Phobias of the Creeping and Jumping Kind

Do you find this creature cute or terrifying?

I think it's cute! Personally, the only time I was a little apprehensive around these things is the time when I was stuck in a bathroom with 2 of these high-speed froggies, that were literally bouncing off the walls. They looked like a pair of super high bouncing balls. My only concern was what would happen if they accidentally landed in my hair. Would they get stuck? Would I unintentionally hurt one trying to free it from my hair?


Other than that, I find these creatures adorable. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't plan to be holdin' one any time soon! I appreciate that they catch mosquitoes & bugs, and provide entertainment for my kitty. (It gives her something to watch & do the kitty-twitch at...)


However, there are a lot of women here who hate these creatures, known as pererecas (tree frogs) and are terrified of them. Some women are so scared of these things, that they will run to the kitchen and grab salt to pour on them! :( Others demand that the nearest male catch and remove it from the premises.

I'm not sure why these bouncy little things are so vilified. I've asked if they are some unusual poisonous species, to which I've found out: no, they just lose out in the looks department.

Speaking of losing in the looks department, here's another creature that is sure to creep out the ladies. It is the common house gecko.


This albino gecko isn't much of a looker, that's for sure, but geckos catch & eat mosquitoes and other insects. Mosquitoes around these parts can carry the Dengue Fever virus. In my book, that makes the gecko my friend. A gecko a day, keeps the Dengue away.

What about you? Are you scared of these creepin' creatures, or like me, do you not pay them much attention?

What are your feelings on geckos and tree frogs?
	(squeals) Cute!!!
	(shrieks) Augh!! Someone help!
	(shrugs) I don't really notice them.
	(shivers) I can't even think about them.
	(smiles) I have one as a pet - wanna hold it?
	(sneers) Kill 'em all!
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Newfound Friend in Fortaleza

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Fabulous Feathers and Marvelous Masks - Carnaval in the Country

During Carnaval this year, I got to see all of the colorful displays and fancy feathers without all of the noise.

Well, except for the fight I witnessed between a couple of Caracaras and a Seriema defending her nest...




...and the pair of talkative "Mulatos" (Yellow-chevroned Parakeets) that freaked whenever someone came around the side of the house. (They had recently invested in a cozy nest, conveniently located right under the roof tiles over the rear bathroom.)


...then there was the group of Toucans that seemed to have a comment for everything, as they observed us from every angle of the property...



...and the Southern Lapwings (Quero-quero) whose full-time job appears to be that of sounding the alarm. Once we have our home, I may opt for a pair of these to live in our yard, as opposed to getting a guard dog.


Only the "Pica-pau-do-campo" (Campo Flicker, or Ground Dwelling Woodpecker) couple seemed to go about their business in silence.



The "Curicacas" (Buff-necked Ibis) pretty much kept to themselves, not really minding the presence of anyone else.


One surprise was the Whistling Heron ("Maria-faceira") couple that was feeding right behind the house. The owner of the farm said he had never seen this type of bird around those parts before.

When he saw the pictures, he thought that I’d stumbled upon them in one of his fields, but they were, in fact, only about 25 yards behind the porch where we'd been hanging out all weekend. Apparently, they were keeping it low-key, as no one ever heard them whistle...

(Sorry for the quality of the pics! It was near dusk, so the lighting wasn't quite right.)

One of the most beautiful songs I heard all weekend was performed by the Saffron Finch (Canário da Terra) - I could listen to these little beauties all day long.


There were a few instances when these stunners really strutted their stuff, to let me know that I had approached too closely. That was my cue to put my own fancy footwork to use, and back up to a safer distance.

All in all, it was a very colorful & exciting holiday weekend.





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The "Dog Fish" of Brazil

*This is an updated article originally posted on my personal blog in March of 2010.*

The Peixe-Cachorro ("Pay-shee Kah-show-h-oh") or the "Dog Fish" (also known here in Brazil as the Cachorra, Cachorra-facão, Pirandirá and Payara) is a fish that can be found in various rivers in Brazil, including the Rio Araguaia.

Anyone wanna take a guess as to why it's called the "Dog Fish"?

Check out that grill!
 

The first time I saw the Peixe-Cachorro, I freaked. I had been on the river a few days, getting accustomed to the idea of entering the water (where there were plenty of Piranhas)... when the teenage daughter of a friend of ours caught this creature on a late night fishing excursion. It was like something out of a horror movie, as we beheld the creature that emerged from the night - its massive sharp teeth gleaming in the light...

I was pretty sure it must be some sort of cousin of the Scaly Dragonfish I'd seen in the Deep Book ...and my nightmares. Of course, as a child of the '80s I grew up watching weird horror flicks about a giant alligator terrorizing Chicago, and Piranhas entering landlocked towns through overflowing dams, so this might have been more terrifying than need be. Regardless, I firmly decided against entering the water again - ever.

My friends tried to convince me that they never attack humans, and instead feed on crustaceans and small fish (mainly Piranha). It is said that they only occasionally have been known to consume a fish up to 40%-50% of their own body size. Hmm... I routinely do the same thing on all-you-can-eat sushi nights, so that's understandable.


Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me that particular night, as the battery was recharging; but later got these pics while on another fishing trip with my husband along the Rio Kuluene, a tributary of the Xingu River.

Although it's the same family of fish, there are apparently a few different variations in body shape & size, as you can see in the pics above versus the pic below. The one below is a good representation of the type of Peixe-Cachorro found in the Rio Araguaia.

According to other sites that I’ve found in Portuguese (there is hardly any info on this fish, in English) there are actually 2 classes of fish known as the "Dog Fish," the Raphiodon Vulpinus and the Hydrolycus. Within the Hydrolycus class of fish, there are 4 species:

• The Hydrolycus Scomberoides can be found in the Amazon River and tributaries above the mouth of the Tapajós River.


• The Hydrolycus Wallacei can be found in the Rio Negro, or Black River, a tributary of the Amazon River; as well as the upper basin of the Orinoco River, along the Venezuelan-Brazilian border and in Columbia.


• Both the Hydrolycus Armatus and...


• ...Hydrolycus Tatauaia can be found in the Amazon basin, basins of the Tocantins River, Capim River Essequibo (Guyana) and the Orinoco River basin.

There is some confusion in the classification, and the Peixe-Cachorro was initially classified as the Family Characidae, but some scientists contend that it is a unique family: of the same family as the Ramphiodom Cynodontinae, or the Raphiodon Vulpinus. Still others claim that this classification is a sub-family among the Characins.

Whatever the class and family, it is known in Brazil as the Peixe-Cachorro, and is quite scary impressive. From what I understand, the noted difference between the Raphiodon Vulpinus and the Hydrolycus is that the Hydrolycus is longer, and has a round black spot behind the operculum.

Peixe-Cachorro photo by Marco Valerio da Costa
 

If anyone can offer additional insight, or help confirm the identification of these fish, I'd be delighted to hear from you. Oh, and sweet dreams! Don't let the Dog Fish bite! ;)

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