Posts Tagged ‘Fauna’
Good nocturnal activity within Daintree Rainforest
April 6th, 2012 | 
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Spotted through dense tropical rainforest over a rainforest creek, this magnificent Night Citrus Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa macleayi) astonished patrons on a Cooper Creek Nocturnal Tour. Intrepid travellers with a keen interest in nature, enter the centrepiece of the oldest surviving rainforest in the world with a view to experiencing habitat values on a nocturnal tour. The last few nights have not disappointed!
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Bats in Confinement
Spectacled Flying Fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) is restricted to Tropical North Queensland and Cape York Peninsular and has the smallest distribution and lowest known population of the 4 mainland species of fruit bats. Conspicuous with golden shoulders and surrounds of the eyes and black faces like little puppy dogs, the Spectacled Flying fox was declared a “vulnerable” species in 2002 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, due to habitat loss and persecution.
Another of Life’s Oddities – the Velvet Worm
WHEN David Attenborough’s agent emailed and requested one of our images for use in his new series “FIRST LIFE,” we really wanted to oblige. Alas! Our Onychophoran Peripatus, the Velvet Worm image was destroyed in a hard disk melt down some years ago.
We can always find another, we thought. We have a better camera and a more experienced photographer. Not so easy! This request came in July this year, the coldest time of the year. We associate velvet worms with wet warm times. We searched all the usual places under rocks and rotting logs, among leaf litter, but without success.
The Food Chain
A rasping, guttural distress call came out of the rainforest near our living area at about 9.00pm. A red-legged pademelon was jumping up and down in a frantic, almost deranged state. Closer investigation revealed that an amethystine python had entwined the pademelon’s joey. The joey was biting the snake as it tried to get away, but the python was too strong and determined. There’s a temptation to try to extricate the weaker creature from the coils of the snake, but we do not interfere. Living in a rainforest, rich with wildlife, we have become observers and recorders of life.
Neon Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)
In another stunning exposé of blue, the neon cuckoo bee (Thyreus nitidulus) roosts in the company of half a dozen others, on the peripheral stems of a fallen branch.