WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Saturday, August 31, 2013

South American Journal of Herpetology 8(1)


South American Journal of Herpetology 8(1)
Contents:
b2ap3_thumbnail_SZJH8-1.jpgAlencar, Laura Rodrigues Vieira de, Marilia P. Gaiarsa and Marcio Martins. 2013. The evolution of diet and microhabitat use in Pseudoboine snakes. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 60-66. [ alencarlrv@gmail.com]
Forlani, Mauricio C., Caio Vinicius de Mira Mendes, Iuri Ribeiro Dias, Danilo Silva Ruas, João Filipe Riva Tonini and Rafael O. de Sa. 2013. The advertisement calls and distribution of two sympatric species of Chiasmocleis (Mehely 1904) (Anura, Microhylidae, Gastrophryninae) from the Atlantic Forest. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 46-51. [ mcforlani@gmail.com]
Jimenez-Rivillas, Carlos, Laura M. Vargas, Jose M. Fang, Juliana Di Filippo and Juan M. Daza. 2013. Advertisement call of Diasporus anthrax (Lynch, 2001) (Anura: Eleuthrodactylidae) with comparisons to calls from congeneric species. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 1-4. [ jumadaza@gmail.com]
Kok, Philippe J. R., bert Willaert and D. Bruce Means. 2013. A new diagnosis and description of Anomaloglossus roraima (La Marca, 1998) (Anura: Aromobatidae: Anomaloglossinae), with description of its tadpole and call. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 29-45. [ philippe.kok@naturalsciences.be]
McComb Pinto, Rebeca, Sarah Sampaio Py-Daniel and Marcelo Menin. 2013. Redescription of the tadpole of Phyllomedusa bicolor (Anura: Hylidae) from Central America. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 67-72. [ menin@ufam.edu.br]
Noss, A. J., R. R. Montaño F., F. Soria, S. L. Deem, C. V. Fiorello and L. A. Fitzgerald. 2013. Chelonoidis carbonaria (Testudines: Testudinidae) activity patterns and burrow use in the Bolivian Chaco. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 19-28. [ anoss@ufl.edu]
Rivas, Gilson A., Gabriel N. Ugueto, Walter E. Schargel, Tito R. Barros, Pablo Velozo and Luz Esther Sanchez. 2013. A distinctive new species of Gonatodes (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from Isla La Blanquilla, Venezuela, with remarks on the distribution of some other Caribbean Sphaerodactylid lizards. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 5-18. Gonatodes naufragus sp. nov. [ anolis30@hotmail.com]
Tarano, Zaida and Eloisa Fuenmayor. 2013. Mate choice based on acoustic features in Johnstone's Whistling Frog Eleutherodactylus johnstonei: An experimental approach. South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (1): 52-59. [ zaida.tarano@ciens.ucv.ve]

Courtesy HerpDigest and ZenScientist
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DALE DRINNON: Not the Lake Superior Monster, Frontiers of Anthropology, Benny's Blogs

Owing to the lateness of the hour yesterday, some of the blogs were finished but could not be announced in time for the new schedule. They shall be announced now instead.
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INAPPROPRIATE CORNER: Nazi dad



The New Jersey man who is fighting to regain custody of his young children--one of whom he named Adolf Hitler Campbell--showed up today for a Family Court hearing wearing a full Nazi uniform and a Hitler mustache.
Heath Campbell, founder of the Hitler’s Order hate group, appeared this morning at a Flemington, New Jersey courthouse for a closed hearing on his request for visitation with his youngest child, a two-year-old boy.

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FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.




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THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS STEADFAST

I couldn't sleep properly last night. The wife of a very dear friend of mine is in hospital. I have only met her the once but she touched my heart and I hope that it doesn't sound too horribly new age of me, but I feel their pain. So I sat up late, when I couldn't sleep tried a quarter bottle of Happy Shopper brandy (a birthday present from Emily) as a tranquiliser, and as a consequence I overslept this morning. I was woken up by the sound of our own little pack of Canis lupus familiaris charging downstairs to greet the postman (Prudence adores him, Archie wants to rend him limb from limb). He was only delivering a new garden hose, which seems a little anti-climactic after all the sound and fury. So I was in a fractious and grumpy mood this morning. Then I watched Galen Ayers's eulogy for her father Kevin, and found it so touching that I was moved to tears. It is on the Gonzo blog this morning - check it out. You won't be sorry.
Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_31.html
Gig review: HAWKWIND, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 24 August 2013
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/gig-review-hawkwind-shepherds-bush.html
OFF TOPIC: For those of you who wondered what I have been up to for the past few days
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/blog-post.html
John Etheridge is interviewed by Gordon Giltrap about his life as a guitarist
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/john-etheridge-is-interviewed-by-gordon.html
Kevin Ayers, Eulogy by Galen Ayers, Sa Fonda, Deià 16th August 2013
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/kevin-ayers-eulogy-by-galen-ayers-sa.html

 *  The Gonzo Daily is a two-way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work or even just say hello,  please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow....

