Photos of Bolitoglossines

[Mykey93]

Hey everyone,

I'm new on this board, but I've been studying Plethodontid salamanders for awhile now with an interest in the Bolitoglossines. I've done field work in Honduras and Ecuador on these salamanders and I thought I'd share some photos from my Ecuador trips. Unfortunately, I never seemed to have my camera around when we found a Bolitoglossa or Oedipina in Cusuco National Park, Honduras.

The first and third photos are of Bolitoglossa peruviana from San Jose de Payamino, Orellana, Ecuador and the second photo is of Bolitoglossa chica from Tinalandia, Pichincha, Ecuador.

I hope you enjoy!

-Mike

 

[Lamb]

Welcome, Mykey!

Those are great photos. In the second one, that individual looks like it might could mimic bird excrement. Have you read or heard anything about a possible mimicry system there? Or would that coloration better mimic the background of some other microhabitat inhabited by these guys?

About 3 years ago I traveled to Belize to study tropical ecology for 15 days We spent 3-4 days in the Cockscomb Jaguar Sanctuary, where we found a couple of bolitoglossines on the leaves of banana trees during our night hikes. I was much more engrossed by the frogs at the sanctuary, but now that I know more about plethodontids, I'd love to go back and search for bolitoglossines.

Thanks for posting the photos.

 

[Mykey93]

I have not read anything about the mimicry of bird excrements but these salamanders all have excellent camoflauge for their microhabitats. I had seen 3 individuals of the middle one, Bolitoglossa chica, and two looks similar to that individual, and another had a different morphology. It might be hard to see, but they all have wrinkled skin that looks very similar to bark. I will post more pictures later when I'm on my laptop.

 

[AaronK]

Welcome. Great pictures.