January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica
It’s tough for me to know just how  difficult these crypsis challenges are, since I obviously know what’s in them. I would think this is very easy, but then a coworker commented that others that I thought were easy were in fact hard for him.
Anyway, see how challenging it is for you to spot the critter camouflaged in the photo above. A general identification is fine, since I haven’t yet determined anything more specific.
Okay, this one is really hard (i.e., I can’t see anything!).
I was tempted to say a walkingstick, but it would be unusual to see one sitting on the forest floor partially covered by a leaf.
I give (you don’t know how I hate saying that!).
When I first saw your post, I thought maybe you were trying to make my coworker feel better by feigning not seeing it. But then Mike also didn’t see it, so I figured maybe you just had your beetle filters on. 🙂
How about a moth on that black leaf 2/3rds over, 1/3rd down. Sort of has a Notodontid shape to it, but I haven’t been IDing moths seriously in quite a while.
So close, but not quite.
Instead of the moth on the black leaf….i think the black leaf actually looks like a frog of some kind. Just a thought.
Yep!
I’m seeing a skinny grasshopper/katydid of some kind, looking at the black leaf, somewhat diagonally, centered in the picture.
You and Ted were similarly misled by what is in fact just a stick.
I see a frog in the upper right quadrant. It is facing towards that prominent stick in the middle. It has two curvy transverse dark stripes, one on the back and one between the eyes.
Likes like a tree frog (Hylidae), but I’m sure it could be something else.
That was very challenging.
Yes! You said it was challenging, so maybe it took awhile to find it? I don’t think it’s Hylidae because there are no toe pads.
There is definitely a brown frog with black legs in the upper right hand corner, 3/4 of the way over, 1/4 down. He is facing the lower left corner.
You got it.
Er, are we looking for vertebrates or invertebrates? Because there’s a very nice little frog sitting there … maybe a leptodactylid of some sort?
Nature closeups is an equal opportunity blog and doesn’t discriminate on the basis of having a backbone (or not).
Yes, the frog is the target of this challenge. I agree it might be a leptodactylid.
Pingback: Crypsis Challenge #9 : Nature Closeups