Costa Rica; where the Americas meet #2. Animals, frogs and scales.

A little while ago, following a visit to this special country, I posted here an introduction to it. You might want to start with that post, though it isn't essential to reading this one; you will however find there more information on most of the localities mentioned here. My original intention was to put up two posts on animals of Costa Rica - one on the birds, the other (this one) on 'the rest'. However, when I was about three quarters of the way through this one I realised that it was just too long and unwieldy, even before I'd got to the mammals! So I've gone back and split this post in two, in the hope that some of you will find your way through both rather than giving up in exhaustion. (Though I confess that I did then take the opportunity too to slip a few more photos in...)

Here then is an introduction to some of the numerous and fascinating frogs and reptiles of the country; the tropics abound in these groups which are fascinating and often very photogenic. It's mostly a 'photo essay', with most of the information in the picture captions. For no good reason - other than 'why not?' - I'm going to start with some frogs, then go on to reptiles.  

The first five frog species belong to the very large and widespread tree frog family Hylidae.

Crowned Tree Frog Anotheca (or Triprion) spinosa, Tapirus Lodge, central mountains.
A spectacular arboreal frog found in scattered locations in Central America, it breeds
in above-ground puddles in tree hollows or bromeliad leaves. The female
provides unfertilised eggs as food for the growing tadpoles!

Golden-eyed Tree Frog (it goes by several different names though) Agalychnis annae,
in the grounds of the Hotel Bougainvillea on the outskirts of the capital, San José.
It is a highly Endangered species, living only in the heavily populated and
cultivated central valley; this population in the hotel grounds is apparently
the only one in the vicinity.

Red-eyed Tree Frogs Agalychnis callidryas on the other hand are very
common in Central American rainforests. The spotlight has messed with
its glorious colours, and the eyes in particular, which are really a glowing bright red.
We were there in the rainy season and, like these two, many frogs were engaged
in producing even more frogs!

Hourglass Tree Frogs Dendropsophus ebraccatus. The smaller male in this case lacks the
hourglass shape on the back of most of the species; the top of it can be seen on the female's
head. They can be found throughout Central America and as far south as Ecuador.

Masked Tree Frog Smilisca phaeota, Tapirus Lodge. A common (and rather
winsome) tree frog found throughout the moist lowlands and lower mountains,
and from Honduras to Ecuador.

The other well-known tropical American frog family is that of the poison dart frogs, Dendrobatidae, with some 170 species. These are diurnal frogs, often brilliantly coloured, a very few of which were used by Native Americans to extract poison for blowpipe darts. The alkaloid toxins (which are very potent) are produced by the frog from chemicals in their insect diet, and stored in skin glands for use in protection against enemies. Their striking visibility is a warning. Two species are common in Costa Rica, though not found everywhere there.

Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus. It is found in southern
Central America to Colombia, but in Costa Rica only on the southern Pacific coast.
This one was in rainforest in Carara National Park. It really looks like porcelain!

Strawberry Poison Dart Frog (also known as Blue Jeans Frog!) Oophaga pumilio,
until recently included in the larger genus Dendrobates. This frog can be found
in almost any Costa Rican lowland forest or plantation. It has a range of colour
variants, some of which lack the blue legs, and others are not red at all.
Their range is centred on Costa Rica, and extends into Nicaragua and Panama. This one
was at the wonderful La Selva Research Station, in the Caribbean lowlands.

Finally, before I get too carried away with these frogs, a nod to one of the many other families present.

Foam frog Leptodactylus sp. at Esquinas Lodge in the Piedras Blancas NP
in the far south near the Pacific coast. This is a substantial group of mostly large
frogs, and I'm not able to identify this one further, though would welcome
suggestions. Eggs are laid in a protective bed of foam on the water surface
and the tadpoles fall into the pond below when they hatch.

Reptiles are numerous and diverse throughout the tropics, and Costa Rica is no exception. We encountered a good selection of both snakes and lizards, so let's meet some of them.

