Peruvian Amazon 5 -- Madre Selva Frogs

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moloch05

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This post will include frog and invertebrate (non-butterfly) photos that I made at Madre Selva while on a Margarita Tour in January, 2010. As I mentioned before, this year was unusually dry. We still observed frogs each night but the numbers were apparently low when compared to a year with more typical rainfall. We received a heavy downpour on one afternoon and early evening and this night was better than most for amphibians. Most of the frogs were found on leaves of shrubs but a few were terrestrial. I did not see many species of frogs along the creeks or rivers. I did hear Moaning River Frogs (Hydrolaetare schmidtii) calling from the riverbank of the Rio Orosa and saw large numbers of Hyla triangulum and Sphaenorhynchus dorisae on floating vegetation. Amazon climbing salamanders (Bolitoglossa altmazonica) were found on leaves and the two Caecilians (Caecilia gracilis) were observed in rain-water pools right on the trail.

As usual, I have Dick Bartlett to thank for most of the identifications. I found the amphibians to be a difficult group to recognize. If I have made mistakes, please let me know and I will correct the post.

Dick also sent me some background information regarding frog taxonomy that may be useful to others. Dick indicated that the old genus Hyla as been divided into Dendropsophus, Hypsiboas, Scinax, Osteocephalus and others. Likewise, Eleutherodactylus has been divided into Pristimantis, Strobomantis, Oreobates, Hypodactylus, etc. Ischnocnema is now considered a member of Oreobates by some. I also found various names for the poison frogs such as Epipedobates in some guides but Allobates or Ameerga in others. When searching the net, I encountered all of these names and became quite confused as to what the animals are actually called at this point in time.


Caecilia gracilis? -- On the night of the heavy rain, the "big loop" trail was flooded. There were pools of water everywhere and this was where we found two caecilians. Courtney had lots of trouble trying to pick up the following animal. It was slippery and strong enough to repeatedly escape from his hand. Young also tried to catch another animal but it managed to escape into a big pool. We could not relocate it.
Typhlonectescompressicauda.jpg



Amazon climbing salamanders (Bolitoglossa altmazonica): We saw one or two on most nights.
Bolitoglossaaltamazonica1.jpg


Bolitoglossaaltamazonica2.jpg



Common Harlequin Toad (Atelopus spumarius): Young and Matt knew the location along the big loop trail where these beautiful toads could be found. They seemed to be restricted to an area with sandy soil.
frogAtelopuspulcher1.jpg



Dendrobates duellmani? I believe that this is the name currently used for this gorgeous frog. One of the references lists it in the genus Ranitomeya. These were tiny frogs that were wary and could jump surprisingly far. They were very easy to loose when they dropped into the leaf litter.
frogDendrobatesduellmani.jpg



Spotted-thighed Poison Frog (Epipedobates femoralis): These little frogs appeared to be terrestrial. They could disappear quickly into the leaf litter when disturbed. One reference has included it in the genus Allobates.
frogAllobatesfemoralis1.jpg



Pale-striped Amazon Poison Frog (Epipedobates hahneli): These frog closely resembled the previous species in pattern and colour. These also seemed to be terrestrial.
frogAmeeregahahneli3.jpg


frogEpipedobateshahneli1.jpg



Three-striped Poison Frog (Epipedobates trivattus): This was a spectacular frog and it was much larger than the other members of the family at Madre Selva. They did not appear to be common as I only saw two although I was out every night. Both were sitting on leaves within a meter of the ground.
frogEpipedobatestrivitatus2.jpg


frogEpipedobatestrivitatus3.jpg




Gladiator Treefrog (Hyla boans): This was a huge frog.
frogHylaboans1.jpg




Convict Treefrog (Hyla calcarata):
frogHylacalcarata1.jpg




Spotted-thighed Treefrog (Hyla fasciata):
froghylafasciata2.jpg



Rocket Treefrog (Hyla lanciformes):
frogHylalanciformes1.jpg




Least Treefrog (Hyla minuta)?? a big maybe regarding this identification.
frogHylaminuta.jpg




Common Polkadot Treefrog (Hyla punctata): A very attractive species.
frogHylapunctata1.jpg


frogHylapunctata2.jpg




Variable Clown Treefrog (Hyla triangulum): One night, a number of us went on a boat ride along the shores of the Rio Orosa. We found an area that was thick with floating plants. Frogs were abundant as were insects. One of the guys saw a Plecostemus on plants near the surface. Fish were everywhere and these jumped often.
frogHylatriangulum1.jpg


frogHylatriangulum2.jpg


frogHylatriangulum4.jpg


frogHylatriangulum5.jpg





Painted Antnest Frog (Lithobates lineatus): According to Dick's book, this species is considered to be a mimic of the poison frog, Epipedobates femoralis. These frogs are apparently found near the nests of leaf-cutter ants. I found this animal on a log above a stream of leaf-cutters. I did not notice a nearby nest.
frogLithodyteslineatus1.jpg



