Search found 574 matches

by Ribbit
March 21st, 2019, 3:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A week in Ghana, August 2018
Replies: 7
Views: 9056

Re: A week in Ghana, August 2018

I assume that most people interested in herps also appreciate invertebrates to some extent. You certainly can't help but become acquainted with them when you're out in the field.
by Ribbit
March 21st, 2019, 12:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A week in Ghana, August 2018
Replies: 7
Views: 9056

Re: A week in Ghana, August 2018

Thanks Kfen!
by Ribbit
March 20th, 2019, 10:22 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A week in Ghana, August 2018
Replies: 7
Views: 9056

Re: A week in Ghana, August 2018

orionmystery wrote: March 20th, 2019, 9:02 pm Great post, John. I didn't photograph many of what you have posted here :D
Thanks Kurt -- I try to make up for in quantity what I might be missing in quality!

John
by Ribbit
March 20th, 2019, 5:02 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A week in Ghana, August 2018
Replies: 7
Views: 9056

A week in Ghana, August 2018

Early in 2018 I took a good long trip to Borneo , part of the time with herp guide and macro photographer extraordinaire Kurt "Orion" G. Beforehand, while I had been arranging details with Kurt's business partner Monty Najar, Monty mentioned that he had just returned from a trip to Ghana, ...
by Ribbit
September 11th, 2018, 10:06 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

Mom always said my whispering voice is too loud.
by Ribbit
September 2nd, 2018, 8:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah
Replies: 9
Views: 13001

Re: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah

Sorry for the slow reply; I was distracted by a trip to Ghana. Here are a couple more shots of that pretty little Oligodon everetti:

Image
Image

John
by Ribbit
September 1st, 2018, 6:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

You didn't. I did. (Shhh, don't tell Hans.)

John
by Ribbit
August 31st, 2018, 11:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

Thanks Hans! That's a nice island you live on,

John
by Ribbit
August 25th, 2018, 6:29 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

Thanks dendrelaphis! I know what you mean. It's dangerous (to your wallet) to read herping stories!

John
by Ribbit
August 18th, 2018, 5:26 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

Thanks Rags. Do hold your breath about Ghana though. I am notoriously slow to catch up on these things.
by Ribbit
August 17th, 2018, 10:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah
Replies: 6
Views: 7423

Re: Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah

Those green snails were definitely eye-catchers. I saw a few of them from maybe thirty feet away.
by Ribbit
August 17th, 2018, 10:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

Thanks a lot Cole!
by Ribbit
August 16th, 2018, 7:14 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching
Replies: 9
Views: 9764

Re: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching

Thanks Rags!

I think the key to getting decent photos of the Rock Skippers is to find them at night, when they are more likely to be resting on a leaf than bouncing across the stream.

I was at Kubah for two nights and Gunung Gading also for two nights.

John
by Ribbit
August 16th, 2018, 7:11 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

We didn’t notice any distinctive “tarsier smell”, but there are a lot of unfamiliar smells in the forest so we might just have been unfamiliar with it. Based on the IDs I got from Dr. Haas about various brown treefrogs, I might guess Rhacophorus fasciatus , but it also wouldn’t surprise me if those ...
by Ribbit
August 8th, 2018, 11:04 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah
Replies: 9
Views: 13001

Re: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah

Thanks ClosetHerper and justinm! If I were in a place that had only horned frogs, I would spend hours photographing them. But when I might find a new species around every corner, I get impatient quickly. That kukri snake was a little stunner, with its flaming orange belly. I saw one other closely re...
by Ribbit
August 5th, 2018, 8:35 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Re: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

Thanks Fieldherper and Derek! Kurt and I are on the verge of a trip to Ghana, so hopefully some good adventuring will come out of that.

John
by Ribbit
August 4th, 2018, 10:00 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley
Replies: 14
Views: 17441

Back to Borneo, part 5 of 5: Danum Valley

This is the fifth and final part of my account of my February/March 2018 trip to Malaysian Borneo. It's never too late to catch up on what you might have missed: Part 1: Around Kuching Part 2: Mulu National Park Part 3: Lowlands of Sabah Part 4: Highlands of Sabah For the last leg of my Borneo adven...
by Ribbit
August 4th, 2018, 6:32 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah
Replies: 9
Views: 13001

Re: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah

Thanks Kurt! It definitely takes more time to track down probable IDs for all those herps than to find them in the first place. I probably got some wrong, but hopefully they are mostly correct. I just searched for images of Systella and now I'm sad that I only saw a nymph. The adults are incredible....
by Ribbit
August 3rd, 2018, 2:15 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah
Replies: 6
Views: 7423

Re: Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah

Oh my! Eulophyllum is the greatest!
by Ribbit
August 2nd, 2018, 10:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah
Replies: 6
Views: 7423

Back to Borneo, part 4: Highlands of Sabah

This is part 4 (of 5) of my account of my February/March 2018 trip to Malaysian Borneo. Previous parts include, and are indeed limited to, the following: Part 1: Around Kuching Part 2: Mulu National Park Part 3: Lowlands of Sabah After leaving the lowland forest camp in Part 3, Kurt and I traveled u...
by Ribbit
August 2nd, 2018, 8:33 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

I have now posted part 3.
by Ribbit
August 2nd, 2018, 8:32 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

Thanks everyone!