 

Some of the snakes were non-venomous...

Northern Cat-eyed Snake Leptodeira septentrionalis, Esquinas Lodge.
This little snake (found from the far south of the US to Costa Rica) hangs around
ponds, hunting frogs and their egg masses.

Common Snaileater  Sibon nebulatus, Tapirus Lodge. Another small snake that
lives on slugs and snails, extracting these from the shell with specially adapted jaws.

... others less so.

Hog-nosed Pitviper Porthidium nasutum, Tapirus Lodge. This venomous little snake was
on the concrete by the stopping platform at the top of the 'aerial tram' ride through the rainforest
canopy. The young fellow staffing the platform reckoned it was 'just there'. Well, maybe.
Normally they lie still in leaf litter awaiting a meal of a small mammal, frog or lizard.

Eyelash Pitviper Bothriechis schlegelii, rainforest canopy walk, Monteverde. This is a surprisingly
common snake in Costa Rica, nearly always encountered on branches, which may be nearly
at ground level or high in the canopy (like this one, which is peeping out at us through the
coils). There is also a bright yellow version, which I've not seen. It waits patiently - for
weeks sometimes - for birds, small mammals or lizards. Young ones tend to be close to
the ground, and ascend the trees as they get older and switch prey from mostly frogs.

Here is a closeup of the same species, close to the ground, displaying its 'eyelashes'.

Young Eyelash Pitviper, Tapirus Lodge. The 'eyelashes' are of course no such thing, but
modified scales. Their purpose is unclear but it is suggested by those who've studied them
that they help to break up the outline of the distinctive head to better hide from potential prey.

Fer-de-Lance Bothrops asper, Carara NP. This can be a huge snake, up to 2.5 metres long, and
highly venomous. It was curled up in the dark under a park bench by a well-used walking track.
The park staff had simply put a ribbon barrier up for the duration of its stay to prevent us from
taking a rest there. (The vertical pupils distinguish it from the similar False Fer-de-Lance
Xenodon rabdocephalus which has round pupils.)

Many of the lizards encountered - and they are abundant - belong to a cluster of families that include the iguanas and anoles (and the Australian dragons).

Green Iguana Iguana iguana, San Isidro. This is a common big lizard (to more than
1.5 metre long) found naturally from Mexico to southern Brazil. It comes in a range
of colours in addition to green, and is a adept at climbing, swimming and burrowing.
Fortunately for small animals it is mostly vegetarian.

Spiny-tailed Iguana Ctenosaura similis, Carara NP - a group of these big iguanas
was running the carpark when we first visited. They also climb trees well, but have an
affinity for rocky areas...

... as evidenced by this young one in the north at Rincon de la Vieja, displaying
the bright green colouration typical of juveniles.

There are three common species of the extraordinary basilisks in Costa Rica, and throughout most of Central America (plus another in north-western South America). The aspect of them which is most often remarked upon is their ability - especially of smaller individuals - to run several metres on the surface of water, flailing their hind legs very fast and spreading their long toes to distribute the weight.

Green Basilisk Basiliscus plumifrons, Tortuguera on the Caribbean coast. This is a spectacular
animal and quite common, especially along waterways.

Brown Basilisk Basiliscus vittatus in the grounds of Esquinas Lodge.
This one is only found (but very commonly) on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.

Green Spiny Lizard Sceloporus malachiticus, Savegre Valley on the Pacific slopes.
This a common lizard in the mountains; indeed we first saw it basking at some 3400 metres
above sea level, above the tree line in conditions that we reckoned were uncomfortably cold.

The anoles, in the same general grouping, are abudant, mostly small quick lizards found on tree trunks and branches.

Slender Anole Anolis limifrons, in the rain at Esquinas Lodge. This little fellow was
very agile, leaping between leaves.

Bridled Anole Anolis frenatus, seen at night at Tapirus Lodge. My impression is that
most anoles are active in the daytime; this is also large for an anole, at around 15cm long.

