A Special & exclusive Travel Report from Palau Micronesia,
& if you visit Palau make sure you don’t forget your Camera.


© Gunther Deichmann - just relaxing... awesome Palau Waterfall

Palau the hidden Crown Jewel in the Pacific…never heard about it? About time we introduce you to one of the most charming places on Earth… some call it… the forgotten Paradise!
Palau has been in the NEWS lately with the Detainees from Guantánamo Bay, Discovery Channel or the French Survivor Series, produced only recently on the Islands.
Why only now everybody is talking about it? I guess some of them have seen the sheer beauty now and come to realize its amazing ecosystem, seldom found anywhere else on this Planet.

© Gunther Deichmann - aerial of the Rock Islands

I have been traveling to Palau the past 15 years and I still cant get enough of its beauty above and below the waves. Quoted as one, if not the Best Dive destination in the world.
Like a child in a candy shop, I am like that every time I travel to Palau, discovering new things all the time…it is just awesome.

© Gunther Deichmann - watch Turtles swim by, Blue Corner Palau


© Gunther Deichmann - colors below the waves, Blue Corner

The information below is courtesy of Palautours.com containing information how to get there and a very brief inside of this truly remarkable place. For all our Camera enthusiast we highly recommend Sam’s Tour’s Digital Photo Center which is fully equipped with iMac Computers and state of the art Software like Aperture, plus an in-house Video facility operated by award-winning High Definition Underwater Filmmaker and Digital Video Producer, Dr. Nick Martorano, Ph.D.
GD

© Gunther Deichmann - “arriving in Palau”

There are many ways to get to Palau and flying direct is not always the most economical or timely method. Many guests that fly in from the states catch a flight out of L.A. or San Francisco to Japan and then catch a flight from Japan to Guam (there are multiple flights a day from Japan flying into Guam) and then Guam to Palau. The use of frequent flyer miles is also available, remember to book early or have a great travel agent if you are trying to go that route.
Continental Micronesia is the major airline of Micronesia and flies into Palau 6 days a week: 2 times a day on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays; and once a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (Please note: these schedules are subject to change it is advisable to check with your airlines first)
They have service from Guam 6 days a week, with connections to and from Yap on Wednesdays and Sundays. There is service to and from Palau from Manila, Philippines (this seems to be the best way to travel to Palau from Asia or Europe); twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is service to and from Kaoshiung and Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesdays and Saturdays; and service to and from Taipei, Taiwan on Thursdays and Sundays on Far Eastern Air Transport (or FAT Airline). Japan Airlines (JAL) has flights to and from Palau twice a month.

Palau offers you the world's most beautiful tropical paradise. Famous for its diving, Palau is rated as one of the world's best diving destinations by scuba aficionados. And why not...Palau has unspoiled reefs, caves, and walls with the most amazing array of marine life you can ever imagine.

© Gunther Deichmann - get close to Marine life.

Palau beckons to you with some of the world's most
awesome natural wonders.

Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with "sting less" jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man, and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along our pristine archipelago.

© Gunther Deichmann - swim with jelly fish and not getting stung.

Palau beckons to you with some of the world's most awesome natural wonders. Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with "sting less" jellyfish.

© Gunther Deichmann - hire a Helicopter and get a Birds-eye View.

Palau. To many the name conjures up images of lush jungles atop mushroom-shaped limestone islands surrounded by turquoise waters so abundant with life that it is nearly impossible to ingest it all. With magnificent reefs that contain over 1300 species of fish and 400 species of coral, it is no surprise that it is recognized as one of the best and most consistent places to see a huge diversity and abundance of both small tropical fish and large pelagic predators.

