Posts Tagged ‘wildlife sightings’
Tiger Huntsman (Typostola sp.)
December 31st, 2012 | 
Author: 
Almost 18-years after first being intimidated by this incredibly aggressive spider, I finally have an identification (of sorts). During one of my earliest tours, whilst referring to the Green Dinosaur (Idiospermum australiense) with a hand movement, I saw an enormous spider hanging from its spinnerets off a single thread of silk, with its eight legs fully extended and paired off in a St. Andrew’s cross formation.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Leopard Moth (Zeuzera aeglospila)
With metallic-blues legs and 4 cm-long gold-spotted wings, this unfamiliar moth had disruptive patterns using strongly contrasting markings in a nonrepetitive configuration, to break up the animal’s outline. Flattening the outer edges of the wings also reduces shadow.
It’s not that easy seeing green …
Whilst it might seem obvious in a tropical rainforest that the most advantageous colour for the purpose of concealment is green, the influence of the upper rainforest canopy on light from the Sun absorbs the red bands of light to drive photosynthesis, leaving a residue that most of us see as green. Within this light environment, blue resonates most conspicuously, whereas green provides the optimum cover of conformity.
Jalbil; the super-cool Daintree dinosaur
Known as ‘Jalbil’ over these past two-thousand generations, but much more recently, ‘Boyd’s Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii); this living dinosaur, a Jurassic relictual species, distinguishes itself amongst its reptilian fraternity by relinquishing the energy that is otherwise available from direct sunlight. Almost certainly the only diurnal reptile in the world that does this, its only method of thermoregulation is through ambiance, always conforming to the temperature of the occupying vegetation.
Cooper Creek Wilderness Experience (CCW3)
The celebrated Cooper Creek Wilderness Experience (CCW3) has dominated these past 17-years as the most popular activity from the Cooper Creek Wilderness product range. Designed to showcase the richer diversity of natural and cultural heritage values within the prestigious Cooper Creek catchment by day, discerning eco-travellers immerse themselves into a 5 to 6 hour odyssey, comprising a 2-hour Grand Fan Palm Gallery day tour, a 1-hour cruise through the world’s most diverse mangrove community in search of elusive estuarine crocodiles, a delicious lunch in a rainforest setting and a cup of tea or coffee in a rainforest picnic setting alongside Cooper Creek.