Boa holds (inappropriately) his Coluber mentovarius catch. Paul noticed soon after that it was likely gravid (had eggs inside).
Tag Archives: Palo Verde
Coluber mentovarius
The last snake Paul saw in Palo Verde was also one of the largest finds. Snout to tip of tail, she was 3.05 m! She was also very aggressive, and nearly got us several times while we too photographs and admired her.
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Physalaemus pustulosus
A tiny, common Leptodactylid, Physalaemus pustulosus (the Pustuled thin-toed frog) could easily be mistaken for a toad (Bufonidae) because of its warty skin. It lacks obvious paratid glands, but the adult is so small (probably a maximum of 4-g) that it’s difficult to identify. The first ones I saw had fallen in a bucket-trap during the day and had dried out, so I mistakenly identified them as toadlets.
The males are easily identified by their blotchy, dark chin.
Two-headed, aposematic caterpillar
There’s all kinds of potential predation-defense mechanisms going on here.
Tico friends
Boa and Aaron.
Milk snakes
Lyre snake – Trimorphodon bicutatus
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We’ve seen a few of these snakes and had mistakenly mis-identified them as a cat-eye snake (Leptodeira) at first. The head pigmentation pattern is markedly different, which prompted us to consult Savage, but the pupil of the eyes are still cat-like, suggesting that they are nocturnal. They are beautiful snakes and appear to be a bit less prone to musking when being handled… although it does bite.
Cheers to Paul
Paul leaves Palo Verde today after assisting in Mahmood’s amphibian survey for about a month. He’s an intelligent, hardworking Sophomore from Kansas University who shows real potential as a future herpetologist and maybe even professional soccer player. His passion for herps is beyond anyone I’ve met, and he enjoys sharing that passion with fellow amateur herpetologists as well as the curious group members and tourists that visit Palo Verde. Best of luck, Paul. Keep it up.
Here are some pictures he shared with me. 
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Bundles on a rope
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I placed little bundles of dead Eichhornia and Neptunia on a string and then attached the strings to my competition enclosures. This will allow me to estimate decomposition of these two plants in artificial mats that vary in the density of the two plant species.
You might notice that the water is getting deeper – it’s over the first barb wire, which makes it difficult to slide through the fence. I may yet have to construct a door…
More cool flies
