Sunday 29 March 2015

London Zoo part two

Welcome back, here are some more photos taken at London Zoo last April.


Atlantic mudskipper
Periophthalmus barbarus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Gobiidae; Perciformes; Actinopterygii; Chordata

Made famous by that Guinness advert, which makes out we all came from mudskippers, which is obviously not true. Mudskippers are specialised gobies that live in tropical mangroves, where water level fluctuates throughout the day, often leaving these fish stranded on land. They can "skip" using their pectoral fins, swimming using the tail, and although they lack lungs, they can absorb oxygen through wet skin and mucous membranes (e.g. mouth).


Sexy shrimp
Thor amboinensis (de Mann, 1888)
Hippolytidae; Decapoda; Malacostraca; Arthropoda

Yes, this really is called the sexy shrimp. I really don't know why.


Grey-headed gull
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1818)
Laridae; Charadriiformes; Aves; Chordata

Closely related to the black-headed gull of Europe and the Bonaparte's gull of North America. This bird seems to be in transition between winter and summer plumage, as its head is still white.


Male green peafowl
Pavo muticus Linnaeus, 1766
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata

This male was displaying to his females and a group of school children in the Snowden Aviary. Less well known but in my opinion much prettier than the blue peafowl.


Malagasy giant jumping rat
Hypogeomys antimena Grandidier, 1869
Nesomyidae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata

Down in the basement of the Clore Pavilion, in an area formerly known as Moonlight World, can be found some of London Zoo's most unusual inhabitants. Over the years I have seen dasyures, echidnas, and other bizarre mammals in this part of the zoo, and today they still have a few species of nocturnal mammal to excite fans of obscure mammals. The Malagasy giant jumping rat is in a family endemic to Africa and Madagascar, with this species restricted to a tiny patch of forest in western Madagascar, and is classified as Endangered by the IUCN.


North Sri Lanka grey slender loris
Loris lydekkerianus nordicus (Osman Hill, 1933)
Lorisidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata

Another unusual inhabitant of the Moonlight World is the slender loris. I'm always wary of using flash photography on animals, especially those in darkened surroundings and with big eyes, but this loris was actually very curious, and came closer to me as I took no more than three photos before moving on.


Australian water rat
Hydromys chrysogaster Geoffroy, 1804
Muridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata

A large aquatic rodent native to Australia and New Guinea, it also goes by the names of beaver rat or rakali.


Moholi bushbaby
Galago moholi Smith, 1836
Galagidae; Primates; Mammalia; Chordata

A southern African primate named for the sound of its voice.


Hooded pitta
Pitta sordida (Muller, 1776)
Pittidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata



Common emerald dove
Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus, 1758)
Columbidae; Columbiformes; Aves; Chordata


Male black-necked weaver
Ploceus nigricollis (Vieillot, 1815)
Ploceidae; Passeriforms; Aves; Chordata

These three photos were taken in the Blackburn Pavilion, also known as the Bird House. It was rebuilt in 2008 to feature a walkthrough aviary.


Sumatran tiger cub
Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata

This was taken when the tiger cubs at the zoo were only around a month old.,


Woolly-necked stork
Ciconia episcopus Boddaert, 1783
Ciconiidae; Ciconiiformes; Aves; Chordata

Taken at the African Bird Safari walkthrough.


Bearded pig
Sus barbatus Muller, 1838
Suidae; Artiodactyla; Mammalia; Chordata

A Southeast Asian relative of the wild boar, and a lot bigger than it looks!


Tawny frogmouth
Podargus strigoides (Latham, 1801)
Podargidae; Caprimulgiformes; Aves; Chordata

This nocturnal owl-like relative of nightjars is found in Australia, and looks very odd from the front.

Thursday 12 March 2015

London Zoo - Reptile House

My latest visit to London Zoo was in April 2014. I spent a long time in the Reptile House and here are some of the pictures of herpetofauna from that trip.


King cobra
Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836)
Elapidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014

The longest venomous snake in the world and one of the world's most feared.


Blue tree monitor
Varanus macraei (Böhme & Jacobs, 2001)
Varanidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014

An unusually coloured species of monitor lizard endemic to the eastern Indonesian island of Batanta. 


Rhinoceros viper
Bitis nasicornis (Shaw, 1792)
Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Long-nosed viper
Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Puff adder
Bitis arietans (Merrem, 1820)
Viperidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Gila monsters
Heloderma suspectum Cope, 1869
Helodermatidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014

These venomous lizards were mating.


Male Yemen veiled chameleon
Chamaeleo calyptratus (Duméril & Bibron, 1851)
Chamaeleonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Royal (or ball) python
Python regius (Shaw, 1802)
Pythonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Male Fiji iguana
Brachylophus bulabula Keogh et al., 2008
Iguanidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014

This recently discovered, endangered, bright blue and turquoise iguana is endemic to a few of the islands of Fiji, whose nearest relatives, apart from the other Fijian members of Brachylophus, are from South America.


