Reptiles and Amphibians of California's Boletim

Turtles are usually slow creatures because they have no reason to be fast, as herbivores they don't have to chase their food to eat.

Due to their thick shells they aren't usually bothered by predators either and because of this they have reason to be speedy.

However when spooked, turtles can run between three to four mph but this can risk broken bones, shells and sprains.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5472349/Astonishing-moment-terrified-turtle-scuttles-grass-lake.html

Sea snakes are found only in the Indian and Pacific oceans. For many years, herpetologists and biologists like me have pondered why there are no sea snakes in the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea. With colleagues at the University of Florida and elsewhere, I’ve recently proposed some answers to this long-standing question.

https://theconversation.com/there-are-dozens-of-sea-snake-species-in-the-indian-and-pacific-oceans-but-none-in-the-atlantic-or-caribbean-why-91452

ASHLAND, Oregon — Conservation groups filed a federal petition for Endangered Species Act protection today for the Siskiyou Mountains salamander, a rare terrestrial salamander that lives in old-growth forests in the Klamath-Siskiyou region of southern Oregon and Northern California.

https://yubanet.com/california/endangered-species-protection-sought-for-ca-or-salamander-threatened-by-logging/

eDNA was able to detect Bd one month before the pathogen impacted populations of mountain yellow-legged frogs in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312104019.htm

The axolotl is famous and beloved, a celebrity among amphibians. Named after an Aztec god and the inspiration for a Pokemon, it can heal itself better than Wolverine from the X-Men, even regrowing lost limbs. The people of Mexico City recently chose it as their official emoji.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/saving-axolotls/

They don’t know that the newts are missing, that I’ve seen an alarming few this year, not including another two dead. They’re not recorded in my log; I didn’t want to remember them, but I do anyway, their images impressed upon my memory, their small bodies pressed into the road, drying like jerky in the sun.

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article206297374.html

UC Davis wildlife biologists have been studying western pond turtles in the semi-salty waters of Suisun Marsh in Northern California. While abundant in the marsh, this species is in decline in many other parts of the state. The researchers observed that the turtles could face a triple threat of drought, water diversions and increased sea level rise, all of which can result in saltier habitats for them.

https://scienceblog.com/500026/what-3-feet-of-seawater-could-mean-for-the-worlds-turtles/

Eggs came first.

There. Now you know.

Eggs were around long before there were chickens, or any birds at all.

https://www.redding.com/story/life/2018/03/30/and-answer-age-old-question-eggs-came-before-chickens/458815002/