Tag: Brown Basilisk

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“Jesus Christ Lizard”

As a nickname, that might be considered sacrilegious by some people, but the nickname has a long history of this lizard walking on water and most everyone knows the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter not having the faith to follow him without sinking. In Costa Rica there are three species of basilisks and they all “walk on water” (actually run very fast) as we saw this one pictured here do 🙂 . . .

Common Basilisk, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
  • THIS ONE: Common Basilisk, Basiliscus basiliscus (my gallery link) is found only on the Pacific Slope of Costa Rica and here some people also use the common name of “Brown Basilisk” instead of the preferred “Common” and thus in Spanish you can see both common names of “Basiliscus Café” and “Basiliscus Común” or “Lagarto Jesús Común.” Yeah, learning nature in two languages and both sides of the country can be confusing! 🙂 Especially when different people and different books use different and overlapping names! 🙂 Scientific names are the clearest!
  • THE OTHER BROWN ONE: Brown or Striped Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus (my gallery link) is found only on the Caribbean Slope. And the Spanish names used in Costa Rica are variously “Basiliscus Café” and the preferred “Basiliscus Rayado.” In addition to the unique locations, these two brownish basilisks have different markings or stripes and different crests with this Basiliscus vittatus having smaller crests and mostly on the head only. And I think this one is browner, and thus deserves the Brown name more. But if you see a brown or brownish one, you can know the name by knowing which slope you are on! (The Continental Divide) Location, location, location! 🙂
  • THE EASY ONE IS GREEN: Emerald or Green Basilisk, Basiliscus plumifrons (my gallery link & 1 pix below). This one is found on both slopes of Costa Rica! 🙂 The Spanish common names are like the two English names: “Basilisco Esmeralda” or “Basilisco Verde.” And it is never confused with either of the other two! 🙂

That’s our fun biology lesson for today! And I apologize for not remembering that I did a similar post back in October. Just blame it on my dementia! 🙂

Emerald Basilisk at Maquenque Eco Lodge

¡Pura Vida!

See the Day Trip Gallery: 2025 January 7 — Rio Tarcoles & Punta Leona

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The Two Basilisks

In the Caribe where I was last week, there two kinds of Basilisks, both called “Miniature Dinosaurs” and “Jesus Christ Lizards” (because they both “walk on water”). The most popular is the Plumed or Emerald Basilisk (Wikipedia link) and the Common, Striped or Brown Basilisk (Wikipedia link). Here are a couple of photos of each from last week, then be sure to see my galleries for each below that! And I prefer the names of Emerald and Brown! 🙂

Plumed, Green or Emerald Basilisk

Emerald Basilisk
Emerald Basilisk

Common, Striped or Brown Basilisk

Brown Basilisk Adult
Brown Basilisk Juvenile

My Gallery titled: Emerald Basilisk

My Gallery titled: Common, Brown or Striped Basilisk

¡Pura Vida!

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Two Basilisks

Everyone prefers the Emerald Basilisk, sometimes called Green Basilisk, but the Brown Basilisk is seen just about as much even with his better camouflage. 🙂 In these photos, the Emerald is an adult male with the head crest while the brown without a crest could be either a juvenile or a female. Both are found all over Costa Rica, especially near water. Note that both have a tail longer than the body. And both are sometimes called “Jesus Christ Lizards” because they walk on water (or run).

Emerald Basilisk, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica.
Continue reading “Two Basilisks”
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Last of Tarcoles Animal Photos

I got a few more photos, but not really good enough to show (and maybe some of these neither!)

Tarcoles River before flowing into the Pacific Ocean, an hour+ drive from Atenas.
Adjacent to Carara National Park, the last transitional rainforest in the Americas.
Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Amazon Kingfisher, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Boat-billed Heron, a better photo than shown first day.
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Royal Tern, Tarcoles River Mouth, Costa Rica
Black-crowned Night Heron, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Snowy Egret, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
(With trash all around him!)

White-tailed Hawk, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Brown Basilisk (Striped Basilisk), Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Mangrove Crab, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Juvenile American Crocodile, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

See also my Costa Rica Birds PHOTO GALLERY

Costa Rica Reptiles  PHOTO GALLERY
THE FUTURE OF TARCOLES RIVER?

“That’s what people do when they find a special place that wild and full of life, they trample it to death.” 
― Carl Hiaasen, Flush

I’m hoping that won’t happen to Tarcoles River, but during Dry Season it is full of tourists coming to see the crocodiles and what is worse, the government is building two hydroelectric dams upstream on the Tarcoles River. Plus it has already been labeled “the most polluted river in Costa Rica” as many Central Valley towns dump their sewage and industrial waste into it. Wildness is slowly disappearing everywhere, even in one of the “green” countries! And the lack of rain thus far in this year’s rainy season has been shocking to me!