*  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html

* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) - puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon, which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus... did we mention the orange cat?
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ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From Nick Redfern's World of Whatever:
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OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


Yesterday’s News Today

On this day in 1997 Princess Diana died in a car accident, brought on by a combination of a sloshed driver and idiot paparazzi practically ramming her car with their bikes to get a photograph of her sitting down in a car. Depending on whether or not you read the Torygraph you might believe that this was the culmination of a vast conspiracy to murder the princess but lets be honest; if the British establishment were able to pull something like that off, or would actually want to, they'd have done it long before all the skeletons in her closet had already come out.

And now the news:


  • Four mammal species identified in India tiger rese...
  • Earth life 'may have come from Mars'
  • One million cockroaches on the loose after breakin...
  • Giant tarantula the size of man’s hand ‘on the loo...
  • Bloodworms in Drinking Water: Are They Safe?
  • Monster croc captured in north Qld
  • Fox found tied up and gagged with a copper pipe in...
  • World gets its first look at Australia Zoo's newbo...


    •  At Diana's funeral Elton John, who had been one of her friends, gave his most emotional performance:
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    Friday, August 30, 2013

    RSPB launches its ever-popular Avocet Cruise season


    Autumn and winter cruises on the Exe Estuary to see spectacle of nature

    Wildlife enthusiasts can once again get up close to the Exe Estuary’s stunning birdlife as the RSPB launches its 32st season of Avocet Cruises.

    Hopping aboard, visitors can expect to see some of the 40,000 birds that call the estuary home during the autumn and winter months.  Among the most anticipated sights are black-tailed godwits, brent geese and red-breasted mergansers, species coming from as far away as Siberia and Scandinavia.  There is also a chance of seeing other wildlife including grey seals.

    Speaking for the RSPB in the West Country Tony Whitehead said; “These cruises have long been an excellent way for people to experience just how amazing the Exe is. I’ve long felt it is simply one of the best places for wildlife watching anywhere in the UK in the winter months.

    “What could be better than watching huge flocks of Brent geese alight on the silvery silt banks of the river, or of course the remarkable spectacle of avocets flying low over the water’s edge, their white feathers gleaming in the cold winter light.”

    The RSPB offers two sorts of cruises. One lasting three to four hours takes people from Starcross to the mouth of the estuary, up to Topsham then back to Starcross. The second lasts one to one and a half hours, starting and finishing in Topsham.

    The first cruise will be held on Tuesday 3 September at 12:30pm departing from Starcross. Then after the winter cruises start on 3 November.

    All profits from the Avocet Cruises go towards RSPB conservation projects. Early booking is advised, as the trips are extremely popular. To book tickets call the RSPB south west regional office on 01392 432691. For details, including times and departure points visit

    http://www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature/146928-avocet-cruises    
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    WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE CAMERON'S MOB PLAYING AT?


    ACCORDING TO THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT'S REPORT ON BOVINE TB:

    The ISG’s work – most of which has already been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals – has reached two key conclusions. First, while badgers are clearly a source of  cattle TB, careful evaluation of our own and others’ data indicates that badger culling can  make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. Indeed, some policies under  consideration are likely to make matters worse rather than better. Second, weaknesses in  cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence  and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely  to be the main source of infection. Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of  disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of  cattle-based control measures alone.

    Our Report provides advice on the need for Defra to develop disease control strategies, based  on scientific findings. Implementation of such strategies will require Defra to institute more  effective operational structures, and the farming and veterinary communities to accept the  scientific findings. If this can be achieved, the ISG is confident that the measures outlined  in this Report will greatly improve TB control in Britain.

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123162956/http:/www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/isg/report/final_report.pdf
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    HYPERBOLE? I THINK NOT

    Photo
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    CRYPTOLINK: Unidentified animal seen on trail cam

    A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me.

