording Secretary: Recordstheminutesofthe monthly board and general meetings and provides summaries to the Newsletter Editor. TheRecordingSecretarymaintains:theminutesoftheboardmeetings,a complete archive of pastnewsletters,andalisting of the inventory ofMHSsupplies,fix-tures and goods. Other duties include chairing the Election Committee and providing an annual summary of any unre-solved action items.
Newsletter Editor: Edits submissions,entersmonthlybusiness,and prepares the MHS newsletter for printing. The Editor also solicits articles,itemsofinter-est and advertising. The Editor is responsible for the appearance of the newsletter.
Member-at-Large: Par-ticipate in the decision making process and volunteerforprojectsorcommittees. The Mem-bers-At-Largeperformother duties as assigned bythePresident(e.g.pass out information at meetings,fieldques-tions,etc).
In addition to all duties listed,allboardmem-bersareexpectedtobepresentduringthemonthly board meeting that takes place the day followingthegeneralmeeting,usuallylocatedinstudentservices.Beyondthat,allOfficersareexpectedtoabidethemembershipbylawsandpolicies of MHS.
The Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society August 2012 Volume 32 Number 8
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Treasurer’s Report for June 2012Prepared by Nancy Haig
Beginning Balance $14,776.30
Income:Membership $130.00
Ads $50.00
Raffle $40.00
Adoption $160.00
RodentSales $555.00
MiscDonations $50.00
Hands-OnDonations $347.00
Total Income $1337.00
Expense:Newsletter $175.86
Program $100.00
Insurance $712.44
RodentCost $0.00
Total Expense $988.30
Cash Increase/Decrease +$348.70
Ending Balance $15,125.00
Placement of cash holdings CheckingAccount $15,125.00
TCF/Paypal $811.37
Paypal $255.24
Cashonhand $175.00
Total $16,366.61
July Adoption ReportPostedbySarahRichard,WrittenbyChrisRueber
TwoRed-EaredSliders,a3-toedBoxTurtle,aSul-cata(18”/50lbs),aAfricanClawedFrog,aChineseWaterDragon(baby),twoIguanas,aGecko,aCheckeredGartersnake(mediumsize),aNormalCornsnake,aPaleGreyCornsnake,threeBallPythons,aReticulatedPython(10’,young),two
CommonBoas,aBeardedDragon,aMexicanBlackKingsnake and an unmentioned number of Fire-
Bellied Toads
Webmaster Needed!
The MHS is seeking 1-2 people familiar with website maintenance. People should have some html experience. Experience using Drupal is a plus! Please e-mail Chris with questions.
Minnesota Herpetological Society Membership ApplicationNew
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Active Memberships: Sustainin ($60/year)Contributing ($40/year)Basic ($20/year)Printed Newsletter($5/yearplusmembership)
Corresponding Memberships: Commercial ($25/year,2businesscardads/year)
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Please enclose the proper payment with your application. Make checks payable to MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY.Membershipisfor12monthsfromthedateofapproval.Areceiptwillbesentonlyuponrequest.Mail To: Minnesota Herpetological Society, C/OBELLMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORY,10ChurchSt.SE,Minneapolis,MN55455Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing.
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Herp related interests
Advertising Policies
MHS Ad Policy:TheMHSassumesNORESPON-SIBILITYregardingthehealthorlegalityofanyanimal,orthequalityorlegalityofanyproductorservice advertised in the MHS Newsletter. Any ad mayberejectedatthediscretionoftheNewsletterEditor.Duetospacelimitations,unpaidandcom-plimentaryadvertisementsaresubjecttooccasionalomission.
Classified Ads: All active members are allowed a classifiedad,runfreeofchargeasspacepermits.Adsmayberunthree(3)consecutivemonths,afterwhich time they may be resubmitted.
Submissions: All advertisements should be submitted to the MHS Membership Secretary at the general meeting or mailed to: Minnesota Herpetological Society, C/O Bell Museum of Natural History. 10 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.Deadlineis the night of the General Meeting for inclusion in thenextnewsletter.Makecheckspayableto:Min-nesota Herpetological Society.
Advertising Costs
Size Cost BusinessCardSized $5/monthor$55/year*1/4Page $10/monthor$110/year*1/2Page $20/monthor$220/year*FullPage $40/monthor$440/year*
For pick-up at monthly meetings only. Orders may be placed the following ways
1. At the meeting for the following Month2. Online at http://mnherpsoc.com/content/rodent-orders3. Calling the MHS voicemail: 612.326.6516
OrdersMUSTbeplaced10DAYSINADVANCE of the date of meeting in order to guarantee availability.
MICE WEIGHT PRICE Pinkies 2-3grams $7/dzFuzzies 5-7grams $7/dzHoppers 8-11grams $8/dzWeanlings 12-15grams $9/dzAdults 25-30grams $10/dzJumboAdult 45+grams $14/dz
RATS WEIGHT PRICE SmallAdults 50-60grams $18/dzMedAdults 125-150grams $24/dzLargeAdults 200-240grams $30/dzJumbo 250-350grams $36/dz
Rodents! Order online!Did you know you can
order online? By phone? See below!
NextMeeting:
Friday - August 3rd - 7:00 pmRoom335BorlaugHall,U of M St. Paul Campus
MHS Voice Mail:612.326.6516
MHS Web Page:www.mnherpsoc.com
MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETYC/OBELLMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORY10CHURCHSTSEMINNNEAPOLIS,MN55455-0104
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