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Bats of Tapon Creek nature reserve, FUNDAECO

Posted October 14, 2020

Bats of Guatemala like to sleep under palm fronds like coconuts at the beach

Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala

FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) are working together with the personnel of the Municipio de Livingston, on a project of cooperation via the Alcalde de Livingston, Daniel Pinto.

On our one-week long field trip to swamps, wetlands, and associated biodiverse ecosystems along the coast of Amatique Bay groups of bats were photographed by Boris Llamas, student of Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG).



Photographs by Boris Llamas, on project of FLAAR Mesoamerica, in Aldea Buena Vista. Camera: Nikon D850, Lens: Nikon VR ED AF-P NIKKOR 70-300 mm 1:4.5-5.6 E , Settings: RAW, 300 mm, f/stop: 8, speed: 1/100th, ISO: 250, October 12, 2020.

Since we did not wish to disturb them, we did not use a net to capture them, so no measurements. But Boris estimates they are Artibeus lituratus (great fruit-eating bat) from the subfamily Stenodermatinae family Phyllostomidae.

In other areas of the Maya Lowlands other species of bats sleep hanging from the fronds of other palm species. As soon as a biologist can suggest Genus, we will update this NEWS.

Butterflies in Yaxha park are friendly, photogenic, and relaxing

Posted September 04, 2020

Naranjo-to-Rio-Holmul-gusano-green-Jul-7-2019-YAX9521

I go to the rain forests of Guatemala to see spider monkeys and howler monkeys. And I must admit I like to see and photograph crocodiles in the rivers and lakes (yes, crocodiles around the Maya cities of Peten; not alligators; the alligator relatives are caimans near the Pacific Ocean).

But when I walk through my garden it’s butterflies that I like to see. It reminds me of a Disney animated paradise.

An excellent place to experience butterflies (and do selfies with them in the background) is at Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo, Municipio de Flores, Peten, Guatemala.

So we have posted an entire page on these friendly, peaceful, fluttery insects. They are also helpful pollinators. You will want to visit Yaxha to experience the sunset, the majestic Temple 216, the causeways, palaces, acropolises. But when here, also enjoy the butterflies. We hope in the future to publish a full-color photo album of all the species we have photographed so far.

Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly, Caligo telamonius, Guatemala

Posted August 03, 2020

autosafari owl butterfly Guatemala, FLAAR-Mesoamerica

Butterflies with “owl eyes” are well known around the Americas. The evolution of this owl eye is to scare off predators.

While doing research for an upcoming FLAAR report on owls of Mesoamerica I came across this photograph in our ethnozoology photo archive, so I would like to post it now because I noticed the snake-like face (with “reptile scales’ at the top back of it’s wings.

I turned the wing 90 degrees so you could more easily see the two eyes of the snake (and it’s “nose”).

To understand the third eye I would need to find this butterfly again elsewhere and photograph from an extra angle.

This was photographed at Auto Safari Chapin, a park with lots of interesting local plants and insects (plus animals). I was able to identify it as the Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly, Caligo telamonius.

There are lots of other butterflies with owl eye tricks on each lower wing. As soon as we return to continue fieldwork in the Caribbean area of the Municipio de Izabal, Guatemala, we will see how many butterflies we can find, photograph, and identify.

Several helpful books on insects available from entomologist Dr Jiichiro Yoshimoto and colleagues

Posted June 16, 2020

Insects-from-Guatemala-Second-Edition-Jiichiro-Yoshimoto-April-2018-Cicadidae-en-la-Reserva-Refugio-del-Quetzal-Suchitepequez

We highly recommend these books. The identification guide is a super helpful checklist. We are sending each of our flora-and-fauna scouts a copy of this essential book. This way they can more easily identify insects in areas so remote there is no Internet to search on Google.

We thank Jiichiro Yoshimoto for providing these books for our team.

Two frog species are unique to Municipio de Livingston, Izabal

Posted May 26, 2020

While doing research on a species of Howler Monkey that in Guatemala is only found in Izabal (not far from Honduras) I found a list of endangered endemic species that listed two frog species that are barely known outside the Santa Cruz Mountain area of Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala.

Craugastor trachydermus, family Craugastoridae
Ptychohyla santaecrucis Chinamococh stream frog, family Hylidae

So as soon as the coronavirus travel shutdown in lifted (hopefully by July), we will keep our eyes open for these two species of endangered frogs when we return to accomplish more field work in remote areas of the Municipio de Livingston.

In the meantime, Juana Lourdes Wallace Ramírez already in March 2020, found a Heliconia in Chocon Machacas that had a bright colored frog Metasesarma aubryi.

David Arrivilaga, María Alejandra Gutierrez and I photographed it (see lower down on the NEWS posts on this home page).

Howler Monkey species ONLY in Izabal; not in Peten

Posted May 26, 2020

The rare Mantled Howler Monkey, Alouatta palliata, is not in Peten nor Alta Verapaz. The “rust colored back” Mantled Howler Monkey, Alouatta palliata, is in the Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala. More are on the east side of the Rio Motagua (towards Honduras, where Alouatta palliata it occurs from Honduras through the rest of Central America, and through South America to northern Peru).

Alouatta palliata is also in Veracruz, Chiapas, and Tabasco, Mexico. But no longer in adjacent Peten. Wikipedia is totally incorrect in a copy-and-paste error claiming Alouatta palliata is in Chiquimula, Guatemala. No, sorry, only in two areas of Izabal: along one segment of Rio Dulce and east of Rio Motagua.

We will work to find, photograph, and publish flora and fauna of the Caribbean area of Guatemala, the Livingston area, from July or August onward (as soon flights from USA are allowed back into Guatemala, hopefully in July).

The popular Alouatta pigra, known as the Guatemalan black howler monkey, is easy to see, and hear, at Tikal and especially at Yaxha. This Guatemalan black howler can also be seen and heard at Las Guacamayas biological research station, Rio San Pedro (Peten). This howling monkey is also present in northern Alta Verapaz and well known for forested areas of Izabal (so there are two species in Izabal; but one in Peten and Alta Verapaz).

Would help to have zoologists study fauna that live in a tasistal palm area

Posted May 21, 2020

When a tasistal with thousands or savanna with clusters of tasiste palm trees is set on fire all the bird nests, all the turtles, and lots of mammals are killed. It would be a great thesis topic, or topic for a peer-reviewed journal article, for a zoologist to study the Acoelorrhaphe wrightii tasiste palm tasistal areas in the Petexbatun area, Municipio de Sayaxche, Peten, Guatemala, Central America. With their results it could be easier to initiate programs to save these fragile ecosystems.

We visited, photographed, and documented the principal plants in these areas but to study the animals best if a zoology or ecology team spend a plenty of time at the comfortable local Hotel Ecologico Posada Caribe. This hotel is less than a kilometer from the larger of the two tasistal areas; and about an hour or so from the second tasistal area (perhaps 40 minutes by boat and then by foot 20 minutes, keeping in mind that access to the Faisan area tasistal is not as easy due to annual flooding, or in dry season no boat can pass there). But the larger Arroyo Petexbatun Tasistal is reachable all year easily.