AmphibiCast Folgen

We often think of amphibians as simple creatures who crawled out of of the primordial oceans millions of years ago and ultimately evolved into what we humans see in the mirror each morning.  However, this example is clearly not the case and there is a great deal more to the story of amphibian evolution.  Before amphibians even existed, early tetrapods evolved into limbed creatures capable of moving on land.   This crucial development took millions of years to achieve and you may be quite surprised as to how it all took place. In this episode I have the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Julia Molnar who is an expert on the mechanics of early tetrapod limbs and how they evolved. Julia is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine and also has advanced degrees in illustration from Johns Hopkins  and the Maryland College of Art.  She specializes in the studies of vertebrate locomotion and is also an accomplished illustrator.  Tonight, Julia shares her expertise with us on the subjects of early amphibians, what the word was like in the Carboniferous Period, how limb development occurred multiple times in the fossil record, and what some of the earliest amphibians looked like. For more information and to access some of Dr. Molnar's papers visit https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/4/eabd7457.abstractand:   www.juliamolnar.com

Tonight I had a unique opportunity to talk with Dean Jansen directly from Victoria Australia. Dean is an avid vivarium enthusiast, and showcases many of his builds on his Youtube Channel Viv_scape. We start off discussing some of the nuances that go along with successful vivarium and paludarium builds, why Dean enjoys  horizontal to vertical conversions, and all the usual elements including lighting, plant selection and more. We then move on to discuss the state of the hobby in Australia, the licensing system there,  and what  it's like to keep native species only. Feel free to check out and subscribe to Dean's Youtube Channel Viv_scape and follow him on instagram @viv_scape

Jay Sommers of Sandfire Dragon Ranch is my guest tonight and in this episode we talk about the Neurergus genus of newts, their care and the current status of caudates in the hobby. Kaiser newts are arguably one of the most beautiful species in the hobby. But there are many more incredible species in the Neurergus genus and Jay has worked with them all. Many of you may remember Jay from Episode 27 where we talked about Phyllomedusa sauvagii and his experiences with some of the more commonly available  species in the hobby.  However, Jays real passion has always been in working with rare and unusual newts and salamanders. In the episode he goes into a great deal of detail on their history in the hobby, their current status in the hobby and how to keep them successfully.  We also touch on the implications of recent salamander related legislation and what the future holds for caudates in the hobby.