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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Costa Rica; where the Americas meet #1

How to talk about an entire country - especially one as special as Costa Rica - in a single blog post? Well of course I can't meaningfully do so, so I'm going to break it into three posts, the second and third being on birds and other animals. This one will be something of a scene-setter, briefly introducing the origins, habitats and regions of this tiny land  -  well, tiny by Australian standards at least, only about 75% of the area of Tasmania, our smallest state. However it is bursting with diverse tropical life, especially in the rainforests which rise from sea level on both coasts high into the mountains.

Moreover it is fascinating too in other ways, even within the already fascinating context of Latin America. Since independence in the early 19th century there has been a strong narrative of social welfare and justice that put it ahead of much of its time, such as the introduction of eight-hour working days, tenancy protection laws and workplace safety laws in the 1920s. Famously Costa Rica abolished its military in 1949, and diverted a good part of the money saved into education and health, in both of which it is a leader. More recently it committed itself to 'decarbonising' the economy and achieving carbon neutrality, which it had virtually reached when we were first there in 2019. Unfortunately the current president has backed away from that, and weakened Costa Rica's previous excellent stance in responding to COVID, citing a need to 'reassure the private sector'. But in Costa Rica, presidents come and go and it's hard to see this country abandoning lofty social and environmental goals for long. 

That's not my area of competence though, so we'll return to the more natural aspects of the country.

Rich cloud forest at 1400 metres above sea level at Monteverde, on the
northern central Pacific slopes.

Central America is a somewhat amorphous concept - it is certainly not a continent, but the southern end of North America. The UN defines it as the area (including eight countries) between the top of Mexico and the top of Colombia; another definition excludes Mexico, leaving only, from north to south, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

The not-Mexico version (low resolution) of Central America, which is fine for our purposes.
Map courtesy of geology.com.

Until recently - probably no more than 4.5 million years ago - as South America drifted west, North and South America were separated by the Central America Seaway, between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, in which were volcanic islands being pushed up from the sea floor by the movement of the Cocos Plate (west of South America) forcing itself beneath the Caribbean Plate. Sediments from both continents washed into the narrow sea, gradually filling the gaps between islands and forming a bridge between them. South America's ancient isolation had ended, and nothing would be the same again for its unique fauna.

Nine-banded Armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus, one of the very few ancient South American
larger mammals to not only survive the collision with North America, but to establish
itself in the north as well.

This fauna included a rich and varied mammal array, such as large marsupial carnivores like the doglike borhyaenids and Thylacosmilus, which looked surprisingly like a saber-toothed cat. There were giant sloths and hoofed mammals with passing resemblances to elephants, horses and tapirs, but entirely unrelated to those groups. Very few of these fabulous beasts survived the invasion of the tough North American invaders when the isthmus closed and formed a bridge; these invaders were very used to competing with invaders from Asia while the South Americans had long had the place to themselves. Among the large mammals only the giant sloths survived - at least until humans arrived. The northern birds on the other hand had much less success in establishing themselves in the south. 

 

The movement was in both directions of course but, apart from the fierce competition, those rainforest dwellers who moved north had to contend with the deserts and a barrier range of high volcanoes across Mexico. More on this in the next couple of posts, with reference to specific groups, but it goes a long way to explaining why Central America, including of course Costa Rica, is so rich in wildlife, as animals (and plants) from both north and south mingle there. Many South Americans got this far north but not much further.

There are is no single mountainous spine, such as the Andes provide in South America, but there are three actively volcanic main ranges being, from north to south (or more precisely north-west to south-east), the Cordilleras de Guanacaste, Central and de Talamanca. Within the central range is the big Central Valley, within which lies the capital San José and the other major cities and most of the population, and much of the important coffee crop.

Part of the Cordillera Guanacaste, from Monteverde.

The country is entirely within the tropics, so it's warm and humid all year round, though of course cooler in the mountains. The Caribbean coast is very wet throughout the year (6000mm a year at Tortuguero for instance), while the Pacific coast is more seasonal, with rainfall decreasing to the north.

Rainforest forms the predominant original vegetation, and the country has done a superb job in protecting what is left and also undertaking massive reforestation projects, beginning in the 1980s when forest cover had fallen to about 24%. The program was based in large part in rewarding farmers for foregoing clearing and replanting, at an agreed rate per hectare. Today the forest cover is up to 57%, which is apparently the maximum possible given both the land that was never forested, and land which is either urban or agriculturally productive (coffee, pineapples and bananas are important export earners). It is striking, when driving around the country, how much of the time is spent within forest. 25% of the country is protected in public conservation reserves, the highest proportion in the world and three times the developed world average, in addition to many private reserves.

Lowland rainforests dominate up to about 500 metres above sea level (masl) all along the Caribbean coast, and the southern half of the Pacific coast.

Massive buttress in primary rainforest in Carara NP, on the mid Pacific Coast.

