Emanuele Biggi - Anura.it

Common toads (Bufo bufo) breeding season is on here in Italy and the first males are finally congregating and calling. Testosterone is up high and every moving object into the water is a possible female not to be missed. First shot: male with visible “skin folds” that helps them breathing underwater during the breeding season. Second shot: damn! He saw me!! Third shot: my hand abused by the same male :-) Disclaimer: my hand is safe and the toad hopefully found an actual female to mate with last night. Shot with Nikon d850, Isotta Housing and Anglerfish external monitor. #toad #photography #spring #italy #macro #underwater @ilcp_photographers @isotta_underwater_housings @anglerfish_creative_lighting https://www.instagram.com/p/CqNOVPRqF6g/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

During rainy nights males red-eye tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas) congregate around ponds and call to attract females to mate. In the second shot, Dr. Abel Batista Rodriguez is recording a calling male for research purposes. #redeyetreefrog #agalychnis #agalychniscallidryas #phyllomedusidae #picoftheday #science #conservation @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CpmgRMTqbzQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

With my first visit to Panama in 2018 I was able to witness my first ever wild red-eye tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas), and it happened the very first night there! This was the first wild adult red-eye I saw in my life. I’ll be always grateful to my friends Abel and Pamela of @fundacion_los_naturalistas for taking me there! We saw many (and even rarer) species there, but those red-eyes will always stay in my heart. #redeyetreefrog #agalychniscallidryas #panama #wildlife #amphibian #conservation #photography @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CpipNtcKejF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Old images of a captive red-eye tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) which I also kept in a vivarium for a while. Seeing them in captivity is common, cause they readily breed with good care. it was my first way to witness such beauties when I couldn’t travel to their wild habitats. It’s an iconic species, which I was then able to see in the wild in following trips to Central America. Seeing them in their own habitat was totally different and much more emotionally strong than observing them in captivity. #agalychnis #redeyetreefrog #amphibians #treefrog #macro #photography #conservation #picoftheday @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CpflMENqZGs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

To celebrate #worldwildlifeday I post a nice Portia fimbriata image shot during my last trip to Borneo. ‘cause we never have enough Portia spiders in the web! :-) #spider #macro #portia #arthropods #picoftheday #macrophotography #borneo #malaysia #salticidae #jumpingspider @ilcp_photographers @godox_global @venuslaowa https://www.instagram.com/p/CpVcgoSqZBr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

In a brief “walking safari” during my stay at Klaserie Nature Reserve I was recently able to find and photograph a resting painted reed frog (Hylerolius marmoratus) on a…reed, obviously! Shot in situ with Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z50 macro and illuminated with natural light and Godox mf12 macro flashes. @nikonitalia @godox_global #frog #hyperolius #treefrog #southafrica #klaserieprivatenaturereserve @ilcp_photographers @ivorywilderness (at Klaserie Private Game Reserve) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFeC-nKn5W/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A little break from my recent posts about South Africa cause last weekend I saw something pretty unusual up in the Gran Paradiso National Park, here in Italy. It was an amazingly colored “cross fox” male (Vulpes vulpes) in all its splendid winter fur! I never saw an Italian/European partially melanistic red fox before and I wouldn’t have ever expected to see one in my entire life. This little fella came out of nowhere running along a cross country skiing lane and approached me and my Elena from a distance, getting closer and closer until we had it a few tens meters from us. He looked around the parking lot and the hotel’s surroundings in search of some human leftovers (some people purposely feed them, even if it’s strongly prohibited). Then he left us for good, returning back to the woods he belonged to. It was amazing to see such coloration! Shot with Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4,5-5,6 #vulpes #redfox #crossfox #granparadisonationalpark #picoftheday #valledaosta #wildlife @ilcp_photographers @nikonitalia @granparadisopark https://www.instagram.com/p/CnzrN64K7ET/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

While at @ivorywilderness I had the chance to briefly follow the everyday life of a African Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) family. 
Funnily I wasn’t aware of their presence at first, but then my eagle-sighted Elena saw the beautiful male flying around above a wooden wall. So I kept and eye on it and then I discovered that we actually had the nest just above the entrance of our room!

It was a tiny little beauty of a nest, hidden among branches and very well camouflaged with debris and spider’s silk. Inside, a trio of tiny chicks was always begging for food, every time something moved around them.

