Kinkajou

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The kinkajou (Potos flavus) is a mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, ringtails, and cacomistles.  It is the only member of the genus Potos.   Kinkajous may be mistaken for ferrets or monkeys, but are not closely related.   Native to Central America and South America, this arboreal mammal is not an endangered species in Yucatan, though it is seldom seen by people because of its strict nocturnal habits.   However, they are hunted for the pet trade, for their fur, and for their meat.  They may live up to 40 years in captivity. ....CONTINUE READING

Cozumel Thrasher

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In 1885, Robert Ridgeway described the Cozumel Thrasher (Harporhynchus guttatus) for the first time and then in 1886 published his findings in Description of some new bird species from Cozumel Island, Yucatan in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 3:2-24.   Locally, the bird is known as el Cuitlacoche de Cozumel.   The bird is very similar to the Long-billed Thrasher (H. longirostris) found on the Yucatan Peninsula but differs from this species genetically and is endemic to the island. ....CONTINUE READING

Cozumel Harvest Mouse

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The Cozumel Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys spectabilis) is a species of small rodent (adult weight around 20 grams) in the family Cricetidae and is endemic to Cozumel.   It is semi-arboreal and lives in dense secondary forest and forest edge habitats.   Its population is small, fluctuating, and patchily distributed.   The species is threatened by predation from feral cats and dogs and introduced boa constrictors, by competition with introduced non-native rats and mice, and by habitat disturbances caused by hurricanes and floods.  The rodent is now critically endangered. ....CONTINUE READING

The Cozumel Fox

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The Cozumel Fox (Urocyon sp. nov.) is a species of fox which is close to extinction or already extinct.   The last recorded sighting was 2001.   It is (or was until recently) endemic to Cozumel.   The Cozumel Fox, which has not been scientifically described to date, is known to be a dwarf form similar to the Island Fox but slightly larger, being up to three-quarters the size of the Gray Fox.   It had been isolated on the island for 5,000 to 13,000 years. ....CONTINUE READING

Cozumel Pygmy Racoon

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Clinton Hart Merriam first described the Cozumel raccoon as morphologically distinctive from its mainland relative, the common raccoon subspecies Procyon lotor hernandezii, in 1901.   Since then, other scientists have generally agreed with Merriam’s assessment, especially Kristofer Helgen and Don E. Wilson, who have dismissed this classification for the other four island raccoons in their studies in 2003 and 2005.  Therefore, the Cozumel raccoon was listed as the only distinct species of the genus Procyon besides the common raccoon and the crab-eating raccoon in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World.   An archaeological study showed that Maya from Cozumel used raccoons of reduced stature, which suggests that the size reduction of this raccoon is not a recent phenomenon. ....CONTINUE READING

The Boa Constrictors of Cozumel

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Prior to 1971, Cozumel was an island free of boa constrictors.   The island did have a few other non-venomous snakes, such as the Green Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus) and the False Fer-de-lance (Xenodon rabdocephalus), as well as “slightly” venomous snakes, like the rear-fanged Cat Eye snake (Leptodeira annulata).   These snakes all fed on lizards, frogs, and toads, but the island was free of any arboreal snakes that preyed on birds.   Consequently, the island was a haven for the Yucatan Amazon parrot (Amazona xantholora), also known as the Yellow-lored Amazon, Yucatan Parrot, or Yellow-lored Parrot.   That all began to change in 1971. ....CONTINUE READING

The island is not ready to topple into the sea yet!

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For many years, I heard the old urban legend repeated as fact by many Cozumeleños that the island of Cozumel was sitting on a champagne-glass (“copa”) shaped pedestal, hidden under the sea.  It always amazed me how many people believed and retold this story as the gospel truth.   Once, there was a near riot when panicked islanders became irrationally concerned with some blasting that a construction company was doing.   The folks in the neighborhood were whipped up into a wild-eyed frenzy over fears of what would happen if the tremors from this blasting would fracture the “stem” that was supposedly supporting the island.   They were all worried that the island would tip over and fall beneath the waves! ....CONTINUE READING

The Crocodiles of Cozumel

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The crocodilians indigenous to Cozumel are the American Crocodile, or Crocodylus acutus and Morelet’s Crocodile, Crocodylus moreletii.   The adult C. acutus is light gray in color and have a pointed snout, much narrower than an alligator.  The adult C. moreletii is a dark gray-brown and has a much broader snout; however, they are crossbreeding with C. acutus, so now there is a range of snout widths on the island.   Both are less aggressive than the Nile and Australian crocs. ....CONTINUE READING