    Submitted by Roger Williams
    Special to the SWT

    My beautiful pictureCan you help identify this animal from the picture shown here?
    It is unclear if this is an unverified picture of a “Bigfoot.” It was recently discovered on a “trail cam” placed in the nearby mountains.
    It was surprising, to say the least, when I discovered the image on the camera’s disc. What in the world can this be?
    Carefully scrutinizing the image, it appears that the right arm shows fingers as the animal grasps the base of the tree stump. It also has elongated feet similar to a man’s appendages. Its fur is matted on the back but thin on the arms and legs. Unfortunately, the head and face are not shown by the image taken.

    Read on...
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    CRYPTOLINK: Sioux Falls Police: No Bigfoot sighting in Sioux Falls

    A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me.
    Sioux Falls Police have officially gone on record saying Bigfoot was not seen in Sioux Falls Thursday night.
    Cpt. Greg VandeKamp addressed the matter at the daily police briefing Friday. A reporter asked VandeKamp if he could explain some of the recent claims of Bigfoot being spotted in downtown Sioux Falls.
    Joseph Kucera sent two pictures to KSFY News from the Jazz concert in Downtown Sioux Falls Thursday night, and if you look closely you can see a strange looking creature. 

    KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, Sports




    Read on...
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    FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

    In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.




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    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS EXPECTANT

    Last night after another productive afternoon and evening spent recording with my old friend Mike Davis, with whom I christened my new studio monitors, I sat down to eat a curry and watch a George Harrison documentary on YouTube. It was one of the most tacky and appallingly presented things that I have ever seen. The editing was execrable (one of the interviewees told essentially the same story twice) and most of the music wasn't even my Harrison or The Beatles. I am not sure about the laws of libel so I won't mention names, but look up 'George Harrison Documentary' on YouTube and you will see what I mean. PS: The Martin Scorcese 'Living in the Material World' was a masterpiece in comparison.
     
    Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_30.html
     
     
     
     
     
     

    *  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

    *  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link:     http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
     
    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

    *  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?
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    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


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    Thursday, August 29, 2013

    FROM ROBERT SCHNECK RE. TWO ON THE TRACKS AGO

    Hi Jon,

    Those are bumblebees mating in the film. It's an interesting procedure.
    http://science_boy.blogspot.com/2004/10/plight-of-bumble-bee-part-i.html
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    TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS ROUNDUP



    The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we are publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. In September 2012 Emma Osborne decided that the Mystery Cat Study Group really deserved a blog of its own within the CFZ Blog Network.


  • US SIGHTING: Mountain Lion causes trouble in north...
  • NEWSLINKl The Argus inspires a big cat thriller wi...
  • US SIGHTINGS: Ghosts of Virginia's mountain lions?...
  • UK SIGHTING: Another big cat sighting
  • NEWSLINK: Biologist says mountain lions are watchi...
  • NEWSLINK: 'Nightmare' virus kills several tigers a...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Through Golden Eyes: More Big Cat si...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: There's a big cat on the prowl
  • NEWSLINK: World's Oldest Tiger Plays In Fountain, ...
  • US SIGHTINGS: Mountain Lion visits Arizona home, ...
  • NEWSLINK: Beast of Trowbridge: Big cat picture exp...
  • UK SIGHTING: Big Cat spotted in Livingston
  • NEWSLINK: Amazing photos show the private life of ...
  • NEWSLINK: Arizona scientists offer tips for mounta...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Beware the 'Beast of Trowbridge': Bi...
  • NEWSLINK: Weird News: Lyin' den? China zoo replace...
  • NEWSLINK: Oklahoma family provides home to big cat...
  • NEWSLINK: Cougar taken in by Lincoln County couple...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Big cat photo confirmed by Glouceste...
  • NEWSLINK: Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Bri...
  • NEWSLINK: A kitten at heart: World's oldest tiger ...
  • NEWSLINK: Lyin' den? China zoo replaces big cat wi...
  • NEWSLINK: When big cats attack in the movies
  • FEATURELINK: Where the big cats are
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Lynx or domestic cat? Golfers start ...
  • NEWSLINK: Cougar dies at North Texas animal refuge...
  • FEATURELINK: It's your last chance to see...
  • USA SIGHTINGS: Not your ordinary housecat
  • CANADA SIGHTINGS: Westsyde cougar sighting raises ...
  • USA SIGHTINGS:BIG CATS: Readers share cougar, bobc...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Mystery big cat is spotted in Shrops...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: Big cat is 'most probably a large do...
  • NEWSLINK: Through Golden Eyes: Eighth Big Cat Dies...
  • SPANISH SIGHTINGS: Big cat sighting prompts panic ...
  • NEWSLINK: 7th big cat dies at Texas animal refuge ...
  • US SIGHTINGS: Big cat roaming Detroit streets shot...
  • NEWSLINK: Mysterious Large Cat Stalks Detroit Nei...
  • NEWSLINK: Detroit Big Cat, Giant Savannah Breed An...
  • NEWSLINK: The 'Beast of Trowbridge'? Pensioners s...
  • NEWSLINK: Florida Panther sightings survey
    • Posted by at No comments:

    FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

    In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.



    Posted by at No comments:

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN HIDES IN THE SHRUBBERY (AGAIN)

    Yesterday afternoon we had a very welcome visitor. My old friend Mike Davis, who I first met when he was hitchhiking from Dawlish to Exeter back in 1982 turned up to do some recording. It was the first time that we had made music together for the best part of twenty years, but we were both pleased with the result. Hopefully it will see the light on my own label via Gonzo before the end of the year. He returns this afternoon for a second bash...
    Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_29.html
    STEPHEN STILLS: Storied Careers 'Ride' on at the Trop Sunday
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/storied-careers-ride-on-at-trop-sunday.html
    *  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

    *  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link:     http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

    *  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?
    Posted by at No comments:

    DALE DRINNON: New "chamaeleon snake", Loch Ness, Frontiers of Anthropology, Benny's Blogs

    New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
    Posted by at No comments:

    CFZ PEOPLE: Davey Curtis



    Hands up who thinks Davey C is too young and pretty to be a grandfather....

    THREE DAYS AGO!!!! He wrote:

    Dear Jon,

    My Granddaughter Amelia was born at 6.45 this morning weighing in at 6 pounds 15 oz.
    Mother and daughter are doing well.

    I think this calls for drinkypoos. (just a small sherry)

    Regards

    Davey C

     Forgive me, old friend, for not having commented or congratulated you earlier, but there has been a whole slew of neice and nephew related issues. Congratulations to everyone.
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


    Yesterday’s News Today

    On this day in 1939 the film director Joel Schumacher was born. Schumacher is best known for almost destroying the Batman film franchise with “Batman and Robin”, which is a shame as his planned follow up batman film was going to star the Mad Hatter, the Joker and Harley Quin as the ne'er-d'-wells/rapscallions of the piece so he might have redeemed himself, he hasn't just made bad films though; his adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera musical is really good.
    And now the news:
  • David Maddox: Badger cull may be last straw
  • Sri Lanka police in doghouse over canine 'wedding'...
  • Crocodile Victim Sean Cole's Body Recovered
  • Snakes alive: deadly tenants nest in Australia's s...
  • Detroit Big Cat, Giant Savannah Breed Animal Named...
  • 'Wounded badger patrol' cull protest camp set up
  • World's oldest wild black bear dies of old age - v...
  • Teen suffers apparent wolf attack at north central...
  • Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge a...

    • It's hard to isolate the moment when Batman and Robin jumped the shark, “What killed der dinozoors? Der ize age!” comes close but I think it has to be this moment:
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    Wednesday, August 28, 2013

    WEIRD WEEKEND 2013: CFZ Awards

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    Russian Journal of Herpetology 20(1) & 20(2)