© Gunther Deichmann - Explore amazing Palau by Kayaks

There are several reasons for Palau's diversity of life, particularly the marine life, with some of the major factors being the variety of habitats and reef structures as well as its location. Between the coastal mangroves of Babeldaob and the outer reef walls of the Ngemelis and Pelelui, exists an extensive shallow and deep water lagoon containing limestone islands, sheltered marine lakes, and narrow passages that provide a mixture of different habitats that support a variety of fish and coral. Further, the ranges of reef structures, from sheer vertical walls to underwater caves provide numerous places for species to live. If the diversity of habitats in Palau is poised to accommodate a terrific amount of marine life, its location is the reason that much of the marine life made it here in the first place. Palau resides just outside of the ‘Coral Triangle' an area recognized as the center of marine biodiversity and has three major bodies of water converge on the island. To the east is the Pacific Ocean, to the west the Philippine Sea, and to the south, the Celebes Sea.

© Gunther Deichmann - paradise is waiting for YOU.

As the Pacific Ocean, the Philippine and Celebes Seas circulate, the potential to bring larva of coral, fish, and invertebrates to Palau from different parts of the Indo-Pacific region is very high.

© Gunther Deichmann -have your own Island

Terrestrially, Palau has one of the most diverse assemblages of flora and fauna in Micronesia The different geology, predominantly the limestone Rock Islands and the large volcanic main island of Babeldaob provide excellent substrate for a diverse number of trees, plants, birds, and reptiles. There are over 1250 species of plants, 140 species of birds (including 8 endemic species), and 50 species of amphibians and reptiles (including the largest reptile, the Saltwater Crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus ). With all of the diversity in Palau , both above and below the water, it will amaze even the most seasoned naturalist.

© Gunther Deichmann - enjoy the Spa at the Palau Pacific Resort.


© Gunther Deichmann - see You soon in Palau Micronesia.

See pages after pages with stunning images and information on Palau @ http://www.palautours.com/
You can Check also with the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) for more local information once you have arrived in Palau.
For an Birds-eye view of Palau check out Palau Helicopters @ http://www.palautours.com/palauheli-other.html

© Gunther Deichmann - this juvenile Frogfish is
only around one centimeter in length

The original Image had been scanned & stored as digital file in tiff format on my external hard drive, I just imported the file into Aperture 2 made minor correction & a long forgotten image became a life again.

Frogfish Memories
Posted by Gunther Deichmann on May 21, 2009 in Blog, Destinations, Marine Life,
FINS Online

While going through my archives the other day I came across an image from film days, and I fondly recalled the story behind this photograph.
It was during a night dive in Anilao in the Philippines that I spotted this amazing miniature frogfish, around one centimeter in length. But…since it was near the end of our dive, I had run out of film. I cursed and blew bubbles in frustration.
Since it was a shallow dive, my guide and I still had plenty of air, so I signaled to him, then went back up to the boat to change film.
Crazy, I know…the things you do for a shot sometimes. However, my main concern at the time was how to find this little guy again. He was so tiny and could’ve easily disappeared.

After I changed film and went back down to where my trusted dive guide was waiting for me, it took a while, but we found the little frogfish again.
After I took three shots, he disappeared into a crevice. We waited a few minutes before surfacing and heading back to the resort for a well deserved beer.
GD

Endemic wildlife under threat!



© Gunther Deichmann - Aerial photo: Thousands of Magpie Geese on the
Flood Plains near Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.


© Gunther Deichmann - Whistling Ducks, Kakadu National Park

The Cane Toad is posing a serious threat to Australia’s endemic Wildlife.

During my days when I roamed around in Kakadu National Park some 25 years ago there where NO Cane Toads, now they have invaded this rich in wildlife ecosystem. In recent years they have not stopped and now moving towards north-western Australia invading the Kimberley region too.
Freshwater Crocodiles and a unique type of pygmy crocodile found only in Australia could be wiped out by the dreaded cane toad unless prompt action is taken, zoologists have warned.
Just two populations of the endangered pygmy freshwater crocodile are known to exist, both of them in the country's tropical north. The crocodiles are at risk because they prey on cane toads and then die from the amphibians' highly toxic skin. Isolated in remote rivers and creeks by waterfalls and steep sandstone escarpments, they are about half the size of normal freshwater crocs.