Another commonly seen Costa Rican lizard group is the whiptails (or ameivas, from a former genus name), in the family Teidae. They are very common along forest tracks, on logs and in the litter. They are long-tailed and quick and some are brightly coloured. This one however was in our cabin, living on and in the totally superfluous bed doona that was on the floor.

Central American Whiptail Holcosus festivus, La Selva Research Station.

Geckoes were less obvious than I might have expected, but maybe that was just me. Here is a rather lovely daytime species which was dining out too, on one of the wooden supports of an outdoor restaurant.

Yellow-headed Gecko Gonatodes albogularis, a widespread species of drier
tropical forests, here at Caño Negro in the northeast.

I find it surprising that there are only four species of freshwater turtle in Costa Rica (though I have no real reason to be surprised, I must admit). This appears to be the commonest one, but is only found on the Caribbean side.

Black River Turtles Rhinoclemmys funerea, beneath the pedestrian bridge across the
Puerto Viejo River at La Selva Research Centre.

Finally there are two species of crocodilians, one quite common, the other definitely not.

Spectacled Caiman Caiman crocodilus, in the wetlands of Caño Negro.
This smallish caiman (generally less that two metres long) is found thoughout Central
America and the north of South America. It keeps to itself in the rivers and
wetlands, mostly being active at night, and hunting fish.

American Crocodile Crocodylus acutus, Tarcoles River on the central Pacific coast. This is about
the only place in Costa Rica that this magnificent animal - up to six metres long and weighing almost
 a tonne for very large males - is still relatively common. Here there is a thriving
business in running crocodile tours (very reminiscent of the Daintree River in Queensland).
There is also a constant stream of  tourists disgorged at the end of the highway bridge over the river
to walk on the narrow footpath, with heavy traffic seemingly only centimetres away,
to gaze down at the crocodiles which are usually lying below, facing the current to harvest
unwary fish. Overall there are probably no more than 3000 in the wild, from Florida
to northern South America.

And you may well be relieved that that's all for today (though not too relieved I hope....). Back soon to complete this series with some invertebrates and mammals. The birds can then wait for a slightly later date, while I post on something a bit closer to home. Thanks for accompanying me!

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER

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Farewell to 2019!

Continuing my tradition of recent years, to mark the changeover of years I've selected just one photo* from each month of 2019. As ever I don't make any pretences to photographic excellence, but have chosen the pictures because of their associations, and in most cases because they are ones I've not previously used this year in a blog posting. 

It's been a remarkable year for us, marking the next stage of our life. To celebrate we did a bit of extra natural history travelling (of course): tropical Queensland in January;  Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa) in May-June; Brazil (accompanying a tour) in July-August; Costa Rica (reconnoitering for a tour next year); western Victoria, chasing wildflowers primarily, in September.

(*Actually that turns out to be a lie; for a couple of months there were other pics I just had to share. Sorry, but only a little bit sorry.)

JANUARY

Cairns Birdwing Ornithoptera euphorion, Lake Barrine, North Queensland. The main reason for going
to the tropics in the Wet is for the wealth of wildlife; we saw many things we'd not previously seen,
including this magnificent animal, Australia's biggest butterfly with a 15cm wingspan.
It is limited to coastal tropical Queensland.

Striped Possum Dactylopsila trivirgata, Lake Eacham, North Queensland.
This is an animal I'd long wanted to see, and it came to a feeding station near our accommodation,
attracted by some honey smeared on the tree (not by us). Its main food however comprises wood-boring larvae;
it chews through wood with chisel-like teeth and uses the long fourth toe to extract the morsel.

FEBRUARY

Sparring Eastern Grey Kangaroo males Macropus giganteus, Namadgi National Park,
south of Canberra. These two weren't seemingly intending serious harm but were
definitely testing each other's strength and resolve. Note how the tail acts as a fifth limb.

