While searching for Red-eyed leaf frogs, a couple of mentors, Bree and Simon, and I came across this specimen, which we immediately misidentified as an Agalychnis species. While it has distinctive red eyes, the pupils are horizontally elliptical, whereas Agalychnis has vertically elliptical pupils.

I keyed this individual to Ptychohyla legleri (formerly Hyla legleri) using these photographs and Savage’s text. It’s also on the list of frogs found at Las Cruces… but is evidently endangered! At the location these frogs were calling (there were several calling—at least four, I’d say, from the spot we searched), there were tadpoles (also pictured), so hopefully there is a successfully breeding population here.

This Boa constrictor was released in Las Cruces after being captured in someone’s home near San Vito. It was extremely agitated, hissing loudly and fervently when approached. In fact, it remained hissing after moving out of sight nearly 50 m. It later hid in a drainage ditch, likely waiting until nightfall to move into a tree.

It’s release sparked a brief conversation at dinner about relocation of animals, including reptiles , which tend to (1) return to the place of capture if relocated nearby and (2) become so agitated in searching for their home range and there is low survival (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3892626).

Norops aquaticus is an avid swimmer and appears to form a thin bubble around its head when underwater.