Generic changes likely for some Trinidad Chironius

Convergent evolution sometimes covers the tracks of genetic lineages, so species can appear to be very similar but have different ancestors. Such appears to be the case with some of the snakes currently in the genus Chironius.  In Trinidad & Tobago, there are three species of Chironius, Machete savane, C. chironius chironius, the long-tailed machete, C. septentrionalis, and the smooth machete C. surrulus (this species is known from only a few specimens on Trinidad).  The sixteen species in the genus tend to have triangular shaped bodies in cross-section, large eyes, 14 or few scale rows at mid body,  they to to actively forage during the day and feed on frogs and lizards. They range from Central America to southern South America and inhabit some of the Lesser Antilles.

In a new study of squamate relationships, Pyron et al. (2013) found Chironius to be polyphyletic, with C, carinatus and C. quadricarinatus forming a clade and with nine other species that were included in the study, forming a second clade. The second clade contains C. septentrionalis and  C. scurrulus.
 Chironius carinatus is the type species of the genus, thus it and quadricarinatus (and whatever other species not included in the study are related to it) will retain the name Chironius. The second, however, will need a new name, and the oldest name available for the clade will likely be Macrops (= large eyes), a genus established by Wagler in 1830 for Linnaeus' species Coluber saturnius, which is now known as Chironius fuscus.

This result demonstrates how little we actually know about the Neotropical Herpetofauna, the prevalence of species that look similar but are genetically distinct, and the problems caused by the polytypic species concept. Sorting out the details of this promises to be challenging because several of the currently recognized species of Chironius have subspecies, including C. carinatus.

Citation
Pyron, RA, Burbrink FT, Wiens JJ. 2013. A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evolutionary Biology 13:93 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93

A night out on Tobago

Walking in the oldest protected forest in the Western Hemisphere at night you expect to see frogs, lizards, and snakes as well as interesting arthropods and the occasional mammal, on Tobago this might be an agouti or an armadillo. What you don't expect are feral dogs. Eight of us were surveying the herpetofauna on Thursday night only to find we had been joined by two dogs. They were friendly enough, and accompanied us along the trail  from the beginning to the end. It was a interesting walk with several of the endemic Trinidad and Tobago frogs calling as well as an Oxybelis aeneus sleeping on a branch above the trail and an Imantodes cenchoa stalking a Pristimantis urichi. We came off the trail at a point that required a hike back to the car. Here we encountered a third dog, it was lying curled in the grass, a necrotic ear, swollen jaw, and visible ribs and its behavior suggested it was dying. Lacking a way to kill it quickly we returned to the cars.

One of our canine companions. 

While we were all sympathetic to the dogs they do not belong there, they cause damage to wildlife populations, as well as being a potential human health problem.

The winding road between Charllottville and Speyside on Tobago can be treacherous for both humans and animals. There are a large number of blind curves and when combined with reckless driving (a very common problem on the island) the results can be lethal. While returning from field work a car with its flashers on had pulled over to the side of the road and the people were standing in the road at a relatively wide spot. We slowed down, and then stopped when we saw the 2.2 m boa in the road. Some of us directed traffic around the snake while others took photographs; all the while being warned by an intoxicated on-looker that the snake would bite us if we got too close. The gravid female was quite tolerant of the flashes and people moving around her.

The 2.2 m boa constrictor.

This was the fifth Boa constrictor we had seen during the week. All of the others were road kill, except one that had been dispatched with a machete. After taking a few photos, we dragged the snake off the road.

Boa constrictors are the largest predators on the island with the exception of humans and could be used to help control feral dogs and cats if people would only leave them alone. An education program for residents that emphasizes not killing snakes and not releasing or dumping household pets, as well as keeping them locked up at night, could go along way toward protecting snakes and the forest as well as solving the feral pet problem.

