Expedition 2022 Colombia I

Further on to the Rio Claro, to scorpions and whip spiders

After the jungle at Inirida, there was a special (optional) finale: a clearwater river about six hours' drive northwest of Bogota, specifically named RIO CLARO.

During this part of the expedition, the issue of climate change hit us in full force. It was raining in February for the first time in 20 years! The result was that the river was no longer CLARO, but looked more like a brown broth. Respect to all the expedition members, not one of whom allowed their mood to be dampened and who, instead of snorkelling, looked to the right and left of the river for creepy-crawlies, birds and monkeys. And it was worth it! We found primordial whip spiders, deadly poisonous snakes, harmless snakes, poison dart frogs, ugly frogs, tarantulas, unknown spiders, scorpions, beautiful morpho butterflies, bizarre mushrooms, fantastic flowers and of course some interesting birds!

So we didn’t miss the water as much as we could have done. As the heavy rain subsided, the small streams that flowed into the Rio Claro cleared up first. And there, snorkelling was worthwhile again. Our most instructive encounter in such a small tributary was our sighting of young redhump eartheaters (Geophagus steindachneri) and bottom dwelling tetras standing side by side in harmony in extreme current. If you google Geophagus steindachneri and the term current, you will not find anything. Observations of fish in their natural habitats are simply still far too rare!

Measured values of the small stream to the Rio Claro:

Measurement	Values
Location/type biotope	Rio Claro, clearwater tributary
GPS data: longitude	05°53'37.788'' N
GPS data: latitude	74°51'33.804 W
Date:	Feb 16, 2022
Time:	12:20
Water temperature in °C (surface)	24.1
Conductance in µS/cm:	46
GH:	2
KH:	0
pH:	7.2
Iron in mg/l:	0
Oxygen in mg/l	10
Cloudiness:	sunny

Measurement

Values

Location/type biotope

Rio Claro, clearwater tributary

GPS data: longitude

05°53'37.788'' N

GPS data: latitude

74°51'33.804 W

Date:

Feb 16, 2022

Time:

12:20

Water temperature in °C (surface)

24.1

Conductance in µS/cm:

46

GH:

2

KH:

0

pH:

7.2

Iron in mg/l:

0

Oxygen in mg/l

10

Cloudiness:

sunny

Expedition 2022 Colombia I