The Virgin Mary Lizard of Cozumel

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Cozumel is the home to a strange lizard, the Huico, also know as the Cozumel Race Runner, or if you are of a scientific state of mind, the Aspidoscelis cozumelae.   The small lizard is found in the beach dune areas and alongside roads, where it hunts for insects in a fairly tight home range, usually just a few tens of meters in circumference. ....CONTINUE READING

The Venomous Moths of Cozumel

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The hollow hairs (setae) of the Hylesia alinda moths found in Cozumel can cause cutaneous lepidopterism, or a contact dermatitis (a pruritic, urticarial eruption) called “Caripito Itch,” after Caripito, Venezuela where it was first recorded.  These tiny hairs carry a toxic mix of histamines and proteases within their hollow shaft and if they come in contact with bare skin they can envenomate.   Touching the moth is not needed to be affected; the hairs can float free and come in contact with a person who is simply walking by as the hairs drift on the breeze.   H. alinda moths are nocturnal and have a breeding cycle of 3 months, so they appear in clusters around each breeding period.   The large moths have up to a 4-inch wingspan and often congregate around porch lights at night, which is where people most often come into contact with them.
Caripito Itch can last anywhere from 7 to 14 days.   The condition is highly resistant to all therapeutic treatment.   An individualized approach using various drugs seems to work best.   Some drugs used in the treatment of Caripito Itch are:
Cetirizine: Zyrtec®
Loratadine: Claritin®.
Desloratadine: Clarinex®.
Diphenhydramine: Benadryl®.
Chlorpheniramine maleate: Chlor-Trimeton®.
Dexamethasone: Decadron®, Hexadrol®.
Prednisone: Deltasone®, Orasone®.
Hydrocortisone: Solu-Cortef®, A-Hydrocort®.
Metil-Prednisolone sodium succinate: Solu-Medrol®.
Pramoxine Hydrocloride: Zocort®.Mupirocin: Bactroban® ointment.
Calamine: Calamine Plain®.
Tetracaine: Altacaine®. Lidocaine 2%: Dilocaine®, Lidoject-2®.
Triamcinolone acetonide: Kenacort®. Gabapentin: Neurontin® ....CONTINUE READING

The Lion Fish Origin Myth

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This myth maintains that the lion fish which have invaded our Caribbean waters originated from six captive examples, whose aquarium at a restaurant in Biscayne Bay broke and the six fish escaped when Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida in 1992.   As with most myths, there is a smidgeon of truth to this statement, but it does not tell the whole story. ....CONTINUE READING

Geology, Pedology, and Hydrology of Cozumel

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GEOLOGY

The Yucatan peninsula is a karstic terrain (meaning partially-dissolved carbonate bedrock) made up of marine calcareous sediments (limestone) lain down during the Jurassic period between 200 and 145 million years ago.   The peninsula is a tectonically stable platform whose current form was created by plates and faults during the early Cenozoic epoch. ....CONTINUE READING

Coatis, Pizotes, or Coatimundis

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The white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae, which also includes other coatis, raccoons, olingos, and kinkajous.   Local names include Pizote, Coatimundi, and Tejón.   It averages about 9-15 pounds in weight, but males are much larger than females, and small females weigh as little as 6 pounds and large males as much as 30 pounds.   On average, their total length is about 45 inches, about half of that being the tail length. ....CONTINUE READING

Flotsam, Jetsam, Litter, or Garbage, I Refuse to call it Rubbish

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Over 35 years ago, when I wrote my first travel guide to Cozumel, I included the recommendation that before you go to the east coast of the island, first go by a tlapalería and buy a small bottle of tiner (paint thinner) so you could clean the tar off of your feet after walking on the beach.  Back then, we had very little trash on the east coast beaches, but loads of tar and crude oil residue.  Today, the tar has disappeared, along with most tlapalerías.  However, the amount of garbage one finds today on the east coast beaches of Cozumel is truly astounding. ....CONTINUE READING

A Cozumel without Coconut Palms

Can you imagine a Cozumel with no Coconut palms?  I’m not referring to what might happen if the Red Palm Mite has its way.  This voracious pest (Raoiella indica, also known as Raoiella eugenia) originated in the area around India, Iran, Arabia, and Egypt then jumped the ocean and landed on Cozumel’s shores, where it is now decimating the coconut palms as well as other species of plants. ....CONTINUE READING

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