Annam leaf turtles
Mauremys annamensis (Siebenrock, 1903)
Geoemydidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Yellow-crested Jackson's chameleon
Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus (Eason, Ferguson & Hebrard, 1988)
Chamaeleonidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Caiman lizard
Dracaena guianensis (Daudin, 1802)
Teiidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Radiated tortoise
Astrochelys radiata Shaw, 1802
Testudinidae; Testudines; Sauropsida; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Lake Oku clawed frog
Xenopus longipes Loumont & Kobel, 1991
Pipidae; Anura; Amphibia; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014


Mallorcan midwife toad tadpole
Alytes muletensis (Sanchiz & Adrover, 1977)
Alytidae; Anura; Amphibia; Chordata
London Zoo, April 2014

Mammals, birds, and more coming soon.

Tuesday 10 March 2015

Paradise Wildlife Park

I've been visiting Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, since I was an ickle kid. It has always been one of my favourite zoos, with some unusual animals you wouldn't usually seen in zoos. It remains the only place where I have seen the very rare Owston's civets, for example.


Eurasian nuthatch
Sitta europaea caesia Wolf, 1810
Sittidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata
Wild at Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

The Park is set in woodland, attracting various wild birds. I spotted this nuthatch in the woodland part of the park.


Male Swinhoe's pheasant
Lophura swinhoii (Gould, 1863)
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

There is a section of the park called "Birds of Paradise" which doesn't actually include any birds of paradise, but has a collection of birds of prey, parrots, and pheasants, including this beautifully plumaged male Swinhoe's pheasant from Taiwan.


Swainson's (rainbow) lorikeet
Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus (Gmelin, 1788)
Psittacidae/Psittaculidae; Psittaciformes; Aves; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

There is a walkthrough exhibit of Swainson's lorikeets where you can feed the brush-tongued birds with nectar.


Burrowing owls
Athene cunicularia (Molina, 1782)
Strigidae; Strigiformes; Aves; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

I like the way these two owls appear to look like one in this composition.


Immature South African cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus jubatus (Schreber, 1775)
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

Paradise has plenty of felids, shared with its specialist spin-off, Wildlife Heritage Foundation, which contains nothing but cats. Between them, they have (and have had) all of the big cat species, several threatened subspecies and varieties (including the white lion), and many small felids like Pallas' cat, ocelot, Geoffroy's cat, and Siberian lynx. The cheetahs here were being trained by keepers, while this photograph was taken, to accept food on cue to facilitate examination.


Jaguar
Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Felidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

The Park itself also has tigers (of unknown race because they were rescued and thus are not part of any breeding programme), a female African leopard, and snow leopards, as well as some beautiful jaguars.


Oudri's fan-footed gecko
Ptyodactylus oudrii Lataste, 1880
Phyllodactylidae; Squamata; Sauropsida; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014


Chinese alligator
Alligator sinensis Fauvel, 1879
Alligatoridae; Crocodylia; Sauropsida; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014


Swinhoe's striped squirrel
Tamiops swinhoei (Milne-Edwards, 1874)
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

Small mammals kept at the zoo include Asian short-clawed otters, meerkats, pygmy marmoset, red panda, lesser hedgehog tenrec, Egyptian rousettes (a small flying fox), and the chipmunk-like Swinhoe's striped squirrel.


Corsac fox
Vulpes corsac (Linnaeus, 1766)
Canidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata
Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire; March 2014

Finally, Paradise also boasts a number of canines, including red and corsac fox, raccoon dog, and Eurasian grey wolves.

Sunday 8 March 2015

London Wetland Centre

Hello readers, here are a few photos taken at WWT London Wetland Centre. I have been working there as a volunteer and casual learning assistant, helping the education team to deliver and devise activities like pond dipping, arts and crafts, and nature walks, for almost four years now. I've mentioned them and features photos taken there in many posts before, including wetland bonanza, two posts on teals, and arctic wildfowl. Here are some photos taken at the Wetlands last year.


Bewick's swan
Cygnus bewickii (Yarrell, 1838)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes (captive collections), March 2014


Radjah shelduck
Tadorna radjah (Lesson, 1828)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes (captive collections, "Kakadu"), March 2014


European robin
Erithacus rubecula melophilus Hartert, 1758
Muscicapidae; Passeriformes; Aves; Chordata
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, March 2014


Grey heron
Ardea cinerea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Ardeidae; Pelecaniformes; Aves; Chordata
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, March 2014


Wasp beetle
Clytus arietis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Cerambycidae; Coleoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014


Vapourer moth caterpillar on bramble leaf (Rubus fruticosus)
Orgyia antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758)
Lymantriidae; Lepidoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, June 2014


Blue mint beetle
Chrysolina coerulans (Scriba, 1791)
Chrysomelidae; Coleoptera; Insecta; Arthropoda
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014

This is an invasive species of bright blue beetle native to southern and central Europe but is spreading northwards. It is a pest of mint plants.


Bee orchid
Ophrys apifera Hudson
Orchidaceae; Asparagales; Liliopsida; Angiospermae
WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, May 2014


Egyptian geese
Alopochen aegyptiacus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
Wild at WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes, August 2014

Next, photos from a trip to Paradise Wildlife Park, a small but interesting zoo in southeast Hertfordshire.