I started spending the holidays in the Caribbean. First was my first visit to Cuba. I was with my family and I did not have a extraordinary amount of time to get out and herp, but I still found some great stuff.
I’ll start with Havana. My family and I had a wonderful 3 days in the city. We found the people and food to be incredible.
Like I said, I did not have a lot of time to go herping, but I did manage to find some fun stuff. This was all around Havana.
Anolis homolechis homolechis
Cuban White-Fanned Anole
Anolis porcatus
Cuban Green Anole
Leiocephalus carinatus carinatus
Saw-scaled Curlytail
Leiocephalus cubensis cubensis
Cuban Brown Curlytail
From the area of Santiago de Cuba:
Anolis porcatus
Cuban Green Anole
Leiocephalus carinatus aquarius
Saw-scaled Curlytail
From the far west end of the island:
Leiocephalus stictigaster stictigaster
Cuban Striped Curlytail
Ameiva auberi auberi
Cuban Ameiva
We had to go through Jamaica to get to Cuba. So, we spent some time there too.
Osteopilus ocellatus
Jamaican Laughing Treefrog
Rhinella marina
Cane Toad
Eleutherodactylus gossei
Jamaican Forest Frog
Anolis grahami
Jamaican Turquoise Anole
Anolis lineatopus
Jamaican Gray Anole
Aristelliger praesignis
Jamaican Croaking Gecko
Next up was a January tour to Panama and Peru. I’ve been leading tours to the Amazon for many years now for MT Amazon Expeditions (Margarita Tours). I was very excited for this years tours as some of my best friends were making the trip with me. It was a GREAT group and we found some incredible stuff. We got 100 species of herps, including 2 Lachesis. As I’m writing this, I recently returned from our 2017 tour, which was just as successful. If you have any interest in tour, we have openings for January 2018. Mike Pingleton and I will be the trip leaders on this tour. Check out our website or Facebook page for information, or feel free to Email me:
[email protected]
http://www.mtamazon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MTAmazonExpeditions
Bolitoglossa peruviana
Atelopus spumarius
Amazon Harlequin Toad
Toad in a tree!
Rhinella margaritifera
Crested Forest Toad
Dendropsophus marmoratus
Neotropical Marbled Treefrog
Dendropsophus miyatai
Jeweled Treefrog
Dendropsophus parviceps
Orange Shanked Treefrog
Dendropsophus timbeba
Dendropsophus triangulum
Variable Clown Treefrog
Hypsiboas boans
Gladiator Treefrog
Hypsiboas calcaratus
Convict Treefrog
Hypsiboas cinerascens
Rough Skinned Green Treefrog
Hypsiboas geographicus
Map Treefrog
Hypsiboas lanciformis
Rocket Treefrog
This is the new “florescent frog” that made headlines recently. They are quite common.
Hypsiboas punctatus
Polkadot Treefrog
Osteocephalus buckleyi
Buckley's Slender Legged Treefrog
Osteocephalus taurinus
Giant Broad Headed Treefrog
Osteocephalus yasuni
Yasuni Bromeliad Treefrog
Osteocephalus mutabor
Osteocephalus planiceps
Flat Headed Bromeliad Treefrog
Scarthyla goinorum
Slender Treefrog
Scinax garbei
Fringe Lipped Treefrog
Trachycephalus typhonius
Common Milk Frog
Probably my favorite frog of the trip.
Cruziohyla craspedopus
Amazon Leaf Frog
Phyllomedusa bicolor
Giant Monkey Frog
Phyllomedusa vaillanti
White Lined Monkey Frog
These were found just prior to our arrival, they are not commonly found.
Ceratophrys cornuta
Surinam Horned Frog
Allobates femoralis
Spotted Thighed Poison Frog
Ameerega hahneli
Pale Striped Poison Frog
Ameerega trivittata
Three Striped Poison Frog
Ranitomeya amazonica
Ranitomeya uakarii
Peruvian Amazon Poison Frog
Chiasmocleis bassleri
Bassler's Sheep Frog
Adenomera andrae
Cocha Chirping Frog
Adenomera hylaedactyla
Forest Chirping Frog
Engystomops petersi
Peters' Dwarf Frog
Leptodactylus pentadactylus
Smoky Jungle Frog
Leptodactylus wagneri
Dwarf Jungle Frog
A poison dart mimic, who lives in the sandy areas around ant mounds.
