Wildlife

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Macaca fascicularis (crab-eating macaque) lying on its back and putting to its mouth a plant stem, the eyes wide open looking at the viewer, at the temple of Don Som (Si Phan Don), Laos.

6 December 2018, 15:47

This picture has been published in the website of the Fondation Brigitte Bardot: "The Surviving Macaques Of Labenne Join The Refuge Of La Tanière", in 2019,
and in Ciencianarua: "Primeiro embrião com células de macacos e humanos pode ajudar pesquisas sobre doenças que nos afligem", in 2021.

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Eutropis macularia (bronze grass skink) eating a frog, in Laos.

11 January 2018, 13:09

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Two Bubalus bubalis (water buffaloes) bathing at sunset in a pond of Don Det (Si Phan Don, Laos) rising high their snouts and looking at viewer. These buffaloes are often cooling themselves in the water (or in the mud), when the weather is hot. One of these domestic animals has a nose rope to facilitate its handling during the labour season, though here in May they are not yet attached, and thus free to move around the island. Focus stacking from 2 pictures.

15 May 2018, 17:45

This picture has been published in the journal Washington University in St. Louis: "Facing the Beast - A personal journey in a landmark year", in 2020.

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Hippasa holmerae (Lawn wolf spider) in its funnel web, seen in Don Som (Si Phan Don), Laos.

6 January 2019, 16:57

This picture has been published in Juneau Empire: "On the Trails: A wide world of webs", in 2022.

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Common House Geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) mating. Ventral view with hemipenis inserted in the cloaca.

This long-exposure photograph (2.5 s), taken in soft light (without flash) through a window with a macro lens and a tripod, reveals many details, like the sexual organs and the adhesive lamellae with setae under the feet (allowing traction of the reptile on smooth surfaces). All male squamates have a pair of intromittent organs called hemipenes, inside a sheath in the inner portion of the tail (sometimes producing a bulge), usually held inverted within the body, and everted for reproduction via erectile tissue. Only one of these hemipenis is used during the reproductive intercourse. Reciprocally, females own two hemiclitores. Single organ in the form of a canal, closed by the anal sphincter, the genital opening of female reptiles (the cloaca) allows either the exit of eggs, the evacuation of urine and feces, and reproduction. To adhere and cling to the surface of vertical smooth materials like glass, the geckos have lamellae under their feet, with a lot of setae, kind of bristle- or hair-like structures creating interactions with the support. The total of the micro-forces of each microscopic seta offers a very powerful adhesion. Non-captive, this couple through the glass is totally undomesticated. The geckos of this region of Laos (island of Don Det, Si Phan Don) usually appreciate houses, especially the illuminated transparent walls, where they can easily hunt insects attracted by light. Fearful by nature, they tend to flee the proximity of humans, and their visible mating thus occurs in an exceptional way. The sexual activity is relatively quick, and frequently the female dodges the male which, not very gallantly, bites the neck to immobilize her. In these wild conditions, the visual observation by physical rapprochement is perilous, the installation of a tripod timed, the adjustment of the manual focus delicate given the low light, and the camera settings complex because of the frequent jolts during the sexual act, which may lead to motion blurs. If fertilisation was successful, then the oviparous female will spawn its eggs about four weeks later.

12 August 2019, 19:05

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Vespidae (wasp) and Eurema blanda (three-spot grass yellow) butterfly on a tagetes lucida (marigold), in Laos. Focus stacking picture from 7 photos. Peak of the dry season.

18 April 2018, 10:23

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Pelecanus onocrotalus (Great white pelican) cleaning the feathers of its back with its long beak by writhing the neck, at sunset, in Singapore Zoo.

9 June 2018, 16:16

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Sapajus apella (Tufted capuchin) starring at the horizon, on a branch, in Singapore.

9 June 2018, 11:19

This picture has been published in Vesmir : "Navonme jim klece", in 2022.

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Golden apple snail pink eggs on a stem, in a rice field at golden hour, in Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos. Focus stacking from 9 pictures.

1 September 2019, 17:01

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

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Cicadidae Dundubia (cicada) standing next to its exuvia, immediately after moulting, side view. Seen on the island of Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos.
Focus stacking from 8 pictures. The body (without wings) measures approximately 35 mm (1.4 in). The species could be Dundubia jacoona (Distant, 1888) or Dundubia oopaga (Distant, 1881), difficult identification since the colors are not yet definitive.

27 March 2020, 06:20

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin

Another version of this picture was published in the book The Skeletal and Muscular Systems: "Bones and other Skeletal Components" (page 6), in 2021.

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Close-up view of the head of a white tiger (Bengal tiger species), yawning with the tongue out, at Singapore Zoo.

9 June 2018, 10:18

This photograph was a finalist in Picture of the Year 2020 international challenge on Wikimedia Commons.

This picture is available on Wikimedia Commons with a free license CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International) - © Basile Morin