John, I'm sure I would have been very sorry if I had touched that caterpillar, just like you were when you were a kid. I think mine might be Euthalia aconthea or a close relative, based on the other photos I've seen on the web.

John
by Ribbit
August 2nd, 2018, 8:25 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah
Replies: 9
Views: 13001

Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah

This is part 3 (of 5) of my account of my February/March 2018 trip to Malaysian Borneo. In case you need to catch up: Part 1: Around Kuching Part 2: Mulu National Park Part 3 finds Kurt and me in a primitive forest camp in the lowlands of Sabah, to which we have hiked with our cameras and the rest o...
by Ribbit
August 2nd, 2018, 6:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

I wasn't counting the first night, which could be interpreted as cheating. But it is true that we saw four in three consecutive nights!
by Ribbit
August 1st, 2018, 10:46 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching
Replies: 9
Views: 9764

Re: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching

I have now posted Part 2.

John
by Ribbit
August 1st, 2018, 10:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11694

Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

After my time near Kuching , I headed east towards areas I had never visited. In the tropics especially, any time you travel a decent distance to an area you have not previously visited, you will encounter all sorts of creatures that you have not previously encountered. My next stop was Mulu Nationa...
by Ribbit
August 1st, 2018, 12:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching
Replies: 9
Views: 9764

Re: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching

Thanks Jeroen and Jimi. That kind of feedback keeps me writing these accounts.

John
by Ribbit
August 1st, 2018, 6:43 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching
Replies: 9
Views: 9764

Re: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching

Thanks Kurt! I have a 2005 article by Das about Cyrtodactylus in Borneo in a now-defunct journal/magazine called Gekko. I couldn't find a digital copy. It's got some pretty good info about the different species. C. ingeri , yet another of the similar-looking Cyrtodactylus species, is/(was?) known on...
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2018, 10:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching
Replies: 9
Views: 9764

Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching

Back to Borneo, part 1: Around Kuching In 2017 I visited Malaysia for the first time, starting in Peninsular Malaysia with the legendary Kurt "Orion G" and ending in East Malaysia, a.k.a. the states of Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo. Well, that was the plan anyway. When I slipped on slimy wet...
by Ribbit
October 12th, 2017, 9:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 6: The Santubong Peninsula
Replies: 12
Views: 10322

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 6: The Santubong Peninsula

Thanks VinceAdam2015. I really liked all the frogs in the family Megophryidae. I had never seen any of them before.

John
by Ribbit
October 12th, 2017, 9:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 5: Kubah National Park
Replies: 14
Views: 11380

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 5: Kubah National Park

Thanks VinceAdam2015. Those were spectacular lizards, especially with the two completely different colors.

John
by Ribbit
October 12th, 2017, 9:38 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending
Replies: 16
Views: 13561

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending

My wrist is all better now, thanks. I have photos of vipers in Santubong in part 6: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24340 . They are all Bornean Keeled Pit Vipers, Tropidolaemus subannulatus.

John
by Ribbit
September 5th, 2017, 5:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 7: Andasibe National Park
Replies: 3
Views: 3710

Re: Madagascar Part 7: Andasibe National Park

Awesome! Great to see so many of my old friends, and also many that I haven't seen. Madagascar is just fantastic. A few guesses on your unknown frogs: Frog ID?? #1 ("Guibemantis?????"): This could be a young Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis . Frog ID?? #2: Young Boophis , perhaps B. guibei...
by Ribbit
August 31st, 2017, 11:56 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona recap: July 8-18
Replies: 10
Views: 6953

Re: Arizona recap: July 8-18

I second the comments about how fun this was to read. Herping somewhere where most everything is new is such a blast, and you related that experience beautifully. Great photos too.

John
by Ribbit
August 6th, 2017, 10:57 am
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: Photo Attachment is now available on FHF.....
Replies: 11
Views: 46998

Re: Photo Attachment is now available on FHF.....

That's very generous of you, thanks!

John
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2017, 9:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 6: Ankanin'ny Nofy
Replies: 7
Views: 5816

Re: Madagascar Part 6: Ankanin'ny Nofy

Wow, Stenophis, Langaha, and an Aye-aye all in the same area! Just fantastic. Was the Aye-aye lured to a particular location with food, or did you just happen to see one?

