I have been adding lots more updates to the photos recently, mainly moths and reptiles so far but I'm also in the process of updating the Odonata. As we haven't been able to go to Cuba ourselves for a while I have been using open access photos from the internet in many instances including many great photos from Wayne Fidler who uploads his data to iNaturalist.
I also participate in several Cuban natural history Facebook groups and it has been amazing to watch not just the increase in knowledge that these groups provide but also the increase in quality of photography especially the amongst the bird photographers. Here is a beautiful shot by Karlos Ross of a female Cuban Emerald feeding its newly fledged youngster.
Cuban Emerald Nov 2020 Holguin © Karlos Ross
And just the other day Alexis Callejas Segura posted some pictures of a very rare reptile that was first described as recently as 2004. It is Sphaerodactylus dimorphicus - Yellow-tailed Sphaero (Geckolet). There are over 130 endemic reptiles in Cuba and 22 of these of these are in Sphaerodactylidae. This species has only been found on a short stretch of the east coast of Cuba near Santiago de Cuba. Most of the species in this group are found on or near the ground under piles of timber or stones but some can also be found under the bark of trees up to 2m above the ground.
Alexis also sent me this picture of another beautiful endemic the Cuban Mimic-White Dismorphia cubana which he took at the wonderful Gran Piedra just to the east of Santiago. It's a species that we have yet to see and we'll certainly be going back to Gran Piedra as the mothing can be spectacular and there are lots of other things to see too. Just a bit of a shame that the hotel has some of the grumpiest unhelpful staff one could ever wish to meet - but the wildlife makes up for it.
Dismorphia cubana Gran Piedra 30 Sept 2020 © Alexis Callejas Segura
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