    Contents:
    b2ap3_thumbnail_RJH21-1.jpgAengals, R. and S. R. Ganesh. 2013. Rhinophis goweri - A new species of Shieldtail Snake from the southern Eastern Ghats, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 61-65. [ snakeranglerr@gmail.com]
    Akef, Mamdouh S. A. 2013. Female reproductive cycle of the Green Toad (Bufo boulengeri) from Northwestern Egypt. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 97-104. [ mamdouh_330@yahoo.com]
    Amr, Zuhair S. 2013. Reptiles on postage stamps in Arabian countries in western Asia and North Africa. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 27-32. [ amrz@just.edu.jo]
    Böhme, Wolfgang, Timo Hartmann, Jürgen Fleck and Thomas Schöttler. 2013. Miscellaneous notes on Oriental Fire Salamanders (Salamandra infraimmaculata Martens, 185) (Lissamphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 66-72. [ w.boehme.zfmk@uni-bonn.de]
    Farhad, Alipoor and Wankhade Varsha. 2013. The snake fauna of Mulshi Taluka, Pune District, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 16-18. [ Farhad.alipoor@yahoo.com]
    Ganesh, S. R. and S. R. Chandramouli. 2013. Identification of two similar Indian Agamid lizards Calotes nemoricola Jerdon, 1853 and C. grandisquamis Günther, 1875. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 33-35. [ snakeranglerr@gmail.com]
    Karunarathna, D. M. S. Suranjan and A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe. 2013. Behavioral ecology and microhabitat use by Lyriocephalus scutatus (Linnaeus, 1758): A monotypic genus in Sri Lanka (Reptilia: Agamidae: Draconinae) with notes on the taxonomy. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 1-15. [ dmsameera@gmail.com]
    Kropachev, Ivan I., Alexey A. Evsyunin and Nickolai L. Orlov. 2013. Extended description and comparative analysis of tadpoles of Theloderma bicolor (Bourret, 1937) and Theloderma corticale (Boulenger, 1903) (Anura: Rhacophoridae: Rhacophorinae) from Vietnam. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 56-60. [ azemiops@zin.ru]
    Litvinchuk, S. N., V. N. Kuranova, V. I. Kazakov and N. A. Schepina. 2013. A northernmost record of the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) in the Baikal Lake Region, Siberia. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 43-50. [ slitvinchuk@yahoo.com]
    Lopatin, A. V., F. Ya. Dzerzhinsky, M. A. Shishkin, N. V. Zelenkov, E. I. Vorobyeva and V. B. Sukhanov. 2013. Obituary: Academician Leonid Petrovich Tatarinov (1926-2011). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 163-164.
    Mahroo, Barbod Safaei, Hanyeh Ghaffari, Alireza Shahrdari Panah, Hadi Fahimi, Alireza Naderi and Siamak Bromand. 2013. New geographic distribution records of Zarudny's Bent-toed Gecko, Mediodactylus russowii zarudnyi Nikolsky, 1899 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Iran. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 73-78. [ ghaffari.hanyeh@gmail.com]
    Melnikov, Daniel A., Natalia B. Ananjeva and Theodore J. Papenfuss. 2013. A new species of Pseudotrapelus (Agamidae, Sauria) from Nizwa, Oman. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 79-84. [ azemiops@zin.ru]
    Nazarov, Roman, Daniel A. Melnikov and Ekaterina Melnikova. 2013. Three new species of Ptyodactylus (Reptilia; Squamata; Phyllodactylidae) from the Middle East. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 147-162. [ r_nazarov@mail.ru]
    Orlov, Nickolai L., Sergei A. Ryabov and Tao Thien Nguyen. 2013. On the taxonomy and distribution of snakes of the genus Azemiops Boulenger, 1888: Descriptyion of a new species. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 110-128. [ azemiops@zin.ru]
    Rastegar-Pouyani, Eskandar, Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani, Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian Yousefkhani and Mohammad Arab. 2013. Rediscovery of Darevskia steineri (Eiselt, 1995) (Sauria: Lacertidae) from Iran. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 36-38. [ nasrullah.r@gmail.com]
    Rastegar-Pouyani, Nasrullah, Mohsen Takesh, Akbar Fattahi and Robert Browne. 2013. Sexual size dimorphism in the Yellow-spotted Newt, Neurergus mircospilotus Nesterov, 1916 (Caudata: Salamandridae), from Kermanshah Province, Western Iran. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 51-55. [ nasrullah.r@gmail.com]
    Sönmez, Bektas and Sükran Yalçin Özdilek. 2013. Conservation technique of the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas L. 1758) nests under the risk of tidal inundation with hatcheries, in Samandag Beach, Turkey. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 19-26. [ bektass@gmail.com]
    Tuniyev, S. B., Nickolai L. Orlov, B. S. Tuniyev and A. A. Kidov. 2013. On the taxonomical status of Steppe Viper from foothills of the south macroslope of the East Caucasus. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 129-146. [ tuniev1@mail.ru]
    Uteshev, Viktor K., N. V. Shishova, S. A. Kaurova, A. A. Manokhin and E. N. Gakhova. 2013. Collection and cryopreservation of hormonally induced sperm of Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 105-109. [ gakhova@gmail.com]
    Vassilieva, Anna B. and Irina A. Serbinova. 2013. Bony skeleton in the Caucasian Salamander, Mertensiella caucasica (Urodela: Salamandridae): ontogeny and embryonization effect. Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (2): 85-96. [ vassil.anna@gmail.com]
    Vyas, Raju. 2013. Notes and comments on distribution of a snake: Indian Egg Eater (Elachistodon westermanni). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 20 (1): 39-42. [ razoovyas@hotmail.com]

    Provided by Zen Scientist and HerpDigest
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    FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

    In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.