Aquatic post-escape behavior of the green iguana on Tobago

Green iguanas are well known for diving into streams from arboreal basking sites, but their behavior under water after the escape has to my knowledge not been reported, other than they swim away. While hiking in the Hillsborough River on Tobago on the morning of  7 June a one meter (total length) green iguana (Iguana iguana) dove into the river as we approached. After looking around the area for about 10 minutes I returned to the area where the iguana had been seen. Walking the shoreline the green and black bands of an iguana tail were visible underwater and upon closer inspection the lizard was lying on the bottom of the stream (about 40 cm deep) slightly under the bank and some floating roots. The lizard was less than 15 meters from its original point of entry into the stream. The lizard did not surface or move during  10 minutes  of observation. Several photographs were taken, and then I waded into the water and approached the lizard, for more photographs. During this time the iguana flicked its head several times in response to a crayfish that was touching its nose, but it did not respond to my presence even when I was less than half a meter from it, and bent directly over the lizard for more photographs. When two students approached on land, a leaf had drifted over the lizard's head and so they could also view and photography the lizard I reached into the water within a few centimeters of the head and removed the leaf. Again the lizard did not respond to my presence. Only when one of the students slipped in the stream did the lizard move, and it slowly swam away. Like many cryptically colored species, the green iguana relies on its camouflage to avoid predation underwater, but not in arboreal or terrestrial situations.

The submerged green iguana relying on its coloration to avoid detection. JCM

Close-up of the submerged lizard's crown. JCM

Frogs, ecotourism, and litter

After a day of monsoonal rains the hylid fog Trachycephalus typhonius move to a breeding pond, males start to call, and soon the noise becomes overpowering. Just off the Northside Road in Tobago one of the most spectacular auditory displays in the amphibian world, and in all of nature, could be seen and heard. On June 3rd, we found a chorus than consisted of hundreds of individuals. Males pushed and chased other males away when they came too close. Females were picking males to amplex with, probably based on the qualities of the male's call, but the position of the male within the chorus. An important choice that will influence the success of her genes in the next generation. Satellite males were frequently standing by pairs in amplexus, and males were frequently challenging each other. Other herps nearby included the rattle-voice treefrog, Hypsiboas crepitans and the tungara frog, Eupemphix pustulosus, as well as the slug-eating snake, Sibon nebulata, and the cat-eyed snake, Leptodiera annulata.

Male Trchycephalus chasing way a competitor, note blue fabric at bottom left. JCM

The Trachycephalus chorus is one of those spectacular events that everyone appreciates when they see it. However, this particular chorus was marred by the fact that the breeding pond was full of bottles, cans, plastic containers and styrofoam trays. Trinidad and Tobago could develop an ecotourism industry around the herpetofauana as they have for birds - chorusing Trachycephalus would be a high interest event that would draw people from all over the world. People who would be staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, and paying tour guides. But, the trash problem needs to be solved first.

Calling male Trachycephalus amid debri. JCM

Whistling frogs synonymized

Leptodactylus validus and tadpoles on Tobago. JCM

The very abundant whistling frog, Leptodactylus validus, has been long considered a Caribbean species, with populations in the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago. In 2006, Yanke et al. used molecular data to demonstrate that the South American whistling frog, L. pallidorostris was conspecific with the Caribbean whistling frog. Leptodactylus pallidorostris inhabits Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

In a more recent paper, Heyer and Heyer (2012) compare calls, larval morphology and adult morphology that agree with the molecular results, Leptodactylus validus occurs in in the Lesser Antilles (as far north as Bequia), Trinidad and Tobago, as well as northern South America.

As more molecular and morphological  information on the Trinidad and Tobago herpetofauna becomes available a more detailed and refined biogeographical portrait of the islands will emerge.


Literature Cited
Heyer W.R. and M/ M. Heyer (2012) Systematics, distribution, and bibliography of the frog Leptodactylus validus Garman, 1888 (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 125:276-294.

Yanek, K., W. R. Heyer, and R. O. de Sa´. 2006. Genetic resolution of the enigmatic Lesser Antillean distribution of the frog Leptodactylus validus (Anura, Leptodactylidae). South American Journal of Herpetology 1:192–201.

Treeboa Phylogeny

A Tobago specimen. JCM

Treeboas of the genus Corallus (subfamily Boinae), had a Gondwanan origin. As noted in the previous post there are eight species  recognized based on morphology and some have been confirmed with molecular data: C. annulatus, C. batesii, C. caninus, C. cookii, C. cropanii, C. grenadensis, C. hortulanus, and C. ruschenbergerii. Four of these species are endemic to South America, including the rare and very poorly known C. cropanii, which is known from four specimens (three existing) and whose taxonomic placement has been of great interest. Two species are distributed in both Central and South America (C. annulatus and C. ruschenbergerii), and two species are endemic to the Lesser Antilles (C. cookii and C. grenadensis). Phylogenetic relationships have been explored using morphology and molecular phylogeographic analyses have been conducted on 115 individuals. However, a time-calibrated phylogeny for all species has not been available.

