Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
Tremarctos
Posts: 28
Joined: February 13th, 2016, 10:49 am
Location: Columbus, OH
Contact:

Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador

Post by Tremarctos »

Last December, I visited Shirpuno Lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Shiripuno is remote, and is known for experiencing lower hunting pressure than the Napo lodges (which matters more for mammals and birds than herps, I suppose). It has an excellent trail system, and I was allowed to walk alone, without a guide.

My main goal was to see mammals, but my herp sightings ended up being the highlight of my trip. In fact, this was my first rainforest trip during which I reasonable luck locating herps. However, it was relatively dry during my stay and I'm sure I would have seen more if there had been more rain.

I'll post my photos in 2-3 batches, starting with the reptiles. My photos of other taxa are on my website, http://www.tremarctos.com. All photos were taken in-situ except Platemys platecephala. Please feel free to correct my identifications!

I will be returning to Shiripuno next month. Let me know if you have any advice on how to observe a greater diversity of herps. I'd particularly like to see Mata-mata and Cruziohyla craspedopus.

Image

Image
Panama Spotted Night Snake (Sipholophis cervinus)

Image

Image

Twist-necked Turtle (Platemys platycephala)


Image
Brazil's Lancehead (Bothrops brazili) - I took shelter under a large tree during a short period of rainfall, and noticed this snake staring at me from a few meters away.

Image
Striped Sharpnose Snake (Philodryas argentea)

Image
Smooth-fronted Caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus) - quite common at this site

Image
Velvet Swampsnake (Erythrolamprus typhlus)

Image
Banded Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira annulata)

Image
Image
Image
Northern Snail-eater (Dipsas pavonina) -I think the closeup of the head distinguishes this from the next species.

Image
Image
Catesby's Snail-eater (Dipsas catesbyi)

Image
Image
Image
Image
Blunthead Tree Snake (Imantodes cenchoa)

Image
Southern Turnip-tailed Gecko (Thecadactylus solimoensis)
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador

Post by craigb »

Great Stuff !
Keep them coming !

Can you give a brief description of the camera and equipment used?
Excellent photos !

Thank you,
Craig Barnes
craigb
Posts: 638
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:02 am
Location: Southern Cal.
Contact:

Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador

Post by craigb »

Never mind, I went to the link posted.
Great stuff..

Craig
santiagobull
Posts: 1
Joined: July 24th, 2018, 12:13 pm
Location: Lima, Peru

Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador

Post by santiagobull »

Great photos! Shiripuno sounds like a great placefor herping. How many days did you stay, to see all those different snakes species?

By the way, mata mata turtles can be pretty tough to find. They're usually underwater, and very well camouflaged. I'm from Peru, I trave quite a lot to the amazon, and the only ones I've seen were all captive, or found accidentally by fishermen.

Keep up with those pictures!
Post Reply