We’ll start with Peru. I let a great group of herpers through M.T. Amazon Expeditions in January. We spent 2 weeks starting from Iquitos and heading down river to two field stations. Madre Selva was the first stop, then Santa Cruz. 2013 got me my first Bushmaster, I did not see one this year, but each trip has many surprises. We saw 100 species of heprs on this trip. Here is some highlights.
We found this great Bolitoglossa. It could be B. altamazonica, but I’m not positive on the ID. I have never seen one so large, this was 6 inches long and very robust. It was also much more agile then any B. altamazonic I have ever seen in this area. It jumped from leaf to leaf with ease. If anybody has any ideas, let me know.

Bolitoglossa?
Here’s a standard B. altamazonica.

Bolitoglossa altamazonica
Amazon Climbing Salamander
Always love finding these, they are extremely variable.

Rhinella margaritifera
Crested Forest Toad
We have a very stable population of these and they are a highlight of every trip.

Atelopus spumarius
Amazon Harlequin Toad

Dendropsophus miyatai
Jeweled Treefrog
Another highlight species. These are extremely variable and beautiful.


Dendropsophus triangulum
Variable Clown Treefrog
And maybe even more impressive colors:

Dendropsophus triangulum
Variable Clown Treefrog
This was a highlight for me. This was my 9th trip to the Amazon region and I have always wanted to see one of the multiple members of Hemiphractus. Lifer and worth the wait!


Hemiphractus proboscideus
Long Nosed Casque Headed Treefrog

Hypsiboas geographicus
Map Treefrog

Hypsiboas cinerascens
Rough Skinned Green Treefrog

Hypsiboas calcaratus
Convict Treefrog

Hypsiboas punctatus
Polkadot Treefrog

Osteocephalus planiceps
Flat Headed Bromeliad Treefrog
On to the Monkey Frogs. They used to be a fairly uncommon find, I find many every trip. They are spectacular!



Phyllomedusa bicolor
Giant Monkey Frog

Phyllomedusa tomopterna
Barred Monkey Frog

Trachycephalus resinifictrix
Amazon Milk Frog

Scinax garbei
Fringe Lipped Treefrog

Ameerega hahneli
Pale Striped Poison Frog

Ranitomeya uakarii
Peruvian Amazon Poison Frog

Hamptophryne boliviana
Amazon Sheep Frog
A dart frog mimic,

Leptodactylus lineatus
Painted Antnest Frog

Oreobates quixensis
Common Big Headed Rain Frog
On to some reptiles

Caiman crocodilus
Spectacled caiman

Paleosuchus trigonatus
Smooth Fronted Caiman


Anolis transversalis
Banded Tree Anole (male)

Anolis transversalis
Banded Tree Anole (female)

Enyalioides laticeps
Amazon Forest Dragon

Iguana iguana
Green Iguana

Plica plica
Collared Tree Runner

Plica umbra
Olive Tree Runner

Stenocercus fimbriatus
Western Leaf Lizard

Ameiva ameiva
Amazon Whiptail
This was a great spot by John Sullivan while on a kayak. Can you see it?


Crocodilurus amazonicus
Crocodile Tegu
And……in the process, he leaned just a bit too far…….


Kentropyx pelviceps
Forest Whiptail

Copleoglossum nigropunctatum
Black Spotted Skink

Gonatodes humeralis
Bridled Forest Gecko

Thecadactylus solimoensis
Turnip Tailed Gecko

Cercosaura ocellata bassleri.
Black-striped Forest Lizard

Corallus hortulanus
Amazon Tree Boa

Epicrates cenchria
Peruvian Rainbow Boa

Eunectes murinus
Anaconda

Atractus major
Earth Snake

Chironius exoletus
Common Whipsnake

Chironius fuscus
Olive Whipsnake

Dendrophidion dendrophis
Tawny Forest Racer

Dipsas catesbyi
Ornate Snail Eating Snake

Dipsas indica
Snail Eating Snake


Drymoluber dichrous
Common Glossy Racer

Helicops angulatus
South American Banded Water Snake

Imantodes cenchoa
Blunt Headed Tree Snake

Oxyrhopus occipitalis
Yellow Headed Calico Snake
These usually have some red in them, even the juveniles such as this one. This was the only O. petola seen this trip.