In a forthcoming paper, Colston et al. (2013) use DNA sequence data from two mitochondrial and three nuclear genes from all species of Corallus to infer their phylogenetic relationships and reconstruct their biogeographic history. The authors find Corallus diversified within mainland South America, and disperse over-water to the Lesser Antilles and Central America, and they used the traditionally recognized Panamanian land bridge. Divergence time estimates reject the South American Caribbean-Track as a general biogeographic model for Corallus and suggest Oligocene and Miocene played a role diversification. These events include marine incursions and the uplift of the Andes. The results also suggest that recognition of the island endemic species, C. grenadensis and C. cookii, is questionable as they are nested within the widely distributed species, C. hortulanus.

The research suggests that Ruschenberg's treeboa C. ruschenbergerii dispersed from South America to Central America during the Pleistocene via the traditionally recognized Panamanian land bridge, although the results also allow for the possibility that C. ruschenbergerii may have arrived in Central America prior to the closure of the Panamanian Isthmus in the middle Miocene.

Citation

Colston, T.J., et al. (2013) Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of tree boas (Corallus spp.). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.027

Treeboa Diets

 Ruschenberg's treeboa from the Frenchman's River, Tobago. JCM

Nine species of  Neotropical treeboas in the genus Corallus range from southeastern Guatemala to southeastern Brazil. Based largely on previously published papers, Henderson and Pauers (2012) accumulated records for 271 prey items for all species combined. Prey reported were: 2 frogs, 69 lizards (mostly Anolis), 1 snake, 65 birds, and 134 mammals (mostly marsupials, rodents, and  bats). The authors found a conspicuous difference in diet between the two West Indian species (C. cookii and C. grenadensis) and species occurring on the mainland. Juvenile and subadult boas from the West Indies prey almost entirely on anoles, whereas on the mainland (with the notable exceptions of C. batesii and C. caninus), preyed mostly on birds and bats. Four species (C. cookii, C. grenadensis, C. hortulanus, and C. ruschenbergerii) are vertebrate generalists and exhibit both active foraging and ambush hunting modes. Adult C. batesii and C. caninus (and, perhaps, C. cropanii) are specialists on mammals, and may only use an ambush hunting techniques, and these were the only species that did not have at least three records of birds in their diet. Although more common than the critically endangered C. cropanii, both C. annulatus and C. blombergii seem genuinely rare and it is premature to make any generalizations regarding their trophic biology.

 The longest of the nine treeboa species is Ruschenberg's treeboa, but it has less bulk than three of the other species (batesii, canius, cropanii) based on body girths. Ruschenberg's treeboa has a large distribution, ranging from Costa Rica to Venezuela, and it occurs on Trinidad, Tobago, and the Isla de Margarita. The authors found it feeds on lizards, birds, marsupials, rodents and carnivores (mongoose).

Citation
Henderson, R. W. and Pauers, M. J. 2012. On the Diets of Neotropical Treeboas (Squamata: Boidae: Corallus). South American Journal of Herpetology 7:172-180.

Tucker Valley Bioblitz, Press Report

The following is from the Trinidad Express.


The Tucker Valley Bushmaster, Lachesis muta.


The small headed treefrog, Dendropsophs microcephala

From 3.15 p.m. on November 17 to 3.15 p.m. on Sunday November 18 the first ever BioBlitz in Trinidad and Tobago took place in Tucker Valley, Chaguaramas. There are two main purposes of a BioBlitz: to see what is living in a chosen site and then to educate the public about what is there.

More than 80 scientists, experts and nature enthusiasts turned up over the weekend to record as many different species of plants and animals as possible in 24 hours. On the Sunday, more than 200 members of the public came along to go on guided walks, to watch the scientists at work and to learn something from the various organisations taking part.


The event was organised by Mike Rutherford, the curator of the University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM), with help from members of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club (TTFNC) and the UWI Department of Life Sciences. First Citizens very generously sponsored the event through the TTFNC, which allowed the setting up of a base camp in the overflow car park of the Macqueripe Bay Beach Facility. Here, lights, tables, microscopes, guide books, computers and collecting and processing equipment were set up for the scientists to do their work. The Chaguaramas Development Authority gave permission for the event and provided the security, who kept an eye on the base camp throughout Saturday night.