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    DALE DRINNON: Himalayan mystery, Frontiers of Anthropology, Benny's Blogs, Cedar & Willow

    New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
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    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS BACK IN THE SADDLE

    The kids (Jessica and Matthew) were with us yesterday, and they both worked extremely hard. My office looks tidier than it has since before the WW, and the garden is actually looking the way I would have wanted it to look, which makes a nice change. In the evening Corinna and I drove them back to Helen's (Jessica's mama) house, where - for some unknown reason - a discussion about the badger cull took place. I am nailing my colours to the mast here. If the cull does start in Devon, I shall do everything in my power to stop, or at least disrupt it.  I have never argued that the cull wasn't the most efficient way of dealing with the situation, although there are many people who will argue that it is just a waste of time, money, and resources. But it is neither a humane or an ethical solution. There is something particularly grotesque about these latest abominations. This government MUST be stopped.

    Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_28.html

    Today's Track of the Day is by Karnataka
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-gonzo-track-of-day-karnataka-storm.html

    Grace Slick: Welcome To Wonderland
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/grace-slick-welcome-to-wonderland.html

    Cruise to the Edge
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/cruse-to-edge.html

    OFF TOPIC: Steve Ignorant and the Lifeboats
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/off-topic-steve-ignorant-and-lifeboats.html

    Daevid Allen, James Harrar-Rogier Smal, and Marshall Allen: I am an old man
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/marshall-allen-daevid-allen-james.html


    *  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...
     
    *  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html

    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!
     
    *  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

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    HIT PARADE FOR AUGUST (CFZ PRESS/FORTEAN WORDS)

    UK

    1. Haunted Skies Volume One by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (7)
    2=. Haunted Skies Volume Two by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (7)
    2=. Mysterious Creatures Vol 1 by George Eberhart (-)
    4=. The Mystery Animals of the British Isles: Staffordshire by Nick Redfern and Glen Vaudrey (-)
    4=. The Universe next Door by Judge Smith (-)
    6. Quest for the Hexham Heads by Paul Screeton (-)
    7. Dark Dorset by Mark North and Robert Newland (-)
    8=. Haunted Skies Volume Three by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (7)
    8=. Terror of the Tokoloshe by S. D Tucker (7)
    10. When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (-)

    US

    1. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (3)


    2=. Mysterious Creatures Vol 1 by George Eberhart (-)
    2=. The Cryptid Creatures of Florida by Scott Marlowe (1)
    4. Terror of the Tokoloshe by S. D Tucker (-)
    5=. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (5)
    5=. When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (2)
    7=. Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on stamps by Karl Shuker (-)
    7=. The Inhumanoids by Bart Nunnelly (5)
    9=. The Mystery Animals of the British Isles: Staffordshire by Nick Redfern and Glen Vaudrey (-)
    9=. Weird Waters by Lars Thomas (-)


    Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. Sales have picked up a bit and I would like to say thank you for all the hard work Emsy has put in on the Facebook Group. Thank you honey.
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    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


    Yesterday’s News Today

    On this day in 1930 the actor Windsor Davies was born. Davies stared the sitcom “It ain't half hot, mum” (which contained early examples of what would become known as “colour blind casting” when it became trendy) and carry on films including the under-rated Carry On Behind.
    And now the news:
  • Badger cull begins in Somerset in attempt to tackl...
  • Ocean Worm Wriggles Back Into View after 140 Years...
  • Boy dies of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan
  • Scientists Shut Down Reproductive Ability, Desire ...
  • Boa Constrictor Seen Eating Howler Monkey in a Fir...
  • Sea otter return boosts ailing seagrass in Califor...
  • Scientists Analyze the Effects of Ocean Acidificat...
  • Mysterious Large Cat Stalks Detroit Neighborhood

    • He was also a singer:

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    Tuesday, August 27, 2013

    ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

    News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

    From Nick Redfern's World of Whatever:
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    WEIRD WEEKEND 2013: Judge Smith

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    KARL SHUKER: Winged Pestilence - The Chinese Hua Fish


    Karl Shuker introduces a winged snake-fish from China that is synonymous with ill fortune.

    Read on...
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