 MARCH

Robber Fly Ommatius coeraebus, Nowra, southern New South Wales.
When visiting I often prowl Lou's parents' substantial garden, and I'm usually rewarded.
Lucky I'm not smaller! Robber flies are fearsome predators, perching like this to watch for
prey insects flying by, which they pursue and capture with their spiny legs, stab with the short
powerful proboscis, inject with paralysing and digestive enzymes, and devour in the air.
Even wasps and dragonflies are not safe.

 APRIL

Filamentous lichens on a dead branch, Shanahans Mountain, southern Namadgi National Park,
south of Canberra. This is a memento of a nice walk we did on a sunny autumn day.

 MAY

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and Cape Buffalo skull, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
I'm surprised I selected this one of all the possible amazing animals we saw in Africa, but this
juxtaposition appealed to me.

 

But in the end one wasn't quite enough for East Africa, so I've sneaked in this one of a Cheetah family,
mother and three youngsters, in the evening in Amboseli NP, in front of mighty Mount Kilimanjaro,
making a rare appearance from the clouds.
These two young ones had dropped behind and were playing chasing games.  

 JUNE

Gemsbok Oryx gazella, Augrabies Falls NP, northern South Africa. There are four species of oryx, big arid
land antelopes. Gemsboks are from southern Africa, centred on the Kalahari Desert.
This one was quite at home in the dry rocky wilderness of Augrabies.

JULY 

Southern Tamandua Tamandua tetradactyla, the second-largest South American anteater (up to 150cm long),
which I had longed to see for ages. This one appeared in a cattle paddock at Pousada Aguapé in the southern
Pantanal late in the afternoon. It was clearly aware of us, but seemed to have very poor eyesight.
We eventually left it to its own pottering devices in fading light; I was thrilled.

AUGUST

Crowned Tree Frog Anotheca (or Triprion) spinosa, Tapirus Lodge, Costa Rica.
This is a remarkable-looking frog with a spiny 'crown', living in bromeliads and related plants in the rain forest,
where our equally remarkable local guide located it for us in the rain. Eggs are laid in a flooded
tree hollow, where the female returns to feed the tadpoles by laying unfertilised eggs for them to eat.

Male Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno, Savegre Valley, Costa Rica; through early morning mist.
One of the most sought-after birds in this country of wonderful birds.

SEPTEMBER

 Common Heath Epacris impressa, Mount Zero, northern Gariwerd/Grampians NP, western Victoria.
There are quite a number of plants endemic to the range, but I chose this widespread species
because I love the fact that this healthy plant is virtually growing out of the sandstone.
It is Victoria's floral emblem, and also comes in pink and white.

 OCTOBER

Red-bellied Black Snake Pseudechis porphyriacus breakfasting on an unfortunate - and inattentive - Heatwole's
Water Skink Eulamprus heatwolei at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, just south of Canberra.
It was odd to watch such a drama played out at close range, and in total silence.

NOVEMBER

Hoary-headed Grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalus, Molonglo Pond, just down the road from our home.
The adult (sexes are identical, and both play similar roles in chick care, so not sure who this is) was carrying
the baby around the pond, hidden under its wings. At this moment it popped its head out to be fed.
It was a delightful encounter.

 DECEMBER

 

The sun through bushfire smoke over Canberra, late afternoon but still high in the sky, 17 December.
The nearest fires to us are over 40km to the east but at times the smoke is choking and stinging here.
Between here and the coast three ferocious fires have burnt some 200,000 hectares so far (23 December),
mostly in national parks (but it will be more by the time you read this).
To the north over 400,000 hectares have burnt in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and are still burning.
Only rain will put these fires out, and none is expected for at least a month...

