Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

hi, gang ... sorry i've been out of commission for a while, only able to drop back in for brief spells.

i had been searching for Jamaican spiders- esp. that one you mentioned, M, that looked like it was cut in half. But it has been tough going. Thanks for that pic, afer, and ((M)), for those rat bat picss. Looks like it was eating an otaheite apple there in the second one.

[Q3210]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Mtn. Gal...and the `lil curlytailed critter is a polly lizzard.

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Originally posted by Q3210:
[qb] Mtn. Gal...and the `lil curlytailed critter is a polly lizzard. [/qb]

Thanks, Q. You wouldn't know the scientific name, wouldya?

[ackeegirl]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

yikes!!!!!! I'm outta here!

*awt a beat fass fass yuh see!*

[Q3210]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Mtn Gal, could it be Polly Criterlizardupus?

[Q3210]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Not funny huh? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

(((Qnumbers))) - yes, I did chuckle at your scientific name for the polly lizard. I'm frustrated with this post because I seem to have lost the e-mail for my contacts at Natural History Society of Jamaica, who usually give me the scientific names of such things.

Hope you're having a good day, Q.

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Okay, I think this is the closest resemblance to a polly lizard that I can find for now. this lizard is from the group of sphaeros, a set of tiny lizards that are a subgroup of the gecko family. This little fella's scientific name is Sphaerodactylus nicholsi

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

On to the bullfrog. Usually I see these guys flat and dry like dinner plate, having been run over by cars and dried out by the hot Jamaican sun.

[Q3210]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Is that a frog or a toad?
What I hear is that those we call bullfrogs are toads.
Cant help but see your emphasis on Jamaican drivers. Frog flatteners! As for dogs, dont mention it, please. Mi shame!

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Hey, Q. That's supposed to be a bullfrog pic, and bullfrogs are found throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. then again, I read that all toads are a kind of frog!

this here's a drawingof a frog

characteristics are:

* two bulging eyes
* strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
* smooth or slimy skin (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
* Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters.

this is a drawing of a toad:

characteristics:
* stubby bodies with short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
* warty and dry skin (usually preferring dryer climates)
* paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
* The chest cartilage of toads is different also.
* Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains.

Maybe you're right, the things that I see dead on the road are toads instead of bullfrogs!

as for the amount of dog roadkill in JA - don't know what to say. I do see a LOT of roadkill here in Canada in the burbs and on the highways. Not usually dogs, but cats, skunks, squirrels and the occasional gopher. fact of life, it seems.

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

see a cane toad pic here:


ewwww!! *shudder*

according to the list rebel posted on page 1, both cane toads and bullfrogs are found in Jamaica.

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Q, you're probably right in that it's likeley the toad that's common road kill in JA, as they walk/hop rather than leap (like bullfrogs). so toads may find it harder to escape oncoming cars.

[QK13]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

I had a toad hop into my room last visit.
I had to catch him myself...

I think the road kill is mostly toads. Frogs usually don't wander far from water.

[mountaingal]

Re: Jamaican critters - good, bad and ugly

Originally posted by Q.K:
[qb] I had a toad hop into my room last visit.
I had to catch him myself...

I think the road kill is mostly toads. Frogs usually don't wander far from water. [/qb]

catch him yourself! oh gosh...my respect for you has gotten even higher.

lawdamassy, the idea...