Early in 1960 an unusual opportunity arose to carry on biological field
work in the midst of virgin rainforest in southern El Peten, Guatemala.
At that time the Ohio Oil Company of Guatemala had an air strip and camp
at Chinaja, from which place the company was constructing a road
northward through the forest. In mid-February, 1960, J. Knox Jones, Jr.
and I flew into El Peten to collect and study mammals, reptiles, and
amphibians. While enjoying the comforts of the fine field camp at
Chinaja, we worked in the surrounding forest and availed ourselves of
the opportunity to be on hand when the road crews were cutting the tall
trees in the forest, thereby bringing to the ground many interesting
specimens of the arboreal fauna. We stayed at Chinaja until late March,
with the exception of a week spent at Toocog, another camp of the Ohio
Oil Company located 15 kilometers southeast of La Libertad and on the
edge of the savanna. Thus, at Toocog we were able to work both in the
forest and on the savanna. In the summer of 1960, John Wellman
accompanied me to El Peten for two weeks in June and July. Most of our
time was spent at Chinaja, but a few days were spent at Toocog and other
localities in south-central El Peten.
Many areas in Guatemala have been studied intensively by L. C. Stuart,
who has published on the herpetofauna of the forested area of
northeastern El Peten (1958), the savannas of central El Peten (1935),
and the humid mountainous region to the south of El Peten in Alta
Verapaz (1948 and 1950). The area studied by me and my companions is
covered with rainforest and lies to the north of the highlands of Alta
Verapaz and to the south of the savannas of central El Peten. A few
specimens of amphibians and reptiles were obtained in this area in 1935
by C. L. Hubbs and Henry van der Schalie; this collection, reported on
by Stuart (1937), contained only one species, _Cochranella
fleischmanni_, not present in our collection of 77 species and 617
specimens.