This one was taken three days later, 20 December, mid-morning. It was an opportunistic shot, with just my phone.
I wouldn't normally post such a photo, but it really does give you an idea of conditions here
(and throughout much of eastern and southern Australia at the moment).
This is looking through the smoke across Lake Burley Griffin in central Canberra, to the other shore
only a couple of hundred metres away. Much of eastern Australia is burning in unprecedented December temperatures,
but our government doesn't deem this the right time to even discuss climate change, let alone meaningfully address it.
This is not how I wanted to end my year in photos, but anything else would have been dishonest.

However I can add an addendum, as a balance. I won't forget either the horrors of these fires or the shame of our government's contempt for the land, but neither do I want to forget the joy that I took from the world this year, as always, so here's another of my year's highlights.

Big male Leopard in a massive rock outcrop overlooking Serengeti NP, Tanzania.
Like most people I'm awed by big cats, and this year was an astonishing one for us in that regard.

So, that's one version of my year, but there could have been others. Perhaps I've prompted you to muse too on your year's natural history highlights - that can be a very satisfying and even therapeutic thing to do.

Thank you reading this, and if you're a 'regular' reader I greatly appreciate that support. May 2020 bring you lots of natural pleasures and surprises, and I look forward to sharing some with you.  

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 16 JANUARY.
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Superb Costa Rica - some other animals

Last time I introduced you to Costa Rica, a truly remarkable little country in Central America, at the very southern tip of North America. After looking at some key habitats we met some of the country's wonderful bird life. Today, as promised, I'm going to offer centre stage to some of the other superb fauna that we encountered - and as I also mentioned, we were only there for a short time, doing the preparation for a return trip in 2020.

It's traditional to start such a tour of  'other animals' with mammals (showing our bias) - so I'm going to start with frogs, of which Costa Rica boasts some 140 species. We saw some truly superb frogs, especially on a night walk in the rain with brilliant but self-effacing local guide Jaime, in the private reserve called Tapirus Lodge (the name celebrates the tapir genus name) in the montane rainforest alongside Braulio Carillo National Park not far north-east of San José. Jaime's ability to locate and pluck frogs and small snakes seemingly at will from the forest (and return them later) was miraculous.

Crowned Tree Frog Anotheca spinosa, one of the most amazing frogs I've ever seen (and I've been lucky enough
to meet a few), with its 'crown' of head projections. Not easy to find, I'm told - except for Jaime.

Red-eyed Tree Frogs Agalychnis callidryas are spectacular and abundant, though this photo doesn't
do it justice. I'll try and do better next time!

Not all frogs require splashing through the night forest however (though that's not a pleasure to be foregone). The exquisite poison arrow frogs (family Dendrobatidae) are active in the daytime. Despite the name only four of the 170 species are apparently known to be harvested for their toxins by indigenous Neotropical people.

Strawbery Poison Dart Frog (also affectionately known in Spanish as 'Blue Jeans') Oophaga pumilio La Selva Biological Research Station, in the mountain rainforests on the northern edge of Braulio Carillo National Park
(on the other side from Tapirus Lodge).

Green and Black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus, also at La Selva (or rather just outside it,
in a cocoa plantation). The porcelain-like texture of these little frogs is astonishing.

Reptiles are even more diverse - some 220 species of them. One that we came across more than once, from the rainforest floor to the canopy, is the small but deadly little Eyelash Pit Viper Bothriechis schlegelii. It does not of course have eyelashes, but fine scales above the eyes. The pit vipers are a relatively modern family of venomous snakes from Asia and the Americas - too modern to have found their way to Australia. This species varies greatly in colour.

High in the canopy at Monteverde, in the central mountains (seen from a suspension bridge high above a gully).
They are only active at night; this one's head can just been seen in the coils.

This one, low in shrubbery at Tapirus Lodge, became active at night -
the 'eyelashes' are clearly visible here.

Another viper is much bigger, sometimes up to two metres long, though not typically. Fer-de-lance is a name used for several species of the mostly terrestrial genus Bothrops (including B. asper in Costa Rica), though some would say this should only be used for B. lanceolatus from Martinique. They are dangerously venomous, though not usually active in the day.

