Bornean narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla malang) - Poring, Malaysia

Still have lots of unposted photos from Borneo such as this one of a microhylid from the high elevation areas around Poring. I beleive this is Microhyla malang but that could easily be wrong. Microhylids are a group I don't see nearly as much as I would like, these frogs are generally very small and easy to miss, this particular species could be found sitting on vegetation on a wet night but was tough to photograph as it would launch itself away at the slightest disturbance, it was able to leap really impressive distances for such a small frog and I don't think I was able to relocate one of these a single time after it jumped, they just seemed to vanish.

Here is a link to another Microhylid I photographed in Danum Valley, I have it tentatively IDed as the same species but I'm skeptical: www.flickr.com/photos/26500525@N08/19085540382/in/photoli...

Tags:   Microhylidae Malaysia Macro Mountains Montane microhyla microhylid frog small tiny jungle forest borneo sabah amphibia amphibian narrow mouthed leaf night nocturnal nikon nikkor frogging anura anuran Herp Herpetology Biology

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Red Coffee Snake (Ninia sebae) - Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize

A small but pretty denizen of the forest floors of Central America, the red coffee snake. Its in the same genus as the snakes in the previous photo in my photostream and has much the same lifestyle but is much more brightly colored. Its bright colors are reminiscent of those of a venomous coral snake but in reality the two are easily differentiated from each other by anyone with a basic knowledge of herpetology. I had seen several of these before but not for many years so it was a treat to be able to photograph this little snake. Afterall its not too often that I get the chance to photograph a bright red snake!

Tags:   Ninia Ninia sebae colubrid snake Coffee snake red redback mimic Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary Belize Leaf bright colorful nature reptile herp herpetology herping night nocturnal flash macro nikon nikkor wild animal biology zoology biodiversity scales forest jungle Central America Conservation

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Pacific Horned Frog (Ceratophrys stolzmanni) - El Oro Province, Ecuador

A pacific horned frog adult on the forest floor. This is an incredible frog that is sadly in trouble as its lost a lot of habitat to agriculture. This is a rare species that is only active for a few weeks of the year, I just missed the explosive breeding events of the adults and this was one of two adults I encountered. However there were 1000s of juvenile quarter sized Ceratophrys jumping around. These frogs have a small range and are only found in the South of Ecuador and Northwestern Peru, in this small range they inhabit the dry forest which is one of the most endangered ecosystems in Ecuador. In addition to that they rely entirely on the rain, I heard that the year prior to me seeing them there wasn't enough rain, so there were no offspring that year as all the puddles dried up too quickly. The adults retreated back underground and stayed there until the rains again, luckily there was plenty and the frogs were able to successfully produce the next generation.

Tags:   Horned Frog frog herp herpetology herping wild wildlife animal nature anura anuran rare vulnerable IUCN redlist Ecuador choco tumbes dry forest desert lowland El Oro threatened conservation biology frogging zoology biodiversity Pacific Horned Frog Ceratophrys Ceratophrys stolzmanni Pacman

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Pristimantis diadematus - San Martin Department, Peru

A frog from the mountains of Northern Peru, its found in a swathe of habitat in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Like many Pristimantis it is a challenge to identify but I think I have the correct ID with this one. Pristimantis is an extremely interesting genus of frogs, in 2014 with 490 species it was considered the most species rich genus of vertebrates. Since then the numbers of Pristimantis has only grown with new species described on a regular and frequent basis. Many of these species are endemic to relatively small areas in the neotropics. With every trip to the neotropics I gain more and more appreciation for this group.

Tags:   Pristimantis diadematus frog nature wild wildlife animal herp herpetology amphibian peru herping South America tropics macro Nikon nikkor biology science neotropics neotropical

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Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) - Danum Valley, Malaysia

September 7th is Threatened Species Day so here is an endangered Bornean Orangutan. Apparently threatened species day was started by the Australian government after the death of the last remaining Tasmanian tiger in 1936, the day commemorates endangered wildlife particularly that of Australia. Having never been to Australia I cannot post anything from there but in honor of threatened species day here is a photo of this Orangutan from Malaysian Borneo. Orangutans are threatened by many of the same dangers as many other imperiled animals the world over; habitat loss and poaching are two of the biggest threats to this species. The loss of habitat is a particularly pernicious threat as much of the apes habitat is lost to make way for oil palm plantations. Hunting for the pet trade, bushmeat, or just to protect the interests of plantations is also rampant. IUCN estimates that there has been a decline of well over 50% in the orangutan population in the past 60 years. A tragic statistic and one well worth remembering not just today on threatened species day but all year especially when choosing to buy any of a multitude of products like Nutella which contain palm oil and continue to support and industry which threatens to decimate Borneo's forests and with them Borneo's Orangutans and other endangered species.

Tags:   Pongo Orangutan Ape Great Ape primate wild IUCN redlist Endangered Conservation wildlife jungle eating nature animal natural mammal mammalogy forest tree sabah borneo Malaysia Danum valley nikon photography threatened imperiled disappearing fruit red hairy Asia Bornean orangutan Pongo pygmaeus nikkor telephoto

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