Hi
I have stepped on territory of American fieldherpers and here I will present my trip to the Dominican Republic I did this February.
I landed in Punta Cana and then I was taken by bus to Dominicus where I had accommodation. In front of my aparthotel I quickly noticed Hemidactylus haitianus
They seemed to coexist with Anolis properus praying on insects attracted to the same lamp.
The next day I went by free aparthotel bus to Bayahibe. Walking from beach to city along border of mangrove bush I noticed Leiocephalus lunatus thomasi. They were not skittish so I even caught one for a moment. I have also noticed anole which had stripe along its back so I assumed it was different species than Anolis properus and it was indeed Anolis cybotes cybotes.
Habitat of these two species.
The next day after having found ponds in map of Bayahibe I vitisted them and found Trachemys stejnegeri cf. scripta elegans
and Trachemys scripta cf. decorata
Trachemys decorata lives in south-west of the Dominican Republic so if it is this species then it would be a new discovery since Bayahibe is not in south-west.
The habitat
Then I found some Anolis cybotes cybotes.
And Anolis properus in Dominicus on bark of the tree below.
The next day I went to beach in Dominicus and there I found Leiocephalus lunatus thomasi under tree and Anolis properus on bark of that tree.
male
Then I went along shore heading Parque Nacional Del Este and found more Leiocephalus lunatus thomasi
female in back- females are said to be less colourful and be smaller
their habitat
I reached entrance to Parque Nacional Del Este. There were Anolis properus, Anolis cybotes cybotes, Pholidoscelis taeniurus cf. vafra and Leiocephalus lunatus thomasi by the entrance- picture below.
Then I entered Parque Nacional Del Este having paid 200 RD$. I asked about iguanas and worker of that park replied that they can be found "a veces" what means "sometimes" in Spanish- they did not speak English at all.
in this habitat
I found more Leiocephalus lunatus thomasi
and skittish as usual Pholidoscelis taeniurus cf. vafra
Going through jungle I found adult Hypsirhynchus parvifrons paraniger
its habitat
and a suprise- Gymnophthalmus underwoodi - unisexual and parthenogenetic invasive species. This is the only good photo I managed to take of this species. In fact it could be Gymnophthalmus pleii but my photos are not good enough to count infralabial scales.
habitat-litter
Already in Poland I have written to Inaturalist user who lives in the Dominican Republic and likes herptiles. I have finally met her and her friends who were biology students as well. We went to 2 caves: Cueva Padre Nuestro and Cueva de Chicho where we swam. When coming back to Bayahibe Patricia has found beautiful green anole for me on a rod next to street. The lizard climbed higher so I have not taken proper photo.
Then she has found Uromacer oxyrhynchus on a tree next to road.
The snake has been injured by a dog/rat/cat.
After that she has found green anole for me again. Since it has reddish dewlap I assume it is Anolis porcatus- invasive species originally from Cuba that can be found also on Tenerife. I tried to find it on Tenerife few years ago but without success.
its habitat- that palm
Then we went to eat yuka with rice, beans, sauce and chicken. Yuca served with onions was very tasty, it tasted like potatoes. After dinner we snorkeled. Having returned to my apartment I found juvenile gecko in lobby of the aparthotel, I think it is Hemidactylus haitianus since it has no markings on its back.
The next day I spend with the girls as well. We took a walk from Bayahibe to Dominicus through wildness and we snorkeled in Dominicus- snorkeling in Bayahibe was more successful wildlife-wise though- there were some corals while no corals in Dominicus were foudn by me. We observed Anolis cybotes cybotes.
juvenile Anolis cybotes cybotes
Going from Bayahibe to Dominicus we visited habitat potentially suitable for Cyclura cornuta but no specimen was observed.
This time beautiful green anole was found for me by Patricia in Dominicus- I have walked next to this place few times before but I have not found this species there.
juvenile Anolis chlorocyanus
when handled it changed colour into brown
its habitat
The following day I visited Isla Saona but found no iguanas. However I did visit turtle hatchery.
The next day was dedicated to find more herptiles species in Parque Nacional Del Este. In the rainforest I found Anolis cybotes cybotes- juveniles below.
adults
Coming back to my aparthotel I noticed adult Anolis chlorocyanus.
After sunset I decided to visit flooded bush nearby to find frogs but I did not hear any vocalizations of frogs. I however found many turtles- Trachemys stegnigeri vicina
female of Trachemys stegnigeri vicina
very old male Trachemys stegnigeri vicina
Later I found them during day but not in such quantity. They were not skittish.
Their habitat.
Later that night I found male Anolis properus resting in bush.
And its conspecific coing push-ups
[youtube]udWZ8l_kjFU[/youtube]
The next day was spend partially on Catalina Island what delivered observations of Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris.
subadult
adults
juvenile
[youtube]oBeWIP11YDE[/youtube]
habitat of Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris
racoons were found nearby
habitat of Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris and juvenile Hypsirhynchus parvifrons paraniger
Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris were omnipresent. As suggestet before, I found Hypsirhynchus parvifrons paraniger- 1 adult (photo below) and 3 juveniles.
Pholidoscelis lineolatus semota were observed basking on a piece of concrete next to beach.
Leiocephalus lunatus melaenascelis juvenile
Leiocephalus lunatus melaenascelis adult
Pholidoscelis taeniurus tofacea shared habitat with Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris but not peacefully
adult of Pholidoscelis taeniurus tofacea
On bark of trees next to beach bars I could spot Anolis distichus tostus