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A Blind Eel from the Congo River and Poison Frog Parental Care….

Dante — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:06:46 +0000

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At the year’s end I wanted to post some images of a couple of other cool species I got to photograph this year. The Congo River’s Blind Eel (Mastacembelus brichardi) lives in the rapids area of the Lower Congo River. Science isn’t quite sure yet why it has a morphology of a cave fish…that is it is nearly depigmented and doesn’t have eyes. The Congo River is a turbid river and light is completely cut out of the water column in just a few meters depth; however, there are still plenty of other species of fish living there that have retained their eyes and vision. The lack of eyes and low pigmentation are strange and a mystery for science to work out. I had the good fortune of photographing a couple of specimens and wanted to post them. Likewise, I wanted to include a couple of shots of a male Terrible Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) carrying tadpoles. I hope everyone has a fantastic new year!

The Congo River Blind Eel (Mastacembelus brichardi)

A Terrible Poison Frog, Phyllobates terribilis, transporting tadpoles.

Happy New Year!

A Conservation Program for the Georgia Blind Salamander

Dante — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:39:57 +0000

I have been trying to establish a conservation program for the Georgia Blind Salamander (Haideotriton wallacei) and for the Dougherty Plains Cave Crayfish (Cambarus cryptodytes) at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We finally landed the funds and set up a small facility to accommodate live animals. The idea is that we will try to develop husbandry and breeding protocols before the salamander and crayfish are in dire shape. We will also learn about behaviors, growth rate, reproductive output, etc. The aquifer that these species live in is threatened by fertilizer contamination according to the USGS. With the facility at the Garden ready, we used cave divers to collect live specimens. I’ve provided some of those images below. I hope you enjoy the shots of these rare aquifer inhabitants!

Our cave diving team...Ben Martinez (left), Kelly Jessop (middle left) and the Stines (middle right and right). Without cave divers, we simply wouldn't have a study. I can't thank them enough.

Our cave divers prepare to make a dive in a blue hole.

Our divers at a site in Florida, preparing to make a cave dive.

One of the flooded caves we sent the divers into is a lake from above with cypress trees.

The Dougherty Plains Cave Crayfish (Cambarus cryptodytes) is also known as the Apalachicola Cave Crayfish.

(Cambarus cryptodytes)

The Georgia Blind Salamander (Haideotriton wallacei).

(Haideotriton wallacei)

More to come before too long…

Fall Field Work in Chile

Dante — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:14:49 +0000

I went back to Chile to perform some field work for the Darwin’s Frog Conservation Initiative. We went into the field to collect more Darwin’s Frogs for the breeding facility in Santiago and to collect specimens of False Toads (Telmatobufo).

My close friend, Marcela Tirado, and I in the field collecting frogs. Marcela is one of the key reasons that the Darwin's Frog Conservation Initiative has worked and frogs are breeding in the facility at the National Zoo of Chile in Santiago.

The Andean foothills are home to the Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus).

Swift mountain streams are home to Chile Mountains False Toads.

The tadpole of the Chile Mountains False Toad is streamlined for life in flowing waters.

A suctorial disc allows the tadpole to attach to submerged rocks and rasp food from them..

A juvenile Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus).

A subadult Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus).

A juvenile Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus).

We were lucky and managed to find several individuals of Bullock's False Toad (Telmatobufo bullocki) in a small forest fragment.

Bullock's False Toad (Telmatobufo bullocki) was considered by some in Chile to have gone extinct. It is listed by the UK's EDGE program as the 5th most endangered frog in the world.

We saw lots of Darwin’s Frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii) on this trip.

A male "Gruñidor" (Pristidactylus)

A biting tabanid fly.

Collecting a swab from frogs in quarantine.

Frogs in quarantine.

The False Toads (Telmatobufo) in our facility are doing great!