One of the many walking tracks through Carara NP. Wildlife, from poison dart frogs
to big Spiny-tailed Iguanas and Fer-de-lances to antbirds and woodpeckers, is everywhere
in this forest, and in all the rainforests

Here are some more low elevation rainforest photos from different parts of the country. 

Rainforest crowding the banks of the canals in Tortuguero NP, which provide the only
access to the coast here. These canals were dug in the 1940s to connect natural
waterways, and Tortuguero to the towns to the north and south along the coast.
They were originally designed to move rainforest timber; this logging
industry ended in the 1970s and now tourists flock here, especially to see
the Green Turtles which lay eggs on the beaches at night.

A small forest pool in rainforest at Esquinas Lodge in Piedras Blancas NP
in the far south near the Pacific coast.

Rainforest along the Puerto Viejo River, from the footbridge over it at La Selva
Biological Research Station, just 60masl, though it is 60km inland from Tortuguero.
This superb destination (which provides public accommodation) is run by the
Organisation for Tropical Studies, a consortium of over 50 universities in Costa Rica,
the US, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. Its 1600ha of largely primary rainforest adjoins
the northern edge of the 47,000ha Braulio Carrillo NP, and contains some 60km of
walking tracks. A must for anyone reading this blog when you visit Costa Rica!

Baird's (or Central American) Tapir Tapirus bairdii, a widespread though not usually
easy to see inhabitant of the rainforests, though it can also be found
to above the tree line.

Rainforest canopy at Tapirus Lodge, a private reserve to the south of La Selva,
still on the Caribbean slope and on the eastern boundary of Braulio Carrillo NP.
This was taken from the remarkable canopy-level cable car (or 'aerial tram')
which offers an hour return trip, with the option of disembarking at the top.

Morning mist over the rainforest along the access road to Tapirus Lodge.
The lodge is at 500masl, so at about the elevation where lowland rainforest
gives way to highland cloud forest on the Caribbean slopes, though this
happens at somewhat higher elevations on the Pacific side.

Cloud forests cover some 16,000ha of mountainous Costa Rica, from the upper level of the lowland rainforests to the tree line at about 3000masl. In the north they are dominated by many species of laurel (family Lauraceae) while further south two species of oak provide up to 80% of the canopy cover. I find this particularly interesting, having never thought of oaks as being tropical, though I now belatedly know that there are species throughout south-east Asia as far as New Guinea.

Cloud forest living up to its name at 1800masl on the Pacific slope
of the Talamanca Mountains, above and below.

Climbers are characteristic here, as they are at lower elevations.

Also characteristic of cloud forests are epiphytes - both these and the climbers are using
the structure of the trees to get up to the essential sunlight. This superb display of bromeliads
is seen from the deck at the excellent Paraiso Quetzal ('Quetzal Paradise') Lodge.
This wonderful lodge is perched on the mountainside at 2650masl at the head of the
Savegre Valley, south of San José on the Pacific slope of the Cordillera Central.

Canopy epiphytes from the cable car at Tapirus Lodge - this really is an
excellent way to experience the canopy.

Another way is from the three kilometres of walking tracks at Selvatura Park in Monteverde, featuring eight suspension bridges over deep gullies, so that we're looking down on the canopy.

Cloud forest from above; Selvatura Park suspension bridges, Monteverde.

A remarkable perspective of a female Mantled Howler Monkey Alouatta palliata
and baby from a Monteverde suspension bridge.

The walking tracks between the bridges are also deep in rich cloud forest.

The Savegre Valley, below Paraiso Quetzal, is a superb introduction to the southern oak cloud forests.

Walking tracks through the oaks follow the Savegre river and its streams...

... while vantage points enable us to admire the distinctive oak canopy.

The most famous of the cloud forest dwellers is undoubtedly the wonderfully-named Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno, a magnet for birders everywhere. It is the largest of the trogons, a family of colourful birds found throughout the tropical forests of the Americas, Asia and Africa.

Male Resplendent Quetzal, Savegre Valley. This was from the balcony of a restaurant!
The iridescent feathers look blue in this dim under-canopy light, but bright green in the sun.

Above where the cloud forests end, at about 3000masl, is the páramo, a relatively small treeless region beginning with a zone of dwarf bamboo and low shrubs and grading into heathland and grassland.

Bamboos Chusquea spp. at the edge of the páramo at 3200masl in the Talamanca Range.

Heathland páramo at 3400masl.

Green Spiny Lizard Sceloporus malachiticus at 3400masl (and it was bleak and
cold at the time!), one of the few reptiles that can survive at this altitude and
quite common in the highlands.

At Carara National Park (see above) the southern lowland rainforests begin to give way to drier forests - there is still a high annual rainfall but there is also an extended dry season. In Australia we would call this more open dry rainforest 'monsoon forest', such as is common around Darwin. Much of it has been cleared for agriculture, but there are still significant areas of it protected in the north.

Partially cleared dry forest west of Monteverde.

