Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus), Frio River in Caño Negro
Costa Rica has a rich biodiversity not only of birds. This page shows some photos of other wildlife I came across during my 14 days in Costa Rica. I saw the Spectacled Caiman and the American Crocodile, in addition to some species of turtles and lizards, but only one type of snake (the Eyelash Palm Pit Viper). Of mammals, I saw three species of monkeys, the two species of sloth (two-toed and three-toed), and the White-nosed Coati.
Frog photography is popular among tourists going to Costa Rica. In particular, the very beautiful Red-eyed Tree Frog is sought-after. I saw this species in Tortuguero and in the Sarapiqui area and managed to get some nice images of it. Also displayed are some other frog species, and some lizard species. I am not sure about the exact ID of many of these species but have attempted to name most of them (many are obviously wrongly named). This page also shows some photos of invertebrates such as damselflies, dragonflies, and butterflies. The ID of many of the invertebrates are at best only suggestions.
A thank to Hans A. Olsvik for help suggesting family/name of the damselflies and dragonflies. Please keep in mind, some of these species are also probably wrongly named.
Spectacled Caiman, Frio River in Caño Negro
Spectacled Caiman, Frio River in Caño Negro
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), Tarcoles River
American Crocodile, Tarcoles River
American Crocodile, Tarcoles River
Black Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys funerea), La Fortuna
Black Wood Turtle, Tortuguero
Meso-American Slider (Trachemys venusta), Sarapiqui River
Male Green Iguana (Iguana iguana), Tortuguero
Green Iguana, San Jose
Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus), Tortuguero
Brown Basilisk, Tortuguero
Emerald Basilisk, also called Plumed Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons), Tortuguero. Often called the Jesus Christ Lizard because it appears to run on water
Emerald Basilisk, Tortuguero
A young Emerald Basilisk, Tortuguero
Lizard, maybe a Many-scaled Anole (Anolis polylepis)? Cerro Lodge
Spiny Green Lizard (Sceloporus malachiticus), San Jose
Probably a young Brown Basilisk, La Fortuna
Maybe a Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis), Cerro Lodge
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Cerro Lodge
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Cerro Lodge
Maybe a pale Ghost Anole (Anolis lemurinus)? Tortuguero
Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris), Mawamba Lodge
Mourning Gecko, Tortuguero. Gecko ID is based on reptile forum feedback
Eyelash Palm Pit Viper (Bothriechis schlegelii), Selva Verde Nature Reserve
The Eyelash Palm Pit Viper has a strong poison, but is not very aggressive
Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas), Tortuguero
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
A pair of Red-eyed Tree Frog, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
With the yellow spots on the hind legs, this could be the Warszewitsch's Frog (Lithobates warszewitschii), Selva Verde Nature Reserve
Maybe the Common Tink Frog (Diasporus diastema), or perhaps a glass frog? Tirimbina Nature Reserve
Maybe the Fitzinger's Robber Frog (Craugastor fitzingeri)? Selva Verde Nature Reserve
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog (Oophaga pumilio), Tortuguero. Not easy to photograph these guys without flash
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, also called Blue-Jeans frog, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
Forrer's Gras Frog (Lithobates forreri), San Jose
Probably a Mexican Treefrog (Smilisca baudinii), Tortuguero
Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus), La Fortuna
Brown-throated Sloth, Tortuguero
Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus), is a three-toed sloth species, Tortuguero
This is the Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), La Fortuna. Unfortunately, got no good photos of this species
Golden-mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata palliata), Sarapiqui River
Golden-mantled Howler Monkey, Tortuguero
White-faced Capuchin Monkey (Cebus imitator), Frio River in Caño Negro
White-faced Capuchin Monkey with a cashew fruit, Cerro Lodge
The Ornate Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi ornatus), is a subspecies of Geoffroy's Spider Monkey, Tortuguero
Ornate Spider Monkey, Frio River in Caño Negro
White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica), Maquenque Ecolodge
White-nosed Coati, Maquenque Ecolodge
Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides), La Fortuna
Variegated Squirrel, Cerro Lodge Entrance Road
Jumping squirrel, Cerro Lodge
Not very sharp image, but still :)
Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) seen in the Tortuguero canal which is mainly freshwater
Long-nosed Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso floridanus), Caño Negro
Sky-blue Dancer (Argia medullaris), San Jose
Damselfly mating, Cerulean Dancer (Argia anceps), San Jose
Great Spreadwing (Archilestes grandis), San Jose
Dusky Dancer (Argia translata), Sarapiqui River
Caribbean Yellowface (Neoerythromma cultellatum), Maquenque Ecolodge
Maybe River Rubyspot (Hetaerina caja)? Caño Negro
Plain Amberwing (Perithemis mooma), Maquenque Ecolodge
Maybe a Regal Skimmer (Orthemis schmidti)? Tortuguero
Maybe a Spot-tailed Dasher (Micrathyria aequalis)? Maquenque Ecolodge
Maybe Red-faced Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax fusca)? Maquenque Ecolodge
Malachite (Siproeta stelenes), San Jose
Malachite
Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) on a Common Lantana (Lantana camara), San Jose
Could be a Small Postman (Heliconius erato), Tortuguero
Maybe a Ruby-spotted Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades), San Jose
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) on a Common Lantana, San Jose
Blue Morpho (Morpho sp.), Tortuguero
Blue Morpho (Morpho sp.), Monteverde
King Swallowtail (Papilio thoas), Tortuguero
Julia (Dryas iulia), Tortuguero
The most common butterfly in Costa Rica, the Banded Peacock (Anartia fatima), Tortuguero
Common Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides), La Fortuna
Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius sp.), Looks like a Heliconius heurippa or a Heliconius cydno hybrid? Heliconius heurippa is originally from the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in Colombia. Maybe they breed them at the Ecocentro Danaus in La Fortuna?
Update 2023, from iNaturalist experts: "This is a H. cydno chioneus x H. melpomene rosina hybrid." "The colour pattern you show is quite easy to produce in captivity, by back-crossing male cydno x melpomene hybrids to female cydno (you can't do it with female hybrids because they are usually sterile) and some of the offspring will look like this. There are cases of this in the wild too."
Longwing Butterfly, probably the same hybrid as seen to the left, La Fortuna
Longwing Butterfly, Heliconius cydno ssp. galanthus, La Fortuna
Update 2023 from iNaturalist experts: "A very unusual specimen - the fuzzy distal margin of the FW and the broad yellow band on the HW are not typical features. This is possibly some sort of hybrid backcross among cydno races or with H. melpomene rosina, and possibly from a butterfly house."
Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea), Cerro Lodge
Pale Owl-Butterfly (Caligo telamonius ssp. menus), La Fortuna
Hecale Longwing (Heliconius hecale ssp. zuleika), La Fortuna
Banana Spider (Trichonephila clavipes), Tortuguero
Polymnia Tigerwing (Mechanitis polymnia ssp. isthmia), Tirimbina
Leafcutter Ant, La Fortuna
Leaf Katydid insect? Tirimbina night walk
Leaf Katydid, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
A Costa Rican Redleg tarantula (Megaphobema mesomelas) in its hole, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Scorpion in UV light, Monteverde night walk
Walking Stick insect, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
Spider net, Tirimbina Nature Reserve
Spider, Tirimbina Nature Reserve
Spider, Tirimbina Nature Reserve
A cricket, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
Ant nest, Selva Verde Nature Reserve
The Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata) has a nasty sting, Tirimbina Nature Reserve