Bromeliad Frog (Osteocephalus deridens):
frogOsteocephalusderidens.jpg





Bromeliad Frog (Osteocephalus yasuni)?: This yellow frog looks a little like some of the Litoria here in Australia.
frog6Osteocephalusspcfyasuni.jpg




Amazonian Milk Treefrog (Phrynohyas resinfictrix): This individual was very drab compared to some of the photos of these big treefrogs.
frogPhrynohyasresinifictrix1.jpg




Two-striped Treefrog (Scinax rubra):
frogScinaxrubra1.jpg




Spotted Hatchet-faced Treefrog (Sphaenorhynchus dorisae): This species was another that was common on floating vegetation.
frogSphaenorhynchusdorisae1.jpg




Giant Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor): Monkey Frogs were beautiful amphibians that would walk rather than jump.
frogPhyllomedusabicolor2.jpg


frogPhyllomedusabicolor1.jpg




Eleutherodactylus sp.?
frog1.jpg





Ischnocnema quixensis
frogIschnocnemaquixensis1.jpg




Dwarf Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus wagneri) complex:
frog7Leptodactyluswagnericomplex.jpg




Smokey Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus)
frogLeptodactylus1.jpg




Bassler's Sheep Frog (Chiasmocleis bassleri): a terrestrial species.
frog5Chiasmocleisbassleri.jpg




Amazon Sheep Frog (Hamptophryne boliviana):
frog4Hamptophryneboliviana.jpg




... Now, the invertebrates:

ARACHNIDS:
I really liked these strange creatures:
arthro_harvester2.jpg




Sights like this were not all that uncommon. This arachnid had been attacked and killed by a fungus. The fungus enveloped and digested the body. All that was left was some of the exoskeleton and parts of the dried fungus.
arthro_harvester1.jpg




Harvestman with giant legs:
arthro_spider5.jpg





Banana Spider. This animal was huge and agro. It would rear when disturbed
arthro_spiderbanana1.jpg

arthro_spiderbanana1a.jpg



... another:
arthro_spider3.jpg



Another nicely coloured spider:
arthro_spider2.jpg



Wolf Spider? Also agro. It jumped onto my boot when I disturbed it.
arthro_spider4.jpg



Web-casting Spider: This spider will apparently toss a web over a small animal that comes within range. We saw these occasionally at night.
arthro_netcasting_spider1.jpg




This spider was amazing. It was the largest arachnid that I have ever seen and it was heavy enough to be heard as it ran across the floor of the photo lab.
arthro_spidertarantula1.jpg




Scorpions were occasionally seen as they faced downward like this on small trees.
arthro_scorpion1.jpg




Tail-less Whip Scropion. These were often seen on fallen logs or near the base of large tree trunks at night.
arthro_tailless_whipscorpion1.jpg


... what a face! They look as if they are from a movie about aliens.
arthro_tailless_whipscorpion2.jpg




A pretty scarab:
arthro_beetle1.jpg



Pleasing Fungus Beetle:
arthro_PleasingFungusBeetle1.jpg



Tiger Beetle:
arthro_tigerbeetle1.jpg



Lampyrid juvenile. I was told that this insect hunted small snails. It had a tubular mandible and it would stab this into a snail to feed on its juices. Lovely.
arthro_lampyrid1.jpg




Any ideas? I don't even recognize the order. I don't believe that it is a lepidopteran but I don't know what it is.
arthro_unk1.jpg



Grasshoppers with flattened bodies:
arthro_grasshopper2.jpg

arthro_grasshopper1.jpg



Dead-leaf Katydids: I loved their incredible patterns.
arthro_katydid2.jpg

arthro_katydid3.jpg



A normal looking katydid that is undergoing ecdysis:
arthro_katydid4.jpg




Monster Katydid. These were the largest insects that I have ever seen. Some of them were gigantic.
arthro_katydid1.jpg




Pretty cricket:
arthro_grasshopper3.jpg



Painted Grasshopper:
arthro_grasshopper4.jpg



Dead-leaf Mantis: It certainly looked like a cluster of dead leaves.
arthro_mantis1.jpg




Stick Insect:
arthro_stickinsect2.jpg




Wax-tailed Plant Hopper. These homopterans could fly, despite their strange growths.
arthro_waxtailed_planthopper1.jpg