Peru/Iquitos: Fall 2011

Dante — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:14:02 +0000

Went back down to Chile to work on the Darwin’s Frog Conservation Initiative. I flew through Lima, Peru, first and grabbed a quick commuter flight to Iquitos to check out some amphibian breeding programs there as well as some other odds and ends. Here are some shots from Peru…

Caecilians were on my mind this trip. My old friend W.W. Lamar had a surprise for me...a stunning species of Caecilia.

The blue in this species (Caecilia) rivals what I have seen in other South American species (Siphonops).

Great face!

Who said that caecilians have small teeth?

Teeth!!

Caecilian annuli

The reproductive structure of a male caecilian (a phallodeum). Caecilians utilize internal reproduction.

A close up of the phallodeum.

This aquatic caecilian (Typhlonectes species) was captured on the Rio Itaya

A tropical aquarium fish vendor preparing export of baby arawanas.

Carrying boxes of baby arawanas.

A freshwater ray (Potamotrygon motoro)

A Rivulid (Copeina)

A juvenile Piranha (Pygocentrus niger)

Another stunning Loricarid...

I got to see some great carneros on this trip - many species of Cetopsid catfish qualify as "carneros." Schools of Carneros are renoun for attacking larger fish, burrowing into their bodies and eating them from the inside out. They are also associated with feeding on human bodies that wind up in streams and rivers. This is a species that grows to a larger size (Cetopsis coecutiens).

The Blue Whale Catfish (Cetopsis coecutiens), a Cetopsid catfish.

A juvenile Blue Whale Catfish (Cetopsis coecutiens), a Cetopsid.

The business end of a carnero.

And if there was any doubt about the damage these catfish do to larger fish….

Damage done by carneros.

Another species of carnero (Cetopsis) from the Iquitos area...

An elongate cetopsid catfish

A parasitic trichomycterid catfish

Common Caiman (Caiman crocodilius)

A Yellow Foot Tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata), known locally as "Motelo"

A hatchling Amazon Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides), known locally as "Guacamaya Charapa"

A hatchling Amazon Toadheaded Turtle (Mesoclemmys raniceps)

A hatchling Yellow-Spotted River Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis)

A Spider Monkey (Ateles belzebuth)

An Amazonian River Dolphin

A free tail bat

I’ll post more soon.

More Time on the Gulf of Mexico

Dante — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:44:48 +0000

I had the opportunity to work with my good friend Dr. Jose Torres on the Gulf of Mexico again. We spent a few days deep water trawling and I am posting some of the photographic results here. I hope you enjoy them…

The trip started off with an amazing red moon rising up over the warm waters of the gulf.

A Dragonfish (Malacosteus)

The Dragonfish (Malacosteus)

A Dragonfish (Neostomias cf filifer)

A Dragonfish (Astronesthes macropogon)

Dragonfish (Eustomias schmidti)

Dragonfish (Leptostomias bermudensis)

A Dragonfish (Stomias affinis)

A Viperfish (Chauliodus sloani)

One of my all time favorites, the Fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta)

The Fangtooth has larger teeth, relative to body size, than anything else in the animal kingdom.

The Ghostly Seadevil (Haplophryne mollis)

The lure on this anglerfish has a short "rod" attaching it to the fish...so the glowing bulb sits on the face of the fish.

A male anglerfish (Haplophryne)

The Whipnose Seadevil (Gigantactis)

The long "rod" or illicium extends from the head of the anglerfish. The bioluminescent "lure" or esca is attached to the end of the illicium.

An Avocet Eel (Avocettina infans)

A Snipe Eel (family Nemichthyidae)

Hatchetfish (Argyropelecus gigas)

The ventral photophores of Argyropelecus gigas.

The lateral pattern of Argyropelecus gigas.

