We are pleased to announce that Issue 18(1) of Acta Herpetologica has been published! The newer issue of our journal features 7 brand new pieces of research aimed at expanding the current scientific knowledge about the biology, ecology and conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles.

The first section of the journal, dedicated to research articles, opens with an in depth description of the effects of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans on Italian wild salamanders. The second paper describes age structure, morphological characteristics and life history of a population of Pelodytes caucasicus from the area of Lake Borcka Karagol, in Turkey. The third article featured in the new issue of Acta Herpetologica describes an in-depth study of the calling activity of an Anuran complex in the Parque Nacional Calilegua (Argentina), which has led to the proposal of a new, more nuanced framework for the classification of amphibian breeding phenologies. Finally, the fourth article describes how diet specialization and trophic niche overlap in 4 sympatric Physalaemus species from Brazil efficiently minimize competition, in spite of the phylogenetic proximity and of the similar physiology of the species involved in the study.

The second part of the issue is dedicated to short notes. The first one describes the screening of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola in wild snakes collected in the areas surrounding Cocullo (Abruzzi, Italy) on occasion of the traditional celebration in honor of San Domenico. A second note analyzes the use of  plywood and metallic coverboards by snakes along a habitat gradient in Nebraska (USA). The third and last short note, finally, describes new insights regarding the evolution of polyploidy in the Odontophrynus americanus complex, in South America. 

The hard copies of Issue 18(1) of  Acta Herpetologica are on their way and will be delivered shortly to all SHI members and to other subscribers. Both the whole issue and the single articles are freely accessible PDF format, by clicking here.