Friendly croc croaks

Pocho the friendly Costa Rican crocodile has died in the Caribbean town of Siquirres.

The 50-year-old crocodile gained international fame for his weekly Sunday show he performed with owner Gilberto Sheedan.

Olga Valle, wife of Sheedan, said: "All of the people in the village have offered their condolences and assistance."

Chito, 54, described the one-eyed crocodile 'domesticated'. He could command Pocho to do tricks such as winking its one good eye, lifting its head and tail out of the water, rolling over and permitting Chito to stick his head inside the massive reptile's maw.

Chito found the five-metre-long crocodile close to death on the shore of the Parismina river, in the Limón province, 17 years ago. The crocodile had been shot in the left eye.

Chito and several friends loaded the animal into a boat and took him to Siquirres, where Pocho was nursed back to health. Chito even slept with the crocodile during its recovery.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Pocho_passes_away

New to Nature No 47: Peripatus solorzanoi

A new species of velvet worm is much bigger than any of its cousins

Quentin Wheeler The Observer, Sunday 17 July 2011
A new species of onychophora – or velvet worm – from Costa Rica is, at 22cm, about one-third larger than the previous record. In fact, its baby is larger than adults of most other onychophora.

Peripatus solorzanoi shortly after birth can spin a glue-net to capture prey and defend itself. And like other peripatidae, it has a placenta and gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Although onychophora have existed since the Cambrian, and include more than 100 living species, all are rare. They remain of interest to evolutionary biologists because of their mixture of worm and arthropod characters and because they were among the first walking terrestrial animals.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jul/17/new-to-nature-velvet-worm

Costa Rica Investigates Mysterious Death of Sea Turtles

INSIDE COASTA RICA (San José) 12/13/10


Scientists in Costa Rica are studying the death of at least 10 and 12 more ailing turtles in the southern zone. Universidad Nacional (UN) told the press that the environmental organization MarVia found the 22 turtles floating near Matapalo beach.

Ten of the Kemp's Ridley turtles died within days of bringing them to shore and biologists and veterinarians have no ida of what caused their deaths.

According to Widecast Network, this occurs when creatures have been floating adrift in the water for a prolonged period.

Widecast diretor, Claudio Quesada, told the La Nación that the turtles could have been at sea for more than two months, as they showed dehydration and lack of feeding for weeks.

Chemicals from nearby drainage from crops of palm, rice and pineapple, given their concentration of agrochemicals, could be the reason as some of the substances could affect the turtles.

So far this year another 41 Kemp's Ridleys were found in the biological reserve on Caño Island in a similar state as those of Matapalo.

Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is a critically endangered species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys, the other one being L. olivacea, the Olive Ridley. It is also the rarest sea turtle. Kemp's Ridley is the smallest living sea turtle species, reaching maturity at 2-3 feet (61-91 cm) long and averaging only 45 kilograms (99 lb).

It is typical of a sea turtle, having a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper-like front limbs. Like other sea turtles, it possesses a horny beak.



From: Herp Digest,
Volume # 10 Issue # 55

Costa Rica Investigates Mysterious Death of Sea Turtles

INSIDE COASTA RICA (San José) 12/13/10


Scientists in Costa Rica are studying the death of at least 10 and 12 more ailing turtles in the southern zone. Universidad Nacional (UN) told the press that the environmental organization MarVia found the 22 turtles floating near Matapalo beach.

Ten of the Kemp's Ridley turtles died within days of bringing them to shore and biologists and veterinarians have no ida of what caused their deaths.

According to Widecast Network, this occurs when creatures have been floating adrift in the water for a prolonged period.

Widecast diretor, Claudio Quesada, told the La Nación that the turtles could have been at sea for more than two months, as they showed dehydration and lack of feeding for weeks.

Chemicals from nearby drainage from crops of palm, rice and pineapple, given their concentration of agrochemicals, could be the reason as some of the substances could affect the turtles.

So far this year another 41 Kemp's Ridleys were found in the biological reserve on Caño Island in a similar state as those of Matapalo.

Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is a critically endangered species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys, the other one being L. olivacea, the Olive Ridley. It is also the rarest sea turtle. Kemp's Ridley is the smallest living sea turtle species, reaching maturity at 2-3 feet (61-91 cm) long and averaging only 45 kilograms (99 lb).

It is typical of a sea turtle, having a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper-like front limbs. Like other sea turtles, it possesses a horny beak.



From: Herp Digest,
Volume # 10 Issue # 55