Oxyrhopus petola
Banded Calico Snake

Oxyrhopus vanidicus
Black Headed Calico Snake

Pseudoboa coronata
Amazon Scarlet Snake


Pseustes poecilonotus
Common Bird Snake


Siphlophis compressus
Red Vine Snake

Taeniophallus brevirostris
Short-nosed Leaf Litter Snake

Xenoxybelis argenteus
Striped Green Vine Snake
And the highlight of the trip! I could not stop taking photos of it.


Micrurus langsdorffi
Langsdorff's Coral Snake
And just because there is no red touching yellow or no red at all does not mean it’s safe to touch!

Micrurus lemniscatus
Western Ribbon Coral Snake

Micrurus putumayensis
Sooty Coral Snake

Micrurus surinamensis
Aquatic Coral Snake
Watch where you step!

Bothrops atrox
South American Lancehead
Not many turtles seen on this trip. This one was in along the Amazon outside of Iquitos

Podocnemis unifilis
Yellow Spotted River Turtle
Madre Selva accommodations.

I’ll throw in a bird. I watched this guy for a couple of hours as it did not move.


White Tailed Trogon

Here is the group including our crew. There are some familiar faces here!
Back to the states, spent a day in south Florida and was able to see a few things despite the rain.

Crocodylus acutus
American Crocodile
Spring in S. Texas was a Blast. Got to spend some quality time with good friends. I really enjoyed my time with Shaun, Tim, Erik, Gus, Kyle, Blake, John, and Aaron. We had a blast and found most of our targets despite the experience with Africanized bees.

Incilius nebulifer
Gulf Coast Toad

Syrrhophus marnockii
Cliff Chirping Frog

Phrynosoma cornutum
Texas Horned Lizard

Sceloporus olivaceus
Texas Spiny Lizard

Plestiodon tetragrammus tetragrammus
Four Lined Skink

Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus
Western Slender Glass Lizard

Rena dulces
Texas Blind Snake

Arizona elegans arenicola
Texas Glossy Snake

Coluber constrictor oaxaca
Mexican Racer



Coluber flagellum testaceus
Western Coachwhip
Gus managed to find this while we were walking around.

Coluber schotti ruthveni
Ruthven's Whipsnake
This was the nicest whipsnake I’ve ever come across.



Coluber schotti schotti
Schott's Whipsnake

Drymobius margaritiferus
Speckled Racer

Coniophanes imperialis
Regal Black Striped Snake
I was very happy to find this!

Drymarchon melanurus erebennus
Texas Indigo Snake

Hypsiglena jani texana
Chihuahuan Night Snake

Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster
Prairie Kingsnake

Lampropeltis getula splendida
Desert Kingsnake

Pantherophis emoryi meahlllmorum
Southwestern Rat Snake

Pantherophis obsoleta lindheimeri
Texas Ratsnake

Pituophis catenifer sayi
Bullsnake

Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus
Texas Long Nosed Snake

Salvadora grahamiae
Texas Patch Nosed Snake

Tantilla gracilis
Flat Headed Snake

Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus
Eastern Black Necked Garter Snake

Thamnophis marcianus
Checkered Gartersnake

Thamnophis proximus oranius
Gulf Coast Ribbonsnake
Big game!

Virginia striatula
Rough Earth Snake

Micrurus tener
Texas Coral Snake
A couple of the many atrox seen. The second one was from some thick forest in the Hill Country.


Crotalus atrox
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
This was an unexpected find in S. Texas!

Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi
Desert Massasauga
From my home state of Colorado.

Lampropeltis triangulum gentilis
Central Plains Milk Snake

Heterdon nasicus nasicus
Plains Hognose Snake

Crotalus viridis
Prairie Rattlesnake
From Western CO

Inspired by Joe!

Crotaphytus collaris
Eastern Collard Lizard

Coluber taeniatus taeniatus
Desert Striped Whipsnake

Crotalus Concolor
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Wyoming:

Aspidoscelis sexlineata viridis
Prairie Racerunner

Coluber constrictor flaviventris
Eastern Yellow Bellied Racer

Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata
Pale Milk Snake
I took a quick trip to Baja in May and was able to find a few things.

Petrosaurus thalassinus
San Lucan Rock Lizard
I never tire of finding these:

Lichanura trivirgata trivirgata
Mexican Rosy Boa
This is as far south as I’ve ever found a Slevin’s!

Hypsiglena slevini (Eridiphas)
Slevin’s Night Snake
I night hiked this gem.