© Gunther Deichmann - Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Image showing a true gallop), fighting for survival.

“Thanks” to the introduction of Cane Toads to Australia in August 1936. We’re tried to solve a problem… but created a much bigger one.
The idea was to eradicate the grey back cane beetle pests, now the cane toad is considered a pest and invasive species in many of its introduced regions because its toxic skin kills many native predators when ingested.
It has also many negative effects on farmers because of pets and animals eating the creatures.
The cane toad has poison glands, and the tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals if ingested. Because of its voracious appetite, the cane toad has been introduced to many regions of the Pacific and the Caribbean islands as a method of agricultural pest control, notably failing in the case of Australia in 1935, and derives its common name from its use against the grey back cane beetle pests.

All creatures small and big have the right for their existence on this planet, but the Cane Toad does not belong in Australia, STOP interfering with mother nature.





All images © Gunther Deichmann - from left: Sea Eagle, Jabiru black-necked Stork
Tree Snake, large Goanna in front of Termite mounds

A Queensland study showed more than a 50% decline in Gould’s goanna numbers over a seven-month period coincident with the arrival and build up of cane toad numbers.
A fauna survey in Kakadu showed that Gilbert’s dragon and all goanna species significantly declined following cane toad invasion.
Frog-eating snakes in general are susceptible to impacts. These include the northern death adder, western brown snake and red-bellied black snake. There are also numerous reports of freshwater crocodiles dying after eating cane toads in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory. Some water fowls are also no exceptions including the White Breasted Sea eagle.
GD

CANE TOAD FACTS
Cane toads are expanding their range across Northern Australia faster than ever expected, and have been recorded moving up to 20km in just a few weeks.

They have reached the western part of the Northern Territory, and without intervention, are expected to reach the east Kimberley region of Western Australia in one to three years time.

Cane toads need water to survive. With only a relatively narrow band of non-arid country between the eastern Kimberley and the Top End of the Northern Territory, suitable cane toad habitat funnels down to such a relatively small ‘land bridge’ that there is a unique opportunity to slow and hopefully halt their march westwards across Northern Australia.
Since its original introduction the cane toad has had a particularly marked effect on Australian biodiversity.

Cane Toad Research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad

The Australian Aboriginals call it…
”Children of the Lightning Man”

Years ago during a Photography excursion into a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia I encountered a very rare and strange looking Insect. It was during the month of November just before the onset of the wet season, camping over night at this small rock outcrop, when I got the urge for “natures call.”

I squatted behind some rocks and as I looked up I spotted this bizarre Insect, but not just one, a dozen or so brightly colored orange Grasshoppers covering the small plant right in front of me.
Wow… I hurried up… run back to the campsite and grabbed my Camera. My first approach was very slow, scared that I would spook them, but then to my amazement the Grasshoppers would not move at all, they just sat there like wax figurines.

© Gunther Deichmann - the rare Leichardt Grasshopper
from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia

Once I had my shots, I started to realize that this maybe something very special, sure enough, after my return to Darwin I showed the one specimen, I had collected to the Curator of the Northern Territory Museum.
Gunther - this is the very rare Leichardt Grasshopper he said with excitement, they are only found in remote parts of the Northern Territory there have been no sightings for hundred years.

It's named after the explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt who reported great numbers of them as he crossed the Arnhem Land plateau in 1845.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper is bright red, blue and orange. Its strong colors are a defense against predators which works so well that this little grasshopper has Attitude - often it doesn't even bother to fly away when predators approach, exactly what happen when I took the Photos that morning.

