Field Herping Panama

Hey guys,

I just flew back into the states, sorry for delays in responses the last couple of weeks it has been a crazy adventure! And it's just the start.

I went down to Panama to herp in the canal zone for a day, then up to the highlands to herp for the remainder of my time with my better half from Germany. Our goal was to photograph as many species as possible, and to find the elusive Eyelash Viper, Green and speckled phase exclusive to Panama, known as the "Palm" Eyelash. We were successful in many accounts, please check the link for full deployment of images, but here are some of the things I feel are well worth highlighting!

www.pbase.com/codyconway - click on Panama

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...4/original.jpg
Short-nosed Vine Snakes always put on a great show. Dodged a few bites, but ended up getting the shots we were after.

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...2/original.jpg
Giant Parrot Snake was a vicious creature with a pretty wicked bite. My partner was holding the snake during this shot, and about 30 seconds later took a lock on bite and a good bit of venom into her wrist. No worries though, slight painful reaction, but no damage aside from loss of blood :-)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...3/original.jpg
Snail-eating Snake, I honestly did not expect to get this particular endemic to Panama. It is believed that this particular locale even is isolated enough that it is its own species separate from the other snail eaters in Panama. This was the first of 3 we captured, and a nice adult

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...8/original.jpg
The second that was found, was this nice hatchling. Caught from the tiptop of a tree by throwing a snake hook in the air and knocking it down to catch. Quite cool!

And lastly for this initial post - will add more later through the night - My eyelash viper :-)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...3/original.jpg

and me with it

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...4045/large.jpg

Cheers,

And now for a few amphibians . . .

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...6/original.jpg
Emerald Glass frog - unique that it allows you to see its digestion tract and anything that is currently in it.

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...6/original.jpg
Also original in that these two hanging blue nodules under it's arms are specialized breeding apendages, only found in this species, and only in males

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...0/original.jpg
Red-eyed Tree (leaf) Frog is iconic to the rainforest. And we were fortunate to find a GREAT spot for many of this species

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...6/original.jpg
Not as glamerous, but not all frogs are - a Pristimantis sp., Pristimantis cruentus

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...7/original.jpg
And another Red-eyed Tree Frog, from the Gamboa area

More later :-) remember to click the pbase to check out more!

Absolutely stunning photography! I'm in awe and wish I could put you in my pocket for my trip to Australia, 'cause my own photography stinks! :P

sweet pictures. i'm jealous of your life. lol

lol it is a life of a lot of work!! But well worth it.

I love seeing your pictures. So cool!!!

Thanks Doolittle. I enjoy sharing them!


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This is awesome.

Wanna trade lives? I've got a pretty nice apartment.

As an aside, did you collect any of the glass frogs? Something (probably not this exact species) I've been considering keeping for some time now.

We only collected one to photograph in a controlled field setup, to get the glass shots were were after. We released it back to the exact location where it was collected within about 36 hours of capture. Most, if not all, glass frogs are not eligible for export from the country of Panama without zoological permits, which are easy to get from the country you come from, but near impossible to get from the country of Panama. They are ok with researchers holding onto snakes before releasing them back and other herps like amphibians (with the exception of the Panaminian Golden Frog obviously. The sole purpose of the trip was collection of images for our own private image databases. Not field collecting for commercial or even personal use.

And some scenery from the field . . .

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...8386/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...5194/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...9705/large.jpg

Some water falls around El Cope

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...7/original.jpg
A stop along the road to El Valle, around 600 meters above sea level

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...5/original.jpg
and a long exposure shot of this awesome Common Basilisk in the rain from the bridge in front of our lodge

More to come :-)

Man that's beautiful, all of it. Too bad you didn't have that for potm.

Haha yeah it's all good Neal ;) some of these images are geared toward competition in my PPA districts and regionals to try and get into nationals :)


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How about a few more species ;-)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...4/original.jpg
Keeled Leaf Litter Lizard

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...8/original.jpg
Anolis frenatus (this guy was huge!)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...8/original.jpg
Casque-headed Lizard (Crested Iguana)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...3/original.jpg
Bolitoglossa schisodactyla - really love the Bolitoglossa salamanders :)

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...1/original.jpg
Gonatodes - Yellow-headed Gecko

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...9/original.jpg
Pug-nosed Anole - Food choice of Eyelash Vipers everywhere.

Enjoy :-) Next Major field herping trip in less than 2 weeks. The Rattlesnakes of West Texas!

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...8352/large.jpg

Nice pics cody!

Wow! Amazing trip, incredible photos! Thanks so much for sharing them!

This is great. :gj:

Amazing shots! You are extremely talented!

thanks guys, its appreciated. I am quite happy with the results from this trip. Composing the species list right now, and its mighty full for a 7 day venture!

Did you come across any Bothrops?

No Bothrops this trip. I picked up Bothrops atrox (True Lanceheaded Viper) in Ecuador back in May, but in Panama, we had no Fer-de-lance or related species.

http://www.pbase.com/codyconway/imag...5920/large.jpg
Bothrops atrox, Amazon Basin, Eastern Ecuador / Peru border.

wow simply amazing! wish I had been able to enjoy panama like that when I was there!

Yeah, this was my 2nd trip to the canal distrcit, so I was pretty confident in my plans on where to go. But it was my first time to venture on THAT side of the canal to the Costa Rica side of the isthmus, but I knew that it was the best spot to get things like Glass Frogs and Eyelash Vipers, up where the elevation is better suited. It's really not hard to do trips like these on your own, as long as you have a venturing spirit, can drive in crazy conditions, and know enough spanish to get you in trouble, these trips can be incredible.