The experts and their helpers had been organised into seven groups, each focusing on different species or habitats – birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, terrestrial invertebrates, plants, marine and freshwater. Each group had previously planned how to find and record their target species or survey their chosen habitat. They also had to engage the public at the base camp or by taking them on guided walks. Information stands by the Asa Wright Nature Centre, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) Youth Ambassadors, the Ministry of Food Production/CAB International and the TTFNC informed the public about various environmental issues. The Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago was also there with their mobile zoo called the Zoo To You programme, which allowed people to get up close to a blue-and-yellow macaw, a tree porcupine, a wild hog, a manicou and several rabbits and tortoises, among others.


The Bird group included members of the TTFNC Bird Group, Asa Wright Nature Centre staff, and independent wildlife tour guides. Although spotting started on the Saturday, with some good records of night birds including a barn owl, the majority of the birding was conducted on Sunday morning. One group headed up Morne Catherine on the western side of Tucker Valley and had a very productive time, while another group, led by Courtenay Rooks and Kayman Sagar, took the eastern side of the valley. They headed up to the Tracking Station and back down through the Bamboo Cathedral along with the members of the public who had signed up for the guided walk. In total 97 different species of birds were seen or heard, including parrots, toucans, owls, hawks, hummingbirds, tanagers, trogons and manikins.


The Mammal group, which included Howard Nelson, Ellie Nelson, Luke Rostant and Darshan Narang, headed into the forests and set up mist nets to trap bats and Sherman traps to capture small mammals. Both types of traps leave the animals unharmed. The mist nets weren't too successful and so the bat numbers were low, but by checking the abandoned houses and bunkers in the valley they did manage to add a few species. They also heard and saw monkeys and agoutis and found signs of armadillo, but the highlight was the temporary capture of a Robinson's mouse opossum in one of the Sherman traps. In total, 12 different mammals were seen.


The Reptile & Amphibian group, which included American expert John Murphy and local specialist Adrian Hailey, started surveying on the Saturday afternoon and went on through the night using torches to spot snakes, lizards and frogs. They saw 17 reptiles and 12 frogs, although one of the reptile highlights was actually provided by another group, the Birders, who found a dead bushmaster (mapepire zanana) snake that had been run over on the road up to Morne Catherine. This attracted a lot of interest when it was displayed at the base camp, with many members of the public very curious to see the rarest venomous snake in Trinidad.


John Murphy and Howard Nelson led a combined Mammal, Reptile & Amphibian walk along the Edith Falls trail on the Sunday, where they saw some capuchin monkeys and a racer snake, along with some small frogs and lizards.


The Terrestrial Invertebrate group had several sub groups: Chris Starr looked for wasps, bees, ants and termites; Jo-Anne Sewlal did the spiders; Rakesh Bhukal had a large group of UWI students looking for scorpions at night-time using UV lights; Imran Khan and Kris Sookdeo noted the butterflies they saw and Mike Rutherford did the land snails. Chris Starr led the public walk along the trail from Macqueripe Bay to the golf course and showed people the variety of insects that can be found in the forest. Overall, they found 125 species, although there are still some that need further identification, including a possible new species of orb-weaving spider found by Sewlal.


The Freshwater group included Amy Deacon, Dawn Phillip, Raj Mahabir and Erin Mangal, who are all involved with the UWI Department of Life Sciences. They focused mainly on the Cuesa River where they used a variety of nets to sample for the fish, crustaceans, insects and worms that can be found in freshwater. The conditions weren't ideal as heavy rains from the week before meant the river was murky and flowing high, which made it more difficult to sample. However, by the Sunday the levels had dropped and Deacon was able to lead a guided walk along the river and members of the public saw many different plants and animals. In total they found 43 different species including guppies, damselflies, crayfish and freshwater snails.


The Marine group was led by Jahson Alemu, with help from members of the Trinidad and Tobago Eco Divers Club as well as many students from The UWI. They dove and snorkelled in Macqueripe Bay during the day and at night, and found a wide range of sea creatures. One of the highlights for some of the snorkellers was seeing a green turtle in the bay on the Sunday. As the Marine group couldn't do guided tours for the public due to safety reasons, it was better to bring the animals to them, so some of the smaller animals found were temporarily brought up to the base camp to be displayed in an aquarium. These included a juvenile French angelfish, a scorpionfish and several sea urchins and brittle stars. Despite the rather poor visibility underwater the group recorded 138 species of fish, corals, sponges, crustaceans and other invertebrates.


