Bugs, Snakes, and Amphibians…oh my!!!!

Angel and I went on the night tour here at the hotel. Our guides were Rolando and TIco. They were really nice and right off the bat we were seeing really cool things. We left the hotel and less than five minutes later we were trudging up a squishy, muddy hill to see a pair of mating gladiator tree frogs. These were beautiful frogs and Roloando did not just tell us what they he also told us how they got their name and how they court, he gave us interesting tid bits about all of the creatures we saw. Soon after the gladiator tree frogs we saw a smoky jungle frog which was huge. We got some good pictures and then something scared it away.
Our guides took us through a back yard but on the way saw some more frogs and an iguana in a tree. Well, it was mostly an iguana, we only saw the back legs and a partial tail because leaves were in the way but we knew what it was! This is when Victor came up behind us and tried to convince us that the iguana was a flying turtle and flying turtles sleep in trees at night. We decided to never pay him for a night tour!
Our REAL guides took us into the backyard and Tico went on one side of the house while we went with Rolando on the other side. Rolando found us a trap door spider and a tarantula. We could not get a good picture of the trap door spider because it pulled its door shut but the tarantula was just sitting there in its whole and we got some nice pictures!
We went to the other side of the house where Tico was and we saw a huge snake. It was 2 meters long and a very beautiful black coloration. Angel and I thought it was a black mamba but it was a harmless non- venomous snake whose name I forgot. I do remember that it eats the most venomous snake in Costa Rica. Once the snake left we saw some spiders and then walked around while the guides were trying to get some red eyed tree frogs.
We ended up going into the primary raind forest where we ended up seeing a glass tree frog with a batch of eggs and an owl moth, and several other creatures. Angel and I both had a blast and I would recommend a night tour to anyone else staying in a tropical country.

Who knew blue?

Finished with my paper; all that is left is to give it to Emma (momentarily…).  Worked on the mystery chiton as well.  I soaked it in alcohol.  Not sure exactly what kind it was, because the bottle was all in Spanish.  Oh well, it did the job.  It soaked for two days.  This helped to dissolve some of the flesh off of the animal.  This morning I took a pair of forceps and carefully(!) pulled each plate from the animal.  To my surprise, the part of the plate normally covered by the girdle was bright blue!  I don’t know if this was a reaction to the alcohol, or if that is indeed the color of the plates. 

I was able to confirm the family of the chiton (Acanthochitonidae) because the cephalic (head) plate had five notches along the outside curved edge, and each of the remaining seven plates have two notches (one one each insertion plate).  The girdle was covered in fine hairs, and had eighteen tufts of cream colored sutural bristles; four around the cephalic plate and two along each of the seven remaining plates.  The girdle covered much of the plates.  The plates themselves are covered in tiny granules.  Tentatively I would place this chiton in the genus Acanthochitona, but I cannot be sure as I have yet to find a key to the family.  I have arrived at this guess by comparing the mystery chiton to known specimens in the genus.  Over the summer I plan to conduct more research and will hopefully get closer to discovering what this animal is.

My camera does not give the color justice, but the plates really are blue

Why you gotta do my like that?!

   Yesterday, woke up not feeling so hot. Did the 1st dive anyway..because hey, what can I say I love to dive!! Saw some neato stuff and got some good pictures. After the dive I decided not to push it and stayed on the boat. Got tback to the hotel…napped, then got sick…

                                                

    So synopsis for the day, Dove, slept, had one crappy evening here in paradise!

The motherships

Captains Log: Star date 5/28/2012

We have returned to the land of the strange creatures.  This time our number were not as great but our determination to see everything we can was still strong.  We arrived at the spot of the first dive early in the morning and prepared to reenter the unknown.

The first dive was very successful and many a creatures were both seen and recorded.  But it was not until the 2nd dive that the group stopped in shock.  Right in front of our face, not 20 feet from us was a huge Manta ray.  This beautiful animal swam so blissfully by and i could not do anything but just look in amazement.  As we continued to swim, our guide pointed into the distance and again, another manta started to head toward us.

Each of the mantas looked like giant spaceships has they swam overhead. a total of 3 mantas swam around us eating and acting as if we didnt even exist.  Along with these animals, we also saw a plethora of fish and corals. Along with sharks, an octopus, spiny lobsters, and eels.

A Day in the Sun

Yesterday was a day off for us.  My best friend from Unity, Hannia, took the long journey from San Jose to Drake Bay with her sister to come visit.  After breakfast Kara and I took them out to Cocolitus Beach and spent all morning there swimming and playing with all the little critters that we could find.  Yesterday was one of the hottest days here so far; although, the morning at the beach was a lot of fun it was also very tiring.  So when we returned lunch and cold showers was what we all needed.  The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and catching up before Hannia had to leave.  Today, it’s back to work.  While most of the group chose to go snorkeling and scuba diving some of us chose to stay here to finish up on our projects.

Clown Shrimp

While diving on my “day off”, I saw my first clown shrimp.  These are usually very shy shrimp that live in pairs in rock crevices.  It is unusual to see one in the open, and even more unusual to see the shrimp standing its ground when we approached it to take photos.  These shrimps eat starfish tubefeet, and are often spotted out in the open when they are feeding.  Here, however, there was no sign of food and I can only surmise that it might have been a male “showing off”. Regardless, it was a real treat to see.

A Clown Shrimp seen while diving off Cano Island at the Shipwreck site.

Saturday May 26th 2012 Dive Day!!!!

             Today is The Day!!! After a long anticipated wait we finally go into the water. it was very clear and blue. It was beautiful!! As we started to descend Kara and I were dive buddies and took our time because of the pressure on the ears. We waited till we could equalize. It took a good 5 minutes till we were all officially at the bottom of the reef. While down there we saw tons and tons of different fish that Russell will be identifying. Along with the fish we saw a few different types of rays and a white tip reef shark. My group was the only one to see a scorpion fish. It was a real sight to see.

             When we got to the surface the boat was nowhere to be found and we were just floating there in the middle of the ocean for a good two minutes till it arrived to pick us up. Waiting for the other group to come up from the dive Kara and I lay out to tan.

             We went back down for one last dive and while we were down there we saw pretty much the same things but that did not bother me for I was diving. It was a beautiful scene and I did not want to leave. Unfortunately air prohibited that option. If only we could breathe under water.