August 2021 Highlights Gallery

Peppered moth (Biston betularia) showing a comparison of the melanistic form f

Peppered moth (Biston betularia) showing a comparison of the melanistic form f. carbonaria next to the typical paler form on dark soot-covered bark. The melanistic form has long been cited by genetic studies as an example of industural melanism. Sooty deposits on trees and other surfaces meant that the darker form was better camouflaged and more successful in industrial areas of Northern England. In recent decades air quality has improved to the extent that the melanistic form is declining in these areas and is now less frequently encountered than the typical form. Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, UK. July

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Schmidt's wrinkled ground frog (Cornufer schmidti / Platymantis schmidti)

Schmidt's wrinkled ground frog (Cornufer schmidti / Platymantis schmidti), endemic to the Bismarck Arpichelago, Willaumez Peninsula, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, December

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December, Melanesia, New Britain, New Guinea, Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Portrait

Panamic sergeant major (Abudefduf troschelii) guarding egg mass

Panamic sergeant major (Abudefduf troschelii) guarding egg mass, removing seastar that was coming to close to egg mass, Punta Resbaladilla, south of El Tecolote, Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico, September

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Animal, Animal Behaviour, Central America, Gulf Of California, Latin America, Marine, Mexico, Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Parental, Parental Behaviour, Parenting, Protection, Protector, Saltwater, September, Tropical, Underwater, Water