Wildlife pictures

srf4real · Oct 27, 2006

Anybody else have wildlife pics? I am always trying to get natural shots of the local critters... I'd love to see some of yours and maybe learn a thing or two!

-Wood stork guarding a Florida canal.

dllavaneras · Oct 27, 2006

Of course!

Sure! Take your pick

Slimy, scaly, feathery, smooth-skinned... Here are a few pics from my side of the world:

Hummer:
I found this little one resting on a tree branch while I was taking a walk around campus. It kept flying away, just to return to the same branch. Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Central de Venezuela

Toucan:
A member of the family Piciformes, we found this gorgeous bird while hiking a nearby mountain. Parque Nacional El Avila, Sabas Nieves, Caracas

Onycophora:
Considered by some authors as a "missing link" (term used loosely) between the annelids and the arthropods, as these so-called velvet worms (Peripatus sp) have characteristics of both Phyla. This is the underside, with the mouth being the central opening. Those lateral openings aren't eyes, but mucous glands that secrete a very sticky goo, used to capture prey from a distance of up to 30 cm.

Bothrops sp (Pit Viper):
Testing the limits of my absoulte crazyness, I lied on the ground at about 15 cm from this pit viper to take this pic. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! I know how to handle snakes, and a friend (who happens to be the snake keeper at a local terrarium) was keeping an eye out for me while I snapped some pics.

Sleeping Frog:
Found at my University's Botanical Garden, this sleeping Hyla crepitans was just begging for a pic

Walking Stick:
Also found at the Botanical Garden, this devil-looking walking stick (Order Phasmatodea) didn't fool me!

All pics taken with my Canon S1 IS. All non-feathered creatures were shot with a Raynox DCR-250 Macro lens.

EDIT: Just added some info on the critters (Location, basic info, etc)

Dan

OwlsAndApples · Oct 28, 2006

Those pics are beautiful dllavaneras!!!
I love the hummer, really nice birds.
I'll try and dig out some of mine...

pdpfilms · Oct 28, 2006

What's the scale of the Onycophora? If that's any bigger than my hand, I'm going to be grossed out.

iSaint · Oct 28, 2006

dllavaneras said:
Sure! Take your pick Slimy, scaly, feathery, smooth-skinned... Here are a few pics from my side of the world:

Hummer:
I found this little one resting on a tree branch while I was taking a walk around campus. It kept flying away, just to return to the same branch. Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Central de Venezuela

Toucan:
A member of the family Piciformes, we found this gorgeous bird while hiking a nearby mountain. Parque Nacional El Avila, Sabas Nieves, Caracas

Onycophora:
Considered by some authors as a "missing link" (term used loosely) between the annelids and the arthropods, as these so-called velvet worms (Peripatus sp) have characteristics of both Phyla. This is the underside, with the mouth being the central opening. Those lateral openings aren't eyes, but mucous glands that secrete a very sticky goo, used to capture prey from a distance of up to 30 cm.

Bothrops sp (Pit Viper):
Testing the limits of my absoulte crazyness, I lied on the ground at about 15 cm from this pit viper to take this pic. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! I know how to handle snakes, and a friend (who happens to be the snake keeper at a local terrarium) was keeping an eye out for me while I snapped some pics.

Sleeping Frog:
Found at my University's Botanical Garden, this sleeping Hyla crepitans was just begging for a pic

Walking Stick:
Also found at the Botanical Garden, this devil-looking walking stick (Order Phasmatodea) didn't fool me!

All pics taken with my Canon S1 IS. All non-feathered creatures were shot with a Raynox DCR-250 Macro lens.

EDIT: Just added some info on the critters (Location, basic info, etc)

Dan

Ok, you win.

Now, with all of your knowledge of the wild, can you tell this guy that he doesn't have a snapping turtle?

dllavaneras · Oct 28, 2006

pdpfilms said:
What's the scale of the Onycophora? If that's any bigger than my hand, I'm going to be grossed out.

Don't sweat, that little critter was about 6-7 cm long. The longest ones I've seen are about 15 cm long, and those are quite hard to find. They're amazing creatures, really!

