Leptodactylid frogs are not easy to identify without previous experience in the area.  Thus far, I’ve been unable to identify the frog below confidently, but I am keeping at it.  Birds present a similar problem.

I think they are eating my Neptunia!  The caterpillars can be found with every step in the dried lagoon.  I wonder when and where they pupate.  Do they pupate before the lagoon floods, and, if so, do they do so in the lagoon?  Are they able to survive the flooded lagoon either as pupa or larva?  How can I answer these questions?

Kinosternon scorpioides has speckles of orange on it’s head, and three keels along its carapace.  Both the anterior and posterior portion of it’s plastron have hinges, so when you pick it up, its hind legs and tail, as well as its fore legs and head are protected and hidden.  The turtle also smells badly…

I caught a ctenosaur again… this time, a bit less dangerous.

In buckets along drift nets Mahmood has established, we retrieve several species of anuran.  The sheep frog Hypopachus variolosus (a new FAMILY of frog for me: Microhylidae) below is by far the most unique and bizarre. 

This Painted Wood Turtle was a pretty sweet find… especially because I found two of them.  They are absolutely beautiful and, according to Savage (the gigantic herp book for Costa Rica), they are commonly kept as pets.  I was seriously tempted to do so, since I haven’t had much turtle interaction in a while.  I think the sole reason I didn’t was because I don’t have a tank or other container… maybe I could just let it wander around in my bedroom.

The majority of the anoles here seem to be Norops cupreus. In fact, I have yet to see another species, although I haven’t identified all individuals that I’ve caught given that some of the are females or juveniles, which makes them more difficult to identify.