The understorey - here in Rincón de la Vieja NP in far north-western Costa Rica -
is more open than in rainforest, with often thorny small trees and shrubs.

Overstorey trees however can be 30 metres high, like this fig...

... and many species of pea, such as have covered the forest floor with
flowers here (and below).

As we might expect, there are many animals in these north-western dry forests that are not found elsewhere, such as this beautiful motmot.

Turquoise-browed Motmot Eumomota superciliosam, Rincón de la Vieja NP;
this is the national bird of Nicaragua.

Rincón de la Vieja is also the name of an active volcano in the park - we were however not there in the dry season, and I didn't ever get a chance to take a photo of it without a total cloud shroud. However we walked on its lower flanks, and saw plenty of evidence of its activity.

Steam and gases being emitted from a fumarole on the hillside above a bubbling pool.

Bubbling mud in a hot pool of it, above and below.

+

Irazú Volcano, very close to San José, is Costa Rica's highest active volcano, at 3400masl. It has erupted more than 20 times in the past 300 years, most recently in 1994. Due to its proximity to the national capital, and its easy access, it is a popular destination. Technically you can see both coastlines from the top, but I suspect that doesn't happen very often, and certainly didn't while we were there.  Everything you will read about it mentions the chemically-green lake in the crater, but in fact at the moment it is dry.

This, the main crater, is 750m across and 270m deep, and currently the floor
is covered with volcanic sand and ash. The rim and surrounds are covered
with typical páramo vegetation.

Probably more famous however is the Arenal Volcano at the eastern end of the Guanacaste Range, in a 12,000ha national park. A classic volcanic cone, it is very much alive and in 1968 exploded spectacularly, killing 87 people in nearby villages. The Arenal Observatory Lodge, which is a very nice place to stay indeed, grew from a small accommodation centre provided on private property for scientists studying the aftermath of the explosion. The deck outside the restaurant looks down on a busy fruit feeder for birds, and up at the still largely bared slopes of the volcano.

Arenal Volcano from the Observatory Lodge.

Much of the surrounding forest, with many excellent walking tracks, is secondary forest recovering from the 1968 eruption.

Post-eruption regrowth forest on the lower slopes of Arenal Volcano.

50km to the north, Arenal still dominates the southern horizon, from the open spaces of the lakes of Caño Negro which are the focal point of a Ramsar-listed wetlands site up near the Nicaraguan border. The Frio River feeds it, and flows on into mighty Lake Nicaragua, just across the border. In the wet season the river overflows the plains. This wonderful complex of swamplands, forests and grasslands is only accessible by boat.

Arenal Volcano, 50km away, seen from the lakes at Caño Negro.

Forest-lined lake shore from a boat at Caño Negro.

Another wetland a little to the east, near the cryptically named town of
Medio Queso (ie middle cheese!).

Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis from the boat in the Medio Queso channels;
this is not an easy bird to see normally. It is the smallest American heron,
and one of the world's smallest.

So far when I've briefly mentioned rivers, it's been in the context of the forests surrounding them, but of course any river trip, of which there are some worthwhile ones in Costa Rica, has its own interest and habitats. One good one is the trip from La Pavona, which is literally the end of the road, via the Rio Suerte ('Lucky River') to the channels which eventually take us to Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. Here was our highlight of that trip.

Neotropical River Otter Lontra longicaudis focussed on a fishy snack by the Rio Suerte.

Another very worthwhile river trip is on the Tarcoles River. Your first sight of this river is likely to be where the highway crosses it near to Carara NP on the Pacific coast, and where every tour bus stops and disgorges its passengers to walk onto the bridge (just centimetres it seems from passing trucks) to admire the very rare American Crocodiles which loaf hopefully below.

American Crocodile Crocodylus acutus below the Tarcoles River bridge.

However a much more relaxing, rewarding and safe way to see the river is by tour boat, several of which leave from downstream and go through the forest to the river mouth.

Mangroves with 'stilt roots' by the Tarcoles River.

Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja - surely the world's most beautiful spoonbill -
preening by the Tarcoles River. (And the apparenly odd species name is based
on a Tupi name for the bird, from Brazil.)

Brown Pelicans Pelecanus occidentalis at the mouth of the Tarcoles River,
with the Pacific Ocean behind.

Well that's a brief introduction to a fascinating - and to my mind entrancing - country. As I've already promised, there will be two more offerings to introduce some of its superb wildlife, but I'll probably come back to Australian topics before and between them. Meantime, if you have a world wish list and are as fascinated by the natural aspects of as much as I am, Costa Rica deserves a place on that list. 

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER

 

I love to receive your comments and in future will be notifying you personally by email when a new posting appears, if you'd like me to. All current subscribers have been added to this mailing list and have already been contacted. This will mean one email every three weeks at the current rate of posting. I promise never to use the list for any other purpose and will never share it.
Should you wish to be added to it, just send me an email at calochilus51@internode.on.net. You can ask to be removed from the list at any time,or could simply mark an email as Spam, so you won't see future ones.