Habitat: Rivers, streams, swamps, marshes, ponds in high rainfall lowland areas. Also found in lowland dry forest areas and occasionally in brackish water.

Biology: Hunts at night, but commonly seen basking during the day.

Food: Eats a wide variety of items. Young feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates and adults mainly fish and frogs.

Source: Savage, Jay M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 935pp.