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Swamp Ape Science

@swampapescience.bsky.social

Just a Florida Man communicating a love for nature and all the absolutely wacky things it does. I'm also a paleo-enthusiast who enjoys doing some wildlife photography.

98 Followers  |  313 Following  |  21 Posts  |  Joined: 17.10.2023  |  2.2318

Latest posts by swampapescience.bsky.social on Bluesky

This seems fun.
1 like = 1 piece of Devon lore

24.11.2024 20:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I came to the comments to say this but knew in my heart of hearts it had already been said

24.11.2024 20:34 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I used to breed N. venustus years ago, wonderful fish, but I'm shocked to see them established in Utah of all places.
However, a rapidly growing practice here in Florida is keeping Rift Lake cichlids outdoors in koi ponds, which worries me for spreading through flooding or waterfowl.

21.11.2024 04:51 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I love them both equally

21.11.2024 04:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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🦎

20.11.2024 16:59 β€” πŸ‘ 169    πŸ” 30    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 3
Man holding comically large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Man holding comically large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Large model of a Yellow Spotted Salamander.

β€œIf you’re cold, they’re cold. Bring them in.”

Thinking of changing my shop name to β€œNot to Scale.”

Yellow Spotted Salamander digital sculpt by @lincolnsavi.bsky.social 3D printed and painted by Gnarly Larvae Studio.

13.11.2024 14:14 β€” πŸ‘ 132    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 1

I desperately need y'all to put together follow lists like this for other wildlife science fields (herpetology, ornithology, entomology, etc) as well as paleo fields.

21.11.2024 04:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Thrilled to share: out in @natureportfolio.bsky.social (!) just in time for Thanksgiving, the dinosaurian history of how your turkey does the twist. Fibular reduction enabled mid-drumstick mobility, unlocking extreme knee long-axis rotation in theropods πŸ—πŸ¦–πŸ§΅ www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08251-w

20.11.2024 16:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1222    πŸ” 324    πŸ’¬ 25    πŸ“Œ 43
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Sadly in the South they were hit extra hard when the invasive Burmese Python who likes similar habitats to the pygmy rattlesnake began to spread a parasitic pentasome that seems to affect pygmy rattlesnakes in particular really badly coupled with the introduction of the Cuban Tree Frog

20.11.2024 02:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The likeliest of explanations is that pygmys just don't do well in industrialized areas whether or not they have water sources, so as Florida developed, their populations got isolated into pockets of wetlands and costal flood plains.

20.11.2024 02:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Compare it to a few more common snake species like the Southern Black Racer and Eastern Rat Snake where you can see where their populations fluidly connect to eachother

20.11.2024 02:49 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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You can see this scattering of populations a bit more clearly on observation maps like iNat.
Most of these areas seem to correlate with water seeming that they like to hunt in and around water but they do seem to be missing from a few vast wetland/swampland areas

20.11.2024 02:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pygmy Rattlesnakes have always fascinated me. Not only for being the smallest Rattlesnake but also for their strange population dynamics here in Fl. In areas where you find Pygmies you will find tons of them in dense numbers but they become quite rare outside of those population centers.

20.11.2024 02:41 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0
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Albino Turkey Vultures are frankly a lot prettier than I thought they'd be.

19.11.2024 03:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Color me surprised to see an actual venomous snake listed on a trail sign.
I have looked at trail signs all over Florida looking for one that actually posts venomous snakes on their board (especially when I know they can be found there).
I imagine most signs avoid mentioning venomous on purpose.

19.11.2024 02:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A large pterosaur with scarred neck and head in front of a thunderstorm cloud

A large pterosaur with scarred neck and head in front of a thunderstorm cloud

Thanatosdrakon, recently struck by lightning, and yet another storm is already brewing.
#paleoart #sciart #paleostream

14.11.2024 04:01 β€” πŸ‘ 253    πŸ” 58    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1
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Removing green iguanas from the environment and establishing protected areas for the unique island forms that will hopefully all one day get their own species status.
Also hopefully delineating these species will help protect them against the persecutions faced by Iguana iguana.

17.10.2023 19:28 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The best temporary solution is really looking to establish captive breeding groups of iguanas unique to each ISLAND not each species(many of the subspecies may one day gain species status). We don't want another Cyclura lewsi issue happening. With stable captive populations, we can work on -

17.10.2023 19:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Unfortunately, that won't be an easy fought battle babies of all the Iguana genus species look nearly identical to the untrained eye and without genetic testing, which can be difficult to get the funding or equipment for, its hard to tell which species you have or worse if they're hybrids

17.10.2023 19:20 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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While Green Iguanas have begun to naturalize in Florida, having little impact outside of human disturbed areas, these small fragile island ecosystems just are prepared for a lizard capable of such competitive exclusion of the native island species that many island plants rely on.

17.10.2023 19:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Distinguishing these species will also hopefully help us disassociate them from one of their biggest threats.
Hybridization with invasive green iguanas.
While closely related, Green Iguanas didn't evolve on these islands and, therefore, don't share the balanced niche the native iguanas have.

17.10.2023 19:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Giving them unique delineation not only helps offer them unique protection status and raise awareness of how critical their population statistics are but also raises awareness about them. I'm certain the vast majority wouldn't even know that there are unique forms of Iguana throughout the Caribbean

17.10.2023 19:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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While mainland Green Iguanas and their unique island relatives may share a common ancestry, these animals have become ecologically isolated for so long, and the island forms have developed unique ecologies to fill specific niches on their islands that would be under threat from their removal.

17.10.2023 19:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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This is one of the few rare times you'll find me firmly leaning on the side of splitting. I definitely believe all of the Caribbean Iguana spp need to be split but purely for their own safety. It can often impede conservation efforts when little research is being done on what makes them unique.

17.10.2023 19:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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While the ideas of "splitters" and "lumpers" often lead to heated debates, and I often tend to keep my hat out of that ring, there are those few instances where I will take a stand.
The most prevalent of all for me being the situations surrounding the memebers of the genus Iguana.

17.10.2023 19:00 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0

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