When we left, after a few days, I had a last sight of mom and dad feeding the chicks all together. I still wonder if they’re thriving well there, protected by their awesome parents and the peaceful beauty of the lodge itself. #klaserieprivatenaturereserve #southafrica #picoftheday #flycatcher #birdphotography #birdwatching #terpsiphone @ilcp_photographers (at Ivory Wilderness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhubVQq8gG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A treasure under a rock, a newly molted young whip scorpion (Amblypygi sp.). These Arachnids are completely harmless to us, but they’re skilled hunters which use their trap-like pedipalps to impale their preys. I found this one right close to my room at @ivorywilderness lodge, and it was just awesome! Shot in situ with Nikon Z9, Nikon Z 50mm macro, Godox macro mf12 flashes with custom diffusers. f/16, iso 64, 1/60 sec #amblypygi #whipscorpion #arachnida #southafrica #klaserie #africa #macro @nikonitalia @godox_global @ilcp_photographers (at Ivory Wilderness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXVyvIq3EY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

You could say they’ve got a s…ty life, but dung beetles like these ones (probably a Kepher sp.) are happy with that! Dung, especially that of herbivores like elephants and rhinos, is a still highly valuable source of energy for both the adult beetles and, such as in this case, for their future larvae. This couple (male rolling the ball, female holding tight to it) is about to bury this big “take away food” and deposit an egg on it. The larva will have a fresh pile of…food and it will eventually pupate inside it, protected underground. And remember, as someone once said: “if we didn’t have dung beetles, Africa would have been covered by s…t in less than a decade”! :-) maybe a little bit exaggerated, but surely truthful in its message! Shot with Nikon Z9, Nikon 8-15mm fisheye, Godox mf12 flash. 1/30 sec, iso 1000, f/16 #dung #dungbeetle #insect #nature #southafrica #wideanglemacro #conservation #picoftheday @ilcp_photographers @nikonitalia @nikoneurope @godox_global @ivorywilderness (at Klaserie Private Game Reserve) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnRyszBqzA-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

It’s almost their time again! Common toads (Bufo bufo) during breeding time. Lazio, Italy Shot with Nikon D850, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye and Outex UW housing. #toad #underwater #bufobufo #italy #herping #herpingtheglobe #wideangleportrait @realoutex @realoutex.europe @nikonitalia @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CmrJ8ZAKbxU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A beautiful spangled flatworm (Acanthozoon sp.) from the shallows of a tropical Malaysian reef along Pom Pom Island shores. Shot with Nikon D850, Nikon 8-15mm fisheye inside a Isotta underwater housing and Inon strobes. @nikonitalia @isotta_underwater_housings #worm #flatworm #acanthozoon #pompomisland #malaysia #borneo #reef #tropic #underwater #wideanglacro @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CmZY5MKqdov/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Land vampire crab (Geosesarma sp., probably a new undescribed species) hiding into the pitcher of a Nepenthes ampullaria. Actual site kept hidden to prevent poaching for the market, but it was in Malaysia. #crab #geosesarma #malaysia #crustacea #conservation #science #picoftheday #macro #nepenthes #carnivorousplant @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4QPkOKPu2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Pacific broad-headed litter frog (Craugastor rugosus). Sierpe, Costa Rica This shot has been taken with a do it yourself lens based on @venuslaowa 85mm APO ultra macro and a few other pieces. I always hope that Laowa will come out with some new “opera” which will permit a true fisheye bug-eye view similar to this, but with optimized sharpness and chromatic aberration control (utopia?). #frog #craugastor #costarica #sierpe #centralamerica #herpingtheglobe ##herps #herping #insitu #picoftheday @ilcp_photographers @sierpe_frogs (at Sierpe,Osa) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cllzs-pKYF8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A beautiful Ghost glass frog (Sachatamia ilex) shot in situ at night along a fast running stream in the Limòn Province, Costa Rica. Thanks to @sierpe_frogs and @centromanu_cr for helping me finding such amazing species! #sachatamiailex #frog #picoftheday #costarica #america #herping #herpsofinstagram @ilcp_photographers (at Centro Manú Costa Rica) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRYFJ6q8JK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A nice and yellow orb web spider (Argiope cf. submaronica) from Costa Rica, shot earlier this year while looking for frogs at @centromanu_cr #spider #argiope #arthropod #orbweb #costarica #puravida #spidersofinstagram @ilcp_photographers (at Centro Manú Costa Rica) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck8s8zyKz3T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

High above the cloud forest tree line you can still find frogs on the Peruvian Andes, like this amazing Abra Acanacu marsupial frog (Gastrotheca excubitor). They live in the puna grasslands ecosystem with mosses, grasses and small shrubs and evolved to entirely skip the tadpole stage, keeping their eggs in their back pouch until tiny replicas of them will eventually emerge. Chytrid fungus stroke hard on them and they’re presently listed as Vulnerable by IUCN. The second photo, while not “in situ”, is nonetheless important to me cause it’s the last living individual. Afterwards I only found dead ones killed by the fungus. #gastrotheca #amphibian #conservation #peru @conservacionamazonica @ilcp_photographers https://www.instagram.com/p/CktSK7tqXzJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=