This photo lost some quality in scanning from an old slide. It shows a wild-born bird. The species is now extinct in the wild.
Date is approximate. 3 individuals (2 males & 1 female) seen sometime in April, 1987. My mother and father (@dmpeterson ) were living in Monteverde in the spring of 1987, staying with the Gavin family. I have been digitizing their old slides, and thought these ones were significant, so I uploaded them. The date and location are approximate, based on their best recollection.
Male Batagur borneoensis in habitat. Discovered while carried out field survey. Further info at www.satucitafoundation.org
RSHA reacted but could not avoid the attack by RTHA (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/96597878)
Full video -https://youtu.be/SDSUpXZz--w
Deer shot with copper ammo. I was hoping first mammal this winter would be a Mustalid sp.
A scrappy expanse of silky refuges and capture webs littered with body parts of previous victims. When preferred prey is entangled, the female spiders emerge from their 'nests' and overpower it by grabbing its extremities. In this case, a wasp https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9319446.
Presumably they inject venom because after a minute or so the prey stops struggling. Then they snip it out of the web and carry it into one of several 'nests' or refuges.
Unwanted prey, often beetles (see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9319435 ) are also killed but sometimes left in the web, uneaten. Ants, in this case, Maranoplus ( https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9319390 )scavenge around the periphery of the webs, feasting on unwanted beetles or other left-overs.
Large mandibles the length of the forelegs, 43mm wingspan with iridescent purple sheen to the wings.
Strange specimen I discovered and collected with two metasomas.
I've kept her since May 2021 and she's still alive and well in her enclosure.
bluff charging at me, must have a nest nearby
I think the first image (a gif) only works on desktop!
This Bump-head Mola was spotted feeding on the surface. There was plenty of food in the water at this time, salps, ctenophores, jelly fish etc. Additional sightings were noted
on this day by other fishermen and water craft, however no identifications received.
This selfie was taken BY THE OCTOPUS, who also took a 90-second mostly-dark video of the inside of its den (with a muffled soundtrack of Alison Young and I laughing hysterically). The octopus grabbed my camera with three tentacles, and grabbed rocks with the others. After a determined tug-of-war that snapped the nylon wrist strap, it carried the camera deep into its den and started pressing buttons with its tentacles. Alison braved beak and tentacles to rescue the camera (the octo was still holding it) - is there anything she won't do for Citizen Science? Thank you Alison!
The alternate photo is the last one I took before the battle - you can see the first tentacle snaking towards the shiny camera...
Length of phone is about 15 cm, which is also about the length of the salamander from tail to snout.
Amazon River Dolphins or Botos (Inia geoffrensis) Mother and Calf underwater in Flooded Forest, Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil
you enter the bathroom, expecting nothing unusual, but unknowingly, your bumhole is met with a pair of soulless eyes staring back at it.
as you start to sit down, you hear something slosh in the water beneath you.
you jump up, startled.
as you peer into the toilet bowl, you see him, the prince of wadda mooli himself.
you pay your respects and escort him outdoors–back to his kingdom
you then reclaim your porcelain throne
This observation is not for the tiger, it is for the Eastern Chipmunk on the right.
I think this bird is albino rather than leucistic due to its red eye. The light-colored bill suggests that this is a juvenile.
There is a nice discussion of the terminology for birds lacking some or all melanin on David Sibley's website.
My most interesting find of the day :)
I could not figure out what I was seeing in the field. I thought maybe it was carrying carrion (no pun intended). But it appeared to be trying to get it off... ?!
Blown up on the computer, it finally makes sense. I think this is the winner of a fight. It must have beheaded its opponent. But - its opponent's jaws are still locked on it's antenna! Sometimes two heads really are not better than one.
I wonder how this comes out.
Whether from that fight or others, this warrior has taken damage. It's missing parts of 2 legs (photo 2) and has a dent on the back of its head (photo 3).
Extremely odd behavior from a Watersnake and Ribbonsnake... has anyone else observed something similar to this before? Both healthy adults with no visible injuries and both escaped rather quickly under their own power without coaxing.
I originally walked up on this pair around noon but the ribbon snake took off before I could get a picture of the odd behavior so I immediately left and came back about three hours later to find them both in the exact same position. So it’s fair to assume it’s a reoccurring arrangement between the two of them. The minimal research I have done has turned up nothing but I would love to hear from someone more knowledgeable about this sort of thing!
On my way west to Lennox Woods, I stopped by Coleman Park in Sulphur Springs. This is a GREAT park with some wonderful wildlife habitat -- I highly suggest it!
Finally, something that gets me excited about Bullfrogs again...
I stopped for a Spring Peeper, and then noticed a yellow object with a red reflection, a ways down the road. I assumed it was some trash, and then realized as I got closer that reflection was an eye shine.
In a twist of fate, I was blessed with the great fortune of meeting two living specimens of the animal whose scientific name was the first I ever learned. I did my 9th grade biology presentation on this species (complete with overhead slides, because nobody used powerpoint yet).
What do I put for location? I met them in Austin, but they were "acquired" (on purpose!!!) in Belize. Do I mark them as captive/cultivated? (haaaa!). In these photos, the larvae are 7 weeks old.
My heart is full. I am so happy. :D
The fluid leaking from the "wounds" varied in color, from obvious plasma, to obvious blood, to... a dark brown mystery fluid which probably contained larval enzymes with anticoagulants and some numbing agent. They responded to light (my headlamp made them run back in to hide), and at one point, one of them stuck out her little snorkel so it extended several mm outside the wound... but of course my camera wasn't ready.
UPDATE! One of them pupated January 20, 2018! Going to add it as a new observation!
Pupa (before hardening): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9557897
Adult: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10206805
Pupation announcement! A sequel to my original observation of the larvae. No warning this time because look how cute! On her blankie and everything 😭
I think this is 9.5 weeks after acquisition. Acquired in Belize (not by me!), brought to Texas in situ.
Larvae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9370693
ADULT!: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10206805