The New Neotropical Companion

adept at tree climbing and are as apt to be seen in trees as on the ground. They feed on all manner of things, including fruits, ...

individuals) and a long, black bushy tail. It occurs throughout the Neotropics and, because it is diurnal as well as nocturnal, ...

remain unmolested. In the Cockscomb area of central Belize a reserve, the first of its kind, has been created specifically to pr ...

fish, birds, reptiles, and caiman (plates 16- 53– 54). A jaguar attacks its prey with a vigorous leap, quickly attempting to sev ...

including the 0.3– 0.6 m (1– 2 ft) tail. Its coat color varies from dark brown to gray to black, depending on the individual. Th ...

America also boasted a diverse marsupial community. Today, though, just over 40 species of opossums are found in the Neotropics, ...

Reptiles and Amphibians People always seem to associate the tropics with snakes. The fear of snake- infested trails and trees ta ...

and pygmy rattlesnakes, the Mexican Horned Pitviper, and, largest of the lot, the Bushmaster. Maybe it is a good idea to keep an ...

de- lance, like most Bothrops, is a tan snake with dark brown diamond patterning along its sides (intensity of body color and bl ...

tail, the Eyelash Palm- Pitviper feeds on small rodents as well as tree frogs and anole lizards. There are 14 species of montane ...

do not have red bands touching yellow (plates 16- 69– 70). It’s safest just to avoid colorful snakes with any combination of red ...

skilled tree climbers and often prey on bats. They range from Central America all the way south to Patagonia. Perhaps the best k ...

Iguanas and Other Lizards The Green Iguana (Iguana iguana; plate 16- 74) is a ubiquitous inhabitant of Neotropical humid forests ...

pointed noses and large conspicuous dewlaps, which males distend during courtship. They are skilled tree climbers and are often ...

though they are not averse to sampling such delicacies as bats, baby birds, and one another’s eggs. Iguanas and ctenosaurs shift ...

16- 82) reaches a length of 145 cm (57 in); it and its close relative the Red Tegu (T. rufescens), are the two largest lizard sp ...

(plate 16- 86). In some areas in western Amazonia there can be as many as 80 species of anurans at single sites within lowland r ...

to deposit an unfertilized egg to serve as food for the developing frog. Poison- dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) are the most colorfu ...

A Few Select Invertebrates Bugs. Beetles. Spiders. Scorpions. Things that creep and crawl and look scary and noxious occur by th ...

people can identify cockroaches easily (plate 16- 92), as they routinely cohabit human dwellings, much to the dismay of the prim ...