Peruvian Amazon 2 -- Madre Selva Snakes

[moloch05]

Here are the snakes that were observed at Madre Selva. Most of these snakes were discovered at night. We usually broke into singles or small groups and then walked the forest trails while scanning the surrounding forest floor and vegetation. In general, snakes were really difficult to find. I only found snakes on every other night but some of the guys were more successful. It always was interesting due to the incredible variety of arthropods. I will have posts of these before long.

Blind Snake (Typhlops sp.)

Amazon Tree Boa (Corallus hortulanus) -- these varied considerably in colour and pattern. I will have photos of others in the Santa Cruz snake post.

Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) -- a small juvenile.

Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor)

Rusty Whipsnake (Chironius scurrulus)

Tawny Forest Racer (Dendrophidion dendrophis)

Big-headed Snail-eating Snake (Dipsas indica)

Common Glossy Racer (Drymoluber dichrous)

Banded South American Water Snake (Helicops angulatus)

Spotted Water Snake (Helicops leopardinus)

Common Blunt-headed Treesnake (Imantodes cenchoa)

Common Swamp Snake (Liophus reginae) - These snakes put on a good show when annoyed.

Banded Calico Snake (Oxyrhophus melanogenys)

Amazon Scarlet Snake (Pseudoboa coronata)

Common Liana Snake (Siphlophus cervinus)

Red Vine Snake (Siphlophus compressa)

Short-nosed Leaf-litter Snake (Taeniophallus brevirostris)

Aquatic Coral Snake (Micrurus surinamensis) -- As the name implies, these corals live in the water. They were fish eaters that were fairly common at Madre Selva in the small streams like this:

These streams were full of fish:

South American Lancehead or Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox)
This species was said to be the most common snake at Madre Selva but our group only encountered a few. They certainly blend well with the leaf litter so we may have overlooked others. I was surprised by the speed of the large snake below. When it decided to crawl away, it headed off at high speed, a little like the elapids in Australia.

Regards,
David

 

[GeckoJosh]

wow the Big-headed Snail-eating Snake and the blunt headed tree snake have some of the coolest/strangest faces iv seen
I find it very hard to pic a favourite but id have to say the Amazon Scarlet Snake is absolutely stunning
Thanks for sharing these amazing images
Gex

 

[Kitah]

One word to describe this- WOW! Stunning photos, and absolutely gorgeous snakes!

I love the little rainbow boa, such nice markings and colour!

The second picure of the big headed snail eating snake is great, and quite amusing lol. Strange looking snake

And the common blunt headed treesnake? it looks awesome! very, very bizare- it nearly looks like a piece of rope, its neck is so thin! I really love its markings though

Is the Amazon scarlet that.. 'neon' in real life? If so, that'd be pretty darned impressive to see!

Again.. wow, simply fantastic. Possibly one of my favourite threads, if not the favourite. So many unfamiliar snake sp.! Sorry about my comments on the snakes/pictures, I couldn't help it

 

[moloch05]

Thanks very much, Gex and xshadowx.

Gex,
The headshape of the Dipsas is so strange. It is amazing to see pics of these pulling snails out of their shells.

The Scarlet Snakes are really bright and beautiful. Red seems to be a popular colour among the colubrids and I have shots of a DOR Mussarana (Clelia clelia) that looks almost the same as the Pseudoboa.

I have a few corrections to make:

1) The Typhlops is T. reticulatus, the Giant Blind Snake
2) The swamp snake is Liophis typhlus, Velvety Swamp Snake
3) The Oxyrhopus melanogenys is really O. petola

(Thanks Dick Bartlett)

Regards,
David

 

[Sock Puppet]

Gex,
The headshape of the Dipsas is so strange. It is amazing to see pics of these pulling snails out of their shells.

Wow, I'd have thought the big head would have allowed for swallowing the shell whole! I had a mental image of it doing to snails what egg eating snakes do to eggs, swallowing whole, crushing internally, then ejecting the waste. Would be very interesting to watch them eat.

Very excellent photography as usual. Love the colours & patterns in the Rainbow Boa & Banded Calico, the large eyes of the obviously nocturnal Tawny Forest Racer & Blunt Headed Tree Snake, by my fave would have to be the beautiful Liana Snake, just love those colours, with that red dorsal stripe.

 

[slacker]

Awesome thread, David. Thanks for posting it!

-Lee

 

[Naja_nivea]

Thanks for sharing great pics and tryp info. So many incredible snakes there. I have always wanted to do big tryp down the amazon and so jealous, but will get the time and money sometime.

 

[norris]

the large eyes of the obviously nocturnal Tawny Forest Racer & Blunt Headed Tree Snake,

The Tawny Forest Racer has round pupils, so it's probably diurnal, but the Blunt Headed Tree snake does look nocturnal though.

 

[bongie555]

yep, i agree...WOW...tnk u...

 

[norris]

Oh, and nice photos btw

 

[thals]

Each pic more stunning than the next! Love the swampie with the attitude along with the tree snakes - the eyes on those things are just phenomenal, never cease to amaze me!

 

[whcasual79]

MADNESS .... awesome pics mate .... must've been a top experience ...

gotta love the juve rainbow boa and Common Blunt-headed Treesnake ...

cheers for sharing

 

[wizz]

very nice mate

 

[cockney red]

Gobsmacked!!!!

 

[dtulip10]

moloch you are living the dream. lots of jealousy coming from my computer this morning.

did the fer-der-lance give you much curry?

cheers Dayle

 

[fishunter]

WOW...i've never seen so many awesome looking snakes on one thread lol lucky bugger

 

[moloch05]

Thanks, all.

Norris,
You are correct that the Tawny Forest Racer is diurnal. This is how we found one of these snakes, asleep in a shrub.

Dayle,
I did not catch the Fer-de-Lance but it was a highly defensive snake. After we took a few pics, it decided to race away. One of the guys had a hook but this was not enough to safely control the snake. It dove into a clump of fallen branches and then just disappeared. We could not relocate it.

Regards,
David

 

[ReptilianGuy]

Absolutely amazing, ShnakeyGirl and I have been looking forward to the herp pictures from your trip after reading your first Amazon thread!

 

[jordo]

Top pics! Must have been great to go herping overseas, very jealous! Get many lizards and frogs?

 

[Banjo]

Thank-you for sharing, they are amazing photos. I like the big headed snail eating snake.