Examination of the gastrointestinal contents of museum specimens is routinely used as a
method for assessing diet in a wide variety of reptiles. However, this method might be biased …

Reproductive traits vary widely within and among snake species, and are influenced by a
range of factors. However, additional studies are needed on several species, especially on …

Bitis are well known for being some of the most commonly encountered and medically
important snake species in all of Africa. While the majority of species possess potently …

Speciation through niche divergence often occurs as lineages of organisms colonize and
adapt to new environments with novel ecological opportunities that facilitate the evolution of …

Phenotypic convergence of traits in similar environments can provide insights into the
evolutionary processes shaping trait evolution. Among squamate reptiles, horn-like cephalic …

Australian death adders (genus Acanthophis) are highly venomous snakes with
conservative morphology and sit-and-wait predatory habits, with only moderate taxonomic …

Background The relative influence of diet and phylogeny on snake venom activity is a poorly
understood aspect of snake venom evolution. We measured the activity of two enzyme toxin …

Many ambush-foraging snakes move their tails to entice prey within striking range ('caudal
luring'). During ontogeny, the conspicuous hues of caudal lures change to match the cryptic …

Long-term ecological studies are usually both time-consuming and costly, particularly when
conducted on species with low detectability, such as vipers. An alternative, non-expensive …

Snakes are creatures of mystery, arousing fear in many people but fascination in a few.
Recent research has transformed our understanding of the behaviour and ecology of these …