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Tarantulas and snakes - El Limón Totalco part 3

Sunday, May 7, 2006 | 0 comments

Read the previous part of this blog entry in: Cactuses flowering - El Limón Totalco part 1.

Underneath one stone I found a very small tarantula. We have found this species on our other walks near El Limón and other towns as well. I have no idea what species it is, but its easy to recognize because it has a relatively large brown spot on it's abdomen.

A very small tarantula on my finger.
A very small tarantula on my finger.

A few minutes later we found another tarantula belonging to the same species. This one was a bit larger. The picture below shows the tarantula in its burrow which was hidden by a piece of volcanic rock.

Tarantula with brown spot on abdomen.
Tarantula with brown spot on abdomen.

Shortly thereafter I turned a big stone, and I noticed our first snake of that day, so I dropped the stone, and grabbed the snake, since I knew it to be harmless. By doing so I scared Esme, who was watching from a distance, but when I showed her the lined Tolucan ground snake (Conopsis lineata, probably a subspecies), she wanted to hold it.

A Conopsis lineata on Esme's hands.
A Conopsis lineata on Esme's hands.
Some other pictures I made of this snake. Click a thumbnail to see the entire and larger image.

While Esme was holding the small snake, I took a picture of the habitat. Notice the big hole. When I captured the snake it was already moving towards it. Also notice how some parts that were originally covered by a big piece of volcanic rock look quite moist.

Habitat of Conopsis lineata.
Habitat of Conopsis lineata.
More pictures I made of this snake. Click a thumbnail to see the entire and larger image.

Shortly after we had put the snake back onto the ground, it found the hole, probably its hiding place, and was gone quite fast. Esme was sure that there was another snake inside the hole, a much bigger one, so I tried to make a picture.

A much bigger C. lineata hiding?
A much bigger C. lineata hiding?

Read the next part of this blog entry in: Another snake, and more tarantulas - El Limón Totalco part 4.

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