Lithodytes lineatus
Painted Antnest Frog
Noblella myrmecoides
Oreobates quixensis
Common Big Headed Rain Frog
Pristimantis ockendeni
Carabaya Rain Frog
Pristimantis variabilis
Variable Rain Frog
Pristimantis ventrimarmoratus
Caiman crocodilus
Spectacled caiman
Melanosuchus niger
Black Caiman
Anolis bombiceps
Blue Lipped Forest Anole
Anolis fuscoauratus
Slender Anole
Anolis ortonii
Amazon Bark Anole
Anolis punctatus
Amazon Green Anole
Anolis tandai
Tandai's Anole
Anolis trachyderma
Common Forest Anole
Anolis transversalis
Banded Tree Anole
Enyalioides laticeps
Amazon Forest Dragon
Iguana iguana
Green Iguana
Polychrus marmoratus
Amazon Monkey Lizard
Plica plica
Collared Tree Runner
Plica umbra
Olive Tree Runner
Stenocercus fimbriatus
Amazon Leaf Lizard
You have to get used to showering with large geckos!
Thecadactylus rapicauda
Turniptail Gecko
Gonatodes humeralis
Bridled Forest Gecko
Alopoglossus atriventris
Black Bellied Forest Lizard
Cercosaura argulus
White Striped Eyed Lizard
Potamites ecpleopus
Common Streamside Lizard
Copeoglossum nigropunctatum
Black Spotted Skink
It’s always fun to find Boas. This one didn’t like me much.
Boa constrictor constrictor
Red Tailed Boa
This was the find of the trip. In 9 previous trips to the Amazon, this species has not shown up. One night right after dinner, this was found 50 yards from camp in Santa Cruz. It was about 20 feet up. Spectacular!
Corallus batesii
Emerald Tree Boa
Corallus hortulanus
Amazon Tree Boa
Epicrates cenchria
Peruvian Rainbow Boa
Eunectes murinus
Green Anaconda
Chironius fuscus
Olive Whipsnake
Dendrophidion dendrophis
Olive Forest Racer
8 ½ feet of Cribo!
Drymarchon corais corais
Yellow Tailed Cribo
Drymoluber dichrous
Amazon Glossy Racer
Dipsas catesbyi
Ornate Snail Eating Snake
Erythrolamprus reginae
Common Swamp Snake
Helicops angulatus
South American Banded Water Snake
Oxyrhopus petolarius digitalis
Banded Calico Snake
Philodryas argentea
Green Striped Vine Snake
Imantodes cenchoa
Common Blunt Headed Tree Snake
Drepanoides anomalus
Amazon Egg Eating Snake
Pseudoboa coronata
Amazon Scarlet Snake
Siphlophis compressus
Red Vine Snake
Xenopholis scalaris
Flat Headed Snake
Anilius scytale
Coral Pipe Snake
These are usually very commonly seen.
Micrurus surinamensis
Aquatic Coral Snake
Bothrops atrox
South American Fer-de-Lance
And now what everybody goes to the Amazon to see. Lachesis is always a tough find. We had extraordinary luck this trip as we got 2. Here’s #1!
In Situ
and posed.
and here’s the second one.
Lachesis muta
South American Bushmaster
Here’s some photos of the Amazon and the preserves.
2016 tour!
The crew at mealtime.
It was a great trip with great people. Joseph, Kevin, Hayley, Ryan, Cliff, Ben, Lorrie, John (Business Class), Michael, Tom, Emerson, Edvin, and Cesar are all great travel companions!
On the way to Peru, Joseph, Kevin, Hayley, Ryan and John stopped in Panama for a few days. It has been many years since I have herped Panama, so I was very glad to go.
