[email protected] Tel: (868) 667-4655 October 2018
Trinibats return to the Centre
Thank you to Geo rey Gomes and Dr. Luke Rostant Brazilian Brown Bat (Eptesicus brasiliensis) for providing the information for this article. Great Fruit-eating Bats (Artibeus lituratus) Riparian Myotis Bats (Myotis riparius) On October 12, as part of their 2018 expedition, Geo roy’s Hairy-legged Bats (Anoura geo royi) local bat conservation group, Trinibats, headed to Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC) and netted Brown-bellied Broad-nosed Bats (Plattyrrhinus along the main trail. During the evening, Geo rey fusciventris) Gomes was joined by the Right Honourable, Common Tent-making Bats (Uroderma bilobatum) Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, Senator Clarence Rambharat. The senator has Striped-headed Round-eared Bat (Tonatia saurophila) shown an avid interest in Trinibats’ work, and Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) was keen to discuss bat conservation and to see their surveys and a few bat species hand. That Pale-faced Bat (Phylloderma stenops) night, the group got the largest catch rate of the Common Moustached Bats (Pteronotus parnellii) week with a total of 185 bats of 19 species. From Gervais’ Fruit-eating Bats (Artibeus cinereus) mist netting done by Trinibats and University of Glasgow, we have now recorded a total of 24 bat Niceforo’s Bat (Trinycteris nicefori) species at AWNC. Take a look at the species that Common Big-eared Bats (Micronycteris megalotis) Trinibats found on the night of October 12. Tricolored Bats (Glyphonycteris sylvestris) Pygmy Round-eared Bat (Lophostoma brasiliense) Common Long-tongued Bat (Glossophaga soricina) Striped Hairy-nosed Bats (Mimon crenulatum) Tilda’s Yellow-shouldered Bats (Sturnira tildae)
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Common long-tongued bat Photo by Daniel Hargeaves
Common moustached bat in ight Trinidad Great fruit-eating bat Photo by Daniel Hargeaves Photo by Daniel Hargeaves
Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre OCTOBER • PAGE 2 September 2018
From previous page
Trinibats return to the Centre (continued) Species captured at AWNC
Niceforo’s bat Photo by Daniel Hargeaves
Striped hairy-nosed bat Photo by Geo rey Gomes
YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE MONTH If you think your child, aged 5-16, has done something helpful to preserve the environment, please feel free to share it with us. Either write a short story or send a few pictures to [email protected]. He/she may be selected as our Young Environmentalist of the Month. Once your child is featured in our monthly newsletter, he/she and two adults will be given a complimentary day visit to Asa Wright Nature Centre, which includes viewing birds/animals on the verandah, a nature tour and use of the clear water pool.
Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre OCTOBER • PAGE 3 October 2018 TTFNC Herpetology Group Trip Report: Arima Valley
By Renoir Auguste
In September 2013, the second annual Trinidad and Tobago BioBlitz took place at the Arima Valley. The Herpetology group surveyed for amphibians and reptiles at various sites, including at Asa Wright Nature Centre and the William Beebe Research Station, also known as Simla. The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club’s (TTFNC) Herpetology group, lead by current club president Renoir Auguste, conducted its second Variegated gecko (Gonatodes ceciliae). herpetology group trip for the year on Saturday Photo by Rainer Deo 13th October 2018 at the same location as the 2013 BioBlitz. Similar to the Bioblitz, the aim of this trip was to record as many amphibian and reptile species as possible. Thirty- two amphibian and reptile species were recorded then. Would we nd more species that those at the BioBlitz did during this trip? The surveying started with a brief afternoon viewing at Simla at around 2:30 pm. Here, we spotted two lizards, the streaked gecko (Gonatodes vittatus) and the jungle anole (Anolis planiceps). After walking around for about a half an hour, we left Simla and headed up to Asa Wright Nature Turnip-tailed gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda). Centre. Once at the Centre, we split up and walked around the driveway and road side trails at around Photo by Rainer Deo 3:30 pm. We heard many Trinidad stream frogs (Mannophryne trinitatis) calling and even saw a male carrying its tadpoles on his back just o the road in puddles of water. We also observed the Caribbean tree runner lizard (Plica caribeana) scurrying rapidly up a tree and the colourful variegated gecko (Gonatodes ceciliae) hiding cryptically on a tree bark. At around 5 pm, we left the Centre and headed back to Simla for a night walk around the station to see what nocturnal species we could nd. The night time survey started at just after 6 pm and did not disappoint as seems to be Cane toad (Rhinella marina) [background] and Urich’s litter frog (Pristimantis urichi) [foreground]. Continues on next page Photo by Rainer Deo
Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre OCTOBER • PAGE 4 October 2018