This Fer-de-lance was resting in the shade of a bench in a shelter along a walking track in Carara National Park
on the mid Pacific coast. Staff had declined to disturb it, but had put up a temporary barrier to keep people off the seat.

Of course most snakes are not venomous, or are only slightly so from our point of view. Among these are the slender little nocturnal snail-eating snakes, which have teeth and jaws adapted to extracting snails from their shells. We found a couple of them on our frog walk at Tapirus Lodge.

Common Snaileater Sibon nebulatus, Tapirus Lodge.

Costa Rica has twice as many snake species (140) as lizards, though the latter, being mostly diurnal, are much more conspicuous. The small quick anoles are seemingly everywhere, and many are not readily identified (at least by me!). Here is a representative of them!

Unidentified anole, Carara National Park.
They are variously placed in the iguana family, or given their own, Dactyloidae.

Big Spiny-tailed Iguanas Ctenosaura similis run the carpark at Carara NP.

This one is limited to Central America and Mexico, while the more familiar Green Iguana Iguana iguana is found from Mexico and the Caribbean to southern Brazil.

Green Iguana in a street tree, San Isidro. (This one was actually in the same tree as the exquisite
Turquoise Cotinga that I featured last time.)

Other related families contain the spiny lizards and helmeted lizards, both featuring in Costa Rica.

Green Spiny Lizard Sceloporus malachiticus, Family Phrynosomatidae,
at a chilly 3400 metres above sea level in the central mountains.

The Green Basilisk Basiliscus plumifrons, Family Corytophanidae, here in a private reserve at La Fortuna,
also in the central mountains, is seemingly almost literally fabulous.

My small offering of invertebrates does not indicate disrespect, but simply my inability to go close to identifying them. Let's just enjoy them.

Butterfly, Cerro Lodge, on the Pacific coast near to Carara NP.

Grasshopper, La Selva Biological Research Station.

Moth (and an amazing one!), Tapirus Lodge.

Land Crab, Monteverde. Not what I expected to encounter on a mountain forest track, even in the rain!

And so to the mammals, who've been waiting their turn patiently.

There are only four species of monkey in Costa Rica, of which only Mantled Howlers Alouatta palliata are widespread and readily seen.

Mantled Howler female and baby, high above the ground in the canopy below a suspension bridge at Monteverde.

White-faced Capuchin Cebus imitator, Cerro Lodge. Unlike the Mantled Howler, which extends down the South
American Pacific coast to Ecuador, this monkey is restricted to Central America.
It takes to the ground much more readily than the other local monkeys; we watched them scurry back
to the trees on their hind legs at Cerro Lodge, clutching purloined bananas to their chests!

White-nosed Coati Nasua narica, Arenal Volcano. This is an adult male, which are generally solitary.
This coati replaces the widespread South American Coati in Central and southern North America.
They are voracious hunters, as well as fruit fanciers.

Variegated Squirrels Sciurus variegatoides are strikingly handsome with an array of coat colours,
though the grizzled tail is fairly constant. Widespread but not usually in mature rainforest.

Baird's Tapir Tapirus bairdii, Tapirus Lodge (appropriately). Here they have become habituated to people so
are unusually easy to watch, though by no means always present. This is the largest of the four
American Tapirs, weighing up to 400kg (the closely related Malayan Tapir is larger still).

And finally, the only mammal presented here whose ancestors actually arose in South America - the others either came from the north (coatis and tapirs) or crossed the Atlantic from Africa long ago (monkeys and squirrel). 

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth Bradypus variegatus, Tapirus Lodge - in the carpark! Sloths are not so hard
to find in Costa Rica, and it is quite usual to see a tour bus stopped by the road with its occupants peering into a tree.
One day I'll do a post on the old South American mammals - sloths, anteaters and armadillos.

And that's it for today; again I hope you've found this little series of interest. If not, rest assured that the fault is mine, not that of the wonderful little land of Costa Rica.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER
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