Rhinella marina
Cane Toad
Sachatamia albomaculata
Yellow-flecked Glassfrog
Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni
Fleischmann's Glassfrog
Hypsiboas rosenbergi
Rosenberg's Gladiator Treefrog
Smilisca sila
Pugnosed Treefrog
Rana warszewitschii
Brilliant Forest Frog
Silverstoneia nubicola
Boquete Rocket Frog
Engystomops pustulosus
Tungara Frog
Leptodactylus savagei
Savage's Thin-toed Frog
Basiliscus basiliscus
Common Basilisk
Anolis apletophallus
Pipeline Road
Anolis lionotus
Lion Anole
Holcosus leptophrys
Delicate Ameiva
Pliocercus euryzonus
Cope's False Coral Snake
Hydromorphus concolor
Costa Rica Water Snake
Imantodes cenchoa
Common Blunt Headed Tree Snake
Trachemys venusta panamensis
Panamanian Slider
The grounds here at Hotel Campestre, in El Valle are really nice. Unfortunately, it was extremely dry and everything we found was in or near water.
The Panama Canal.
Panama City from 50 floors up in our hotel.
We saw 6 Capybara cross the road in front of us and they crossed into the a canal that was loaded with American Crocodiles. This was exciting.
The Urbanek’s having a great time.
John Sullivan doing what we do!
Made it down to the the southeast for sometime in April – May. What a great time! Went from South Carolina, to Georgia, then all over Florida ending down south. I met so many great friends on the way, to included Tim, Shaun, Todd, Chris, Daniel, Yvonne, Michael, Dirk, Cary, and Ian.
Anaxyrus terrestris
Southern Toad
Pseudacris crucifer crucifer
Northern Spring Peeper
Alligator mississippiensis
American Alligator
Anolis carolinensis
Green Anole
Plestiodon laticeps
Broad Headed Skink
Ophisaurus ventralis
Eastern Glass Lizard
Lampropeltis getula getula
Eastern Kingsnake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Eastern Rat Snake
From coastal SC
Pantherophis guttatus
Corn Snake
Diadophis punctatus punctatus
Southern Ring-necked Snake
Storeria occipitomaculata obscura
Florida Red Bellied Snake
Thamnophis sauritus sauritus
Common Ribbonsnake
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Eastern Garter Snake
Agkistrodon contortrix
Eastern Copperhead
Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus
Northern Cottonmouth
South Carolina horridus!
Crotalus horridus
Timber Rattlesnake
Here is Tim with one of our Kingsnakes. Tim smelled after this.
Hyla cinerea
Green Treefrog
Rana clamitans
Green Frog
Rana heckscheri
River Frog
From Georgia
Pantherophis guttatus
Corn Snake
We were pretty happy to have this show up on a riverbank.
Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma
Rainbow Snake
Nerodia fasciata fasciata
Banded Water Snake
Nerodia taxispilota
Brown Water Snake
Terrapene carolina
Eastern Box Turtle
Hyla gratiosa
Barking Treefrog
Aspidoscelis sexlineata sexlineata
Eastern Six-lined Racerunner
Plestiodon laticeps
Broad Headed Skink
I was thrilled to see this one
Ophisaurus mimicus
Mimic Glass Lizard
Cemophora coccinea copei
Northern Scarlet Snake
I loved seeing all these Scarlet Kingsnakes……..never gets old. These are from the north half of Florida.
Lampropeltis elapsoides
Scarlet Kingsnake
Opheodrys aestivus
Rough Green Snake
From Central Florda
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Yellow Rat Snake
From the northern gulf coast:
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Gray Rat Snake
Rhadinaea flavilata
Pine Woods Snake
Liodytes pygaea pygaea
Northern Florida Swamp Snake
Nerodia clarkii clarkii
Gulf Coast Salt Marsh Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis similis
Blue Striped Garter Snake
Thamnophis sauritus nitae
Blue Striped Ribbon Snake
Virginia valeriae valeriae
Eastern Smooth Earth Snake
Micrurus fulvius
Eastern Coral Snake
Agkistrodon conanti
Florida Cottonmouth
A north Florida Copperhead.
Agkistrodon contortrix
Eastern Copperhead
Here’s Todd with a Pygmy
Sistrurus miliarius barbouri
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
Florida sunset.
Then, went down to S Flordia as a friend rented a beach house in the Keys. They fished and I herped!
Key Deer are everywhere.
This was pretty funny. They are not kidding.
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Eastern Garter Snake
Nerodia taxispilota
Brown Water Snake
This guy just finished eating a DOR frog off of the road.
