I had the immense pleasure to go on another herpetological adventure in the Peruvian Amazon this past January, and I thought I'd share some of the photos I took with you all. I know not all of these are herps, but hey. I thought you's appreciate a little variety.
Let's start out with the river itself. The mighty Amazon.
Sunset over the Amazon River by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
and the animals that live within...
Pink River Dolphin- Inia geoffrensis by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
But, of course, the main attraction was the magnificent rainforest, with its multitude of incredible trees.
Buttress Tree by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Giant Ceiba by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
...and occasional sighting of the denizens of those trees...
Three-toed sloth by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Squirrel Monkey by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
...whether mammalian or avian.
Chestnut-eared Aracari by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Alright, alright I'll stop messing around and get to what you really came here to see. I focused on the artistic side of photography and so did not take shots of every animal that we encountered while there.
THE LIZARDS AND CROCS:
Collared Tree Lizard, Plica plica by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Amazon Forest Dragon, Enyalioides laticeps by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Black-spotted skink, Mabuya nigropunctata, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Smooth-fronted Caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
THE FROGS:
Amazon Poison Frog- Dendrobates ventrimaculatus, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Crested Forest Toad- Bufo margaritifer, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Common Suriname Toad, Pipa pipa by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Atelopus spumarius- Common Harlequin Toad by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Hyla minuta, Least treefrog, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
A TURTLE:
Matamata, Chelus fimbriatus by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
THE SNAKES:
Chironius exoletus by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Red Vine Snake- Tripanurgos compressus, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Short-nosed leaf-litter snake- Taeniophallus brevirostris by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Common Glossy Racer, Drymoluber dichrous (juv) by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Banded South American Watersnake, Helicops angulatus, in situ by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Amazon Tree Boa, Corallus hortulanus by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Oxybelis fulgidus- Green Vine Snake by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
A few other cool things:
Green and Black Planarian by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Boat ride by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Yellow-headed Caracara by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Cordyceps fungus on a moth by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
Green and Rufus Kingfisher- Chloroceryle inda by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
One last sunset:
Cloudy Sunset over the Amazon River by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
That's all, folks! Thanks for looking!
Farewell by Marisa.Ishimatsu, on Flickr
-Marisa
January in Peru (lots of pics)
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Marisa, some really nice photos herein, you are getting better and better. The aracari birds and the Green vine snake perhaps my favorites, but all were impressive. The "farewell" too.The photo of the caracara with a fish in its talons is interesting, I don't recall seeing a caracara carrying prey before, for some reason I assumed they had weak talons, like many vultures.
Thanks for posting, a trip to the tropics for us.
Vic
Thanks for posting, a trip to the tropics for us.
Vic
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Good stuff. Were you on the Margarita Tours trip? I want to go next winter.
- Steve Barten
- Posts: 162
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:13 pm
- Location: NE Illinois
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
You certainly are one of the top photographers on this site, and that's saying a lot. Any one of these images would look great enlarged and hanging on a wall. This is an outstanding report.
Your posts are treat and I look forward to them; hope you get out in the field a lot this year.
Your posts are treat and I look forward to them; hope you get out in the field a lot this year.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
cbernz wrote:Good stuff. Were you on the Margarita Tours trip? I want to go next winter.
Yes, I went with them and I would highly recommend them to any herper.
Thanks so much Steve, and Vic. I appreciate the compliments very much. I am looking to make prints at some point in the near future. If you're interested, please let me know.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
All that green is a shock to my eyes up here in the still frozen Midwest! Great pics, thanks for sharing. Love that matamata ... What a crazy looking turtle!
Pacific Northwest reply
Wow! So much more than stunning, especially the sunset photos.
Thanks for sharing. As the Midwesterner already noted, we in the North don't get to see such fullness of life, nor the visual feast.
In my area, we have about 4 commonly seen reptile species - which are not commonly seen at all. Only Garter snakes are common. Rattlesnakes have been driven from most of the Willamette Valley.
Are bugs absolutely out of control? How do you deal with all the mosquitos, gnats & biting flies?
My motto if I ever visit any tropical region, due to all the venomous & deadly creatures:
"We only go in groups of 3, and we all carry automatic weapons."
Thanks for sharing. As the Midwesterner already noted, we in the North don't get to see such fullness of life, nor the visual feast.
In my area, we have about 4 commonly seen reptile species - which are not commonly seen at all. Only Garter snakes are common. Rattlesnakes have been driven from most of the Willamette Valley.
Are bugs absolutely out of control? How do you deal with all the mosquitos, gnats & biting flies?
My motto if I ever visit any tropical region, due to all the venomous & deadly creatures:
"We only go in groups of 3, and we all carry automatic weapons."
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Awesome Stuff! I would love to visit such a cool place.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Great photos! A few of your habitat/landscape shots really make me feel like I am there. How did you find the mata-mata? That was a species I really wanted to find while there, but did not.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
As usual, absolutely beautiful shots. I particularly fond of the buttress tree and the Helicops shots. Look's like a spectacular trip. Thank you for sharing.
Best,
Nick
Best,
Nick
- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
- Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
- Location: Mt Laurel, NJ
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Excellent photos! I'm glad you had a great trip to Peru - thanks for sharing.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Some I have seen, some I have not... ALL of them STUNNING!
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Marisa,
Great photos! Some are absolutely stunning! Glad you had a great time, hope to see you down there again!
Great photos! Some are absolutely stunning! Glad you had a great time, hope to see you down there again!
- Jeroen Speybroeck
- Posts: 826
- Joined: June 29th, 2011, 1:56 am
- Location: Belgium
- Contact:
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Top notch! Not easy to do such nice herp+habitat shots in such closed surroundings. That matamata looks quite a bit larger than ours. Love the pipa shot. And too many of the other ones. Ah... that red vine snake alone is enough to make me long to go back there....
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Stunning!
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Thanks, everyone! I had a lot of fun taking these pics. I mean, how can you not have fun in the Amazon? Unless you don't like heat, humidity, bugs, mosquitos, mosquitos, mosquitos, snakes, or mosquitos...
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Wonderful post, I think you could have tripled it having seen some of the other photos. Where's the baby sloth. I love sloths and I'm incredibly jealous of the one you were able to surrogate.
Re: January in Peru (lots of pics)
Amazing photos Maria. Makes me want to get back down to Peru so bad. I've only made one trip back in 2011 but I'm definitely going back someday...hopefully soon.
Really a great selection of images. That boa pic is stunning.
Really a great selection of images. That boa pic is stunning.