Guyana-the other reptiles

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Asnyder
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Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Asnyder »

So as some of you may have already seen, I made my first post in this series about some of the snakes that I have encountered in Guyana (http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=19642). This next post will contain the other reptiles, and I hope to follow this one up later with another post on the amphibians.

Caimans:

Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
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Dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus)
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Black caiman (Melanosuchus niger)
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Turtles and Tortoises:

Giant River turtle (Podocnemis expansa)
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Yellow spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis)
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South American Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys punctularia)
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Gibba Turtle (Phrynops gibbus)
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Twist Neck turtle (Platemys platycephala)
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Yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata)
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Red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)
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Lizards:

Giant Ameiva (Ameiva ameiva)
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Striped forest whiptail (Kentropyx calcarata)
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Black and Gold Tegu (Tupinambis teguixin)
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Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)
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Brown Tree Climber (Uranoscodon superciliosus)
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Black sided skink (Mabuya nigropunctata)
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Forest anole (Anolis ortonii)
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Slender anole (Anolis fuscoauratus)
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Monkey Lizard (Polychrus marmoratus)
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Muller's tegu (Leposoma percarinatum)
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Bachia flavescens
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Blue lipped tree lizard (Plica umbra)
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Guyana Lava lizard (Tropidurus hispidus)
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Two faced Neusticurus (Neusticurus bicarinatus)
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Turnip-tail gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda)
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Bridled forest gecko (Gonatodes humeralis)
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Amazon dwarf gecko (Pseudogonatodes guianensis)
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House gecko (Hemidactylus palaichthus)
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VICtort
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by VICtort »

Outstanding photos...like viewing a high quality "coffee table book" except you present Genera I have never seen before e.g., Bachia,Leposoma, etc. Equally so with the snakes.

The young paranoid looking iguana near the river caught my eye, the head on view of the Boa constrictor, and many others.

I would love to see Drymarchon, Pseustes, Spilotes from known areas if you care to post them.
It is a rare privilege to see these spectacular photos and animals from known points of origin.

Thank you, this is great work.

Vic
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justinm
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by justinm »

VICtort wrote:Outstanding photos...like viewing a high quality "coffee table book" except you present Genera I have never seen before e.g., Bachia,Leposoma, etc. Equally so with the snakes.

The young paranoid looking iguana near the river caught my eye, the head on view of the Boa constrictor, and many others.

I would love to see Drymarchon, Pseustes, Spilotes from known areas if you care to post them.
It is a rare privilege to see these spectacular photos and animals from known points of origin.

Thank you, this is great work.

Vic
These are all things I wanted to say but likely couldn't do it as well, so I'm cheating. The two aforementioned species are new to me and so cool. The Dwarf Caiman is one of the best I've ever seen of them. It was a picture with a thousand words for me. This together with the snakes is EPIC. You could put a picture book together and I would buy it.
Asnyder
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Asnyder »

Thank you guys! I'm really glad that you guys enjoy the images

Vic- Believe it or not, I have still surprisingly not encountered those genera in Guyana, though I do have photos of both Drymarchon and Pseustes from Honduras from a few years back.

Justin-I actually do have a few books tentatively planned, one being a coffee table style picture book. As much as I am trying to make some headway with it, the degree seems to be taking most of my time at the moment! In the meantime I'm just happy to share the images with people who enjoy seeing them.
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Mike Rochford
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Mike Rochford »

Nicely done again. That Bachia is dope and the crocs and tortoises are really cool.

Mike
Asnyder
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Asnyder »

Mike Rochford wrote:Nicely done again. That Bachia is dope and the crocs and tortoises are really cool.

Mike
- Thanks Mike, those Bachia really are a neat lizard
Craig
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Craig »

Great photos. Nice to see the turtle photos. Not nearly enough turtle photos on this forum :)

Craig
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moloch
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by moloch »

Excellent report, Andrew. That Black-and-Gold Tegu looked like a beast ... almost monitor like.

How did you find Bachia flavescens? They look like they would be burrowers or inhabit rotting logs.

Regards,
David
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Ribbit
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Ribbit »

Well done! I'm amazed that you could get close enough to all those tegus and other teiids for such great photos. Are you using a really long lens, or did you capture them, or ... ?

John
Asnyder
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Asnyder »

Ribbit wrote:Well done! I'm amazed that you could get close enough to all those tegus and other teiids for such great photos. Are you using a really long lens, or did you capture them, or ... ?

The teiid shots are using a variety of different lenses. Some of the shots, specifically the headshots were taken with the lizard in hand. Though the large black and gold tegu in the savanna was taken just after I released it. Our mammalogist actually accidentally caught it in one of the large traps he set out for his mammal surveys.
moloch wrote:Excellent report, Andrew. That Black-and-Gold Tegu looked like a beast ... almost monitor like.

How did you find Bachia flavescens? They look like they would be burrowers or inhabit rotting logs.
The Bachia are indeed terrestrial/fossorial. At my last survey site, I found a bunch of them as they were swimming through the sandy soil and leaf litter. As we had to clear out space to set up our makeshift camp, you would often see the leaves on the ground moving for no apparent reason, but really it was just them.
Kfen
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Kfen »

Wow! All 3 posts were incredible! I'm responding to this one because you rarely see south American turtles posted, and I appreciated every one of them. How big was that expansa, and how did you catch it? What type of habitat did you find the pipa pipa in? Thank you very much for putting this together, I am definitely going to check it out again in the next couple of days!
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TravisK
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by TravisK »

Very nice, thanks for sharing that. I am really digging the Bachia flavescens pics.
Asnyder
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Re: Guyana-the other reptiles

Post by Asnyder »

Kfen wrote:Wow! All 3 posts were incredible! I'm responding to this one because you rarely see south American turtles posted, and I appreciated every one of them. How big was that expansa, and how did you catch it? What type of habitat did you find the pipa pipa in? Thank you very much for putting this together, I am definitely going to check it out again in the next couple of days!
Glad you liked them! I don't have my notes on me but if I remember correctly the P. expansa carapace length was about 1.5' long. Ironically enough, we actually caught it while we were fishing for dinner. Took a few photos and then set it back off. As for the Pipa, I have found them in a few habitats. Typically I find them in areas that are seasonally flooded where during the dry season they are really small creeks but with the rains they are much more swamp like. I've also found them in temporary ponds and swamps. Believe it or not, they are quite adept at traveling on land.
TravisK wrote:Very nice, thanks for sharing that. I am really digging the Bachia flavescens pics.
Thanks Travis, I just wish I were able to get a few pics in situ.
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