Dr Camilla Whittington from the University of Sydney has witnessed a three-toed skink lay eggs and give birth to live young from the same pregnancy. Find out what this world-first observation could mean for research into the evolution of pregnancy.

If you ever have the chance to visit St. Helena—a volcanic island situated remotely in the South Atlantic Ocean—make sure to drop by Plantation House to catch a glimpse of the 187-year-old Jonathan, said to be the oldest land animal now living on Earth. Jonathan the tortoise is so famous that he’s even been listed as one of the seven wonders of St. Helena, and his portrait appears on the island’s five-pence coin.

Sometimes the thrill of the chase is the best bit about dropping in a line, but for two Territory fishermen, it was role reversal when they nearly became bait for a monster NT saltie. Darwin anglers Dac and Daniel were fishing at a Top End billabong when one of them hooked onto an "absolute donkey of a barra". Unfortunately for the pair, their excitement was also shared by what looked to be a 4-metre saltwater crocodile watching their endeavours from nearby.

Thousands of adorable but poisonous Bufo toads, which can kill pets and are dangerous to children, have invaded a suburban Florida neighborhood. Cane toads, as they are known, range from 6 to 9 inches in length. Their babies are dime-sized, though, and those are the creatures hopping around in droves.

We know what you're thinking: why am I looking at a weird handful of pink marbles in a patch of mud?

Hidden in the evergreen forests of Guinea and Liberia, scientists have discovered a new species of snake that can deliver a venomous stab all without even opening its mouth.

The starry dwarf frog is an expert hider. Plunging into leaf litter at the slightest disturbance, it has successfully evaded attention for millions of years—until now.

As temperatures in North Carolina dropped this week, some residents appeared frozen in ice.

Authorities in Ecuador say animals suffered elevated heart rates and anxiety after pyrotechnic shows.

A 26-year-old Pinconning Township man is still recovering from a cobra bite that sent doctors scrambling to hunt down antivenom. The man became nauseous and started vomiting about 20 minutes after his pet albino monocled cobra bit him the night of July 14. He was initially treated at a Bay City area hospital but then was airlifted to Detroit after he stopped breathing because his respiratory muscles became paralyzed, according to Detroit Medical Center officials.

The first-ever discovery of an ancient snake embryo, preserved in 105-million-year-old amber, provides important new information on the evolution of modern snakes, according to a new study led by University of Alberta paleontologists. “This snake is linked to ancient snakes from Argentina, Africa, India and Australia,” explained paleontologist Michael Caldwell, lead author and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. “It is an important—and until now, missing—component of understanding snake evolution from southern continents, that is Gondwana, in the mid-Mesozoic.”

A stunning case of natural selection in action.

A widely used pesticide could be placing frog populations in danger by diminishing their ability to reproduce properly. Not only does exposure to the chemical linuron – a potato herbicide – reduce male frog fertility, it skews the sex ratios of growing tadpoles significantly towards females. As frog populations are already under global threat of extinction, scientists are concerned that disrupting their natural reproduction could further hasten their decline.

Frogs trapped in amber for 99 million years give clues to lost world. The four fossils were found in Myanmar.

While celebrating his 57th birthday with his wife on an outdoors adventure, Barry Lester did what he often warned others never to do but frequently did himself—he picked up a snake. Sadly, this time it was a fatal mistake for Lester as a timber rattlesnake, one of the most dangerous rattlesnakes in the eastern U.S., bit him twice, and he died before he could be treated, as reported by the Tulsa World.

It sports a green mohican, fleshy finger-like growths under its chin and can breathe through its genitals. The Mary river turtle is one of the most striking creatures on the planet, and it is also one of the most endangered. The 40cm long turtle, which is only found on the Mary river in Queensland, features in a new list of the most vulnerable reptile species compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

If you lived in what is now Wyoming 49 million years ago, you could have spotted a four-eyed lizard—the one and only known example of such a creature among jawed vertebrates. The species, an extinct monitor lizard called Saniwa ensidens (above), had two standard eyes and also sported so-called pineal and parapineal “eyes” on the top of its head (shown as white dots in the reconstructed image below).

A potentially fatal fungus infection found in more than two dozen snake species in Europe and the United States could be lethal to serpents across the globe, a new study finds.

We know the sleepy lizard can love and grieve and is a special part of Australia's ecology.