Readers’ wildlife photographs

January 25, 2016 • 7:30 am

A request: keep sending in your wildlife photos. While I have about a week’s worth on hand, I’d be comfortable with a larger backlog!

Lou Jost writes in from Ecuador with a scary spider photo, and asks for an ID:

I just came back from our new reserve in northwest Ecuador where we found this monstrous tarantula on the road. Biggest spider I ever saw and very aggressive. Tarantulas have stinging hairs on their abdomen which they fling at predators with their legs, like little darts. This one has been flinging so many hairs since its last skin-shedding that its abdomen is nearly bare.

The thing was much bigger than my hand (including my spread fingers) but I have nothing more for scale. This was a quick roadside shot as we stopped our car to let it cross the road. No idea of the species. I am hoping that a reader might know. The shape of the abdomen and those iridescent purple legs might be distinctive. Your readers are pretty incredible. One of them got an ID for the ant in my “walk in the jungle” post!

Earlier Lou Jost

 Here is another tarantula, this one smaller. It came out from between the rocks of a remote, mysterious  “pyramid” deep in the jungle near one of our reserves, as if it were a prop in an Indiana Jones movie. A group of government anthropologists, archaeologists, and I were investigating the “pyramid” at the request of the local people, who had just found it a few months earlier (though I knew about it from a friend a decade ago). Wild rumors were now circulating about this being the possible tomb of the last Inca king, Atahualpa, or that it hid Atahualpa’s treasure, or that it was made by extraterrestrials or an extinct race of giants, and these rumors were being spread on national television, leading the Ecuadorian government to investigate.

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The “pyramid” does look very much like an Inca construction, and initially I thought it really might be one. But the anthropologists and geologists with us said it was natural. Nobody believed them, but an American geologist who saw my pictures on the internet showed convincingly that it was an example of a completely natural “tessellated pavement”.
Still, it was an exciting thing to come across. And even more exciting with a tarantula crawling out of it!!
JAC: I’m amazed that this is a natural formation, as it sure looks like the Inca stonework I’ve seen.

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Diana MacPherson sent some photos from the wilds of Canada:

There have been a lot of animals around partaking of the fat & sunflower seeds in the snow. I especially hadn’t seen the tree sparrows around for a while but they showed up today. Here are their photos below.
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) on the Fat:

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) on the Fat

Black Coloured Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) Eating Sunflower Seeds in the Snow:

Black Coloured Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) Eati

Female Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) on the Fat:

Female Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) on the Fat

I lost the ID for this bird, so readers can help out:

Rough-Legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)

American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea):

American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea )

 

47 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photographs”

        1. I think the first is indeed a Pamphobeteus sp. (slight chance of it being a Xenesthis but a closeup of the metatarsus of the 4th legs would be welcome). There are many undescribed species with such blue/purple colourings in addition the P. ultramarinus that I don’t think it’s possible to identify it to the species level from a picture.

          For the second one, how does some species of Megaphobema look?

          1. That is brilliant for budding arachnologists – get yourself a nice research grant – or just a ticket to Ecuador & get rooting around in the undergrowth! 🙂

          2. I’d love to do that! 🙂 Quite a few of them are already available in the pet trade – for a particularly gorgeous one you can google for pictures of the Pamphobeteus sp. “Platyomma”. The mature males are pink!

  3. It looks very much like classic Andean wall construction to me. I suspect that geologist who called it “tessellated pavement” is unfamiliar with Incan stonework.

    1. There were many professional geologists and archaeologists who said that it was natural. And all of them are resident Andean scientists very familiar with Incan stonework. So I don’t think it is fair to dismiss them so easily.

      1. Hmm… Are there any clues provided by context? (It is hard to tell from the photos what the surrounding features are.

        1. Yes, there are more clues than you can see from just these photos. For one thing, this is a hillside, not a local maximum. For another, lower down in the valley there are similar but much smaller rectangular-fracturing rocks that seem way too small to be man-made. And lower still, there are less-rectangular but still somewhat regular fractures.
          On the other hand, there were many stone tools and alleged stone tools found in the area as well. There is also something like sandy mortar between a few of the rocks. However an American geologist told me that this too is natural. See my blog post (Jerry included a link to it) for more photos and many links to tessellated pavement.