© Gunther Deichmann - left: deep inside Arnhem Land, it is here where you can find the Leichardt Grasshopper, if you lucky. right: tribal Aborigines retouching ancient rock art in Arnhem Land, Australia

Normally I leave animals where I find them and don’t interfere with nature, but in this case the Curator thanked me for bringing in just one specimen for research, it was after all about 100 years later.
I have more images but those are tucked away in archives with my international agency Picture Press in Germany.
For the Australian Aboriginals the Grasshopper has a very special meaning, the Jawoyn and Gundjeibmi people of Western Arnhem Land call the grasshopper Alyurr, children of the Lightning Man Namarrgon. A powerful ancestral being, this is evident in the Rock art through out the Arnhem Land Escarpment.
GD

Back into the wild again...


1975 © Gunther Deichmann - a tranquil and serene setting in this wetland
from the Top End of Australia, but it is also the home of the Saltwater
Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700 20mm lens

This is my follow up article on Images long forgotten and somewhere tucked away in our archives or hard drives...Memories of Outback adventures from the past.

The Australian Saltwater Crocodile and the famous “Sweetheart” from the Finnis River in the Northern Territory some 55 kilometers south west of Darwin City. I used the same process importing the old digitized images from my external hard drives into Aperture 2 applying some adjustments and using the Monochrome Mixer for the Black and White images. Aperture does a great job not only with todays RAW files but also with scanned tiff files from slides or negatives.

Once imported and you made some adjustment you can always revert back to your original file just like you would do with Raw images, this makes Aperture 2 perfect for archiving, cataloging even for your older images, using just one system instead of many.

1979 © Gunther Deichmann - surrounded by flowers a very large
apprx. 16 foot Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in Yellow Waters
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700


1979 © Gunther Deichmann - see if you can spot this perfectly
camouflaged large about 20 foot Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) on a
muddy River Bank Northern Territory, Australia. Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700

Close encounter of a different kind…and I got very close… sometimes too close to these ancient reptiles during my days in the Northern Territory of Australia. Saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living crocodilians. Some old historical records from 1930 or there about claim they had been caught up to 33 feet in length, however no photographic records has surfaced to prove this, but I do believe it.
I myself encountered Crocs bigger then the Boat I was sitting in and the boat was 22 feet, it is no joke sitting in an Aluminum Dingy and this massive Croc slides in from the muddy banks hitting in your direction.
A fantastic and a great experience getting up close to these prehistoric animals evolved millions of years ago and still with us today.

1975 © Gunther Deichmann - Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) on the
banks of Yellow Waters in Kakadu National Park
Northern Territory, Australia. Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700.
(using Aperture 2 for the B&W conversion)


1978 © Gunther Deichmann - “blowing bubbles” Crocodile
(Crocodylus porosus) on the banks of the Adelaide River in the
Northern Territory,Australia. Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700.
(using Aperture 2 for the B&W conversion)

I could fill up a book with the many encounters I had with these amazing animals, feeling scared at times and vulnerable, but I am also happy that in my life time I experience the only true survivor of our prehistoric past.
Spending many days out in Bush with Dr. Graham Webb (see my previous article) going where no man has gone before collecting Saltwater Crocodile Eggs for research and a conservation program at the time.
Photography was extremely difficult under these circumstances, wearing a water proof shooting vest which could also act as a floating device, not for me mind you... but for my Cameras, have to get our priorities right!

© Gunther Deichmann - Two days old! Crocodile
hatchlings in a holding tank before
their release into the wild.


© Gunther Deichmann - an interesting reflection -
Two days old! Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Hatchling in a holding tank before its release into the wild.

Part of the research involved being dropped off by helicopter on to floating mats to collect Crocodile Eggs. Floating mats are; a natural floating interwoven grass found in Wetlands at the Top End of Australia, you can actually walk on this grass mat, a very strange feeling, like walking on a water bed. Of course there is always the risk you break through, ending up to your neck in water, not a good feeling with large Saltwater crocs nearby. However this floating mat is the perfect habitat for the Crocs to build their nest and the ideal location for researchers. The research involved collecting eggs, temperature measurements and other data, a high-risk research with nowhere to run in case “Mum” decides to return.

