Now many frogs have poisons that are secreted through the skin as with the exquisitely coloured poison dart frogs. However, venom is the term used when a poisonous substance is directly injected rather than ingested or absorbed. These are the first of their kind and amazingly have eluded scientists until now.

The two new frogs are Greening's frog (Corythomantis greeningi) and Bruno's casque-headed frog (Aparashenodon brunoi). Researcher Carlos Jared picked up the lesser venomous Greening's frog and reported intense pain radiating up his arm for five hours. Lucky he didn't pick up the far more venomous Bruno's frog – he might not be alive today to carry on his studies at Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Both species are found in Brazilian Caatinga – scruby semi-arid forest situated in the northeast of the country. The frogs also have quite unusual behaviour - Bruno's casque-headed frog lives in holes among bromeliad stems and uses its head to plug the hole and retain the moisture inside. Any would be predator gets a rather nasty surprise if it tries to pull one from its hidey-hole.

The issue is that the planned landfill would attract cats and foxes and vastly increase predation on the remaining populations of Numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus) and Woylies (Bettongia penicillata) that also live in the Dryandra Woodlands area. I will try to keep you informed as to any developments. Currently it's only a reprieve as the EPA must make a full assessment of the potential impact to the local native wildlife.

The fossil of Tetrapodophis amplectus is only 20cm long and is believed to be a juvenile of the species. Dr Dave Martill from the University of Portsmouth said the fossil showed that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards and not marine lizards as had been previously thought.

Source: Four-legged snake ancestor 'dug burrows' - BBC News

Devils have been extinct on the mainland for 3,000 years but they would quickly return to top predator status and benefit smaller mammals whilst also assisting in the decline of fox and cats numbers. Gregory Andrews, the Australian government's threatened species commissioner, said: "Native predator reintroduction is identified as a science-based means of recovering mammals and birds in Australia's threatened species strategy."

"Community agreement and support, especially in Tasmania, would be essential before any scientifically-based reintroductions of Tasmanian devils to the mainland."

This type of environmental management, re-introducing 'lost' species is called re-wilding. It is gradually gaining in popularity around the world with wolves, lynx, red kites as some of the notable success stories in the US and Europe. Apex predator reintroduction often assists in re-establishing a healthy ecosystem as their presence has a beneficial impact through the entire food chain, even down to assisting plant and insect habitats.

It is a tough life as a constrictor, you have only your mouth to grab your prey with and your body to coil around it. Many prey items will fight back with teeth, claws, tails or wings – you need to be quick to reduce the risk of an injury at mealtimes.

New research has shown that constriction shuts off blood flow and oxygen supply to major organs and the absence of blood flow causes death much more rapidly than by suffocation. The study took measurements of heart activity and blood pressure using anaesthetised and unconscious rats fed to Boa constrictors in the lab.

Lead researcher Prof Scott Boback from Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, USA explained that restricting blood flow to the brain would make a rodent "pass out within seconds". So yes they squeeze hard and you will have trouble breathing but the brain, heart and liver are oxygen hungry organs. So reducing the blood flow is a more precise efficient method of killing quickly so you get your meal with less chance of sustaining injury from a struggling prey. At least it's over quickly!

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33625080

I have come across this story about a lady in Suriname (South America) who rescues some very strange looking creatures. I just couldn’t resist letting you see these great creatures and sharing her story with you.

Wow, how cool to have a sloth or anteater – two very bizarre creatures I would love to get see in the wild and work with.

Take a look: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/06/world/cnn-heroes-pool/index.html

The Leafy dragon I think is the most startlingly beautiful of all and it can be found from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria all around the south coast to Jurien Bay in WA. Sea dragons and sea horses are actually a true bony fish just like a salmon. The delicate looking camouflaging seaweed like appendages are in fact flaps of skin and are most numerous on the appropriately named Leafy sea dragon. Feeding on around a thousand tiny shrimps, plankton and amphipods (tiny marine crustaceans) a day, these are sucked into their tube like snout. All sea dragons are rather poor swimmers but drift along with clumps of seaweed amongst which they easily blend in.

As with the sea horses the males care for the developing eggs. A female deposits some 250 tiny eggs onto his tail; after around 9 weeks these hatch and the minute babies are independent from birth feeding on even tinier micro organisms. Those that survive are sexually mature at around two and a half years of age.

Go see them at AQWA (The Aquarium of Western Australia) – last time I was there one of them, a male, was pregnant, a very rare occurrence in captivity – I ought to go back and find out how the babies fared.