Marty’s photo of the day #4962: Annie: “Now, I want you to breathe through your eyelids.” Nuke: “My eyelids?” Annie: “Yeah, like the lava lizards of the Galapagos Islands. See, there are some lizards that have a parietal eye behind their heads so they can see backwards. Haven’t you ever noticed how Fernando Valenzuela, he […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4961: So, I shot green sea turtle porn while visiting the Galapagos Islands. Copulation can take several hours, with the female supporting the male’s weight and swimming to the surface for air. She’ll mate with multiple males over a two-week period and store their sperm for several months to fertilize […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4960: When it comes to underwater photography, one advantage the Galapagos Islands has over locations with coral reefs is that its lack of coral entices many interesting and colorful fish to hang out among the volcanic rocks near the surface. That advantage allowed me to get very close to this […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4959: Deb and I spent the night in a treehouse along the migration route of the Galapagos tortoises (also known as giant tortoises) on Santa Cruz island. Their migration from the humid highlands to the dry lowlands is only about five miles, but that’s quite a feat for these huge […]
Eventually I will get to more spectacular underwater photos, but I think this shot demonstrates the difference between what I had been posting previously from the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea and what I will be posting in the coming weeks from the Galapagos Islands. The Raja Ampat has incredible coral reefs that the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4958: You are looking at Christmas tree marine iguanas (also known as Española marine iguanas) making more Christmas tree marine iguanas. These lizards are a subspecies found only on Española island. While most marine iguanas are black to absorb sun heat, the males on Española turn brilliant red and green […]
Eve, the world’s most famous rainbow boa, has died. Reaching 25 years of age, she was an old snake. And my favorite. She arrived via Federal Express on the day of the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack. Then she was just a foot long, curled up in a tiny container. By the time she […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4957: This is a fledgling Galapagos albatross (also known as a waved albatross). When full-grown, these critically endangered birds have a wingspan of up to eight feet. And they look a lot prettier, too! This albatross isn’t yet ready to fly, but when it does, it will stay at sea […]
Deb and I are still on our way home from the Galapagos Islands. We’ve had four long flights so far and will soon board our final flight. Are you ready for a Galapagos sea lion kiss? If you saw the cute sea lion photo I posted early this morning, here’s the next photo in the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4956: Deb and I are on our way home from an adventure in the Galapagos Islands that exceeded our expectations. I shot thousands photos of the amazing wildlife and am sorting through them on our long flights to Montana. This incredibly cute sea lion greeted us on one of our […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4955: In my quest to show you life-forms that you’ve likely never seen before, here is some beautiful soft coral. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4954: These are feather stars. Despite their plant-like appearance, they are a free-swimming animals related to sea stars and sea urchins. They use their feathery arms to filter food from ocean currents and can crawl or swim by undulating their arms. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4953: This is a honeycomb grouper. They are protogynous hermaphrodites that start out as females and change into males later in life. Living up to 50 years, they spawn on nights surrounding the full moon, with eggs released into open water. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4952: This is a longfin emperor. These fish can shift their coloration from a pale to dark depending on their mood. They also start out as female before becoming male. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4951: This is a school of blackspotted snappers. The apparent attitude of one near the bottom, looking directly into my camera, cracks me up: “Who are you, and what is that thing in your hand?” (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4950: There are approximately 90 species of parrotfish in the world. I couldn’t find this one in any of my ID books or on-line searches. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4949: Golden spadefish undergo significant physical changes as they age. Juveniles have long, crescent-shaped dorsal and anal fins, while adults have shorter, rounded fins and a spade-like body. An interesting behavior is that juveniles sometimes float sideways, mimicking dead leaves, to hide from predators. Adults, like the one in this […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4948: This is a flagtail triggerfish. There are about 40 species of triggerfish. They get their name because they can lock their main dorsal spine into an upright position using a second, smaller spine, allowing them to wedge themselves into tight, rocky crevices to prevent predators from pulling them out. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4947: Sooner or later—at least for me—every visit to a tropical forest or rainforest produces some sort of stick insect. Here’s the one I found while visiting the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea last November.
Marty’s photo of the day #4946: This may be hard to see if you are viewing on a small screen. You are looking at a bluespotted cornetfish. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
