You could be forgiven if you thought this was some sort of Pokemon. This is by far one of the strangest species of frog I have ever had the chance to see in the wild- The Mexican burrowing toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis). The species ranges from Texas down to Costa Rica. It is the only species in the genus. In fact, it is the only living member of the family Rhinophrynidae.
According to the conservation group EDGE, the species has had 190 million years of evolution as the sole member of its family; this means that "a fruit bat, polar bear, killer whale, kangaroo, and human are all more similar to one another than this species is to any other amphibian."
They spend much of their time underground, feeding on ants and termites. They emerge during the rain to mate.
As part of my Earthwatch Neville Shulman Award for Emerging Environmental Leaders, in 2013 I spent two months working with the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) in San Pedro and Ladyville, Belize. My first night in San Pedro, immediately after arriving to the island, I was called by the sanctuary owners to assist staff members with transporting a crocodile for relocation.
On the transport boat. Unfortunately, there is a significant amount of poorly-regulated waterfront development in Belize. Mangrove forests are cleared and filled in to allow for development. This results in human-crocodile interactions with Crocodylus acutus, the American Crocodile, which makes its home in the mangroves. “Problem” crocodiles are relocated a total of three times, before being moved permanently to the mainland sanctuary in Ladyville. Problem crocodiles are defined as crocodiles that have lost all fear of humans, and as a result will come into peoples’ yards or will approach individuals for food (Feeding crocodiles for tourists is another issue that ACES tries to address).
Securing a crocodile for land transport to a temporary holding pen.
It was an early morning after a late night.
Learning to catch my first crocodile. With crocs, it is always best to take “baby steps”, so I started with juveniles and worked my way up.
Transporting an injured, highly stressed crocodile to a recovery pen.
Close-up of a machete wound on a crocodile. As in many areas where crocodiles and humans coexist, local communities do not like the animals, even though attacks by both Crocodylus acutus and Crocodylus morletti (the two species native to Belize) are rare. Attacks like this against crocodiles are usually unprovoked. ACES cares for injured crocodiles and then returns them to the wild when they are rehabilitated.
Another close-up of a wound made from stabbing a crocodile with a piece of rebar. This crocodile was confiscated by Belizean Police from a group of people in the process of torturing it. The police called ACES; I picked up the crocodile and brought it to the sanctuary for care.
The aforementioned crocodile, resting after being placed in the pen. It eventually made a full recovery.
An example of construction being built exactly at the water’s edge in San Pedro, Belize.
One of the traps used to capture crocodiles for relocation.
Capturing a crocodile in San Pedro, Belize and securing it for relocation. This particular crocodile had made its home in the waterways of a poor community. Most of the houses were “shanties” and the community members were worried about their small children playing in the waterway, especially after floods, when the waters would cover the unpaved road.
In the field at the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area, preparing the GEODE GPS to remark old Mahogany regeneration plots with Dr. Sheila Ward and Dr. Nick Brokaw.
As a graduate student at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, I had the opportunity to join Professors Nick Brokaw and Sheila Ward in the field for their ongoing forest dynamics studies at the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area in Belize. Each summer, undergraduates from the UPRRP also join in the field work, and starting in 2017, I began taking the students on herpetofaunal surveys, as the RBCMA has never been surveyed for reptiles and amphibians. To date, we have identified 37 species. Now that pandemic-related travel restrictions are lessening, I hope to begin these surveys again in 2023. We will eventually publish our findings. This is me with the 2018 undergraduate group.
The ubiquitous Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas), is abundant at the RBCMA.
Leptodactylus melanonotus, a common frog in Belize. The students and I found this one near the La Milpa ecolodge.
A photo of the 2019 team of students from the UPRRP.
Mexican Treefrog (Smilisca baudinii). This bold little frog was sitting out in the open on the dormatory balcony, in the middle of the afternoon, waiting for us when we got back from our first day of field work.
A male mahogany treefrog (Tlalocohyla loquax) calling from tall grass near a pond.