Trinidad's North Coast. Trinidad is a continental island located on the South American plate.

A bottle with barnacles, washed up on the beach.

Crabs are important scavengers and predators in coastal ecosystems.

Fishermen in the surf with a cast net.

Coconut Palms on the East Coast.

Nariva Swamp, Trinidad's East Coast. This is a 258 square km wetland of palm marsh, mangroves and herbaceous swamp. The swamp is rich in wildlife but threatened by illegal rice cultivation.

Mangrove Forest on Trinidad's east coast.

Little Tobago holds Deciduous Seasonal Forest with Bursera simaruba, Lonchocarpus domingensis, Piscidia carthagensis being the most common trees. The ground cover is dominated by the aroid, Anthurium jenmanii. This island has been a nature sanctuary since 1926, when the Greater Bird of Paradise was introduced by Sir William Ingram. Ingram brought the birds from New Guinea in 1919. Upon Sir William's death the family gave the island to the country on condition that it remain a sanctuary for all time. In 1963 Hurricane Flora struck, wiping out the Birds of Paradise population. Little Tobago has 45 species of birds, including breeding seabird colonies of Boobies, Terns, Magnificent Frigate Birds and Red-billed Tropicbirds.

Some areas of Trinidad, Tobago, and nearby islands have dry microhabitats that support xeric plant communities, which include cactus and agave species.

Charlotteville, Tobago is one of my most favorite places. This quite fishing village is surrounded by forest and close to Tobago's Main Ridge, an area loaded with interesting plants and animals.

Pitch Lake is at La Brea in the southwest peninsula of Trinidad. It has fascinated explorers scientists since its discovery by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Raleigh used the asphalt to caulk his ship. The lake of asphalt covers 40 hectares, and is said to be 75 m deep. It  is the largest, commercial deposit of natural asphalt in the world, and it is from this location that refined asphalt, known as Trinidad Lake Asphalt, is exported to countries all over the world. The asphalt is used for heavy-duty traffic pavements as well as insulating compounds for the cable and electrical industries.

Evergreen Seasonal Forest is the most widespread forest in Trinidad. It covers the lowlands as well as the Central Range and the foothills and lower slopes of the Northern Range. It receives less than 2 m of rain per year. The upper canopy is discontinuous with some trees emerging 30-46 m and the middle canopy is continuous between 12-27 m. Lianas and epiphytes are numerous and include bromeliads, aroids, ferns, and orchids.

Elfin woodland is restricted to the summits of Trinidad's highest peaks, Mt. Aripo and Mt. Tucuche, above 850 m. The canopy is formed from a dense layer of tree ferns and small palms at about 3 m. Some trees emerge from the canopy to reach 6 or 7 m. There is a constant supply of moisture from rain and condensation on vegetation. All of the woody vegetation is covered with lichens and bryophytes. The photo was take near the summit of Mt. Tucuche.

The nest of the yellow tailed oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus. These social birds build their nests in tall trees, often trees with spines, to make it difficult for predators to reach the nest.

Deforestation of the tropics is a problem almost every where. Forest growing on flat ground goes first, and then the forest growing on slopes is cut. In many places including Trinidad, cutting forests is done illegally and may be done, or at least blamed upon, illegal immigrants.

Sunset on the southwest peninsula of Trinidad.

Spiny Palms and spiny trees of other families have evolved in most tropical forests. Spines on trunks may serve to reduce the growth of lianas on the tree. Lianas have been shown to slow the growth rate of the trees they are growing on and reduce the host plant's fitness. Sapling spiny palms have a tendency to sway in the wind and as they do, the spines mechanically sever the lianas growing on them. Thus, the spines appear to be an adaptation to reducing the number of vines growing on the tree. (See Putz, 1984. Biotropica 16:19-23.)

Fiddleheads of ferns are new fronds or new leaves. This one belonged to a tree fern growing in the elfin woodland of Mt. Tucuche.

The Giant South American Land Snail, Megalobulimus oblongus (Muller 1774). The species is widespread in the Neotropics, but they have apparently recently spread to the West Indies. The shell can be 70-80 mm long, and the snails body can reach at least 110 mm. They lay huge eggs, 27-30 mm, and not surprisingly the clutch is small, 6 to 12 eggs.

The Giant Velvet Worm, Macroperipatus torquatus. This is a forest floor dweller that lives in burrows and emerges at night to feed on insects, usually crickets. Prey are captured by a proteinaceous glue squirted from the oral papillae. The insect becomes immobilized, and then bitten and injected with saliva. (See Read and Hughes, 1987. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Science 230: 483-506). These are ancient animals that may have an ancestor in the Cambrian.

