Publications
Little known snake is already endangered

The snake Bothrops muriciensis is a little known Brazilian viper that until recently was only known from the couple of records that were used to describe it. I paper I co-authored in the open-access North-Western Journal of Zoology presents six more records and looks at applying the IUCN Red List criteria to the species until now classified as Data Deficient. … [Read more…]
Predation published in Herpetological Bulletin

The latest issue of the Herpetological Bulletin has a natural history note reporting on the predation of a slender anole (Anolis fuscoauratus) by a northern woodland racer (Drymoluber dichrous) in North-eastern Brazil. This short note was co-authored with Gonçalo Rosa and Marco António Freitas. See the Pdf here
“The ecologist” publishes award winning essay

The magazine “the Ecologist” published my essay: “Greening” the Crisis: Turning Trouble into Opportunity which won the IUCN-Thomson Reuteurs Media Award 2012. You can read the article and the entire essay on: http://www.theecologist.org/a-student-writes/1615763/greening_the_crisis_turning_trouble_into_opportunity.html
Increase in marine turtle predation by Costa Rican jaguars

A recent paper in Oryx has highlighted an interesting conservation conundrum. What do you do when one endangered species is preying on another endangered species? An analysis of data from the Tortuguero National Park, led by Diogo Veríssimo (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent) looked at population dynamics and the increasing predation of endangered … [Read more…]
Study uncovers “cinderella species”for promoting conservation

Images of tigers and elephants are among the most common threatened mammals used by conservation organisations as ‘flagships’ to promote fundraising – but new research led by the University suggests that other threatened ‘Cinderella species’ could prove equally effective. At the moment, only 80 flagship species are used by these NGOs, and more than 60% … [Read more…]
Two new natural history short notes

Two short notes on the distribution of two Brazilian lizards have recently been published by the journal Herpetological Notes. Both can be access for free at the journals website or in the links below: Freitas, M.A., D. Veríssimo, S. Albuquerque and T.O. Lima. Distribution extension for the lizard Enyalius lechii (Boulenger,1885) (Squamata:Leiosauridae): Third record for the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Herpetology … [Read more…]
Children’s Book is out!

The Children’s book “Ten friends to remember” written as part of my interhsip with the Centre ofr Eco-cultural Studies in Sri Lanka is now available on Google Books and Mongabay.com . The book has ten stories, all illustrated by a local designer, each of which touches upon a conservation related subject, from human-elephant conflict to wildlife trade and … [Read more…]
New contributions to the herpetology of Northwest Brazil

Two articles on different aspects of the herpetology of the Brazilian Northwest came out in the latest issue of Check List: Freitas, M.A.; D. Veríssimo; V. Uhlig. (2012) Squamate Reptiles of the central Chapada Diamantina, with a focus on the municipality of Mucugê, state of Bahia, Brazil. Check List 8(1):16-22 Freitas, M.A.; D.P.F. França; D. … [Read more…]