PANAMA HERPING EXPEDITION
Dates pending to announce

Join us to this spectacular Herping expedition to Panama,

the narrowest area in the Americas,

where Northern and Southern American herp species meet.

Panamá is the real isthmus where North and South America meet.

Is the narrowest area in the Americas.

The biogeographic importance of that land is out of question. Species from South America used the narrow corridor towards the north, while North American species went exactly in the contrary direction. Furthermore, many islands became mountains in that time, and speciation produced many endemics. Panama (of 75.000km2), with Costa Rica (50.000 km2) is the most diverse country in the world in herp species by surface. Panama counts nowadays with 190 species of amphibians and 250 of reptiles).

Panama is land of lush rainforests, high peaks surrounded by cloud forests and hot, dry lowlands. We intend to explore just a few locations to understand how diverse and important this country is for the conservation of amphibian and reptiles, among many more beings.

We will explore the lush highland forests of the center of the country, looking for endemic dendrobatids (poison frogs) such as blue, green and white morphs of Dendrobates auratus, the arboreal Oophaga vicentei, Andinobates minutus, A. fulguritus, maybe even some of the rarest toads in the world, the Harlequin toad Atelopus varius and Atelopus limosus. Also home of strange lizards like Echinosaura panamensis and beautiful transparent frogs such Hyloscirtus palmeri and many glassfrogs. In two more locations we can also look after several snakes like vine snakes (Oxybelis aeneus, brevirostris and fulgidus), bird snakes (Phrynonax poecilonotus and P. shroepshirei), tiger rat snakes (Spilotes pullatus) corals like Micrurus mosquitensis, and viper like the eyelash, Bothriechis schlegeli, the terciopelo or X (Bothrops asper ) or even the magnificent bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys and/or L. acrochorda).