Thanks for all the nice comments

I'm looking forward to your pics, OwlsAndApples!

And iSaint, I'd have to see better pics of the turtle to be sure. He may be right, as a characteristic of the snapping turtles are three ridges (also called keels) that run from the front to the back of the carapace (the shell). There are such rudges on the turtle in the pic (albeit barely visible) On the other hand, snapping turtles have very large heads, and they cannot fully retract them into the shell (same goes for limbs), and the plastron is reduced (the plastron is the underside of the shell). Finally, snapping turtles have really long tails, almost as long as the shell itself. Try to see if the turtle satisfies these conditions. If it does, then he has a snapping turtle. If not (which would be my guess, as that turtle doesn't look much like a snapper), then it's probably a box turtle or a terrapin. Normally snapping turtles (Alligator Snapping Turtles in particular) are not much prettier than the Onycophora I showed above

Dan

EDIT: iSaint, I saw the rest of the thread with some other shots of Chomper. The three ridges are there, but I couldn't see if it had all the other characteristics. As for it's appetite for guppies, snappers aren't the only carnivorous turtles... Check out the Mata Mata, a contender with the alligator snapper for the weirdest/ugliest turtle ;-)

EDIT 2: Hey, didn't the owner of Chomper start this thread? I'd be happy to see some pics of Chomper to confirm

The ridges are a very strong point in favor of a snapper, but I'd like to see the tail length and the plastron to be sure...

srf4real · Oct 28, 2006

I been trying to tell ya, it's a FLORIDA snapper!

dllavaneras · Oct 28, 2006

I stand corrected

We're not used to snappers down here, matamatas are much more common. And while living in the states I only saw an Alligator snapper, so Chomper didn't quite match the picture I had in my head. How long have you had him? (I'm assuming it's a male, from the shape of the plastron - not the best way to know, but it gives a clue) Is he hard to take care of? Last turtle I had went misteriously missing (and no, she wasn't taken to a farm where she could run and chase guppies

)...

srf4real, any more nature pics you're willing to share? Most of mine are insect macros... I'd love to see what other people take pics of!

iSaint · Oct 29, 2006

srf4real said:
I been trying to tell ya, it's a FLORIDA snapper!

OK, ok, I'll leave you alone!

dogbone · Oct 29, 2006

@dllavaneras, Nice worm.

Local blue tongue lizard.

OwlsAndApples · Oct 29, 2006

Knew I'd get round to it eventually!

Not much interesting wildlife here in Herts, but I do have some from abroad:

Coates Attack! - Costa Rica

St Francis - Costa Rica

Work Work Work Repeat - Costa Rica

All taken with an Olympus C310 P+S (though buying my first DSLR soon!!)

OwlsAndApples

srf4real · Oct 29, 2006

It strikes me how everyone else's 'local wildlife' seems like some exotic species I've never seen in person! I need to travel more.

Brown pelicans over the Atlantic ocean

Thirty minutes after the wood stork in post 1, I looked again and this guy had taken over the spot - I think he's a juvenile blue heron, not positive, though.

These are all practise shots with my new FZ 50; hope to start taking more better ones as time goes by...

dllavaneras · Oct 29, 2006

You want weird fauna? =P

srf4real said:
It strikes me how everyone else's 'local wildlife' seems like some exotic species I've never seen in person! I need to travel more.

It's all about location! Fortunately I live in the tropics, where the life form diversity is incredible! Also, when you have a macro lens, new life forms appear in your own backyard. Take a look!

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens. This blue-green tarantula lives only in the Paraguaná region of Venezuela. No color alteration was necessary; these spiders are beautiful!

Acrocinus longimanus. This "little" (body is 12 cm long and 6 cm wide. Antennae and front legs are about 14 cm long) guy could easily take Chomper in a biting competition. A friend of mine was unlucky enough to get bitten by one of these, and he still has the bite marks after 4 months.

A really "cute" fly

Member of the Tachinidae family

A really peculiar spider. That's all I've got on this one!

And this is a turtle! No, really! Honest! It's a Matamata

Ever get up close and personal with a Harvestman aka "Daddy Long Legs"?