Back at the Laboratory; the Eggs where placed in an Incubator and after hatching the small crocs where tagged and released back into the wild.
GD

Then there was “Sweetheart” a 5.5 meter saltwater crocodile that lived in the Finnis River in the Northern Territory of Australia, some 55 kilometers south west of Darwin city. This enormous Croc was very territorial. It became famous because it took a dislike to the sound of outboard motors and would often attack small boats entering its territory. Presumably it viewed them as a threat or a challenge from a rival Croc.

The Giant Crocodile “Sweetheart”

More info and photos of “Sweetheart.” Check the links below
http://inny.ipbfree.com/index.php?showtopic=1810


http://www.all-about-reptiles.com/crocodile.html

© Gunther Deichmann - Take off... Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnstoni)moving at high speed towards a Billabong.
Photo from the mid seventies.

The other day I went through my Archives looking for a particular image when I came across my series on Australian Freshwater Crocodiles. (Crocodylus johnstoni) I remember that time I went out with Professor Dr Graham Webb an expert on Australian Crocodiles collecting data deep inside the Australian Bush in the Northern Territory. Spending days on end camping at Billabongs catching, tagging and releasing these truly amazing Reptiles for research and conservation.

© Gunther Deichmann - One of the very first images showing a true gallop.
Australian Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)
Photo from the mid seventies.

It was during this project that we discovered that the Crocodile (not only the Freshwater one) displays a true Gallop, movements just like a Horse, not known previously until this research by Dr. Graham Webb.
The images on todays Blog and many other where most likely the very first showing Crocodiles in a full Gallop, amazing and thrilling times long gone but not forgotten. At the time they where published in a various magazines.

The Black & White Images are from one of those trips, the originals had been shot on Kodachrome film, afterwards or I should say many years later I scanned the slides, now the digital images residing in my archives. By the way this was long before my Nikon days using the X700 Minolta bodies and lenses.

© Gunther Deichmann - Lift off...Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus johnstoni)moving at high speed towards a Billabong.
Photo from the mid seventies.

I imported the tiff files direct from my external hard drives into Aperture 2 and converted them to B&W. So, if you have images from way back have a good look at them you never know what you might come across and if you end up using them or not makes no difference it is worth the memory from times long gone.

A few years later Dr. Graham Webb also discovered what was thought first a new species of a Freshwater Crocodile in a very remote part of Arnhem Land, an Aboriginal Reserve in the Northern Territory. Almost half the sizes of the other know Freshwater Crocs, after a long study it turned out they are exactly the same species but had adapted to this size due to the lack of food in this remote part of the Arnhem Land. Consequently they where named the Pygmy Crocodiles but it is the same species (Crocodylus johnstoni) yet another proof that these reptiles, which developed over million of years, can adapt to changes depending on their location or climate.
The Australian Freshwater Crocodile is at risk today from the increasing number of introduced Queensland Cane Toads and human interference in their habitat. The toad is lethally poisonous to Freshwater Crocodiles (although strangely harmless to Saltwater Crocodiles.
In one of my next articles I introduce you to the Australian Saltwater Crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus) experience with the same Research team…from Hatchlings to a large 22 foot Croc.
GD


See below some info and facts on the Australian Freshwater Crocodiles:

The Australian freshwater crocodile is a relatively small crocodilian. Males can grow 3 meters (9.8 ft) long, while females reach a maximum size of 2.1 meters (6.9 ft). The body color is light brown with darker bands on the body and tail - these tend to be broken up near the neck. Some individuals possess distinct bands or speckling on the snout. Body scales are relatively large, with wide, closely-knit armored plates on the back. Rounded, pebbly scales cover the flanks and outsides of the legs.

