Max Seldes

On from the Yucatán and off to South America. Last year I was able to travel across the country of Colombia with none other than incredible partner, Lavendar. Over the span of two weeks, we travelled from coast to coast, from the Andean Paramo to Los Llanos, the lowlands of the Orinoco Basin. While not the most diverse group of our trip, as anywhere in the tropics, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing some kind of lizard, making them the first h**p of pretty much every stop of our trip.

1) Giant Ameiva (Ameiva praesignis)
2) Golden Tegu (Tupinambis teguixin)
3) First Anole (Anolis princeps)
4) Western Basilisk (Basiliscus galeritus)
5) Northern Turnip-tailed Gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda)
6) Northern Root Tegu (Loxopholis southi)

From one trip out west to the next, this time a few states to the north with Lavendar. Over the span of two weeks we travelled across the southern portions of the Rocky Mountains and their associated geologic formations. Of course, throughout this trip, we made some efforts to see the neat h**ps that call these beautiful places home, such as this selection of non-venomous snakes from Colorado and Utah.

1) Bull Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
2) Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus)
3) Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis)
4) Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus)
5) Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor)


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To close out my first trip to the Yucatán Peninsula, I want to appreciate the grade clade of Archelosauria. This ancient clade of reptiles includes crocodilians and turtles, what we consider as the “typical” reptilian members, as well as the avian and non-avian dinosaurs, birds. Without birds, this group has among the lowest extant diversity of reptiles, and overall have quite low diversity for the major living groups of vertebrates. These two species happen to be endemic to the Mayan Rainforests of the Yucatán Peninsula and surrounding region.

1-3) Morelet’s Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii)
4) Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Kinosternon creaseri)


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