Peruvian Amazon: Manu/Tambopata Part VIII

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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pbertner
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Peruvian Amazon: Manu/Tambopata Part VIII

Post by pbertner »

A pair of mating leaf-mimicking katydids (Typophyllum sp.) melt into the surrounding leaf litter:

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Though glass frogs are not unknown from the lowland Amazonian rainforest, they are more common in the cloud forest streams of higher altitudes. More common are translucent juveniles which gain additional pigmentation as they mature:

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A newly moulted fly in the leaf litter:

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Aedes mosquitos are common within the Peruvian Madre de Dios department. A vector for Zika, Dengue, it has been subject to various DDT fumigation campaigns:

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Broad-nosed weevil (Entiminae):

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Fast and lacking a web, the lynx spider earns its name through stealth and its quick pounce. Seen here with a paper wasp prey:

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Long urticating hairs on this caterpillar provide a physical barrier to aggression by ants, as well as a more nettlesome protection to birds and mammals:

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A juvenile Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) is the smallest Crocodilian species in the world. Attaining lengths which only barely exceed 1 metre. This one is only a few weeks old and undoubtedly has a hard life ahead of it, as attrition rates are high amongst young which compete for territory amongst their kin, as well as predation by birds, rodents and a variety of other predators. Reinforced armour plates add to their resiliency, but their size is the largest factor against them. Though ironically it might be their saving grace as the larger Crocodilian species lose ground to poaching and habitat loss, the dwarf caiman has a larger range and is one of the less threatened species.

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Thanks for looking and commenting,
Paul

Saul
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Post by Saul »

Beautiful set

MarkSturtevant
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Post by MarkSturtevant »

Amazing pictures. All of it.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

nikonf
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Post by nikonf »

Paul, these are absolutely amazing images!

May I have the details on the equipment you use to take these beautiful photographs?

Thank you very much,
Mike

pbertner
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Post by pbertner »

Thanks Mark, Mike and Saul, much appreciated.

Mike - For the fly, frog, mosquito and weevil I used the Canon Mpe and for the rest I used a 1.4xTC with 12mm extension tube on a Canon 100mm f/2.8L. The latter gives increased mag. and good compression of subject for background bokeh/details. For lighting I use a 600EX-RT off camera with big box diffuser. All shot on a Sony A7RII with metabones adapter.

dhmiller
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Post by dhmiller »

No stacking? Excellent work. Love the colors of the mosquito in particular.
pbertner wrote:Thanks Mark, Mike and Saul, much appreciated.

Mike - For the fly, frog, mosquito and weevil I used the Canon Mpe and for the rest I used a 1.4xTC with 12mm extension tube on a Canon 100mm f/2.8L. The latter gives increased mag. and good compression of subject for background bokeh/details. For lighting I use a 600EX-RT off camera with big box diffuser. All shot on a Sony A7RII with metabones adapter.

nikonf
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Post by nikonf »

Paul,

Thank you for the technical information.

You are very talented and an expert in capturing the tiny creatures with beautiful bokeh and details!

Best,
Mike

ChrisR
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Post by ChrisR »

I'm not sure I've fully worked out the katydids in #1.
My eye is diverted to the watching dragon.
Chris R

Sumguy01
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Post by Sumguy01 »

:smt038 Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.

hayath
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Post by hayath »

#1 is way too cool!
Very enjoyable set, as always :)

grgh
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Post by grgh »

Any chance that you could highlight the pair of mating leaf-mimicking katydids (Typophyllum sp.) melting into the surrounding leaf litter.

I cannot make them out?

very nice and beautiful shots of other critters.
used to do astronomy.
and photography.
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DrHook
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Post by DrHook »

I might be able to help here, grgh, even though I don't really have a clue and have never seen these fellas in real life.

It's my belief the couple are at the top of the picture, and to confuse matters they are facing different ways. The female is underneath, antennae going left, almost flattened by the weight of the male, and this gives us a side-on view of her front end with its large dorsal ridge. Her eye is a dark little ball. The male is on top, looking right, and our view of him is a dorsal view from above. His left foreleg is plainly in view, as is his enormous right rear leg.

A little research has left me with the understanding that this may not be an actual mating, but more that the male is guarding the female, and unwilling to let her wander off.

If I have this totally wrong, my apologies.

PS: not sure what species the dragon is - it looks more like a seahorse to me, anyway :P

pbertner
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Post by pbertner »

Image

True enough, actual mating would look something more like this:

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Though the male guarding can be complicated, and not quite as straight forward as one might think, as illustrated by the two males here:

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[/img]

Troels
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Post by Troels »

Thanks for the explanation!
Amazing!
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
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grgh
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Post by grgh »

Paul

Thanks for the illustrated guide, I would have never found them.

Grgh.. George
used to do astronomy.
and photography.
Zeiss Universal Phase contrast.
Zeiss PMII
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