Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

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Asnyder
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Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Asnyder »

For those of you who enjoyed Cusuco National Park article in the most recent Herp Nation, I decided it is time to post up a bunch of new photos and give a chance for anyone to ask any questions.

My old account must have been deleted so I started a new one. So now for a brief, re-introduction, my name is Andrew Snyder. I've been a member of this forum for a few years now if some of you remember me, particularly the Northeast chapter. I graduated with my bachelors from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2009 and have spent my past two summers conducting herpetological and some chytrid surveys in Cusuco National Park, Honduras with the British conservation organization Operation Wallacea Ltd. My studies will now be taking me to the Iwokrama forest and surrounding areas in Guyana in pursuit of my PhD with the University of Mississippi.

Cusuco National Park can be found in northwestern Honduras within the Merendon mountains. It is a mountain-top park and boasts a very unique cloud forest ecosystem with many endemic herps to the park as well as many Honduran endemics and nuclear Mesoamerican endemics. Many of the parks herps can be found on the IUCN redlist of endangered species. Though it is considered a National Park, it lacks adequate protection, or any protection for that matter. In just my three summers there (the first as a volunteer) I have documented coffee farms within the core zone of the park as well as pastured animals. Without proper protection, they will continue to encroach the special core zone habitats and further threaten these already very threatened animals.

Over the past two years I have taken thousands of photos here where I have pretty much taught myself everything I know about photography. These photos will just be the ones from 2010, the other ones can all be found on my flickr page.

So without further adieu here are some of the amphibians from the park and buffer zone.

Frogs and toads


Smilisca baudini-This is a very common species of the lower elevation buffer zones
Image
Mexican Treefrog by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Smilisca by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Mexican Treefrog by asnyder5, on Flickr



There are many species of leaf-litter frogs of the genus Craugastor found in the park and buffer zones
Craugastor laevissimus-Endangered

Juvenile:
Image
Robber Frog by asnyder5, on Flickr

Adult:
Image
Craugastor laevissimus by asnyder5, on Flickr



Craugastor laticeps
Image
Rainfrog by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Robber frog by asnyder5, on Flickr



Glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni)-A common riverside dweller in the buffer zone camps. Just before a heavy thunderstorm, I could have sworn I heard these calling from a remote camp in the core zone but subsequent searches did not yield any.
Image
Glass frog by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Glass frog by asnyder5, on Flickr



Lithobates maculata- Another very common species from the buffer zone. These river dwelling frogs were never found farther than 5 meters from a river.

Image
River Frog by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
River frog by asnyder5, on Flickr



Ollotis valliceps- Another exclusively buffer zone species
Image
Gulf Coast Toad by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Untitled by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Things that are bumpy in the night by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Ollotis valliceps by asnyder5, on Flickr



Endangered Bromeliad frog (Bromeliahyla bromeliacia)-Last summer proved the occurrence of Chytrid in this species, an exclusively arboreal, bromeliad breeding species.

Tadpole:
Image
Bromeliohyla tadpole by asnyder5, on Flickr

Metamorph:
Image
Bromeliad frog metamorph by asnyder5, on Flickr

Adult:
Image
Bromeliad frog by asnyder5, on Flickr



Critically endangered (Ptychohyla ptychomykter

Juvenile:
Image
Juvenile Ptychohyla by asnyder5, on Flickr

Adult:
Image
Untitled by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Ptychohyla hypomykter by asnyder5, on Flickr



Critically endangered Brook frog (
  • Duellmanohyla soralia
)-Definitely one of my favorite frogs
Juvenile:
Image
Juvenile soralia by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Untitled by asnyder5, on Flickr

Adult:
Image
Duellmanohyla soralia by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Duellmanohyla soralia by asnyder5, on Flickr



Cusuco endemic, critically endangered Plectrohyla dasypus
Image
Plectrohyla dasypus silhouette by asnyder5, on Flickr
Juvenile:
Image
Plectrohyla dasypus by asnyder5, on Flickr

Metamorph:
Image
Metamorph by asnyder5, on Flickr

Adult:
Image
Plectrohyla by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Plectrohyla dasypus by asnyder5, on Flickr



Cusuco endemic, critically endangered Plectrohyla exquisita
Image
Untitled by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Plectrohyla exquisita by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Untitled by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Plectrohyla exquisita by asnyder5, on Flickr



Salamanders



Bolitoglossa dofleini
Image
Bolitoglossa dofleini by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Bolitoglossa dofleini by asnyder5, on Flickr



Endangered Bolitoglossa conanti
Image
Daytime hideaway by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Bolitoglossa conanti by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Salamander by asnyder5, on Flickr



Critically endangered, Cusuco endemic Bolitoglossa diaphora
Image
Cusuco climbing salamander by asnyder5, on Flickr



Critically endangered, endemic Cusuco worm salamander (Oedipina tomasi
Image
Oedipina tomasi by asnyder5, on Flickr
Image
Worm salamander by asnyder5, on Flickr

Stay tuned for the reptiles post...
frankc
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by frankc »

WOW! Killer post! Thanks, really enjoyed this one!
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MHollanders
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by MHollanders »

I have seen all these crappy pics before. Ha, honestly man, you know how to handle a camera. I love those worms.
will lattea
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by will lattea »

This is a really good post! Thanks for sharing.

:beer:
mikemike
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by mikemike »

Awesome post and great shots! I love the Bolitoglossa and Oedipina shots.
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Viridovipera
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Viridovipera »

Wow dude. That was great. Thanks for sharing.

I have a couple of questions:

In a lot of the tropical forests that I've worked in, there simply isn't enough data on the frogs to make an IUCN conservation status. Are these animals mainly threatened or critically endangered because of their small endemic ranges? Or have their been assessments done on their vulnerability to climate change, chytrid and habitat destruction?

Also, I assume you use a DSLR with a nice macro lens and an external flash. Would you mind giving the specs? Those are some really quality photos. I loved it.

Thanks again for taking the time to share with us.

-Alex
Asnyder
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Asnyder »

Viridovipera wrote:Wow dude. That was great. Thanks for sharing.

I have a couple of questions:

In a lot of the tropical forests that I've worked in, there simply isn't enough data on the frogs to make an IUCN conservation status. Are these animals mainly threatened or critically endangered because of their small endemic ranges? Or have their been assessments done on their vulnerability to climate change, chytrid and habitat destruction?

Also, I assume you use a DSLR with a nice macro lens and an external flash. Would you mind giving the specs? Those are some really quality photos. I loved it.

Thanks again for taking the time to share with us.

-Alex
Alex,
These animals are IUCN listed for a few reasons. Many are because of their small endemic ranges, however assessments have been done on their vulnerability. Chytrid studies within the park have determined a high presence in many of the species as well as the increasing threat of deforestation. Cusuco National Park is only about 25000 ha of which I believe only about 7000 is actually considered the core zone, so you can get an idea of just how small the "protected" area is.

With regards to the camera, these shots were all taken with a Nikon D300, old school non-VR Nikon 105mm macro, and an Sb-600 flash with an off camera flash cord.
Asnyder
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Asnyder »

MHollanders wrote:I have seen all these crappy pics before. Ha, honestly man, you know how to handle a camera. I love those worms.
Hahaha I must have accidentaly skipped over this post before when all of the photos were loading...but thanks a lot.
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Jason Mintzer
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Jason Mintzer »

Wow :thumb:. Amazing shots and awesome amphibians.
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Roki
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Re: Cusuco National Park, Honduras Part 1-Amphibians

Post by Roki »

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing. I have wondered what occurs in this region. Fascinating to see.
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