John
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2017, 9:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 5: Ranomafana National Park
Replies: 1
Views: 3258

Re: Madagascar Part 5: Ranomafana National Park

Uroplatus phantasticus is not only one of the best lizards in the world, but also has one of the best names. And that first one with its tail over its head, amazing! That first Furcifer balteatus is unbelievable. And that second one is the most circular chameleon I've ever seen. I also really like ...
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2017, 9:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 4: Anjay Community Park
Replies: 4
Views: 4264

Re: Madagascar Part 4: Anjay Community Park

Place names in Madagascar are not especially standardized -- when I visited this park they told us it was "Anjaha Community Park", but I have since been told it is "Anja Community Park". I had not heard the "Anjay" variation until now, but i't definitely the same place ...
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2017, 9:30 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 3: Isalo National Park-Herps only
Replies: 1
Views: 2828

Re: Madagascar Part 3: Isalo National Park-Herps only

Isalo looks fantastic for both its scenery and animals. That's one whopping huge tree boa! Do you have the Glaw & Vences 3rd edition field guide to amphibians and reptiles of Madagascar? (I don't know how you have any hope of identifying Madagascar herps without it.) I might be able to help with...
by Ribbit
July 31st, 2017, 9:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Madagascar Part 1: Ifaty and Reniala National Forest
Replies: 1
Views: 2758

Re: Madagascar Part 1: Ifaty and Reniala National Forest

Wow, what a start to your Madagascar trip! I look forward to catching up on the rest.

John
by Ribbit
June 26th, 2017, 2:29 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring 2017 New Mexico, (and a little California)
Replies: 17
Views: 13152

Re: Spring 2017 New Mexico, (and a little California)

I was pretty sure my head was going to explode as I worked my way through this post. Your photos capture real nature in such beautiful ways. Those fringe-toed lizards are not at all cooperative, are they? Little monsters. I'm glad you found some cooperative desert iguanas and horned lizards in Calif...
by Ribbit
June 24th, 2017, 10:54 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: HerpMapper vs NAHERP vs iNaturalist
Replies: 21
Views: 14239

Re: HerpMapper vs NAHERP vs iNaturalist

I hate iNaturalist because it is the wikipedia of herping; anyone can have an imput on the data or change it, even though often the group identification consensus is dead wrong. The I.D.s are solely based of of group consensus and are "research grade" if three idiots agree. Garbage. It is...
by Ribbit
May 28th, 2017, 6:33 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending
Replies: 16
Views: 13561

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending

Oops! I had in my mind that there was a mangrove-dwelling viper around Santubong, but that goes to show how far you can trust my mind.
by Ribbit
May 25th, 2017, 12:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending
Replies: 16
Views: 13561

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending

dendrelaphis, I am just a little sorry that I missed out on any subcutaneous vermiform activity, as that would at least have been fairly Borneo-specific. One can get a fractured wrist anywhere. Although I must admit that when people asked me about my cast, it was kind of fun to say "I was hikin...
by Ribbit
May 23rd, 2017, 6:26 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending
Replies: 16
Views: 13561

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending

That's funny about the crocodile. I had the impression that they were seen commonly not only along that river, but also in the mangroves around Santubong. It would have been more exciting if I hadn't seen them much closer in Australia, but I was still glad to see one. And I wasn't particularly close...
by Ribbit
May 22nd, 2017, 8:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending
Replies: 16
Views: 13561

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 7: Bako, or, the Surprise Ending

Thanks Ray. My wrist has healed well (though not quite perfectly, yet). The U.S. doctor who did the followup stuff said that the Malaysian doctor had done a fine job. I don't think I'll be revisiting Bako when I return to the area. Perhaps we shall meet somewhere in the world on some future adventur...
by Ribbit
May 22nd, 2017, 3:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Western Ghats, India
Replies: 9
Views: 5898

Re: Western Ghats, India

Amazing photos as always. That Salea horsfieldii is a wonder. I also am particularly fond of the eyes of the Raorchestes signatus.

John
by Ribbit
May 22nd, 2017, 2:57 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 4: Fraser's Hill
Replies: 10
Views: 8420

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 4: Fraser's Hill

Thanks Hans!

You are already booked up until 2020? That's impressive! You should definitely sign up with Kurt, whenever you do make it to that distant land.

John
by Ribbit
May 22nd, 2017, 2:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 2: Ulu Yam
Replies: 15
Views: 11148

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 2: Ulu Yam

Sounds like a plan!
by Ribbit
May 22nd, 2017, 2:48 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Malaysia 2017, part 1: Semenyih, or, Night of the Lifers
Replies: 20
Views: 13591

Re: Malaysia 2017, part 1: Semenyih, or, Night of the Lifers

Hans, the thanks go to you, along with Kurt, for inspiring me to visit Malaysia!