Amphibians:     Frogs & Toads     Salamanders     Caecilians Reptiles:     Lizards     Snakes     Turtles

The first goal of this field guide is to help you identify some of the amphibians and reptiles species found near Las Cruces Biological Station, Costa Rica. Prof. Jay Savage has recently completed a fantastic book entitled "The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica" (2002; University of Chicago Press) which covers the whole country. A web-based field guide may prove itself more accessible, particularly to the visitors of the Las Cruces Field Station.

A second goal is to help visitors become aware of the amazing diversity and beauty of the many amphibians and reptiles found in the Las Cruces region. Many of these animals are nocturnal, and therefore the average visitor may not have the chance to encounter them. I hope this field guide will help people appreciate this often over-looked group of organisms, and perhaps even entice people to go for a short night-hike.

The photos presented here were taken during 1997-2002, when I was conducting my field work in the Las Cruces area or participating as a resource person on OTS courses. I do not have photos for all species, but I do cover the most common ones. The photos and descriptions will hopefully allow the curious naturalist to identify an animal, or at least narrow it down to the right genus. Identifying amphibians and reptiles in the tropics can be a real challenge, even to the specialists, and I cannot guarantee that all of my identifications are 100% correct. If you find what you think may be a mistake, please feel free to share your questions and comments with me. The list of species of Las Cruces is courtesy of Karen Lips and Jay Savage. Thanks to Jay Savage for providing some name corrections.

ENTER GUIDE:                                                                    Martin Schlaepfer
                                                                                              SUNY-ESF
Amphibians:                                                                            Syracuse, NY, USA
    Frogs & toads
    Salamanders                                                                     email: mschlaepfer@esf.edu
    Caecilians

Reptiles:
    Lizards
    Snakes
    Turtles