The Freshwater Crocodile is not capable of killing or even seriously harming a human. There has only been one recorded attack by a freshwater crocodile on a human; this attack took place at Barramundi Gorge (also known as Maguk) in Kakadu National Park and resulted in very minor injuries to the victim, who managed to swim and walk away from the attack. It is believed the victim swam directly over the small crocodile, in general it is still considered safe to swim with this species.
Distribution and habitat
They are found in the states of Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. Main habitats include freshwater wetlands, billabongs, rivers, and creeks. It competes poorly with Saltwater crocodiles but is saltwater tolerant. As an adult its diet consists of birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians and fish. This species can be found in areas where Saltwater Crocodiles cannot and are known to inhabit areas above the escarpment in Kakadu National Park and in very arid & rocky conditions (such as Katherine Gorge, where they are very common and relatively safe from saltwater crocodiles during the dry season.) That being said, they are still consistently found in low-level billabongs, living alongside their larger evolutionary cousins.
This species, until recently, was common throughout much of northern Australia, especially where the much larger and far more dangerous Saltwater Crocodile is not found (such as more arid inland areas and higher elevations) but in recent years the population has dropped dramatically due to the ingestion of local populations of the invasive Cane Toad. The toad is lethally poisonous to Freshwater Crocodiles (although strangely harmless to Saltwater Crocodiles) and is rampant throughout the Australian wilderness. The crocodiles are also infected by Griphobilharzia amoena, a parasitic trematode, in regions such as Darwin, Australia and Irian Jaya.

The first one:
Delete! Delete! Delete! (Undelete)

An amazing story how a Photo-Journalist recovered his images, brought to my attention by Robin Grabherr.
http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/delete-delete-delete-undelete/?scp=1&sq=delete%20camera&st=cse

The second one:

A Dinosaurs afternoon with Tony Wu...Tony made me green with envy, he had the opportunity in Japan to Visit my “past” yes, you all know I still love my fossils. As a good friend would do... he send me some Images in the past few days...to get me going...grrrrrrr, but thanks anyway Tony, much appreciated. Below excerpts from his Blog...

Walking with Dinosaurs...

Dinosaur, It seems like this was my week to see old stuff…expensive fossils on Monday, and yesterday, a dinosaur exhibit at the National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo.
This will probably come as no surprise, but I was obsessed with dinosaurs and other prehistoric life forms when I was a kid. I devoured every dinosaur book in every library and bookstore that I came across, and I probably spent hundreds of hours digging through gravel, mountain rocks, river beds, construction sites, etc. for fossils. (I found a lot!)

© Tony Wu - Dinosaur Exhibit at the National Museum
of Nature and Science Tokyo

I drew dinosaurs at school (usually during reading and grammar classes), and dreamed up all sorts of little projects to pursue in lieu of doing homework. When I visited Washington DC…straight to the dinosaur exhibit.
…so seeing the dino displays at the museum yesterday brought back a flood of fond memories.

The were a number of dinosaurs on display. True to form, I gravitated to the ones with big teeth and sharp claws, giving only a casual glance to the duck-like, pacifist “veggisaursuses”.
The one at the top of this post was the first to greet visitors to the hall. It’s a Cryolophosaurus ellioti (can you hear me saying “cooooooolllllllll” as I walked in?).
...read more at Tony Wu’s Blog @
http://www.tonywublog.com/20090613/walking-with-dinosaurs.html

Colour Figure 16 (Villanueva & Norman) Adult Octopus cyanea in camouflage display amongst soft corals,Puerto Galera, Philippine Islands.
(Photo: Gunther Deichmann.)

© Gunther Deichmann - the rare and very unique Leichhardt Grasshopper from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, found nowhere else in the world. Visit Gunther Deichmann website @ www.deichmann-photo.com or click on the image above.

I was very deep inside Arnhem Land and in Aboriginal Territory, I had heard about this amazing Grasshopper before and had seen a specimen at the Darwin Museum (the only one) and now I was confronted with these rare creatures sitting sluggish on a bush right in front of me. I understand the Aboriginals a lot better now, the Dream TIme and myth, I can imagine when they saw this orange colored Grasshopper for the first time, how Alien this must have been.
I was told by the Curator of the Darwin Museum that this Grasshopper had not been seen for some 100 years, I did collect a specimen for the Darwin Museum for Research purpose. All the other ones which where clinging on this bush I left where I found them, but of course took some Photos first, I might never see them again.
The Leichhardt Grasshopper is only found in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Another endangered species?