          1. I’d guess that the “sandy mortar” is natural since Inca stonework did not use mortar.

      2. The limited Inca stonework I’ve seen (Cuzco and the Sacred Valley) was much less regular: some stones very large, others smaller. This is very regular.
        Lou has links to some great photos of a tessellated pavement in Tasmania on his blog.
        And another example of natural regularity is spots like Devil’s Postpile in California – here’s a link to bunch of photos including a hexagonally tessellated area at the top (https://www.google.com/search?q=devils+postpile&biw=1920&bih=971&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiThI-PusXKAhULxGMKHZIyDeAQsAQIMA). You’d think it was paved if you didn’t see it from the side.

        3. Natural magmatic intrusions that cool in a certain way. Sometimes the surrounding softer rock erodes and leaves a tower such as Devil’s tower in Wyoming. Giant’s causeway in Northern Ireland is another example and there are seafloor examples, for instance near the Bahamas (these have been claimed to be examples of paved roads built by ancient Atlantean aliens)

          1. The Bahamas are a limestone plateau down to the depth where really serious divers spend months planning the dive to get to. Well over 100m, and I think flowstone has been collected from nearly 120m, which is getting damned close to glacial low-water mark.
            There may be igneous material at much greater depths – I’ve not studied the deep structure of the feature – but not within the reach of the casual diver. Well, not one who is intending to surface.
            I wouldn’t attempt to say “natural” or “artificial” from a picture. If local Gravel Inspectors say it’s natural, that’s good enough for me.

      1. There’s at least one in NZ too. It’s less than a thousand years since people first came here, so some people imagine some ancient extinct race. But geologists say it’s a natural phenomenon. I’ve heard an explanation of how it happens, and while it made sense at the time, I can’t remember it.

        Great pics Diana as well!

  4. Is it possible that the Incas used natural formations in their temples? That would help explain the ‘similarity’.

      1. Actually, there is a wide variety of stonework, some of it built of stone that was brought in and some of it carved into the bedrock of the mountain itself.

  5. Having just looked at googled photos of

    Tessellated Pavement, Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania

    which I would have sworn to be human-made salt pans, I think this is one in the eye for the Paley watch argument!

    1. Yes, those are the photos that convinced me that the professional archaeologists and geologists are right about this formation, in spite of appearances.

  6. Dian’s hawk looks like a rough legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), based on appearance (strong horizontal eye bar, general coloration, beak, etc.) and winter range.

    1. Yes that’s it. A rough legged hawk that summers in the Arctic. I’d never seen one before.

      1. Cool sighting, Diana!

        In addition to jblilie’s mentioned characteristics, this hawk is exhibiting a pretty diagnostic behavior as well, that of often perching on the tiniest branches at the top or edge of a tree. Rarely will you see any other large buteo doing that.

        David Sibley, in his Rough-legged write-ups, likes to mention that one of their arctic adaptations (in addition to their “rough”–i.e., feathered down to the toes–legs) is that they have relatively small bills and feet. One day I had the epiphany that “small feet lead to tiny perches.” 🙂

        See their high arctic breeding range and some “cool facts” about roughies here:

        https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/lifehistory

          1. Oh, glad you got to witness that!

            Hovering is one of the best opportunities to get decent BIF shots!

  9. Beautiful coloration on the tarantula and what a beast. Judging from the size, I wouldn’t be surprised if its diet consisted of amphibians, reptiles and small mammals.