Google-eye (Xenophthalmichthys danae)

Spookfish (Dolichopteryx longipes)

Tripod Fish (Bathypterois cf viridensis)

Lanternfish (Diaphus effulgens)

A juvenile Flying Fish

A mesopelagic squid (Pyroteuthis margaritifera)

A pelagic snail (Cavolinia tridentata)

A mysid shrimp instar

mesopelagic amphipod

Larval Blind Lobster

Larval Crab - Megalops

Larval Lobster

More to come…

One of Mexico’s Strangest Reptiles (Bipes biporus)

Dante — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 02:30:56 +0000

Mexico has some strange herpetofauna. One of the oddballs is the Mexican Mole Liazrd (Bipes biporus). Other common names include the “Five Toed Worm Lizard,” the “Baja Worm Lizard,” and the “Ajolote.” These Amphisbaenians have front legs but no rear limbs. They live below the substrate, burrowing through sandy soils. The mythology surrounding these animals is as shocking as their appearance. Mexican mythology holds that the animals will burrow into the rectum of people sleeping on the ground, or those simply being careless enough to sit unclothed on the ground. Similar mythology exists for various caecilians around the world. Thanks to the generosity of Carl Franklin, I was able to photograph Bipes. I very much appreciate his time and help. Here is what I got…

The Ajolote (Bipes biporus)

These amphisbaenians are from the family Bipidae.

Mole Lizards utilize peristalsis to move, unlike their snake relatives.

Amphisbaenians are related to snakes and lizards in that they are also squamate reptiles; however, amphisbaenians are in their own unique group of reptiles, the amphisbaenia.

In contrast to the Ajolote, most amphisbaenians don't have any limbs. This is another amphisbaenian (Amphisbaenia fuliginosa).

(Amphisbaenia fuliginosa)

Another strange Brasilian amphisbaenian (Leposternon microcephalum).

More soon…

Back to Brasil

Dante — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:53:09 +0000

I got to go back to Brasil in May. It was like going home. My wife and I had a terrific time and we got to catch up with a lot of old friends. We went primarily to participate in Nelson da Silva Jr.’s wedding…which was fantastic. But I got to spend a day with one of the premiere cave biologists of our time, Dr. Eleonora Trajano. I also got to visit the amazing lab of Dr. Maria Elina Bichuette. The graduate students in both labs were fantastic, full of enthusiasm, and clearly headed to great places and projects. I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to photograph the cave fish they are studying and for spending time with Beth and I. Thank You!

We spent a few days in Manaus and were able to hire a bush pilot to fly us up the Rio Negro and then back to the confluence of the Negro and the Amazon. Beautiful!

: After so much time in the field in Brasil, It was exciting to finally be able to bring my wife to see the beautiful people, the great culture, and the amazing wildlife.

The cave dwelling armored catfish (Ancistrus cryptophthalmus).

A cave dwelling catfish (Aspidoras sp.).

A rare cave dwelling Trichomycterid catfish (Ituglanis bambui).

A rare cave dwelling Trichomycterid catfish (Ituglanis epikarsticus).

(Ituglanis epikarsticus)

Another cave dwelling Trichomycterid catfish (Ituglanis passensis)- a juvenile.

(Ituglanis passensis) - an adult

Beautiful colors in this cave dwelling Trichomycterid catfish (Trichomycterus itacarambienss)- this is the yellow morph.

(Trichomycterus itacarambienss)- this is the yellow morph.

(Trichomycterus itacarambienss)- this is the spotted morph.

With so many live cave fish between the Trajano and Bichuette labs, I got to see a real diversity of what exists in Brasil. This is another Brasilian cave catfish (Rhamdia enfurnada).

(Rhamdia enfurnada)

It was great seeing the cave inhabiting pimelodids (Pimelodella kronei).

(Pimelodella kronei)

Another species of subterranean pimelodid (Pimelodella spelaea).

(Pimelodella spelaea)

Just like Mexico and the United States, Brasil has blindcats living in its subterranean waters (Rhamdiopsis krugi).

As with other blindcats, there is very little pigment development and no visible eyes in Brasilian Blindcats (Rhamdiopsis krugi).

Another spectacular Brasilian Blindcat species (Rhamdiopsis sp.).

