Cameron Siler Lab

Another great microbiome paper on Oklahoma amphibians (salamanders this time!).
https://cameronsiler.com/oklahoma-salamander-microbiome/

Tomorrow, the Sam Noble Museum celebrates a very special anniversary. It will have been 125 years since the museum’s original charter was signed in 1899. At that time, it might have been hard to imagine that the museum would have such an enduring legacy. Just four years after the charter was signed, a devastating fire destroyed over 14,000 zoological and mineral specimens. Despite these losses, collections continued to grow for over a century, and we're proud to continue preserving them for Oklahomans today.

It's National Rattlesnake Day!!

Snakes are an incredibly fascinating group of reptiles that comprise more than 4,000 species. In Oklahoma, we have 51 species of snakes, most of which are harmless, although there are eight species of venomous snakes in Oklahoma and Ph.D. candidate, Sierra Smith, has worked to collect representatives of all eight species to study their venom. Venom helps snakes defend against predators and capture food. Sierra’s research aims to understand what types of toxins are present within snake venom and why those toxins change between the different species of snakes in Oklahoma. Sierra and fellow graduate student Cameron Forehand are pictured using snake hooks to handle a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake from a safe distance. The Copperhead is also featured climbing a fence to catch a cicada (same family as rattlesnakes, but no rattle!), and a tiny pygmy rattlesnake is pictured inside a “hot box” which is where we keep the venomous snakes after we collect them. All snakes, venomous and non-venomous, are awesome animals that the Herpetology Department at the Sam Noble Museum continues to study and monitor!