Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

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Christopher
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Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Christopher »

Hello fellow fieldherpers, I haven’t posted since the fateful crash a few months ago, so for anybody who doesn’t know me from then, check out my website cgillette.smugmug.com for some background. As my first post since the crash, I thought I’d share with you all the photos from the May Margarita Herp Tour to Amazonian Peru that I was fortunate enough to be a part of. A small group of avid herpers embarked on a two week trip down, led by your truly, to turn up as many creepy crawlies and scaly slimy things as humanely possible, and I think we did pretty darn well! Of course I’ll let you be the judge, so please enjoy the following photos. Im also using the “old” names as they appear in Dick’s excellent guidebook, I memorized these a while ago and don’t plan on relearning them lol. Being I was the guide this time, I didn’t get to photograph things as much as I’d have wanted to since I had to assist, but here is what I got. The photos are in chronological order for the most part, except for this little attention grabber to give you an idea of whats to come! One of the numerous Bothrops atrox we found
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The inverts in the amazon are diverse and bountiful, and on this trip one of the participants was actually an entomologist, so we were all able to learn about these amazing little creatures. This is a carnivorous katydid, NOT something you want to get a nip from!
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Sleeping lizards are numerous on night hikes, with Enyaloides laticeps being one of my favorites. Some of these species can be very difficult to find on their own time table, alert and quick in the daylight, but at night they pose nicely! More of those to come
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On this night hike we also entered into a very open area, where nighthawks were zipping around. This one came in a little too close to me, and my catlike instincts came over and I snatched him out of the air for a photo, then released
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A beautiful and common snake to be found sleeping are Oxybelis argenteus, gorgeous animals
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Wonder what range of vision these guys really have!
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A nice view of the jungle outside our camp at Santa Cruz
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And a close up of that flower
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This guy skittered around like a little jewel
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You never know what you might see in the amazon….bearded natives! No that’s just Ed, Streetkiller on FHF, and one of our tour participants
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This Anolis bombiceps was spotted by one of our sharp eyed native guides
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Check out that hand
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I spotted this beautiful Psuedoboa coronata as it zipped across the trail one night. This was one of my favorite snakes on the trip
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Such gorgeous scales
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This little leaf litter type snake was scooting across the trail before lunch one day, Taeniophallus brevirostris
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This is an in situ shot of a very pretty Oxyrhopus petola digitalis sleeping in a frond
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Off the frond
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Giant whips scorpions are abundant on the buttress roots of trees at night, this one nabbed a nice meal for itself
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Various frog species are found throughout the branches, this one is kinda boring…
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But this guy was a REAL treat! What a bizarre looking little amphibian, I took a lot of photos of this Hemiphractus proboscideus
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I even got a little creative with my flash…
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The sharp angles of this frog made it great for silhouettes, sorry if there are too many shots!
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On this trip we saw a lot of little marsupial opossum type critters
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Some pretty nonherp nature
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This was a massive moth…
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Amazon Tree Boas are usually common along the edges of waterways, but this individual I spotted over a kilometer away from the water, in classic ambush over a small animal trail
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This frong, Ischnocnema quixensis(say that five times fast!) is one of the most common frogs on some trails
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I’m not typically a fan of spiders, but this net casting spider is one awesome little invert
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Plica plica are common but fast little lizards, more easily approachable at night!
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Rainbow boas were pretty common on this trip, but Im still hoping to find a big one
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I love ATBs, just for how cute and cuddly they are, such nice snakes
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He must go to the dentist a lot, such pretty teeth
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On this trip these Dipsas were very common, but on previous trips I had no such luck
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Imantodes cenchoa were not as common this time around, but we still found a few of them
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Not as many dart frogs on this trip, it is interesting how the time of year you goe really alters what you may find and the quantities. Epipedobates hahneli
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Another amazing forest dragon, I love the scale texture on these
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An old Oxyrhopus
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I barely spotted this guy as he slunk over a buttress root to escape, Siphlophus cervinus
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So here we are at the halfway point, I will make another post with the other half of our finds from the trip sometime soon, and finish off that Bothrops teaser I left at the beginning ;)
For a parting animal though, one of my favorites are the aquatic coralsnakes, Micrurus surinamensis
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Take care, and I hope everyone enjoyed the photos!! Dick Bartlett will be leading another tour down this winter, and hopefully I’ll be leading another sometime soon as well, so if you like what you see and would like to expierence it yourself, let one of us know!

Chris
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Christopher wrote:On this trip we saw a lot of little marsupial opossum type critters
As opposed to a placental opossum? :beer: Good stuff the first and second time around! Welcome back to the forum.
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ksuglennj
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by ksuglennj »

What a bunch of beautiful animals and photography. Thanks for allowing us to tag along. Looking forward to the next part.

Glenn
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MattSullivan
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by MattSullivan »

wow! incredible finds and photographs. i'd like to comment on them all, but it would take forever. great job :thumb:
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TravisK
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by TravisK »

Seeing post like this makes me want to put my Pass Port to good use.

Very nice pics!

How big was the 'tailless whip' Amblypigid?
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Daniel D Dye
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Amazing stuff, Chris...excellent photography.

Love the inverts, especially the net caster (Ogrefaced spider), I hope to see some in January 2011.

