They are known as fan throated lizards as they have an expandable flap of skin under their throat, known as a dewlap or a gular fan. These lizards expand this dewlap like a fan, for various purposes like warning enemies, courtship, identifying the species, etc. We did not see this one expanding its fan. May be next time!

Date: 14 Jun 2007
Location: @ Mrugavani, Hyderabad, India
Camera: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens

The photos above and below are of the same frog, taken a few minutes apart. It changed its color from an off-white to a brownish tone! This happened when the frog had moved from its previous location into a bunch of dried leaves and twigs. Such an ability of animals to change its color is called metachrosis.

Metachrosis could be due to several reasons: like the light/temperature/moisture play a vital role in changing the colour. Some amphibians exposed to cold temperature and darkness often exhibit a darkening of their skin due to a melanophorotropic hormone (dark brown – black pigments) release. At higher temperature and light their color tend to get pale due to melanophore contraction. This color change is probably done as part of a hydro-thermal regulation (for regulating its moisture and temperature).

We are not sure if this frog exhibited metchrosis for such a regulation. At first sight we felt it was an instance of “crypsis“, where the animal has the ability to avoid getting noticed, through camouflage, mimicry, etc. However, studies shows that crypsis alone may not be the case of frogs like this one, and hydro-thermal regulations also play a major role. So probably a short time between the dried leaves with less light and colder environment let it change the shade from pale to dark.

The frog in the picture is polypedates occidentalis. To my amazement, the species was identified and named only recently, in 2006 (link provided below). Hence data is deficient to tell if p.occidentalis is a rare species or not. Probably it is a common species for the western ghats region.

A similar frog is the Common Indian Tree Frog, polypedates maculatus, which also has an hourglass like mark on its dorsum. This one is present in central India and neighboring countries.

These spiders are masters of camouflage. Their body coloring is usually brownish, matching with the dry barks, and they change their color according to the surface they are resting on (like these crab spiders). Apart from this, they have a thin flat abdomen, and they lie sticking to the bark as if a part of it. This one, of the hersilia svignyi species, was resting on our garden palm tree, and I found it accidentally, probably when it moved. This particular species is common along South India/Asia.

The two tailed spiders hunt insects which come close to them. The species shown here hunts by throwing the silk on their prey, and running around it depositing the silk, confining the prey.

They are harmless, you see When disturbed, the spider moves to the opposite side of the tree.

Date: 13 Oct 2007
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens

Reference:
1. B. J. Kaston, 1965: Some Little Known Aspects of Spider Behavior, American Midland Naturalist, 73, 2, 336-356.
2. Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, Cochin, Kerala [southindianspiders.com]

I was surprised and happy to find that such details were recorded by the first Mughal Emperor of India. I was more surprised to know that Babur had indeed written an autobiography! Babur came from Persia, and his views on the newly conquered Hindustan are written in his biography. Links to the translated pdf version is given below with the references.

Babur writes, along with the events of the year 932: “The frogs of Hindustān are worthy of notice. Though of the same species as our own, yet they will run twelve or fourteen feet on the face of the water”.

The skipper in these pictures was a permanent resident of our fish pond. Fortunately it feeds mostly on aquatic and non-aquatic insects and we didn’t see any of our fishes disappear The frog usually floats near the vegetation. If disturbed, it skips on the water surface, to some distance. Further provoked, it plunges into the depths.

Date: Nov-Dec, 2007
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 | Olympus C770UZ and macro lenses

References:
1. Khan and Tasnim, 1987. A field guide to the identification of herps of Pakistan. Part I: Amphibia, Monograph No. 14. Biological Society of Pakistan, Lahore, pp.1-27 [pdf: cross-reference].
2. Memoirs of Zehīr-ed-Dīn Muhammed Bābur, Emperor of Hindustan, written by himself in the Chaghatāi Tūrki language and translated by John Leyden, Esq., M.D. and William Erskine, Esq. Annotated and Revised by Sir Lucas King, C.S.I., LL.D., F.S.A. [Vol I] [Vol II]
3. Dr. S.D.Biju, University of Delhi

They don’t need to eat or drink anything else as the dung provides all nutrients they need, including water.