The Peanut Head Bug, Fulgora laternaria (Homoptera, Fulgoridae). This homopteran is widespread in the Neotropics and may reach 90 mm in length. It feeds on plant juices with sucking mouth parts. It is active at night.

Rhinoceros Beetle or Hercules Beetle, Dynastes hercules. A male from Trinidad's Northern Range. Large adults can reach 170 mm. The size of the maloes's horn is the result of the nutrition it receives as a larvae. The horns are used during courtship, and it seems likely that females select males based upon the size, shape, functioning of these appendages. The locals call these "flying crabs."

This cockroach inhabits the giant bromeliad, Glomeropitcarnia erectiflora in Trinidad's Northern Range at elevations above 800 m. It seems likely that this cockroach is semiaquatic.

This orb weaving spider is probably in the genus Nephila. According to the University of Florida's Department of Entomology web site: "Nephila clavipes is the only species of the genus occurring in the Western Hemisphere. It occurs throughout Florida, the West Indies, as far north as North Carolina, across the Gulf States, through Central America, and into South America as far south as Argentina. Other even larger relatives occur in the South Pacific, southeast Asia, and Madagascar. "

Trinidad Wandering Spider (family Ctenidae, Phoneutria sp.). Photographed in the Arima Valley. This may also be called a banana spider, armed spider, or tropical wolf spider. This is not a tarantula. Often said to be the world's most dangerous spider, human deaths from their bites are rare (3 out of 422 bites for a Brazilian species and the deaths were two very young children and an elderly adult). However, the bites are extremely painful because the venom contains large amounts of seratonin The venom contains more than 20 neurotoxins, but the main effect of the venom has been attributed a molecule that activates sodium channels of excitable membranes. Symptoms include hypertension, fever, tachycardia, salivation, and in males a long lasting and dangerous erection. Spiders in the genus Phoneutria hunt at night, they do not build webs, they frequent banana plantations and other agricultural areas. They are capable of jumping at least 0.5m.

Trinidad Cheveron Tarantula, Psalmopoeus cambridgei. Photographed in the Arima Valley. This is an arboreal species that makes sheet-like webs of a filmy silk extending from retreats in crevices on cliffs and road cuts, on exposed roots, and in abandoned buildings. This photo was taken on a building wall. This spider can bite when threatened bites may cause severe pain and inflammation, apparently due to a capsaicin (chili pepper) receptor agonists in the venom (Siemens et al 2006 Nature 444: 208-212)

Frangipani hawk moth, Pseudosphinx tetrio (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Arima Valley, Trinidad. Larvae graze on frangipani (Plumieria alba) and other trees and vines belonging to the Apocynaceae family. The larvae is about 14 cm long and very conspicuous with yellow and black bands and a red head, presumably as a warning signal to birds. The coloration is aposematic, and it has been suggested to be a coral snake mimic.  Predators that ignore the warning may become sick from the toxins stored in the caterpillars’ bodies and obtained from the plants.

Tree Hole Nesting Mosquito, Trichoprosopon digitatum (Culicinae). Photographed in the Arima Valley. Females guard eggs for about 48 hours, until they hatch. The guarding behavior may protect the eggs from being eaten by older larvae of this species, or washed away by rain.

Peter's Tent Making Bat, Uroderma bilobatum (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Photographed in Central Trinidad. The tent-making bat constructs a tent by cutting the side of a leaf's main rib, causing the leaf to droop. The bats then roost hanging from the rib. Up to 50 bats may use one tent, but usually the number is much less. The style of tent depends on the leaf type and its size. Peter's Tent Making Bat is widespread in the Neotropics and can use disturbed as well as mature rainforest, and cultivated areas such as plantations and gardens.

Seba's Short-Tailed Bat, Carollia perspicillata. Photographed in the Arima Valley, Trinidad of an animal taken from a mist net. It ranges from southern Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay, and southeast Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago. It uses wet evergreen and dry deciduous forests, usually below 1,000m. It forages for insects and fruits close to the ground. Roosting occurs in groups of 10-100 in caves, hollow trees, tunnels road culverts, and other protected areas.

Mouse Opossum, Marmosa sp. Photographed in northeastern Tobago. These small marsupials feed on insects and fruit. The genus is widespread in the Neotropics.

Lesser Anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla. Photographed in Trinidad. Tamanduas forage for ants and termites almost every where in the forest (ground to canopy), but may be most frequently found along streams. This is a widespread species east of the Andes. Hunters frequently kill these animals and use their tail tendons to make rope.