Brasilian Blindcats are similar in appearance to the Mexican Blindcats (Prietella ssp.) - this species is being described now (Rhamdiopsis sp.).

(Rhamdiopsis sp.)

Perhaps one of my favorite fish of all time - the Brasilian Cave Tetra (Stygicthys typhlops). These fish are known from one small aquifer and have been collected from wells. They are in need of conservation help.

The Brasilian Blind Tetra (Stygicthys typhlops)

: A fantastic cave dwelling snail from Mexico.

A Brasilian species of cave inhabiting snail.

A Brasilian cave opilionid (daddy long legs).

Another Brasilian cave opilionid.

: We were thrilled to be able to hire a bush pilot and see the Rio Negro and the Amazon from the air.

The waters were still up and the forest still flooded when we flew over the Amazon and the Negro in May.

This shot really depicts the water levels and the amount of innundation the forests get when the waters rise.

We flew through a few rain squalls that were bumpy.

The green sliver in this shot is a pond covered by aquatic vegetation. The lighter green spots are giant Queen Victoria Lilys.

The Queen Victoria Lilys up close.

The look of a flooded forest when the waters are high.

The Amazon and the Rio Negro meet. The waters take miles to fully mix owing to different densities, speeds, and temperatures.

: Another shot of the Negro and the Amazon at their confluence. The small ship in the shot isn’t so small…the blown up image in the right hand corner shows you just how big the boat is and the scale of the confluence of these rivers.

A water level view of the confluence.

Anyone need to stop and get some gas?

The port of Manaus from the air.

: Beth and I at Nelson’s wedding.

: My old friend Nelson on his wedding day!

The Darwin’s Frog Project Gets Some Press

Dante — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:56:04 +0000

We are all very happy with this article and the media coverage!!

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/03/6780149-captive-male-frog-coughs-up-babies

Underwater photography in a Southern Tennessee River

Dante — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:48:08 +0000

I finally got a chance to use my underwater housing for my camera. I went up to Tennessee and snorkeled on a river with my old friend Matt Niemiller – Dr. Niemiller now by the way. Many Congrats Matt!!! For the first time around using the underwater housing, I am reasonably happy with the results. I still have a lot to learn. Seeing the Hellbenders and shooting them in-situ was nice.

Larval Hellbenders still have external gills (the red structures on the sides of the head).

A Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) crawling around on the bottom of a river in South Tennessee.

This Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) peers out from beneath a rock.

A foraging Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus).

Curiosity got the best of this Stripe Necked Musk Turtle (Sternotherus minor peltifer).

Much more to come. Lots of river snorkeling trips planned…

Thailand (& What May be the World’s Most Troglomorphic Cave Fish)

Dante — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:28:14 +0000

After Jim Stout and I finished in China, we headed off to Thailand’s boarder region with Burma. In the mountains of this area, there are a few caves that harbor a strange cave fish…the Waterfall Climbing Loach (Cryptotora thamicola). Many of the caves in this region have “bad air” which means that they have a potentially dangerous buildup of gasses like CO2 or methane. I will blog on my experiences with bad air later but I wanted to include a few shots of the trip here.

I loved the Buddhist Temples that we visited.

Detail of the Buddhist Temple.

Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in Thailand.

We got to visit the Siam Insect Zoo and Museum outside of Chiang Mai. Fantastic place! If you are ever in the area, don’t pass on the opportunity to see it.

Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas).

A new species of Leaf Insect (Phyllium).

An Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

Spiny Stick Insect (Heteropteryx dilatata)

Thai Dead Leaf Mantid (Deroplatys lobata)

A great millipede we encountered near a cave.

The Waterfall Climbing Loach (Cryptotora thamicola) may be the world's most cave adapted fish. With no eyes and no apparent pigment, this species uses its modified pectoral fins to climb on wet rocks outside of the water. It eats biofilm on the wet rock surfaces around waterfalls and spray zones.

Owing to its appearance, the Waterfall Climbing Loach (Cryptotora thamicola) is also called the "Cave Angel Fish."

More to come…