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Blog Archives
Harvestman
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
Could this be the harvestman equivalent of an ostrich burying its head in the sand? Or maybe it was just trying to get at something to eat.
Hiding? Eating?
After a few shots as I found it, I prodded it into a better position.
Prodded into a better position
It has some interesting “combs” on a few of its rearmost legs.
Comb-like structures on rearmost legs
Dorsolateral view
It’s actually quite small, the body measuring only about 5mm front to back. The longest leg, however, was about 3cm long. I’m not sure what purpose those horns might serve.
Small body, 5mm long
4mm wide
"Comb" on the right
I have to admit I’m drawn to these strange creatures. I think in part it’s simply because they are so alien looking.
Posted in Featured Photos, Uncategorized
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Anole
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
Anoles were abundant everywhere I went in Costa Rica. They are difficult to identify though, and I gave up trying to figure out which species this might be.
Anole
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Jumping Spider with Prey
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This little salticid has captured a small fly of some sort.
White scales on the chelicerae almost look like a mustache.
Frontal view
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Another Micropezid
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This one looks a lot like the one I found ovipositing.
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Female Yellow-headed Gecko
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
Compared to the male, this female Gonatodes albigularis is quite drab.
She looks as if she has suffered some unfortunate incident. Not only does she appear to be regrowing the tip of her tail, but one of her hind feet seems a bit mangled.
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Feeding Derbids
30mm (wingspan) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
These planthoppers in the family Derbidae are feeding on the yellow stem.
You can clearly see the left one’s beak (rostrum) inserted in the stem. Next time I’ll have to try and get a good profile shot. They really are odd looking.
Face on
Also odd are those Velcro like hooks along the leading edge of the wing.
What purpose might these hooks server?
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Male Wandering Spider
January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This wandering spider in the family Ctenidae was spotted at the base of a large tree.
The large palps leave no doubt that this is a male.
Palps indicate a male
The eye arrangement was my first clue to the family. They also have a deep groove along the mid-line of the carapace, called a fovea, just barely visible in these photos.
I wasn’t able to identify this one any further than family. It’s quite a large spider though. The body measured 25mm (~1″) and with legs it was around 80mm (~3″).
Some species of Ctenidae have a nasty reputation. Suspecting at the time that this was a Ctenid, I kept a respectful distance.
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Slender Anole
January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
I photographed this slender anole, Norops limifrons, not long after sunset. This species is common and abundant in Costa Rica. It ranges from Mexico to Panama.
According to Leenders, observations suggest that this species mates for life, a rare behavior for a lizard. Energy otherwise spent by the male on defending a territory against other males is instead spent on maintaining the relationship with the female. The male and female stick together, usually never more than a few meters apart. If I’d known this at the time, I’d have looked around for this one’s mate.
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Litter Frog
January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
I thought this was perhaps an Eleutherodactylus species in the family Leptodactylidae. That determination was based mainly on the pads visible on the undersides of the hands and feet.
I asked Brian Kubicki for his opinion, and he said this is Craugastor polyptychus. That last link notes that this species was recently split from Eleutherodactylus bransfordii, so I guess was on the right track.
Looking around on the internet, it looks like the two species are separated by elevation, with this species occurring at lower elevations.
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Contorted Moth
45mm wingspan | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
I have no idea what kind of moth this is, but I like its attempt to look very unlike a moth.
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