Nerodia floridana
Florida Green Water Snake
These were found about as far south as you can get in mainland Florida
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Everglades Rat Snake
A South Florida elapsoides!
Lampropeltis elapsoides
Scarlet Kingsnake
And the obligatory photo:
Crocodylus acutus
American Crocodile
I made a few trips around Eastern Colorado and here are a few of the highlights:
Holbrookia maculata maculata
Common Lesser Earless Lizard
Coluber constrictor flaviventris
Yellow Bellied Racer
Lampropeltis gentilis
Central Plains Milk Snake
Pituophis catenifer sayi
Bullsnake
Heterdon nasicus
Plains Hognose Snake
I have a good excuse to spend time in Western Colorado now as my daughter is going to college there.
Hyla arenicolor
Canyon Treefrog
An unfortunate find…..the ever-present invasive bullfrog.
Lithobates catesbeiana
American Bullfrog
Spea intermontana
Great Basin Spadefoot
I can’t stop taking photos of these!
Crotaphytus collaris
Eastern Collared Lizard
Leopard Lizards are very uncommon in Colorado. My daughter and I were hiking and we found this gorgeous adult. Upon looking at it, we noticed a large thorn coming from it’s left eye. We decided to intervene if we could catch it. We pulled the thorn out and it went in 1 cm into the eye.
Gambelia wislizenii
Long Nosed Leopard Lizard
Aspidoscelis tigris septentrionalis
Plateau Tiger Whiptail
Pantherophis emoryi emoryi
Great Plains Rat Snake
This population was formerly considered the “intermontana” subspecies.
It was an exceptional year for concolor!
Crotalus concolor
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
The Summer brought a trip to Yucatan, Mexico. It was an awesome trip with some great company. We covered many kilometers and saw some incredible sites and herps. We crossed into Belize as well. Andy, Armin, Tim, Mike, Pat, Chris, and Kevin, you guys rock! We laughed, we bled, we herped, and we ate well.
Incilius valliceps
Gulf Coast Toad
Triprion petasatus
Yucatan Casquehead Treefrog
Trachycephalus typhonius
Common Milk Frog
Smilisca baudinii
Mexican Treefrog
Rana brownorum
Central American Leopard Frog
Leptodactylus fragilis
Mexican White-lipped Frog
Basiliscus vittatus
Brown Basilisk
Ctenosaura similis
Black Spiny Tailed Iguana
Coleonyx elegans
Yucatan Banded Gecko
This was the only boa seen, it was crossing the road after a heavy rainstorm.
Boa imperator
Mexican Boa Constrictor
This milk snake was extrordinaily difficult to photograph.
Lampropeltis abnorma
Tropical Milk Snake
My main target species for the trip. I used to keep and breed these back in the day. We got one that was 7 feet long!
Pseudelaphe flavirufa
Mexican Night Snake / Tropical Rat Snake
Senticolis triaspis triaspis
Green Rat Snake
Coniophanes schmidti
Schmidt's Black-Striped Snake
Coniophanes imperialis
Black-Striped Snake
Imantodes tenuissimus
Yucatan Blunt Headed Tree Snake
Leptodeira frenata
Rainforest Cat Eyed Snake
Leptodeira septentrionalis
Northern Cat Eyed Snake
Ninia sebae morleyi
Redback Coffee Snake
Sibon sanniolus
Pygmy Snail Sucker
Sibon nebulatus
Cloudy Snail Sucker
Tropidodipsas sartorii
Terrestrial Snail Sucker
Tropidodipsas fasciata fasciata
Banded Snail Sucker
Dipsas brevifacies
Snail-eating Thirst Snake
When I first spotted this, I thought my Spilotes jinx had been broken. Oh well, a good find anyway, one that left it’s mark on me!
Phrynonax poecilonotus
Puffing Snake
A heartbreaking DOR……
Scaphiodontophis annulatus
Guatemalan Neckband Snake
Ficimia publia
Blotched Hook Nosed Snake
Micrurus diastema alienus
Variable Coral Snake
Crotalus tzabcan
Yucatan Neotropical Rattlesnake
Bothrops asper
Fer-de-Lance
Porthidium yucatanicum
Yucatán Hognose Viper
Chichen Itza
Great travel companions!