Trimorphodon biscutatus
Lyre Snake
Then, late in the Summer, a group of us went to Sonora. It was a fun and very productive trip. Here is some highlights.


Pachymedusa dacnicolor
Mexican Leaf Frog

Do you see it?


Smilisca baudinii
Mexican Treefrog

Smilisca fodiens
Lowland Burrowing Treefrog

Leptodactylus melanonotus
Sabinal Frog

Scaphiopus couchii
Couch's Spadefoot


Ctenosaura macrolopha
Mexican Spiny Tailed Iquana

Callisaurus draconoidese inusitanus
Sonoran Zebra Tailed Lizard

Phrynosoma solare
Regal Horned Lizard

Sceloporus nelsoni
Nelson's Spiny Lizard

Urosaurus ornatus
Ornate Tree Lizard

Aspidoscelis costata
Western Mexico Whiptail

Coleonyx variegatus sonoriensis
Sonoran Banded Gecko

Phyllodactylus tuberculosus
Yellowbelly Gecko


Heloderma horridum
Mexican Beaded Lizard




Boa constictor

Coluber bilineatus
Sonoran Whipsnake
Maybe my favorite Coluber??


Coluber mentovarius
Tropical Whipsnake


Coluber flageellum cingulum
Sonoran Coachwhip

Hypsiglena chlorophaea
Desert Nightsnake

Lampropeltis getula nigrita
Mexican Black Kingsnake
I found this Sinaloan Milk Snake off to the side of a highway, off the road. As I approached, it was moving but appeared to have been hit. It went limp, but I could not find any injury. There was some debate in the car if the snake was dead. Later that night at a photo shoot, it appeared to have come back to life, only to “die” again, this time with blood out the mouth. This is a new behavior for me with milk snakes. It eventually was fine and was released.



Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae
Sinaloan Milk Snake
I’ve found various Leptophis species in Central and South America. In previous years, I’ve seen 5 L diplotropis in Sonora, but I have zero photos to show for them. I was quite excited to see a 5 foot specimen in the foliage along side a creek while hiking with Kevin and Joseph. Well, I quickly grabbed it and it quickly grabbed me, hanging onto my thumb. There was a time when Kevin and Joseph was unsure who had who. Anyway about 2 minutes later and me being minus a pint of blood, I had full control of this beauty. Here is a photo where the snake has my DNA all over it.

And after we cleaned up.

They are all mouth!

The bite bled like an open faucet. I had shooting pains that went up to my elbow and lasted for a couple of hours. Later, Shaun found a second specimen and had a similar experience. Beautiful snakes and totally worth it! Here’s the second specimen.

Leptophis diplotropis
Pacific Coast Parrot Snake


Oxybelis aeneus
Brown Vine Snake

Phyllorhynchus browni
Saddled Leaf Nosed Snake

Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
Spotted Leaf Nosed Snake

Rhinocheilus lecontei
Long Nosed Snake

Senticolis triaspis intermedia
Green Rat Snake

Thamnophis cyrtopsis
Black Necked Garter Snake

Trimorphodon tau
Mexican Lyresnake



Micrurus distans distans
Mexican West Coast Coral Snake


Crotalus atrox
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake


Crotalus basiliscus
Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake
I found the first one in situ:


Crotalus cerastes cercobombus
Sonoran Sidewinder
Then in November, I found my self in the Caribbean. I spent a few days in Puerto Rico then meandered to Florida for a week and a half. I was not herping the whole time, but I was able to see some stuff.
I always enjoy time on Puerto Rico. In my experience, this is the most common and an extremely variable anole.


Anolis cristatellus
Puerto Rican Crested Anole

Anolis evermanni
Puerto Rican Emerald Anole
One of my favorite PR Anoles, Love the blue eyes.




Anolis gundlachi
Yellow-chinned Anole

Anolis krugi
Olive Bush Anole
And the ever present….

Iguana iguana
Green Iguana
This is from St. Croix, USVI



Anolis acutus
St. Croix Anole



Anolis roquet
Martinique Anole
I really enjoyed these




Anolis richardi
Grenada Tree Anole
Overall, it was a great year. I enjoyed spending time with everybody! Shaun V., Tim W., John S., Mike P., Kris H., Sky S., Lorrie S., Erik M., CJ, V. Joseph E., Kevin C., Jason and everyone else, lets do it again! 2015 brings more Peru. Please let me know if you want to join. Trips are scheduled for April and June.