I photographed this plumed basilisk on my second trip to Costa Rica back in 2007. These are the lizards famous for running across the surface of the water. Would love to go back and try again with modern technology and see if I can get that running shot. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/100th of a second.

Also known as the javelina or musk hog, this is a collared peccary, photographed quite a few years ago in Costa Rica. They are very widespread, from northern Argentina all the way up into Arizona and Texas. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/80th of a second.

There are many species of anole lizard. I think this is the many scaled anole. I was deep in the rainforest of Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica when this guy popped his head into a shaft of light that made its way through the thick foliage. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.

Dendropsophus ebraccatus is the proper name, but this guy is more commonly known as the hourglass treefrog due to the pattern on his back (which you can’t quite see in this photo). But as is usually the case, there’s yet another name — the pantless treefrog. Ebraccata means “without trousers” in Latin and it refers to the fact that there are bold patterns on the bottoms of the legs which are absent on the upper legs, ergo, no pants. So now you know. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/14 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.

Sometimes called the lesser anteater, the northern tamandua ranges from southern Mexico to northern South America. I photographed this one quite a few years ago while in the Osa Peninsula of southern Costa Rica. Unlike giant anteaters, tamanduas spend the majority of their time in trees. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/250th of a second, Nikon SB-600 fill flash.

This is a male cherrie’s tanager that I photographed in central Costa Rica. The name has nothing to do with the bird’s coloring, but rather is in honor of naturalist — and friend of Teddy Roosevelt — George Cherrie. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/8 at 1/30th of a second, Nikon SB-600 fill flash.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Baird’s tapir is the largest land mammal in Central and South America. For this series of wide-angle images, I sat quietly on the ground for about an hour while the tapir slowly came closer and closer, foraging in the leaf litter. I kept going wider and wider with my lensing, and eventually he was right in front of me, so I reached for my 17-35mm. A few sniffs later he turned around and continued on in the opposite direction. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second.

White-faced capuchin monkeys, otherwise known as white-throated or white-headed capuchin monkeys, are the most commonly seen of Costa Rica’s four (non-human) primate species. I saw this one down on the Osa Peninsula at Drake Bay. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/640th of a second.

The giant neotropical toad also goes by marine toad and cane toad. These are the guys that were introduced to northern Australia to disastrous results (a story for another day). In Costa Rica they are natives and quite common to spot on night walks. I photographed this one at La Selva, not far from the capital of San José. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.

Agoutis look a bit like guinea pigs only larger and with longer legs. This guy was enjoying some sort of seed pod snack deep in the rainforest of Corcovado National Park in southwestern Costa Rica. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/80th of a second.