Chelonia mydas mydas
Atlantic Green Sea Turtle
Crocodylus moreletii
Morelet's Crocodile
An incredible trip with some of my best friends.
From Wyoming:
Ambystoma mavortium
Tiger Salamander
The critically endangered Wyoming Toad
Anaxyrus baxteri
Sceloporus graciosus gracilis
Northern Sagebrush Lizard
Aspidoscelis sexlineata viridis
Prairie Racerunner
Pituophis catenifer deserticola
Great Basin Gopher Snake
Crotalus viridis viridis
Prairie Rattlesnake
Took a business related trip to San Diego in mid-Summer. Not prime conditions for herping, but I had a great time at the beach, at the ballpark, at In-N-Out, and meeting up with Lorrie and Jeff. Oh, and there was just a little time for herping too.
Crotalus oreganus helleri
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Crotalus ruber ruber
Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
Spotted Leaf Nosed Snake
Coleonyx variegates variegates
Desert Banded Gecko
Took a quick trip in the Fall to Western Kansas. Joseph, Kevin, Hayley, Ryan, Brent and I had a blast.
Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus
Western Slender Glass Lizard
Only Milk Snake seen:
Lampropeltis gentilis
Central Plains Milk Snake
Heterodon platirhinos
Eastern Hognose Snake
Thamnophis proximus proximus
Western Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
Red Sided Garter Snake
Tropidoclodion lineatum
Lined Snake
Terrapene ornata
Ornate Box Turtle
And I finally made my first trip to Snake Road in 2016. Had a great time! I really enjoyed the company of Mike, Hayley, Marisa, Justin O, Justin M, Rob, Nicholas, Armin, Pat, Tim, Andy, Erik, Kerry, and Alex (Hope I didn’t miss anybody).
Eurycea longicauda longicauda
Eastern Long Tailed Salamander
Eurycea lucifuga
Cave Salamander
Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis
Central Newt
Hyla avivoca
Bird Voiced Treefrog
Hyla cinerea
Green Treefrog
Hyla versicolor
Gray Treefrog
Rana clamitans melanotus
Green Frog
Rana sphenocephala sphenocephala
Southern Leopard Frog
Coluber constrictor priapus
Southern Black Racer
Opheodrys aestivus
Rough Green Snake
Pantherophis spiloides
Black Ratsnake
Thamnophis proximus proximus
Orange Striped Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Eastern Garter Snake
Virginia valeriae elegans
Western Smooth Earth Snake
Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster
Yellowbelly Water Snake
Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen
Northern Copperhead
Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma
Western Cottonmouth
Crotalus horridus
Timber Rattlesnake
It was a great trip.
Took a quick excursion to Missouri to look for these:
Heterodon gloydi
Dusty Hognose Snake
In the Fall, Shaun, Jeni, my wife and I went on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. We picked the trip in hopes of seeing some great herps.
First was Florida. We spent a night in the area of the Everglades. Had a great night and saw mostly common stuff. This was the best find.
Lampropeltis getula floridana
Florida Kingsnake
First was Grand Cayman.
Osteopilus septentrionalis
Cuban Treefrog
Anolis conspersus
Caymans Blue-fanned Anole
Anolis sagrei
Brown Anole
This was the target species for GC
Unfortunantely, these things are everywhere.
Iguana iguana
Green Iguana
Leiocephalus carinatus granti
Grand Cayman Curly Tail
Aristelliger praesignis
Jamaican Croaking Gecko
Trachemys decussata
Cuban Slider
Next up was Roatan, Honduras. It rained hard all day, but we still found some cool stuff.
Anolis allisoni
Allison's Green Anole
Iguana iguana
Green Iguana
Sphaerodactylus rosaurae
Bay Island Least Gecko
Back to Belize (not enough time the first time)
Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata
Atlantic Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Then, to Cozumel. We had a wonderful time!
Crocodylus acutus
American Crocodile
Anolis sagrei mayensis
Mayan Coastal Anole
Aspidoscelis cozumela
Cozumel Racerunner
Great year! Thanks to all the herper friends and acquantances, new and old who I was able to spend some time with this year.
