Blog Archives

Crypsis Challenge #10 Reveal

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

I didn’t intend to leave this challenge open for quite so long. Unfortunately, other things in my life sometimes have to take precedence over this blog, even if I’d rather it be the other way around. 🙂

Looks like the challenge was more difficult than I expected. Commenters who suggested a katydid were on the right track, but this looks like a cricket to me. Here’s the original photo and another version where I’ve crudely outlined the cricket.

Cricket, outlined

January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I provided the outline to show the position and to show just how long the antennae are. Here’s a closer photo, sans antennae. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 3 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #10

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Can you find the critter hidden on this tree trunk? Even after you find it, I bet you’d be surprised that its overall length spans more than half the height of this image!

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 6 Comments

Eyelash Viper

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

~30cm | January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This eyelash viper, Bothriechis schlegelii, was on the side of a tree. A recent crypsis challenge asked readers to find it, which turned out to be fairly easy.

In the photo above, you can easily see the two scales above the far eye that give this snake its common name. No other Costa Rican snake has this distinctive feature.

I used my Canon 100mm macro combined with my Tamron 1.4x teleconverter to get some closeup shots, without getting too close myself. A handful of people die in Costa Rica every year from bites by this snake. read more

Posted in Featured Photos | 2 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #9 Reveal

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

Looks like all commenters easily spotted the snake in this photo.

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

It’s about a third of the way from the top right. Here’s a closer shot from roughly the same angle.

Closeup of eyelash viper on tree trunk

As Andrea J determined, this is an eyelash viper, Bothriechis schlegelii. It’s difficult to pick up an ecotourism brochure in Costa Rica and not see a picture of the yellow variety of this species.

Look out for a separate post on this individual with many more photos.

Oh, and don’t worry, I kept a respectful distance. This encounter reminded me why I always carry around a teleconverter. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 2 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #9

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

The last crypsis challenge was surprisingly difficult, but I think this one might be easier.

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

What has hidden itself here, just where an unsuspecting tourist might place their hand? A general description is fine, although I suspect someone will know exactly what this is.

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 12 Comments

Identification Challenge #8 Reveal

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

15mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I knew the photo above would be difficult to identify, but I was happy that everyone at least figured out it was a spider. As a side note, I hope everyone realizes you can click on the photo to see a larger version.

One commenter, biozcw, ventured that it might be an Argyrodes species. That’s close, because the species I believe I have here, Ariamnes attenuatus, was formerly placed in that genus.

This spider was hiding beneath a large leaf. At only 15mm as shown in the initial photograph, it’s small and virtually disappears when assuming that cryptic position. Here’s a decidedly more spider-like pose. You can just barely see a strand of silk stretching from the spinnerets towards the upper right corner of the image. read more

Posted in Identification Challenges | 1 Comment

Crypsis Challenge #8 Reveal

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Well, this challenge was certainly more difficult than I anticipated. Nonetheless, several people did find the frog in the image above. Below, I’ve outlined it.

Frog Revealed

Now that you know it’s there, I bet you can’t look at the image without it standing out.

Andrea J. went on to suggest it might be a Leptodactylid. I agree. Here’s a close crop from the photo above.

Overhead crop

I picked up this book while in Costa Rica:

[book:0970567804]

According to that book, all Costa Rican leptodactylids lack webbing between their fingers. In the crop above, I don’t see any webbing. There are only three genera in Costa Rica. One genus has only large species, and this one is small. Another has only a single species, easily dismissed because it has extremely warty skin. So by deduction this must be an Eleutherodactylus species. There are 40 highly variable species in that genus that the book calls a “taxonomic nightmare”, so I won’t speculate further on the species. I might even be wrong about the family :). See comments below… I was fooled by the size. Turns out it’s the first genus I dismissed based on size, and it’s just a baby. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 3 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #8

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

It’s tough for me to know just how  difficult these crypsis challenges are, since I obviously know what’s in them. I would think this is very easy, but then a coworker commented that others that I thought were easy were in fact hard for him.

Anyway, see how challenging it is for you to spot the critter camouflaged in the photo above. A general identification is fine, since I haven’t yet determined anything more specific.

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 16 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #7 Reveal

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Commenters had no trouble finding the cryptic critter circled above on a partially eaten leaf. No one figured out that it was a caterpillar though, and a rather bizarre one at that. Here’s a closer look.

It's a caterpillar

It does a pretty good job, I think, of blending in with the damaged areas of the other leaves. I suspect the brown leaf areas were damaged by an earlier instar that chews away at the surface of the leaf rather than eating the entire thing. It looks formidable and I didn’t risk touching it. Those black structures are unlike anything I’ve seen on a caterpillar. read more

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 2 Comments

Crypsis Challenge #7

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Troy Bartlett

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Can you find and identify the order of the critter hiding in plain sight above?

Posted in Crypsis Challenges | 2 Comments