Readers’ wildlife photos

Today’s photos constitute part 1 of a three-part series of the fauna of Costa Rica. The photographer is Ephraim Heller, his captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

On the first trip to Costa Rica, I wanted to learn more about the neotropical rainforest so I read Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America by Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata. Although published in 1984, the book is still a fascinating layman’s introduction to rain forest ecology. To my surprise and delight, the book contains the following description of a young Harvard graduate student named Jerry Coyne on his first visit to the rain forest:

A few weeks before Jerry was due to return to the Museum, his head began to itch…. At first, Jerry assumed that the itch on his scalp was a mosquito bite, as indeed it was. But unlike the usual mosquito bite, this one did not subside. It grew larger, forming a small mound, and besides scratching Jerry began to worry. After several days of private fretting he sought help. One of his fellow students, a medical entomologist, agreed to examine the wound. Her diagnosis sent a chill of fear through poor Jerry. Poking out of a tiny hole in his scalp was a wiggling insect spiracle. A hideous little botfly maggot was living inside the skin on his head and eating his flesh! This intimacy with nature was a little too much for Jerry, and he ran around in circles crying for the removal of the maggot. Unfortunately, removal of a botfly maggot is no simple task. This botfly (Dermatobia hominis) has existed as an unwanted guest in the skins of mammals and birds for countless generations. Its larvae have evolved two anal hooks that hold them firmly in their meaty burrow. If you pull gently on the larva, these hooks dig in deeper and bind it tightly to your flesh. If you pull harder, the maggot will eventually eventually burst, leaving part of its body inside the host, which can lead to an infection far more dangerous to the host than the original bot…. After his initial bout of hysterical revulsion, Jerry learned to accept his guest…. Jerry grew fond of his bot and the bot grew fat on Jerry. When Jerry returned to New England, his bot had produced a goose egg-sized swelling on his head.

I won’t tell you how the story ends, other than to say that it involves the Boston Red Sox and that Jerry survived.

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Brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus). The males have thge unusual marking in the middle of the back. You can see the green algae growing on its fur. Per Wikipedia: “Certain strains of fungi that grow on brown-throated sloth fur have been shown to possess anti-parasitic, anti-cancer, and anti-bacterial qualities…. In addition to the algae in their fur, brown-throated sloths also live commensally with a species of moth, Cryptoses choloepi, which lives in their fur, and lays its eggs in the dung”:

Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni). These nocturnal critters curl up to sleep during the day. This individual was about eight feet off the ground — close enough to touch. Like the three-toed sloths, two-toed sloths also have algae living in their hairs:

Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii). Mother and child:

Panamanian white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator) reacting to my explanation of US politics:

Geoffroy’s spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) just hanging out:

Golden-mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata palliata) contemplating life:

White-nosed coati (Nasua nasua) snacking on berries. Coatis are related to raccoons. They are gregarious and it is quite entertaining to watch their interactions:

Northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana). An anteater that spends time on the ground and in trees:

Collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) nursing a baby:

Northern ghost bat (Diclidurus albus). A rare insectivorous bat that fees primarily on moths. We found a mother and child hanging under a palm leaf:

Green vine snake (Oxybelis fulgidus)? I’m poor at identifying snakes so please correct me if I’m wrong. We watched this individual hunt a frog. From the expression on his face, the snake seems quite happy with his meal:

Plumed basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons). Also known as a Jesus Christ lizard, due to its ability to run across water. It displays the behaviour as a threat response, when fleeing predators. High speed is maintained in order to prevent sinking. Per Wikipedia: “While some insects are able to run on water using surface tension, basilisk lizards, which have much more mass, achieve this through alternative fluid dynamics. This lizard will use its hind leg to penetrate the surface of the water beneath it to create an air-filled cavity and then retract its leg before the cavity closes. This enables the basilisk lizard to minimize its contact with water. Additionally, this running technique reduces the drag experienced during the run while simultaneously allowing the lizard’s body to be propelled across the water at an average speed of 1.6 m/s (5.2 ft/s)”:

Common basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus), another Jesus Christ lizard known for its ability to run on the surface of water:

Green iguana (Iguana iguana). These grow up to 2 m in length: