Ecuador Reptile Adventures

31/10/2024

Happy Halloween!

This is a beautiful black and orange poison frog species. The orange on the belly is sometimes yellow or even white. The taxonomy of this species was synonymized with Epipedobates espinosai earlier this year. Since this individual was photographed in Mindo, it used to be E. darwinwallacei. The common name can still be the Darwin Wallace poison frog, to continue to honour those scientists. It is the only poison frog in the area and it occasionally turns up on our public night walks, making it one of the more spectacularly coloured frog species that lives on our reserve. Ecuador currently has 53 species of poison/rocket frogs but none of them are dart frogs because their poison is not used to make poison darts, like members of the genus, Phyllobates, which are found north of Ecuador.

26/08/2024

We are guiding a public night hike for only $30/person this Saturday!
Pickup in town: 7:00pm | Dropoff in town: 11:00pm
The tour will be in English in Mindo. Transportation and reserve entrance fees are included. We provide rubber boots and flashlights.
Book online (select Aug. 31, then #2 Public), or by WhatsApp.

16/07/2024

It's World Snake Day!

This is Lachesis acrochorda, an amazing viper species from the Chocó Rainforest. Encountering one in its habitat was arguably my best experience this year. Despite being venomous, Lachesis are considerably more docile than most Bothrops, and they are unique among new world vipers by being oviparous. This is Ecuador's third longest viper species, after L. muta and B. asper. These are hatchlings.

World Snake Day is all about education and conservation of snakes. Venomous snakes in particular are misunderstood by the general public. These individuals demonstrated that they were not aggressive in any way, and never attempted to bite us, however, they are dangerous so they should always be treated with respect.

19/06/2024

In 2022, our group witnessed a Leptodeira ornata preying on what I believe is an undescribed species of Atractus. It reminds me of Atractus iridescens, however, this was much further south than they have been documented, in the province of Los Ríos. The other possibility is a weird morph of Atractus microrhynchus. We found another individual 47 hours after seeing the first one being consumed. Both were photographed in-situ.

20/05/2024

A few more highlights from our recent Chocó & Andes adventure with Grant. Although our primary focus was herping, we also spent some time to photograph other animals too. Stay tuned!

Ecuadorian East Andes | March 2024

13/05/2024

A few more highlights from our recent Chocó & Andes adventure with Grant. Although our primary focus was herping, we also spent some time to photograph other animals too. Stay tuned!

Ecuadorian Chocó & West Andes | March 2024

06/05/2024

Ecuador has recently been making headlines in the news but the country remains safe for tourism and the herping continues to be incredible. Here are some of the highlights from our recent Chocó & Andes adventure with Grant. Although our primary focus was herping, we also spent some time to photograph other animals too. Stay tuned!

Ecuadorian Chocó & West Andes | March 2024

29/04/2024

A few more highlights from our recent Amazon adventure with Bob in what is probably the most biodiverse place on the planet, with an estimated 121 reptile species and 150 amphibian species per hectare. Although our primary focus was herping, we also spent some time to photograph other animals too. Stay tuned!

Ecuadorian Amazon | March 2024

16/04/2024

Ecuador has recently been making headlines in the news but the country remains safe for tourism and the herping continues to be incredible. Here are some of the highlights from our recent Amazon adventure with Bob in what is probably the most biodiverse place on the planet, with an estimated 121 reptile species and 150 amphibian species per hectare. Although our primary focus was herping, we also spent some time to photograph other animals too. Stay tuned!

Ecuadorian Amazon | March 2024

10/02/2024

Bothriechis schlegelii has finally been split up into 10 species; 5 of them are new to science, 3 of them have been revalidated, and 1 remains undescribed.
Ecuador just gained 3 Bothriechis species but no longer has B. schlegelii, which is now endemic to western Colombia.
B. nitidus was revalidated and is now endemic to Ecuador.
B. hussaini is new to science and can be found in Ecuador and Peru.
B. rahimi is new to science and can be found in Ecuador and Colombia.

The first photo is B. rahimi, as well as the last two photos.
The second photo is B. hussaini, completely in situ.
The third photo is B. nitidus, as well as the rest of the photos.
Most people who have seen a Bothriechis with me actually saw B. nitidus, the most common species in Ecuador.

01/01/2024

2023 was another amazing year for herping in Ecuador. Here are some of the highlights! We are now offering multi-day public herping tours. We have done plenty of private tours since 2017, but there has recently been more interest in public multi-day tours. Join a trip with us and see what we find in 2024!
https://HerpEC.com/2024/

24/12/2023

14/08/2023

Today is World Lizard Day! This is Anolis (Dactyloa) proboscis, an incredible endemic species of lizard that was thought to be extinct for 41 years. It was first seen in 1953, and a handful of males were seen in 1964. It was rediscovered in 2005. The sexual dimorphism is quite obvious, and for many years it was thought to be two different species. The males have a flexible elongated scaley nose. It goes by Pinocchio Anole, Pinocchio Lizard, and Horned Anole.

16/07/2023

It's World Snake Day! Is this a cobra, a viper, or something else?

01/01/2023

2022 was an amazing year for herping in Ecuador. Here are some of the highlights! It is also wonderful that tourism is returning. Special thanks to Tropical Herping for inviting me on an expedition to search for rare species. Let's see what 2023 brings!

31/10/2022

Happy Halloween!
Here is an awesome black and orange snake from Ecuador. Does anyone know what it could be?
Si vives en sudamerica y lo sabes, por favor no lo identifiques.

21/10/2022

The pandemic has ended in Ecuador!

A negative COVID test or a completed vaccination card is no longer a requirement to enter Ecuador, but it is still a good idea to check the airline's requirements. Masks are no longer required in Ecuador.
Travellers must still complete the Health Declaration form when entering the country. https://declaracionsalud-viajero.msp.gob.ec

Ecuador has about a thousand active cases, so it has not been eliminated from the country and it probably never will be.

14/08/2022

Happy World Lizard Day!

This is Potamites strangulatus, a diurnal semi-aquatic lizard from Ecuador that has a subspecies from Peru. They are found near streams and caves in primary and secondary forest. They feed on insects, insect larvae, and worms. One clutch of 3 eggs has been found. The first individual I saw proved to be impossible to catch, but I was lucky to encounter this pretty one recently.

03/08/2022

4000 snake species!

In the late 1990s, the books generally agreed that there were about 2700 snake species in the world.

Since Ecuador Reptile Adventures was founded, 16 new snake species have been described in Ecuador. Most of them are presently endemic but since they are new to science, it's certainly possible that they will turn up in either Colombia or Peru.

Here are the 16 newest snake species in Ecuador:
Atractus atlas, 2018, Endemic
Atractus cerberus, 2017, Endemic
Atractus esepe, 2017, Endemic
Atractus pachacamac, 2021
Atractus ukupacha, 2021, Endemic
Dipsas bobridgelyi, 2018
Dipsas georgejetti, 2018, Endemic
Dipsas klebbai, 2018, Endemic
Dipsas oswaldobaezi, 2018
Leptodeira misinawui, 2020, Endemic
Ninia teresitae, 2017
Oxybelis transandinus, 2021, Endemic
Pseudalsophis darwini, 2018, Endemic
Pseudalsophis hephaestus, 2018, Endemic
Pseudalsophis thomasi, 2018, Endemic
Sibon bevridgelyi, 2018

3 of these species are featured in this post.

16/07/2022

Happy World Snake Day!

This is Dipsas gracilis, a species from Ecuador and Colombia. Over the years I have been fortunate to see this species often enough to be able to see multiple individuals feeding on snails. They have specialized jaws that allow them to extract snails from their shells. In Ecuador, about 30% of the snake species primarily eat invertebrates, and 30% of those specialize in snails and slugs. Many people initially assume that all snakes eat rodents. These ones are excellent in pest control but they eat the snails that commonly eat vegetables in gardens, and are completely harmless to humans. They won't even bite! Well, unless you're a snail that is.

01/07/2022

Ecuador is back to normal after the civil unrest. Now is a good time to rebook any trips to Ecuador. July should be a quiet month compared to normal, which often means more wildlife.

01/01/2022

2021 was an amazing year for herping in Ecuador. Here are some of the highlights! Since tourism was recovering but still not what it used to be, it has been a perfect time to search for reptiles and amphibians for science. Special thanks to Tropical Herping for inviting me on several expeditions to search for rare species. Let's see what 2022 brings!

29/12/2021

This is Sibon annulatus, a gorgeous snail-eater from Honduras to Ecuador. They are a nocturnal arboreal species that actively forages for its prey. To defend themselves, they will transform their head into a triangular shape to mimic vipers. They will musk instead of biting, just like the other members of the genus. My first experience with this species was in Costa Rica, but I have seen far more individuals in Ecuador. Featured here are a juvenile in-situ and an adult posed for photos.

22/12/2021

This is Pristimantis crenunguis, a large rainfrog mostly from Ecuador but it was recently found in Colombia. They have an incredible loud call that somewhat resembles an alarm. Since they go through direct development, hatchlings are tiny versions of the adults. Adult males are heavily textured whereas adult females are often smooth. Usually they are found in trees since they are mostly arboreal, but they can also be seen on the ground. P. crenunguis lives at higher elevations and has much more vermiculated black in its iris than its sister species, P. labiosus. They are a locally abundant species that is endangered due to its small range. This species can easily be seen on our tours, but only if it is a target species.