Chad Keates Archives
Once again I found myself in Hogsback, and this time I was determined to catch and photograph (properly) the Amatola Flat Gecko (Afroedura amatolica). This trip to Hogsback was however not intended for herping or adventure but rather as a farewell for the Rhodes Zoology Honours class of 2016 who were staying on a nearby Hogsback farm for the weekend. Unlike my classmates who sought to study in the spare time between… Read More
This list includes all the green snakes that can be found in the Eastern Cape. Barring the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and the many-spotted reed snake (Amplorhinus multimaculatus), all the individuals listed come from the genus Philothamnus and they are all closely related. In the Eastern Cape, the boomslang is not uniform green. Females are olive and males are green/yellow with black barring. Irrespective of this, the boomslang has been included at the end of… Read More
So now that winter is coming to an end, snakes and other reptiles are starting to become far more abundant. One species that has become particularly abundant in the last few weeks, is the puff adder (Bitis arietans). To give context, in the last week, I have come across three puff adders. Two of them were average-sized adult males and the the third was a very large, very pregnant, female puff adder, which… Read More
I am doing a genetics project, and whilst I have come to understand the ‘fundamental’ processes which underlie molecular biology, there are many people out there that don’t. This post thus serves the purpose of teaching those of you who interested, just a little bit about what I do and how I do it. I don’t claim to be an expert nor do I claim to be good at it, but bear… Read More
Unlike last year which saw me producing one project in pursuit of my zoological degree, this year is quite different. This year I am expected to produce two projects. Both fall within the field of herpetology but that’s about all they have in common. My other project which ventures to unravel the secrets of spotted skaapsteker distribution patterns’ is a genetics project. The project that I will explain now is a biological… Read More
Recently I went to Hogsback. For those who do not know, it is a quaint little town in the middle of the Eastern Cape with little to no influence from the outside world. What this town lacks in modernity, it makes up for in biodiversity. Hogsback is home to the Cape Parrot Project and the critically endangered Amathole toad (Vandijkophrynus amatolicus). Hogsback is lucky enough to call this species home because of… Read More
Chad Keates 