Tonight I had the awesome opportunity to witness some real circle-of-stuff in the jungle.
I was trying to get a shot of this guy:
Proechimys semispinosus (Tome's Spiny Rat)
But it darted out of its hiding place and into a pile of brush. Just as I was thinking about looking for it a little more, a large, unknown species of dark snake darted in after it (maybe an ebony keelback?). I heard a short struggle, some squealing, and then silence. Pretty wild.
You may find yourself wondering why any one would be excited to see a giant, wet, jungle rat.
Mammals, especially small ones like rats and mice, have gradually disappeared from La Selva. In fact, this is the first one I've seen the whole trip!
One hypothesis about the reptile and amphibian declines I'm studying is that mammals have, for some reason, been extirpated from La Selva. Without this primary food source, snakes have started to eat frogs and lizards (or have starved). The mammals are also important seed dispersers and help maintain bird populations.
So without these gross, wet, jungle rats... less frogs, lizards, snakes, birds and possibly fish and invertebrates too.
It's hard to imagine a big stinky rat being such an important part of La Selva.
Keystone species come in all shapes and sizes (keystone, meaning if you take it out, the entire ecosystem can fall apart).
But I'm getting way ahead of myself.
Today was busy busy busy trying to catch more lizards.
It wasn't all for naught though, we made off with a pretty good haul today!
I was all smiles by the end of the day.
I can't pretend it started out smoothly.
Notice the bandage on my finger.
I learned today that the lizards, once given a taste, hunger for blood.
Getting of the noose is normally a, somewhat, smooth process. There are the occasional mishaps though, and sometimes the lizards can get a little chompy on your fingers.
This male basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) was especially bitey.
We found him perched on a log in full sunlight and when I grabbed him he was especially warm, probably pumped full of energy and ready to rumble.
Let's not pretend like you didn't see this coming eventually. This guy had a point to prove. They are named after the mythological Greek creature. Part rooster, part snake and part lion. Able to turn a person to stone with its gaze. After he got his upper jaw between my fingernail and skin I pretty much turned to stone myself, dropped to the ground and tried to let him think he was free so he'd let go.
Look at that face. It didn't feel good, and he knew it!
It took a few minutes for him to realize his feet were on the ground.
One taste clearly wasn't enough.
What a survivor! Blood dripping down his jaw, fierce look in his eye...soooo cool.
Today's totals: 7 brown basilisk
1 green basilisk
3 juvenile iguanas
1 lemur anole
Not bad for a days work.
Even though it wasn't work related per se, I also had time to make a new friend in the jungle.
Corallus ruschenbergerii (Northern Tree Boa) Okay, I can't lie to you. I didn't pull this one out of the jungle. I'm pretty sure this jerk broke into the ambient lab last night (that's where I keep my animals) and ate two of my lizards!
I'm no detective, but the signs point to lizard murder.
When I walked into the lab this morning I saw the following:
-two missing lizards
-two ravaged plastic blags
-a tree boa in the rafters
-a tree boa in the rafters with two big food bulges
Hmmm... we may never know the truth.
Luckily I had already tested the lizards and I was going to release them today.
Wupps.
My new snake friend came to good use though.
I love a little herpetology outreach.
This is one of my favorite things. This woman had never held a snake before in her life. She couldn't believe how soft it was. She was so calm and was very concerned with how to hold the snake so 'she wouldn't hurt it'.
It's great to see people realize how awesome snakes can be and what fun it can be to hold them.
I have no idea what kind of moth this is, but it's engaging in an awesome behavior.
It's starting extrude a structure called a hair-pencil (small hair like structure that come out of the bulb that looks like his butt). The hair-pencil secretes pheromones that are picked up by female moths.
The pheromones serve several purposes. It's an aphrodisiac for the females, once they start to pick up a suitable mate, they can't back away from the pheromone trail. it also serves as a tranquilizer, making it easier for the male to start copulation. Its final ability is a repellent for conspecific males.
So it forces away competition, lures in mates and makes them sleepy.
Sleezy move moth, sleezy move.
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