Wasp nest that was built into the ground. It had a lip that was a few cms above the surface of the soil. I suppose that this helped to avoid flooding.
arthro_waspnest1.jpg



Damselfly:
arthro_damsel1.jpg



Helicopter Damselfly: These were wonderful to see. They were big damsels that flew with a slow wingbeat. I usually could only see the yellow wingtips in the poor light of the forest interior. The remainder of the wings and body were almost invisible.
arthro_helicopterdamselfly1.jpg



Pygmy Kingfisher: We saw several of these and Ringed Kingfishers asleep on vegetation that hung over the water.
bird_PygmyKingfisher1.jpg



Red-headed Cardinal -- Common along the Rio Orosa.
bird_RedheadedCardinal.jpg




These fruiting fungi make me think of "Avatar":
plant_fungi1a.jpg




Wine-cup fungus:
plant_fungi2.jpg




Strange seed pods:
seed1.jpg




Unusual flowers:
plant3.jpg


plant2.jpg




Regards,
David
 
Wow some amazing pictures, people like you that share such extraordinary images with us is what makes this site worthwhile

One of my favourites would have to be Common Polkadot Treefrog (Hyla punctata)
and also also the Amazon climbing salamanders (Bolitoglossa altmazonica)
 
Better than Discovery Channel, David. Thank you wholeheartedly for taking the time to share these incredible photos.
Stay safe over there,
Nic
 
Absolutely brilliant mate. Have been looking forward to these.
 
Amazing photos David, I can only dream of seeing some of those species. Its interesting to compare them to species we have here in Australia.

Aaron
 
Wow, those pics are just incredible. Some of those frogs are spectacular.

I have a question about the monkey frogs, are they the ones that rub a waxy secretion over themselves? I can't remember if it's to help retain moisture, or protection from the sun. Or both.

Great post David.
 
Absolutely amazing, what a fascinating array of wildlife and colours! The frogs are simply stunning, the vivid colouration and the shape of that monkey frog is almost chameleon like! The spiders, well, I am in awe again of, esp that one pictured next to your foot, what a beautiful creature!

Cheers 8)
 
Amazing photos David, I can only dream of seeing some of those species. Its interesting to compare them to species we have here in Australia.

Aaron

i also found it interesting trying to compare these to Australian species. quite a number of them look just like our species with different colors. Quite similarly they could be confused with many bornean species that are extremely similar. Even the invertebrates are very similar to those we get here, quite an incredible comparisson and incredible group of photos

Gus
 
Stunning series of photos David!
 
Amazing as always, my fiancee and I have been checking daily for the next installment of your photo series. Hoping there will be some more posts!
 
I am so glad I clicked on this link... That first invertebrate is a harvestman as well. Amazing that they can control those legs!
 
Thanks, pyrodarknessanny.

Asharee,
I will have two posts next week (Santa Cruz) and two the following week (Allpahuayo Mishana and the people on the tour). I am glad that you are enjoying these.

Geckoman,
Those little toads were beauties. Unfortunately, they are declining throughout much of their range. I read that chytrid is hitting them hard. The guys who visit Madre Selva are always concerned about checking for these. The fear is that some year, they will be gone.

Appreciate that, Nic, but I am home now. We had no issues at all with safety in Iquitos or the basin. The people were a friendly lot.

thanks, xavarx7 and DDALD

aaron and gus,
I also thought that a number of the frogs had counterparts up north. In the next post, I have photos of one of the Bromeliad Frogs (Osteocephalus cabrerai), a real "genimac" counterpart.


Sock Puppet,
You are correct! I did not remember hearing that so checked my reptile guide (Dick Bartletts "Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon"). These frogs do produce a waxy secretion from the skin that retards dessication in dry weather.


thanks, pythonrockchic,
Your description is good. The monkey frogs are chameleon like. They look really odd when they slowly walk along a branch. I will have photos of a walking animal in the Santa Cruz Frogs post next week.


thanks, jordo, ReptilianGuy, JasonL, TahneeMaree.

PhilK,
I have seen a name for these weird harvestman on another forum. I will try and find it.



Regards,
David
 
wow david! those pictures are amazing! i especially like the white furry moth, the salamander and the orange striped frog! amazing!
 
Thanks, gecko-mad and absinthe.

Here are a few more arachnids.


A pretty harvestman:
harvest2.jpg


This harvestman had its own collection of arachnid ectoparasites:
oli1.jpg



Another scorpion in the forest:
scorp1.jpg




Regards,
David
 
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