Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

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Tremarctos
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Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Tremarctos »

Here is my second set of photos from my trip to Shiripuno Lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon in December 2017. My first post (on reptiles) is here: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=24829 . This post covers terrestrial frogs and toads; I'll write another one covering treefrogs later, and more on sightings from a second trip in August 2018 when I'm done processing photos.

Please let me know if any of my identifications are incorrect. BTW, there are new field guides on the reptiles and amphibians of Ecuador available for free online (in Spanish): https://bioweb.bio/faunaweb/amphibiaweb/GuiasPDF/,https://bioweb.bio/faunaweb/reptiliaweb/GuiasPDF/



This rare species was arguably the highlight of my trip:
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Spix's Horned Treefrog (Hemiphractus scutatus) Note the recently hatched froglets on the back. The frog was partially hidden in a "hut" it had made in the leaf litter. "Treefrog" is a misnomer - they are largely terrestrial.

Here is another spectacular horned frog. It is apparently relatively common at this site, but I only found two in ten nights of walking the forest:
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Amazon Horned Frog (Ceratophrys cornuta)

Here's another individual:
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This species mimics the chemical compounds produced by leaf cutter ants, and lives undisturbed in their nests (citation: https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 016-2223-y):
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Painted Antnest Frog (Lithodytes lineatus)

The genus Leptodactylus included several of the most abundant frogs in the area:
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Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus)

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Amazonian White-lipped Frog (Leptodactylus mystaecus)

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Loreto White-lipped Frog (Leptodactylus rhodomystax)

I'm not sure about the identity of this one, but it might be L. wagneri:
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(Leptodactylus sp)

I spent most of my time walking at night, so I saw relatively few diurnal litter frogs. I'm not sure about the identifications:

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Three-striped Rocket Frog (Allobates trilineatus)

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(Allobates insperatus?)

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(Allobates insperatus?)

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(Allobates insperatus?)


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(Ameerega hahneli?)


This toad is quite impressive (though I'm not sure what is on the ground to the right of it):
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Smooth-sided Toad (Rhaebo guttatus)

Finally, here are several toads from the highly variable Rhinella margaritifera species complex:
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Jimi
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Jimi »

Sweet! Thanks for sharing (I also enjoyed part 1). I sure gotta get down there some time.
This toad is quite impressive (though I'm not sure what is on the ground to the right of it):
That is indeed a nice toad. Gorgeous little animal. What would you say his total length was?

The pile is just a worm casting I think. It didn't come put of the toad, and it isn't that nasty. Some people get pretty excited about worm castings, in fact. E.g.,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJJf0k_v2w

So that's kind of a funny little photo bomb, by Mr Worm. Ha ha.

cheers
DanW
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by DanW »

That Hemiphractus and Rhaebo are amazing.

Yes that frog is L. wagneri

Allobates are a pain.

Dan
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Nice! Do you have other shots of the Hemiphractus, showing the offspring a bit more...?
Tremarctos
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Tremarctos »

Jimi wrote:Sweet! Thanks for sharing (I also enjoyed part 1). I sure gotta get down there some time.
This toad is quite impressive (though I'm not sure what is on the ground to the right of it):
That is indeed a nice toad. Gorgeous little animal. What would you say his total length was?

The pile is just a worm casting I think. It didn't come put of the toad, and it isn't that nasty. Some people get pretty excited about worm castings, in fact. E.g.,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJJf0k_v2w

So that's kind of a funny little photo bomb, by Mr Worm. Ha ha.

cheers
The toad was maybe 5 inches long. It wasn't quite as massive as as Rhinella marina, but it was much more colorful.

Thanks for the worm casting ID - I never would have guessed!
Tremarctos
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Tremarctos »

DanW wrote:That Hemiphractus and Rhaebo are amazing.

Yes that frog is L. wagneri

Allobates are a pain.

Dan
Thanks! Do you have any advice on how to identify frogs of the genus Osteocephalus? I'm trying to identify a few before my next post.
Tremarctos
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by Tremarctos »

Jeroen Speybroeck wrote:Nice! Do you have other shots of the Hemiphractus, showing the offspring a bit more...?
I checked my external hard-drive, and found one showing the offspring a bit more (though most are out-of-focus):
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Note the unhatched eggs. I wish I had taken more photos at the time.
DanW
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Re: Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, Ecuador (Part 2)

Post by DanW »

Osteocephalus in that area are quite variable and can be difficult depending on the pictures. The key characteristics are iris pattern and/or color, sometimes what color the bones in the hind legs are or webbing between the toes helps. I've never tried looking at bone color.

Reading species descriptions here https://bioweb.bio/faunaweb/amphibiaweb ... Familia/98 is your best bet.

Dan
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