And finally, a finalist in the "weird animal" category: An Homoptera, cousin of the cicada:

But it's true, srf4real, it wouldn't hurt to take a trip nearby, say the Amazon rainforest or Sumatra or something like that...
Well, you saw a glimpse of the animal diversity down here in Venezuela. What's the weirdest animals you've seen near your home?

iSaint · Oct 29, 2006

dllavaneras said:
What's the weirdest animals you've seen near your home?

When I was in my first home living alone, I was awoken by a persistent clicking sound. It was a jumping beetle of some kind. Very cool and very interesting.

What is your profession dllavaneras? Your knowledge is amazing. My brother and his wife are both wildlife biologists in the panhandle of Florida. They may be partaking in a search for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker that has been sighted there in recent years.

dllavaneras · Oct 29, 2006

iSaint said:
What is your profession dllavaneras? Your knowledge is amazing. (snip)

Wow, you're too kind!

I'm not a professional yet, I'm studying Biology (7th semester). I love Zoology, specifically Entomology and Herpetology. I'm working as a scientific photographer at a medical entomology lab for the time being, something that's really going to take off (I hope!) after christmas when I get my new camera. Right now all my pics are taken with my 3.2 Mp Canon S1 IS. Aside from that, I'm a lab assistant for the Animal Biology lab (kind of a teacher's helper; I dissect animals, show the new students the immense animal diversity and stuff like that). As such, I'm expected to know at least a bit about all mayor Phyla.

I've still got soooo much to learn! Now thanks to you I can add "recognizing a snapping turtle" as something I know

pdpfilms · Oct 29, 2006

Those are magnificent shots. I'd look into getting them published in journals or textbooks... much better than the photos I've seen published in the past.

And here are some from South Africa (buried deep in the Picture of the Day thread):

pdpfilms · Oct 29, 2006

....and some more...

pdpfilms · Oct 29, 2006

...and some more.

crap freakboy · Oct 29, 2006

Amazing thread...you just can't beat photographs of nature.
Dllavaneras, do you have a web site with more? Either way please post more everyone.

greenmac · Oct 29, 2006

crap freakboy said:
Amazing thread...you just can't beat photographs of nature.
Dllavaneras, do you have a web site with more? Either way please post more everyone.

Totally agree. dllavaneras, what lens (macro) do you use?

srf4real · Oct 29, 2006

This ghost crab was playing hide and seek at the beach today.

I love animals, they make me happy!

iSaint · Oct 29, 2006

srf4real said:
This ghost crab was playing hide and seek at the beach today.

I love animals, they make me happy!

Where is this paradise beach you live and do they need teachers?

dllavaneras · Oct 29, 2006

greenmac said:
Totally agree. dllavaneras, what lens (macro) do you use?

Thanks for the comments, everyone!
@pdpfilms: I'm looking into getting them published as well! I'm begging the Biology Student Center at my faculty to start publishing their monthly paper again, so I can get my photos published there

It's not much, but it's a start! BTW, your pics are awesome! I love the two giraffe silhouettes.

@crap freakboy: I do have a website (2 or 3, actually):
Macro a day and a spinoff. Both are very, VERY basic sites. One pic a day (when I have the time) and room for 20 messages. Not much else...
My other site is one I haven't updated since spring, due to the lack of time

I'll post the address as soon as I update it!

And finally, @greenmac: I use a Canon S1 IS with a Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro lens, mounted on a lensmate adapter (52 mm). Both were purchased form lensmate.com and they're one of my best investments yet!

srf4real · Oct 30, 2006

iSaint said:
Where is this paradise beach you live and do they need teachers?

Melbourne, Florida: twenty minutes south of Cape Kennedy, ten south of Cocoa Beach - home of Kelly Slater, 8 time world champion surfer

(Ron Jon's Surf Shop), go east of Kissimmee (Walt Disney World) until you don't see any more land. That's the spot.

Yes teachers are in shortage! My wife teaches at a private school, the public schools don't pay very competitively compared to the cost of living in Florida... but then again, it's paradise!

Brevard County School District

crap freakboy · Oct 30, 2006

Enjoy it while it lasts. Probably be under water in 40 years.

Wildlife pictures

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