See below some more info and excerpts courtesy of:
http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/
science/scribblygum/November2000/default.htm
It's named after the explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt who reported great numbers of them as he crossed the Arnhem Land plateau in 1845. However, after a few more sightings, Leichhardt's Grasshopper went incognito for 120 years. It's only reappeared on the scientific record recently, around 1973, when the mining industry boomed and access into Leichhardt's grasshopper territory was improved.
In Australia's Top End a beguiling grasshopper is heralding the coming of the wet season by putting on its gaudiest outfit. Leichhardt's Grasshopper is out in full adult glory. It's Australia's most brightly coloured grasshopper and one of the most spectacular in the world.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper is bright red, blue and orange. Its strong colours are a defence against predators which works so well that this little grasshopper has Attitude - often it doesn't even bother to fly away when predators approach.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper's scientific name is Petasida ephippigera. Grasshoppers come from the group of insects known as Orthoptera, which includes crickets, locusts and grasshoppers.
Jawoyn and Gundjeibmi people of Western Arnhem Land call the grasshopper Alyurr, children of the Lightning Man Namarrgon, a powerful ancestral being.
Catching sight of these grasshoppers requires a bit of effort and some patience. Most sites are accessible only by foot more than a day's walk from any roads. Even then it may not be worth it. Numbers fluctuate so greatly that grasshoppers may only be around one year in three.
This remoteness has made Leichhardt's Grasshopper difficult to study and also to protect. Even though it is quite rare, the grasshopper isn't able to be covered by Endangered Species Legislation because we don't fully understand its basic distribution, biology and ecology.For more info and some of the interesting Aboriginal legends go to:
http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/
science/scribblygum/November2000/default.htm

We have just removed the PhotoShelter widget on my main site...the PhotoShelter Archive has just been updated with all the images from the PhotoShelter collection.
The PhotoShelter Collection is not available anymore, however I have “JUICED” up my PhotoShelter Archives, now with over 4500 high res. images from more than 25 Countries and many other commercial subjects.

Your browser doesn't support JavaScript or you have disabled JavaScript.

Tags: Commercial Photography, Advertising Photography, Editorial Photography, Stock Photography, Rare Insects, Ludwig Leichhardt, Arnhem Land, Grasshopper

© 2007 Gunther Deichmann - prestine Rainforest
in Micronesia/Pacific

I thought I share this interesting science article with you, yes a bit different from the usual Photography and Aperture stories.
But I am very fascinated by this article from the BBC. New rainforest species revealed. Parasitic vampire catfish caught on camera for the first time
An expedition to the rainforests of Guyana has discovered species new to science. A team of researchers and wildlife film-makers spent six weeks searching the pristine forest as part of a BBC documentary.
The group believes it has revealed two fish species, one frog species and a number of bat flies that have not been described previously. The finds are detailed in the BBC series Lost Land of the Jaguar.
The three-part documentary includes footage of the elusive South American cat. Dr George McGavin (BBC) was astonished at the variety of life on show. "In a short time, we caught hundreds of species, 10% of which may be new to science. It was unreal, unbelievable," exclaimed Dr George McGavin, a zoologist and one of the four presenters of the documentary.
Images/Video and a lot more about this amazing story at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7531537.stm

Tags: RAINFOREST, Guyana, SOUTH AMERICA, Wildlife Photography

Grunting fish have helped scientists to date the origins
of vocal sounds to about 400 million years ago.

Photo: Screenshot Courtesy of the BBC, click on the image
or use the link below for the video and complete article.

