Reptiles and Amphibians Sal • 19h ago • 100%

Imantodes cenchoa

Found this *Imantodes cenchoa* sleeping on top of a leaf in Punta Laguna, Quintana Roo. Here is a photo of where it was sleeping:  There are a few different snakes of the genus *Imantodes* in Yucatán. What sets this species apart is that the row of scales on its back consists of enlarged scales. Here is a closeup emphasizing that row of scales. The green arrow points at an enlarged mid-dorsal scale, the blue arrow at a regular scale.  In comparison, here is a photo from an *Imantodes tenuissimus* that I took back in 2009 in Mérida, Yucatán (with a less sharp camera), and a closeup of its mid-dorsal scales that does not show this enlargement.  

Reptiles and Amphibians Sal • 1d ago • 100%

Yucatan casquehead tree frog

One of my favorite frogs! Spent some time specifically looking for it. Managed to find two near Cobá, in Quintana Roo (in the Yucatán peninsula). This frog hides in holes in lime stone and tree trunks, and makes use of its flat head to block the entrance. This type of defense is known as [phragmosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phragmosis). Some other shots:  

Reptiles and Amphibians Sal • 1d ago • 100%

Anole sleeping

Found this anole in Yucatan. I am not sure of its exact species - probably an *Anolis sp*.. Anoles often sleep at the tips of leaves and twigs. My guess is that this is a strategy to prevent nocturnal predators sneaking up on them through the branches without making its bed vibrate. When woken up they can quickly drop down.

These are quite common in Yucatan, Mexico. The leatherleaf slugs belong to the family Veronicellidae. This particular one could be Sarasinula plebeia, but it is not so easy to definitively ID these. I originally identified this species a few years ago from the description on [this website](https://www.backyardnature.net/mexnat/beanslug.htm), but since then they have added an update stating that my original source is also unsure on this one. >UPDATE: It seems that IDing certain slugs by pictures isn’t a good idea. In 2024 when pictures on this page were uploaded to iNaturalist, another user suggested a different species in the genus Leidyula, and then user “deneb16,” a mollusk specialist at UNAM, Mexico’s main university, added the comment that all Mexican species of the family this slug belongs to can’t be identified without dissecting their sexual organs. The family, she agrees, is the Leatherleaf Slug Family, the Veroncellidae. So, I am not 100% of the species, but it is a leatherleaf slug.

 This was near the entrance to a mangrove boat tour. Tourists and locals feed the raccoons so they are very used to humans and will even follow them to try to get food.

Entomology Sal • 2d ago • 96%

Bird poop caterpillar

This bird poop caught my attention because it looked a bit too perfectly shaped, and when I looked at it closer its orange osmeteria came out. Searching online, I suspect that this might be *Papilio cresphontes*. However, I see a lot of variation in the photos of *Papilio cresphontes* and so I am not sure if this the correct ID. Found in Yucatan, Mexico.

Reptiles and Amphibians Sal • 3w ago • 100%

Possibly Eleutherodactylus planirostris

  Found many of these frogs under a wet trash bag in a back yard in Mérida, Yucatán. I made use of a handheld flash with a remote trigger for lighting, and a Sigma 105 mm as my macro lens. These frogs do not seem to match with any of the local frogs reported in Julian C. Lee's field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the maya world. From a reverse image search, I mostly found images of the green house frog *Eleutherodactylus planirostris*. *Eleutherodactylus planirostris* is native to Cuba and the Bahamas, and is often introduced with plants that come from green houses in those areas. These frogs go from tadpole to frog while still inside of the egg, which explains why the baby frogs are so small. The visual aspect, the incredibly small baby frogs, and the fact that they were found in a back yard in the city with greenhouse plants, all lead me to conclude that it is likely *Eleutherodactylus planirostris*.

Tor - The Onion Router Sal • 3mo ago • 94%

Does pointing a ".onion" url to a clearnet site benefit TOR users?

When a website can be accessed via a clearnet and a .onion url, is there a benefit to making use of the .onion url? ------ Context: I am considering pointing a ".onion" url to my instance (mander.xyz). I did some tests with and it seems like [mlmym](https://github.com/rystaf/mlmym) works well with JavaScript disabled. Since JavaScript is often disabled in the tor browser, I could make the .onion url point at that front-end instead. This would be fun to do, but I wonder if there is a practical benefit to the ".onion" url as opposed to simply accessing the clearnet url via the tor browser. EDIT: I went ahead and created an onion URL to try out, but I would still like to know if there is an actual advantage to .onion urls: http://mandermybrewn3sll4kptj2ubeyuiujz6felbaanzj3ympcrlykfs2id.onion/