    Diana, your (lovely) photos make me cold. 🙂

      1. Like most tarantulas, they probably mostly eat insects though will also eat small mammals and reptiles, too. And possibly amphibians too but Pamphobeteus might be one genus of tarantula that live with Microhylid frogs in some type of mutualism so they won’t eat all types of amphibians. 🙂

      1. The the headline linked to ‘Woman Faces Jail for Rescuing and Raising Baby Squirrels’ is probably overstated.

        To quote bits from the article:
        ‘Shorty after, she was fined $500 for “keeping captive game animals.”
        When Vaccarella appeared in court to plead not guilty to the charge the judge told Vaccarella she could face up to six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000 since having the animals was a criminal offense, according to her Change.org petition.
        Bob Considine, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman, said previously the fine could be waived since she was a first-time offender but she’d have to plead guilty.
        It was unclear how much Vaccarella would have to pay if she took the plea deal. ‘

        But then, in other accounts,
        http://www.app.com/story/news/local/western-monmouth-county/howell/2016/01/21/woman-who-saved-squirrels-wont-take-plea/79130302/

        ‘She received a summons in the mail for unauthorized possession of wildlife, which carries a fine of $100 to $500.’
        and
        Maria Vaccarella, a mother of three who works part time in a nursing home, rejected an offer Wednesday to plead guilty to unauthorized possession of wildlife in exchange for a suspended fine and $35 in court costs, she said.
        “I can’t plead guilty to saving a life,” Vaccarella said. “It’s ludicrous.”

        It seems unlikely to cost her very much and extremely unlikely she’ll ever see the inside of a jail unless she throws furniture at the judge.

        But now I suppose there is a Principle at Stake.

        (I long ago took all my principles out in the back yard and shot them. They cause too much trouble).

        cr

        1. It’s the principle of the matter. This is what gives credence to the cries for small government!

          1. And the principle at stake is…?

            I’m guessing that the law which she inadvertently broke was passed for animal welfare reasons. i.e. keeping ‘wild’ animals in captivity is considered cruel. (I could be quite wrong about that of course).

            The only principle I can see (as opposed to the practical aspects of this case) is whether that law should be changed. I’d suspect probably not.

            If they don’t prosecute in this case, will that impair their ability to prosecute** where somebody is deliberately commercially keeping wild animals? That’s probably where they’re coming from.

            (**Same argument as with the Bundys actually, though obviously wildly different circumstances).

            In practical terms, a suspended fine and $35 court costs is a bargain offer. They certainly aren’t out to ‘get’ her.

            So if she’s fighting for a principle (rather than her own justly offended feelings that she did nothing wrong) I can’t really see what it is.

            cr

          2. The principle of the matter is that she rescued the animals but the authorities refused to help rehabilitate them. Then when she rehabilitated the animals herself, she is charged and chastized. What choice did she have? Leaving the animals to die isn’t an option thickly one yet the laws were forcing her to make that choice if she were to avoid repercussions.

          3. Well the laws weren’t forcing her since she apparently didn’t know them. If she had, she maybe shouldn’t have put it on Twitter.

            But she could have got out of the whole thing for $35. Okay, maybe not the best reward for her efforts, but frankly if I could get out of a legal summons for $35 I’d grab it with both hands.

            What principle is she promoting? That people who (unknowingly) break the law with good intentions can’t be prosecuted? That’s never going to fly. I think, in offering to let her get out of it for (minimal) court costs, the authorities are acknowledging her good intentions.

            cr

          4. I think I made myself clear. You’re being deliberately obtuse. The law is stupid when applied in this way. She was not harming animals, she was helping them and the institution that created that law refused to help. It isn’t a matter of getting away with a $35 fine. It’s standing up for what’s right and pointing out foolishness.

            Jesus, this must be why I’m feeling borderline depressed lately – it’s always me who fights, at work, in society, everywhere. Maybe I should just not give a shit and laugh at everyone else who does. It’s better for your mental well being.

          5. I can see we’re not going to agree and I’m not being obtuse.

            We’re going round in circles now. Better stop.

            cr

  12. Very nice tarantulas, and I’m so glad to learn about this tessellated pavement phenomenon!

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