Will you be on that trip?

Daniel
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monklet
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by monklet »

The BEST COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY ever on this forum! IMHO. National Geo quality all the way!
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Don
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Don »

The first shot grabbed me, and I enjoyed the rest. Thanx!
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Jason_Hood
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Jason_Hood »

Awesome pictures!! I am working on a post of my trip and it looks like I need to wait for everyone to forget how awesome these pictures are before I post mine.

And no there were not too many pics of Hemiphractus, that was high on my amphib wish list and we struck out on them. Did anyone get bit by that one?? I hear they have a habit of being very un-froglike and actually biting readily.

Jason
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Ross Padilla
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Ross Padilla »

Wow, great report!
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Tim Borski
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Tim Borski »

Chris, excellent post. (as always.)
Where's all the gi-normous beetles and moths usually encountered on these types of sorties? :thumb:
Good to see ya here again and welcome back.
Tim
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Casey Lazik
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Casey Lazik »

Excellent post! Nice to see you back here, Christopher. Amazing photos. I've seen similar spiders (genus Deinopis) in Australia. Quite interesting spiders, indeed.

Thanks for sharing.

Casey
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Sam Sweet
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Sam Sweet »

Thanks for the giant, distracting watermark. Sheesh.
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Christopher
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Christopher »

Thanks for the replies! Travis, the big amblypigids could probably stretch out a foot with full legspan. Daniel, I hope you guys do well on that trip, and I hope to be there! But I'll proabbly have other engagements at the time. Jason, Ive read that too, and didnt have get lucky enough to get bit lol, I handled it a bit too. Sam, I just copy/paste the watermark onto everything so depending on the crop job gives it a varying size, but after finding my photos that possessed smaller watermarks used by others after cropping my name out, I decided screw it and threw on a bigger one. Everyone suffers for a few idiots.
More photos to come when I get that second part up. Oh and Tim, tonight I got 6 pygmies and the usual suspects, maybe see you tomorrow?
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moloch
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by moloch »

Terrific stuff, Christopher. I have been waiting for this post. It is great to see that you all had excellent success.

How were the water levels on your trips? Also, what were butterfly numbers like? Did you see many on the river bank during the day?


Regards,
David
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Steve Atkins
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Steve Atkins »

Awesome post, that Hemiphractus is amazing
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Bill Love
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Bill Love »

I like the series of Hemiphractus proboscideus best, especially the contrast between the very first two shots demonstrating how the viewing angle can give you two radically different impressions of what that frog's face looks like. Keep playing with the creative, 'through-the-leave' lighting too.
tai haku
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by tai haku »

wow - opens with the Bothrops goes through a range of amazing shots and randomly incorporates my favourite flower sp. ever (Passiflora vitifolia) or a close relation thereof as passing interest. Awesome post man.
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Chris, it's a real treat to have you and your amazing photography talent posting here again. You two are a killer team :thumb:

How many species of beautifully/gaily/gaudily colored snakes ARE there in Amazonia? Is there an online guide to Amazonian snakes?
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Rags
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Rags »

I would also like to add my thanks to you for taking time out to post this. The photos are superb.

Particular favourite was the Hemiphractus, such an odd shape for an amphibian!

Also the katydid was something special.
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TravisK
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by TravisK »

Christopher wrote:Travis, the big amblypigids could probably stretch out a foot with full legspan.
Are you sure? 12"? Do you have any other pics of those that you can link me to or post on this thread?
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kcmatt
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by kcmatt »

Enjoyed it all... except the whip scorpion-- please, no more.

The Hemiphractus is a beautiful animal.
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TNWJackson
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by TNWJackson »

Lovely photos! I really dig that aquatic coral snake (and everything else).
urodacus_au
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by urodacus_au »

Amazing. Your shots have the artistic quality that mine lack, makes me think before i press the shutter.

Job well done
Jordan
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by BOOGY »

Amazing! Awesome pics!! I dream of herping amazonia. ANY rainforest infact.
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Christopher
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Christopher »

Thanks for the compliments guys. David, the water on this trip was much higher than the previous ones I've been on, all the way up to the the wooden steps that go to the trail along the river--that trail was now a kayak trail haha! I think the different water level also had a very apparent effect in what herps we found.
Thanks Bill, its something Ive been playing a bit with, now I just need to man up and buy another flash for some fill. Hans, I'm not sure but I have a pdf of the snakes from the station area a grad student ade if you're interested.
Tahnks everyone else for the kind words, I'll try to get up the second part soon!
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Re: Return to the Peruvian Amazon, part 1, May 2010

Post by Guroks »

Hi, Christopher! Congratulations to so many findings and beautiful pictures! I would like ask you - do you have any field guide to the reptiles and/or amphibians of Peru? Or of any other state of South Am., such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia,...? If not, how do you determinate all species? Because I am trying to find some field guide to the herps of some south-american country on internet for a long time, but without any success. I found only Snakes of Colombia, Chcecklist of snakes of Venezuela, Key to the lizards of Venezuela (but from 1968), Turtles of South America and Checklist of the reptiles of the peruvian lower Amazon. But no one field guide, which would contain all reptiles species of some (but whole) country.
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