Date: 27 Sep 2007
Location: @ Bhoothathankettu, Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens | Olympus C770UZ + MCON-40 Macro Lens

Other than the slender legs and the antennae, do you see a single tubelike projection from its mouth, pointed downwards? This projection is called a “rostrum”, which they use for feeding. Not just feeding, they use this rostrum for catching their prey too! How? Through the rostrum, they inject a deadly saliva, which liquefies the internal parts of the prey. The bug then just have to “suck the juice out” of its catch. In such a way, they could kill and consume insects much larger than their size. No, don’t worry, they are not harmful to you or me At least, the first one was found on our bed, and photographed by Sarah

Date: Jul-Nov, 2007
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 | Olympus C770UZ and macro lenses

Ref: InsectIndia Group, Chitra Shanker

The banded phintella, phintella vittata, belongs to the family of jumping spiders (salticidae).

Jumping spiders are called so because they jump from one place to another, after attaching a silk filament to where they stand. Unlike other spiders, these are said to be inquisitive and may even jump on to your hands if you approach them Don’t worry, they are too tiny to harm you in any way!

Date: 11 Aug 2007
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens

A study by Radder et al. [2006] found that, larger the male, higher their perching position on the rock, with the smallest male taking the lowest position.

Date: 14 Jun 2007
Location: @ Mrugavani, Hyderabad, India
Camera: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens

Reference:
1. Radder, R.S., Saidapur, S.K.,  Shanbag, B.A., 2006: Big boys on top: effects of body size, sex and reproductive state on perching behaviour in the tropical rock dragon, Psammophilus dorsalis, Animal Biology, 56, 3, 311-321 [link].

Azolla are tiny aquatic ferns, and can be used as a food for livestock, and even humans. One way to use it is by adding it with omelettes :-)  But make sure you have the azolla from reliable water ponds and not from waste water pools were the aquatic plants may be infected by worms

Azolla are also used to control mosquitos, as it spreads quickly like a mat, over the water surface. I was looking into the literature on Azolla, and was astounded by a recent (2006) study published in the scientific journal Nature, on the possible role played by it during the Eocene period, around 49 million years ago. The study by Brinkhuis et al. pointed out that azolla may have had a significant role in reversing a greenhouse warming effect that had caused the region around the Arctic Ocean to turn into a hot, tropical environment.

The potential of Azolla as a space diet has also been studied! Check the references and links below if you want to know more about these studies on Azolla.

The seeds of the Trapa natans [water chestnut], is also used as a food. We haven’t but noticed the seeds yet though we got a lot of flowers from the plant, like the small yellow flower you see in the picture above. Probably they need to grow wild and large for that. We love trapa natans, its rosette shape is so beautiful, especially when it spreads and lie majestically over the water surface. During night time the leaves droop together like the petals of a flower. The trapa natans shown here is a foeigner, and there is a type endemic to the Indian region. We saw the Indian version at an aquatic garden/farm (under the Guruvayurappan college or Calicut University, I don’t remember now) at Kozhikode, Kerala. I think it is not that common.

Sometimes we have visits from our non aquatic friends, like the red velvet mite [Family: Trombidiidae] above. You can see that they are so tiny, if you have an idea of the size of azolla, or comparing the images above. Velvet mites are not insects, but belong to the class of arachnids [Class: Arachnidea] which includes spiders, scorpions and other mites too, with the usual 8 legs.

Date: Jan 2008
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Nikon D80 | Olympus C770UZ

Reference:
1. Brinkhuis et al., 2006: Episodic fresh surface waters in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, Nature, 441, 606-609 [link].
2. Katayama et al., 2008: Azolla as a component of the space diet during habitation on Mars, Acta Astronautica, 63, 7-10 [link].

Date: 22 Sept 2005
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Olympus C770UZ + MCON-40 Macro Lens