A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

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Jon Wedow
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A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Jon Wedow »

Once upon a boring day at work I booked a plane ticket for Panama. With fall coming to an end and me going through some serious Herp Withdrawl Syndrome, it was time to go somewhere warm, and fast! Three weeks later I stepped off the plane at Tocumen airport in Panama and rented a 4x4. By nightfall I was on a mountain trail, headlamp on and snake hook in hand.

The first night was great for snakes, and they were all ready to have their photo taken! (All photos are in situ except we got their attention - notice the defensive head posture on the dipsas)

Bothriechis schlegelii #1
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Bothriechis schlegelii #2
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Dipsas temporalis
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Bothrops asper
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And some other herps showed up too...

Hylomantis lemur (how we first found it)
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Hylomantis lemur (same frog after we left it for 30 minutes)
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Espadarana prosoblepon?
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Dendropsophus veriegada
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Morunasaurus groi - this is all you normally see of them (full body photo)
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Micrurus multifasciatus - DOR
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The next morning I was up for sunrise. It was probably the most beautiful morning I have ever witnessed and looking back it was definitely a trip highlite. I got to watch Pacific and Atlantic fronts collide on the top of the continental divide!

Parque Nacional Omar Torrijos Herrera, El Cope
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I spent the two days and nights in El Cope at Julie Ray's La Mica Biological Station - http://www.lamica.org/
Julie is an expert when it comes to Panamanian herps, especially snakes. La Mica is even named after Spillotes pullatus which are supposed to be common there although I still have never seen one in the wild.

Nestled down in the bottom of this photo you can see La Mica. I foolishly didn't take any other photos but the building is great and there is also a nice view of the river. The peaceful sound of water over the rapids will help you sleep while large mammals are climbing on the roof at night.
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It was pretty rainy during my stay at la Mica and I only managed one Dipsas temporalis plus some anurans. I guess it didn't help that for the second night I opted to drink beer on the dry porch of La Mica instead braving the pouring rain on the trails.

In situ (you will notice some pics in this post are taken with a point and shoot... this photo is definitely no exception)
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Porthidium lansbergii - a captive animal (Mario Urriolla, El Valle, Serpentario)
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Dendrobates auratus
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Next stop: the highlands ..

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Sceloporus malachiticus
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Cerrophidion godmani
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juvenile
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Mesaspis monticola
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juvenile
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Basiliscus basiliscus
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Norops biporcatus
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Geophis brachycephalus
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I can assure you that this is niether Bothriechis nigroviridis nor Bothriechis lateralus.
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Pristimantis ? - around 1800m, Boquete
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Crugastor stejnegerianus?
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And some odds and ends from the rest of the trip.

A face only a.... what the?!
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Oscaecilia ochrocephala
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Pristimantis ?
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Espadarana prosoblepon?
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Norops pentaprion
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Sibon argus (in situ)

Pristimantis gagieae
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? - Baha Boquete
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Bufo melanochlorus
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Hummingbird
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Mario and a big flat Clelia clelia ... he doesn't look to happy!
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Well that's it for now. Hope you made it this far.

Jon
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Viridovipera
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Viridovipera »

Jumpin jehoosafet great balls of fire. Awesome job! If that's what you do on an impromptu trip, we should actually PLAN a trip together -- we could probably re-discover an assumed extinct species. Excelllent photography of some not-often seen New World herps. I loved the centroliidaes, the Bothreichis, the Hylomantis, the caecillian ... eh screw it, I loved it ALL!

How easy was Panama to do like this? What did you know before you left and what resources did you use to get to and find the stations? Is it expensive to stay at the stations or can you just pitch a tent? Are they accessible by public transport? I'd love to get down to the Isthmus one day.

Great post!

-Alex
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chris_mcmartin
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by chris_mcmartin »

Jon Wedow wrote:Oscaecilia
You're breakin' my heart...
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

My word. What a beautiful post. Lots of animals we don't get to see here too often (first South America post in a while without one of those ubiquitous, bug-eyed slug snarfers), nice photography, some habitat.....