The Plant group was coordinated by Mike Oatham from UWI and had help from the National Herbarium. They headed out into the forests and collected samples of as many plants as they could carry before returning to the base camp and processing them late into Saturday night. Members of the Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society came early on Sunday morning and recorded several species of orchids in the forests between Macqueripe Bay and the golf course. The rest of the day was taken up with the identification of the collected specimens, with the help of local plant expert Winston Johnson, and the guided walk. This was led by Rutherford who took members of the public on the trail to the old bunker behind the Samaan Park. At the end of the 24-hour period, 211 species of trees, shrubs, ferns and orchids had been identified.


The BioBlitz was also used as an opportunity to launch some brand-new publications. The TTFNC had their 2013 calendar, sponsored by First Citizens, which contained many beautiful photos of the wildlife and scenery of Trinidad and Tobago, and their Trinidad and Tobago Wildflower Guide, with photos of 100 commonly encountered flowering plants. Rutherford launched his Trinidad and Tobago Wildlife Guide, which contains detailed drawings of more than 200 mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and insects. Both of the guides are pocket-sized and laminated, perfect to take on walks and should be available soon in all good bookstores.


Following the success of this first national BioBlitz, plans are already being made for a sequel next year, with possible sites including Arima Valley, Maracas Bay to El Tucuche, Aripo Savannahs and Charlotteville in Tobago.



Event in numbers and facts



Time to record species — 24 hours


Number of scientists and volunteers — 80


Number of members of the public taken on guided walks — 140


Number of animals recorded — 443


Number of plants recorded — 211


Total number of living organisms recorded — 654


Biggest recorded organism — Samaan tree


Smallest recorded organism — Diatom (a type of algae)



Number of species recorded by group:



Birds – 97


Mammals - 12


Reptile and Amphibian – 28


Freshwater – 43


Marine – 138


Terrestrial Invertebrates – 125


Plants – 211

Name Changes for T&T Snakes in the Genus Liophis

Erythrolamprus reginae. JCM

Using eight mitochondrial and nuclear genes Gazziotin et al. present a phylogenetic analysis of the New World snake family Dipsadidae that included 246 terminal taxa and 196 dipsadids. Two previously un-sampled dipsadid genera, Sordellina and Rhachidelus, were included in the analysis. The definitions of the genera, Erythrolamprus, Clelia, Hypsirhynchus, Philodryas and Phimophis, and the tribes Alsophiini, Echinantherini and Conophiini, were revised. In order to maintain monophyly, the genus Umbrivaga was synonymized with Erythrolamprus, and two new genera were erected to accommodate Phimophis iglesiasi and Clelia rustica, as well as closely related species. The West Indian genera Schwartzophis, Darlingtonia, Antillophis and Ocyophis were also resurrected.

This study impacts the Trinidad & Tobago fauna by moving all of the members of the genus Liophis to the genus Erythrolamprus. Thus, Trinidad & Tobago now have seven species in the genus Erythrolamprus, E. aescapulii, E. bizona,  E. cobella, E. melanotus, E. ocellatus, E. reginae, and E. sp from Tobago.

Citation
Grazziotin, F. G., Zaher, H., Murphy, R. W., Scrocchi, G., Benavides, M. A., Zhang, Y.-P. and Bonatto, S. L. (2012), Molecular phylogeny of the New World Dipsadidae (Serpentes: Colubroidea): a reappraisal. Cladistics, 28: 437–459.

Podcnemis unifilis on Manzanilla Beach

The following story is from Newsday - September 10, 2012

Beach goers at Manzanilla Beach were called into action last week, when they came across several turtles coming out of the water. At first glance, believing them to be the young of the sea turtles that nest on this beach from March to August, they attempted unsuccessfully to carry them back out to sea, only to realise that the turtles struggled to come back to shore.

On closer inspection though, the turtles seemed different, with a closer resemblance to the land tortoises. Not being able to identify the particular turtle, contact was made with employees of the nearby Nariva Estate for assistance. According to Michael James, Manager of the Estate and member of the Manatee Conservation Trust, this is not an isolated incident since every three to four years, turtles and other reptiles that are not indigenous to Trinidad, have been migrating to the coastline travelling on mats of water lilies or water hyacinth and large debris - like clumps of trees or uprooted whole trees.

President of the Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Gupte Lutchmedial who coincidentally was on site confirmed that this seemed to be an alien species and advised that it would be imprudent to release the surviving turtles into the Nariva Swamp, which may not be this turtle’s natural habitat. The live turtles were subsequently sent to the Emperor Valley Zoo for positive identification, and over 30 carcasses discovered among the beach debris were buried.

