Tortuguero, Costa Rica

August 5-10, 2003

Dr. Mike Dorcas, Taylor Dorcas, JD Willson, and Pierson Hill spent five days conducting vertebrate surveys in the rainforests of Northeast Costa Rica. The rainforest definitely earned its title on this trip as it rained heavily throughout the week. Despite the soggy conditions, the group was able to document a wide variety of interesting wildlife including an impressive list of amphibians and reptiles, and a pretty good list of birds and mammals. Our trip was facilitated by the Carerras family who live in San Jose and have a strong interest in the conservation of Tortuguero. Enrique and Carlos Carerras made all arrangments for us, making our trip go very smoothly. Carlos graduated from Davidson College in 2002. Funding was provied by the Dean Rusk Internation Program and a Faculty Research Grant to M. Dorcas.

This webpage constructed by Pierson Hill

The village of Tortuguero lies on a narrow strip of land between the Carribean and the Tortuguero River. It has no roads and all transportation is by boat. Click on the thumbnails below for more photos of the area.
Cano de Palma	View from the Cerro	Roseate Spoonbills	Morpho Butterfly

List of total species observed:

Amphibians
Caecilians
Gymnophis multiplicata

Anurans
Bufo coniferus
Bufo marinus
Centrolenella prosoblepon (questionable ID)
Dendrobates pumilio
Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri
Elutherodactlyus branstardi
Elutherodactlyus diastema (call only)
Rana vaillanti
Smilisa baudinii
Smilisa phaeota

Reptiles
Lizards
Ameiva festiva
Ameiva quadrilineata
Basilliscus plumifrons
Basilliscus vittatus
Corytophanes cristatus
Gonatodes albogularis
Gymnophthalmus speciosus
Hemidactylus frenatus
Hemidactylus garnotii
Iguana iguana
Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum
Mabuya unimarginata
Norops biporcatus
Norops humilis
Norops lemurinus
Norops limnifrons
Norops oxylophus
Sphenomorphus cherriei
Thecadactylus rapicauda

Snakes
Bothriechis schlegelii
Bothrops asper
Leptodeira septentrionalis
Sibon nebulatus
Urotheca euryzona

Turtles
Chelonia mydas
Trachemys ornata
Kinosternon leucostoma
Rhinochlemmys annulata
Rhinoclemmys funerea

Crocodilians
Caiman crocodylus
Crocodylus acutus

Birds
Brown pelican
Anhinga
Olivaceous cormorant
Roseate spoonbill
Bare-throated tiger heron
Green-backed heron
Great blue heron
Tricolored heron
Little blue heron
Yellow-crowned night heron
Snowy egret
Black vulture
Turkey vulture
Laughing falcon
Common blackhawk
Black-bellied plover
Purple gallinule
Northern jacana
Mealy parrot
White-fronted parrot
Red-lored parrot
Keel-billed toucan
Chestnut-mandibled toucan
Collared aracari
Lattice tailed trogon
Ruddy ground dove
Short-billed pigeon
Pale-vented pigeon
Black-cheeked woodpecker
Lineated woodpecker
Squirrel cuckoo
Amazon kingfisher
Ringed kingfisher
Great kiskadee
Boat-billed flycatcher
Tropical kingbird
Eastern meadowlark
Great-tailed grackle
Groove-billed ani
Montezuma oropendola
Clay colored robin
Red-capped manakin
Olive-backed euphonia
Black-crowned tityra
Blue dacnis
Blue-gray tanager
Scarlet-rumped tanager
White-ruffed manakin
Common tody flycatcher
Northern water thrush
Variable seedeater
Rufous-tailed hummingbird
Barn swallow
Mangrove swallow

Mammals
Great fishing bat
White-faced bat
Other insectivorous bat (at Cerro cave)
Howler monkey
Spider monkey
White faced capuchin
Three-toed sloth
White-lipped peccary (tracks)

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