From previous page TTFNC Herpetology Group Trip Report: Arima Valley (continued) the theme for the club’s herpetology trips. We saw an additional 12 species at Simla, including two lizard species (house gecko: Hemidactylus mabouia, turnip-tailed gecko: Thecadactylus rapicauda) three snake species (mapepire balsain: Bothrops sp, black-headed snake: Tantilla melanocephala, and Cascabel: Corallus ruschenbergerii) and seven frog species (cane toad: Rhinella marina, Urich’s litter frog: Pristimantis urichi, marsupial treefrog: Black-headed snake (Tantilla melanocephala). Flectonotus tzgeraldi, rattle-voiced tree frog: Boana xerophylla, Garman’s thin-toed frog: Photo by Rainer Deo Leptodactylus validus, Tungara frog: Engystomops pustulosus, Trinidad leaf frog: Phyllomedusa more long-term herpetology studies should be trinitatis). After searching for about two hours, based there, especially given the history of the we left Simla just after 8 pm. place and the human disturbance happening nearby. Special thanks to those that came out, Although we did not observe as many species including Kerron Bedessie, Rainer Deo, Caroline as at the 2013 BioBlitz, spotting 17 amphibian Lewis, and others. The TTFNC would also like to and reptile species in less than three hours of specially thank the management and sta of surveys on a hot afternoon and dry night was a Asa Wright for facilitating us on our trip and we pleasant surprise. The diversity of herpetofauna, hope to continue our excellent relationship with especially at Simla is intriguing and perhaps them going forward. OCTOBER • PAGE 5 October 2018
The Bob Thomas Snake
By Robert A. Thomas
This pretty racer was recently named Pseudalsophis thomasi for our member of the Board, Robert A. (Bob) Thomas. This is Bob’s story. Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, some 600 miles (1000 km) o the mainland coast, are one of the most fascinating places on earth largely due to their unique faunal and oral population and being the site where Charles Darwin’s natural selection theory was stimulated. I became interested in the snake fauna of the archipelago in the early 1970s due to its relationship Thomas’ Racer (Pseudalsophis thomasi) Photo by Miguel T. Rodrigues to South American mainland species I was researching. Almost 50 years later, I’ve focused but as time passed I realised this naming of a my interest in Neotropical snake relationships Galápagos species of snake was a once-in-a-lifetime throughout South America and the adjacent opportunity. I asked if the o er was still available, it Galápagos. was, and I changed my decision. The naming was My work on the Galápagos snakes was based on driven due to my having studied Galápagos snakes museum specimens and the characters analysed for several decades and publishing several papers where geographical and morphological – scale on them, including the aforesaid monographic di erences, patterns, size dimensions, and the like. revision. In 2015, a Brazilian-Ecuadorian-Argentine team The rest is history, and Thomas’s Racer, of snake researchers initiated a re-evaluation of Pseudalsophis thomasi, is now a valid species on the Galápagos snakes that included morphology and islands of Santiago and Rábida. An added point geography, but focused their analyses on molecular of interest is that a soon-to-be-published book on techniques that are in common use today. Members the reptiles of the Galápagos has already included of this team were Hussam Zaher (team leader), Mario the three new species of snakes, so they will be Yánez-Muños, Miguel T. Rodrigues, Roberta Graboski, available to all naturalists who travel the islands. Fabio A. Machado, Marco Altemirano-Benavides, Many species of varied taxonomic categories Sandro L. Bonatto, and Felipe G. Grazziotin. are named after people for many reasons. I I was invited to be a team member, which I have named some species in honour of other accepted. I shared all my data with the team, and herpetologists. It is extremely rare that the lay- borrowed many specimens of Galápagos snakes public hears of such situations. In this case, an from the California Academy of Sciences to take internal press release at my university was shared in head measurements that were needed for the the New Orleans region, and attracted the attention new analysis. The team leader told me there were of an Associated Press journalist, who then covered three new species and they wanted to name one the snake species naming. When that happened, in my honour, but that I would have to drop o the the information went viral. On a recent trip to Asa team due to accepted rules of nomenclature – one Wright Nature Centre, everyone knew about it – cannot be an author on a paper in which he/she mostly from an internal email to the board and sta , is so honoured. I said I would remain an author, but others saw it in the media.
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From previous page The Bob Thomas Snake (continued)
It is my wish that every such event in the sciences Camera Traps could get this much attention. So many non- Here are some photos captured along our scientists have found this interesting, and it would trails, during the cool Springhill nights. be fabulous if such ordinary activities in the sciences encouraged a wide acceptance of and excitement over expansion of our knowledge in science.
“Robert A. (Bob Thomas) is Professor and Director of the Centre for Environmental Communication at Loyola University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Asa Wright Nature Centre.”
Nine-baned Armadillo
Bob Thomas at Louisiana Nature Centre Photo by Harold Baquet
Red Brocket Deer
Dr Bob Thomas in the Galapagos in 1984
Ocelot