Nirmal Biptah, Curator of the Emperor Valley Zoo, recognised the turtles as Podocnemis unifilis, commonly known as yellow headed sidenecks, one of four existing South American species. The turtles found were full-grown adults and are fresh water, land-based species. As these fresh water turtles cannot survive in sea water, this would have accounted for the high level of mortality observed. Lutchmedial added, “Another cause of mortality to these turtles may be predation by the stray dogs that dwell on the beach front. While some were lucky to survive the journey atop the flotilla of vegetation and debris, others could not get past this danger.”

There is a debate on whether or not these species are indigenous to Trinidad. According to a local journal, Kearney (1972) states that they occur in Trinidad but are "confined to a small colony in Nariva Swamp." However, according to Hans Boos, the former curator of the Emperor Valley Zoo, and expert on Trinidad and Tobago’s reptiles species, he disputed this statement saying, "This species is not indigenous to Trinidad and there is a possibility that these species are from our neighbour, Venezuela."

A couple years ago, there was the arrival of some juvenile anacondas on “rafts” of water hyacinths at Icacos beach, around the same period. These rafts were propelled from the Orinoco River and its tributaries because of the heavy rainfall there.

There are reported instances of other reptiles and even mammals making landfall, including the capybara, giant otter and the Brazilian tapir. In this instance where the rafts reached all the way up to Manzanilla, Lutchmedial explained, “The debris may have been because of the dredging activities for gold along the Orinoco River where heavy rains and flooding caused the bank flora to collapse.”

One of the surviving turtles is on display at the Emperor Valley Zoo and is attracting the attention of patrons.

Notes on the Tobago Glassfrog, Hyalinobatrachium orientale

Two recent papers document male parental care in the Tobago glassfrog population. Murphy et al (2012) reported males attending nests while calling, presumably to attract more females to deposit more eggs. This past month we observed males attending up to three nests. Lehtinen and Georgiadis (2012) report males attending up to six egg masses. The eggs masses and calling males are frequently on the underside of leaves that overhang the water (see above). Our observations in the past month suggegst that glassfrogs are frequently using Heliconia leaves that overhang the water and that nests may be 1-4 meters above the water (see photo). In 2011, Murphy et al. observed small crabs on the same plants used by the frogs. Placing eggs on the underside of leaves may be a response to crab predation, since the crabs are unable to walk on the underside of leaves. However, the purpose of male attendance remains uncertain. Males covering egg masses may act to prevent dessication, but a male with six nests may find protecting all nests from drying quite difficult. Another possibility is that the male is transferring some molecule(s) to the eggs that are antifungal or antibacterial. The presence of the male may also prevent predation or parasite infection from insects. Twelve eggs masses examined by Lehtinen and Georgiadis (2012) had 21-36 eggs (mean = 28.3).  And, they found tadpoles capable of prpeling themselves up to 40 cm (or 36 times their body length). The distribution of these frogs on Tobago also seems to be more widespread than previously thought because we heard them calling from numerous stereams that drain the island's Main Ridge in all direstions.

Citations
Lehtinen R. M.and Georgiadis A,P. 2012. Observations on parental care in the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium orientale (Anura: Centrolenidae) from Tobago, with comments on its natural history. Phyllomedusa, 11(1):75-77.

Murphy, J.C., Charles, S., and Traub, J. 2012. Hyalinobatrachium orientale. Male parental care. Herpetological Review 43:118-119.

More Foam Nesting Frogs

Another species of frog we found in Lopinot Valley on Thursday morning was the Whistling Frog, Leptodactylus fuscus. Whistling frogs lay their eggs in foam nests within small burrows at locations that will flood with increased rainfall. Locating nests is tricky. But, Roger Downie has developed a technique that includes probing the soil with small sticks until a nest is found, removing the mud cover, and exposing the foam nest. Below is a photo of a whistling frog foam nest and an adult Leptodactylus fuscus. As rainfall increases, the nest will be covered with water and the tadpoles will escape into the pool, or be washed into a pool by runoff. Should the rains be delayed the tadpoles will stay in the nest and produce more foam (undoubtedly with a different chemical composition) to prevent desiccation and deter predators. Which is why Dr Paul Hoskisson is a microbiologist of Strathclyde University is here. Hoskisson is examining the structure of proteins in frog foam, both foam made by the parent frogs initially building the nest and the foam mad by the tadpoles.