My faves: Geophis brachycephalus and that Hognosed pitviper. Incidentally, I saw the name "Hognosed pitviper" on some blog just half an hour ago and wondered if that was a typo. Never heard of the snake before!

I only wish you had pulled more of your narrative talents out of the bag.....the introduction sure worked up an appetite for more :-)

PS: That penis-worm sure is freaky :-)
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VanAR
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by VanAR »

Jon- great stuff as always!

Van
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Chris Smith
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Chris Smith »

Great report!! The caecilian and Cerrophidion godmani are awesome!

-Chris
narrowfellow
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by narrowfellow »

Great stuff. Interesting that the S. malachiticus and Mesaspis are so drab compared to the screaming green in the Costa Rican highlands. Your B. marinus looks more melanochlorus-ish to me.
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ksuglennj
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by ksuglennj »

Just Awesome man. I know you worked hard for all of what you got and you deserve it. Great photography. I have to admit that really love the caecilian.

This goes without saying, I'm ready to go back. Just need the time and money. :D


Glenn
gretzkyrh4
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

Man Jon. You're killing me. Is there anything you can't find in that country? I'll be down for 3 days over x-mas, but I doubt I'll even make it into the field. I'm crossing my fingers that I can stumble across something interesting around Playa Blanca.

We'll have to plan a trip at some point next year.

Chris
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Marc Dubois
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Marc Dubois »

Nice post Jon!

I really like pics of the pit vipers (4 species) 8-)

Thanks for sharing
KEAC
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by KEAC »

I know we talked about it already.....but no more running off and finding good stuff without me. Next time I'll kick you in those nuts. :shock: Mario does have that, "I can't believe you're making me pose with this" face doesn't he? Nice little trip white boy!
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Joseph S.
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Joseph S. »

Neat photos of some awesome stuff. With I saw some Bothriechis when I was in CR.

That sleeping hummingbird appears to be a white tip sicklebill, unless anyone who really knows birds wants to contest this ID.
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justinm
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by justinm »

Wow, amazing thanks. The winter is only tolerable with posts like this one.
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Mike Pingleton
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Mike Pingleton »

tremendous! I'd say you led with your best (not to take away from the rest). Great photos!

-Mike
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Jon Wedow
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Jon Wedow »

Thanks everyone!

Alex - It's easy to get around in Panama. You can find most of the information for stations/trails on the internet. Look for birding blogs, travel reports, etc...

Hans - I'll work on the narration. It doesn't come naturally to me like it does for many others on the forum.

narrowfellow - I think you might be right on the toad. The parotid gland seems a little small for marinus/marina doesn't it?

Chris - There is lots of cool stuff to stumble across in that disturbed area around the resorts! M. dissoleucus, Epicrates, Porthidium, and many others as I'm sure you know.. at least you'll be in Panama for Christmas!

Darin - I just wish I had of found something really cool to rub your nose in ;)

Joseph - Thanks for the bird ID. You're probably right as this one has some really distinct features!

Justin - I hear ya .. winter is a great time for computer herp watching / research.

Mike - That's the way the trip went. It was an amazing first night then it slowed down to one significant find or less per day.
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Bill Love
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Bill Love »

Great post, and very nice images. That D. auratus poison frog was a beauty!
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Dell Despain
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Dell Despain »

Enjoyed the post Jon. You need more boring days at work, who knows where you'll book your next trip. 8-)

The trip would be done for me after finding Bothriechis s., everything else would be icing on the cake. :beer:

-Dell
Kfen
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Re: A seat of the pants herping excursion: Panama

Post by Kfen »

Great post! You have some great treefrog photos and I really love the juvenile godmani shot. Looks like you did very well. I have been to CR a few times and may have to try and get to Panama now.
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