It was a late March evening, and Jake and I were out looking for spotted skunks to photograph.

Our locale was south-central Florida, and we were driving slowly along a white sand road, stopping here and there to photo some bird or an ever-changing sunset. Darkness was gathering, and by the time we turned and retraced our path, owls were active.

As we got to a short stretch of road that was bordered on both sides by marshland, Florida banded water snakes, Nerodia fasciata pictiventris, began crossing. Most were yearlings, some were quite thin, but others were of robust build.



Many were somberly patterned with dark bands against a somewhat lighter ground color but a few bore pretty, dark edged bands of red against a paler gray ground.

And then there was the one that was of noticeably brighter color than the others and, as always, it was the one that got away while, fumbling in the darkness, I failed to get the camera activated.

As quickly as it had begun, the crossing event was over. Although we drove that short stretch of road several more times that night we saw only one other water snake. And although we smelled them, we saw no spotted skunks at all. Right time, right place for the snakes and exactly the opposite for little black and white mephitines.

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Everybody knows Kermit. You know, Kermit, the bug-eyed green frog who is Miss Piggy's paramour?

Well, take a look at the pix of the common polkadot treefrog, Hyla (Hypsiboas) punctatus, an Amazonian species, and see if you don't note a strong resemblance?



The Polkadot Treefrog is one of the most common of the many Amazonian anurans. It is also one of the most variable, undergoing routine day to night color changes. This little hylid is normally green by day with either yellow or red polkadots and red by night with at least vestiges of darker red dots. A thin red dorsolateral line is present on each side no matter the ground color.

Males are the smaller sex and are adult at about 1 and three-quarter inches. Occasional females may attain 2 and a half inches in length.

This treefrog may call by both day and night from the security of floating or emergent vegetation. Floating rafts of water hyacinths or water lettuce provide ideal habitat.

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Of the many wonderful lizards in the rainforest of the Peruvian Amazon region, the persistently arboreal Amazon monkey anole, Polychrus marmoratus, is one that we are always very happy to find.



It is not an uncommon lizard, but it is so well camouflaged that it can be difficult to see. Although diurnal, as most of the related anoles are, rather than moving about in bursts of speed as the anoles are wont to do, when the monkey anole moves it is in a stealthy, hand-over-hand method reminiscent of the movement of true chameleons.



But with that said, the monkey anole is just as apt to sit quietly and depend upon its camouflage to avoid detection. The color is of some shade of green (occasionally bluish green) and there are broad paler bands that are edged in black. This medium sized lizard attains an adult size of about 14 inches, but the semi-prehensile tail accounts for two-thirds of that length.

I still recall the first adult Amazon forest dragon, Enyalioides laticeps, that I ever encountered. Well after darkness had fallen, we were slowly walking on a forest trail. Lightning had been spearing the heavens for some time and the rumble of thunder was drawing closer.

Not yet familiar with the vagaries of rainforest storms, I wondered at the sudden rustling sounds in the canopy high overhead. "Rain," I was told, "the storm is here."

I learned that night that the trickle-down effect of even a hard rainfall can take a few minutes to penetrate the canopy, but penetrate it did, and within seconds we were all soaked. We decided to continue outward for another few minutes, then reverse and return to camp.

For some reason I wandered from the path and was "bush-whacking" when on a head-high limb I spied a lizard. It was about a foot long, bright green, and --and it looked like an immature green water dragon! What, I asked myself, could this be?

It took only a bit of research to learn the identity of the lizard. Despite the similarity in appearance, rather than being in the family Agamidae like the water dragon, the forest dragon is a member of the family Hoplocercidae.

On subsequent trips I found the Amazon forest dragon to be a common lizard that was frequently encountered sleeping soundly at night on trees and vines a few feet above the ground. It varied in color from green to a reticulated brown and green. It is now an eagerly sought target species on every tour.

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In contrast to the emerald tree boa, which is orange as a baby and green as an adult, the rusty whipsnake, Chironius scurrulus, reverses the scenario.

Hatchlings of this forest speedster are leaf green, blending well with the rainforest verdure:



The adults, which may attain a length of 7 feet, are predominantly a beautiful burnished rusty orange but may have a varied number of scattered charcoal scales.

The juveniles seem to feed primarily on hylid frogs and possibly lizards, while the adults eat amphibians, fish, lizards, and perhaps small mammals. We usually encounter the juveniles in shrubs along creek edged forest trails and the adults along the larger rivers.

This is a nonvenomous snake but it will not hesitate to strike and bite if carelessly restrained.

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Green snakes can be hard to find against the verdure of the forest canopy. This has definitely been the case with this taxon, the emerald palm snake, Philodryas viridissimus.



In 20 years of searching, I have not had one in hand and have only see a single sleeping example that I thought to be of this species. It was high in a tree and sped into the darkness (probably unhappily so, since they seem to be diurnal) when I tried to climb the tree.



This beautiful snake is adult at 3 feet in length. It feeds on lizards, frogs, nestling birds and small mammals. An opisthoglyphid species, it has enlarged rear teeth, a relatively potent venom, and is not hesitant to bite if carelessly restrained. Both gender are deep green above, a bit lighter ventrally, and have a white to pale green chin and throat. Males have a blue face.

What is green, gray, or red, with or without vestiges of bands, and is usually found in quiet Amazonian shallows?



If you guessed the velvety swamp snake, Liophis typhlus, you were right. But the chances are you didn't guess this, for it is a seldom heard of, although common, semiaquatic snake. The majority of this species that we have found have been at riveredge or crossing forest trails on rainy nights.

When startled, the snake may bite or flatten and expand their neck in cobra-hood style. Several individuals have regurgitated frogs or frogs' eggs when captured.

To date, we have found far more green examples that red or gray, but all colors are seen with some regularity. Time to head south again and add to the memories.

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To us, the emerald tree boa of the Amazon Basin, Corallus batesii, is a fictional species.



Well, actually, we all know that it exists. It is just that it doesn't exist for us -- at least in situ.

For more than 20 years we have sought this beauty. For the same number of years it has evaded our every effort. It has been found one river upstream and one river downstream. It has been found on tributaries across the Amazon. But on the Rio Orosa, the small tributary on which Madre Selva Biological Preserve is located, we have not been able to find a single individual of this magnificent arboreal boid.

We have searched by day and by night, in wet weather and in comparative dryness, on sunny days, rainy days, cloudy nights and clear nights. And we'll keep trying. You've heard of the shot heard around the world? Well, when we succeed in finding this snake, be it big or small, a white marked forest green adult or a similarly marked but orange neonate, it will be our victory cry that is heard around the world.

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With its Pinocchio nose and leaf green dorsumm the green vine snake, Oxybelis fulgidus, is an eagerly sought species on each of our Peruvian rainforest tours.



We occasionally see this interesting diurnal snake while it is active during the day. However, most are found while they are sleeping, coiled loosely in a palm or tree crotch.

At 5.5 feet in total length, this pretty rear-fanged snake is also of proportionately greater girth than its congeners. A narrow white line separates the forest green dorsal and lateral color from the somewhat lighter belly.

Lizards, frogs, nestling birds and tiny mammals such as mice and mouse opossums are eaten.

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