Toadfish and midshipman fish use a variety of different sounds to attract mates and scare off rivals. Now US researchers have found that the area of a fish's brain that drives vocalization is extremely primitive. Writing in the journal Science, they say it suggests that the ability to communicate through sound emerged very early in the evolution of vertebrates...read the complete article and watch the Video...
@ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7510443.stm

left: Ammonite from 160 million years ago - right: Nautilus a close
relative from Palau Micronesia

Some of you know my background with fossils or Paleontology…but what has a Mac in common with all of this?
Read this amazing and very cool article below…

Running with the Dinosaurs
Mac Technology Helps Put the Spring in a Hadrosaur’s Step

Read more about this amazing story with cool images @
http://www.apple.com/science/profiles

Tags: Fossils, Dinosaur, Discovery, Technology, Paleontology

Global warming, Photo © Gunther Deichmann

Unborn Shark, it's Mother and Baby got
Murdered!

Stop the killing and say no to Shark fin soup, it is Disgusting.
Sharks are NOT man-eaters, it is us who eat and destroy them,
and why do we kill Turtles and burn our forests?
Why???????
Gunther Deichmann and his friends are fully in agreement with this letter!

Photos © Gunther Deichmann, www.deichmann-photo.com

Please take a good look at the images above, there is a community in Bataan, who used to collect turtle eggs and sell them.
No more, they now take care of these precious creatures, collect the eggs and once they have hatched release them back into our Ocean, I wish we had more communities like this, and who thought this is happen in the Philippines, but this is the fact, including road signs in this area have been put up for our oil guzzling cars.
More in details about this amazing Turtle loving community in one of my future blogs, but please read on regarding the letter which I have received from my friend and supporter Jason Heller at DivePhotoGuide and get all the info @

http://www.divephotoguide.com/discovery_shark_week.php

For those of you have not seen this yet, please feel free to post it. It is a formal response from the world’s foremost shark scientists, researchers and conservationists regarding this year’s Shark Week content. If you support shark conservation, please consider posting or publishing it.

http://www.divephotoguide.com/discovery_shark_week.php
 

Interesting note from David Callard in Australia, his comments on the Environment issue and images, please read below, some of us do care.
Thanks David for your views and nice words.
G.D.
From: dcallard@bigpond.net.au
Subject: The planet in the oven.
Date: June 9, 2007 10:19:28 AM GMT+08:00
To: gdeichmann@mac.com

Hello Gunther,

Love the new environment images. I think my favorite is the plain water drop on the leaf; that really says it for me. Addressing climate change has to be the biggest challenge mankind has faced, yet I am not totally pessimistic about our ability to solve it. Unlike the Mesopotamians or the Aztecs modern man has the scientific knowledge to identify the problem and propose solutions. Yes, we will have to accept some major changes to our lifestyles and means of production but capitalism has clearly won the ideological wars and of course its greatest strength is its capacity to rapidly adapt to change. So, I put my faith in science to find alternative energy sources. I am in favor of nuclear power as a stopgap solution until we can get solar and other sources fully developed. More later - have to do some more study.
Cheers, David.


To view my new collection on Environment images, please go to my Aperture Gallery:
http://homepage.mac.com/gdeichmann/ENVIRONMENT%20PART%202/

or go to my PhotoShelter archive for high res. images:
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann 

Just received this nice note from Mark Cox, please read below:

Hi Gunther,

You are so right mate! all we humans ever do is take take & more take, then we start crying when its too late, we will definitely destroy our selves its just human instinct I think. If all the tree's & rain-forest disappear human life will cease to exist. I'm the same as you Gunther the world has to come together before its too late really.

Great Work Gunther.

Mark Cox
mark@tech-dive-academy.com
Photographer & Adventurer

I have created some images trying to portrait the on going world water crisis and Global warming issue.
enjoy these images and...
THINK!
It is indeed a serious problem world wide, lets do something about it.
THANKS!
You can help.
Too!

Click this link to view more images on my Aperture web Gallery