# back from French Guyana



## tarcan

Well, the title says all, we just came back from a trip to South America. I took over 1200 pictures, obviously I will not be putting them all,*but here are some that seemed interesting, I hope you like them.

First a picture of us, myself, my wife Amanda (the red queen) and Eric (Ythier).

And a few reptiles

Martin


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## tarcan

bats, plenty of them all over

cool red mushroom

another lizard hiding in a hole in a rock


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## tarcan

amphibians kingdom!


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## tarcan

some more amphibians


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## tarcan

the highlights of amphibians for me...

some Dendrobates ventrimaculatus, one carrying a tadpole

and Atelopus flavescens


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## tarcan

ok, let's quit the vertebrates and get to the really good stuff...


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## tarcan

plenty of insects all over of course


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## tarcan

a few dragon flies pictures


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## tarcan

more bugs and still more to come!


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## tarcan

a pepsis wasp, this one was very hard to get


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## tarcan

the last of the insects


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## tarcan

now the myriapods

and we start the arachnids with a tick that I had the "pleasure" to meet on a very personnal basis


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## tarcan

uropygids

a few amblipygids

and a scorpion with babies


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## tarcan

now the spiders


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## tarcan

more spiders and more to come!


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## tarcan

a few more, I was delighted to see the spider that holds the little net!


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## tarcan

this one is for Lelle and all other Phoneutria lovers out there...


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## tarcan

OK, I know you guys want to see a few theraphosids...

Avicularia sp.

Theraphosa blondi


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## tarcan

that's it for the moment, maybe Eric will add some more...

that last picture is one of the best locking system I ever seen in the world, it is a double protection, lock + theraphosid  

I hope you enjoyed them

Martin and Amanda


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## Lorgakor

Wow! Awesome pictures Martin, I love the last one of the Tarantula lock! Theives would think twice about breaking into there. 
Thanks for sharing those, they were really wonderful.


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## eman

Fantastic pictures Martin! Thanks for sharing.


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## james41777

Thanks for sharing!
what is the thing in the first pic in my myriapod section?


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## Philth

Awesome pics, Thanks for sharing Martin.  How long was the flight to get there?  I 've heard you have to island hop to get there, and the flight could be as long as 20 hours?

Awesome pics, -Tom


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## telow

:worship: :worship: :worship: :drool: :drool: :drool: 

i wish i could go there :drool:  i wouldne leave hahaha,
nice pics and finds looks like you guys had a great time,

thanks for posting some pics.


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## Crono

Very nice pics
Glad you had a nice trip!


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## skinheaddave

Martin,

Is that a bushmaster in post 1?  If so ... WOW!

Cheers,
Dave


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## tarcan

Tom,

yes, it is a pain to get there... first we have to overnight in Miami as there is no way to make the connection in any other way. The next day the flight is 9 hours, with stops in Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique... a long day!

Dave,

Yes it is, but unfortunatly this was not seen in the wild, it was at one guy's place that had a small juvenile in captivity. I did not see a single snake while there. Amanda seen 2 briefly.

Thanks for the comments everyone

Martin


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## Crotalus

Holy moly! That was an amazing post!
Thanks for sharing!!
How big was that blondi?
Did you get an ID on the Phoneutria?


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## P. Novak

WOW AMAZING POST AND PICTURES!!! I HOPE TO GO THERE ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE!! VERY NICE, I CANT STOP LOOKING AT THOSE PICTURES, what kind of camera are you using?


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## Brian S

Hey Martin,
Looks like you all had a blast!!! Makes me want to go down there. Are there many English speakers down there?


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## tarcan

Thanks again everyone,

Lelle, if I had to guess the T. blondi must have been around 8" legspan. For the Phoneutria sp., I have no clue as I really know nothing about them.

Novak, I use a Canon Rebel XT

Brian, good question, I did not really pay attention to that since I am french so no problem for me. I would say there are a few that do, I do not think it is much a problem since most of the time you are hiking in the forest, for the rest it is no different as if you would choose to visit France, you will most undoubtly have problems being "understood" but I am sure you can get around to it. I just ask Amanda what she felt about it being the only non french speaking of the group and she seemed to say that it is "problematic" indeed, she said unless you speak Portuguese, you can speak with the Brazilians there! LOL

I was helping some Americans at Rochambeau airport filling in their US custom cards as they only hand out the french version! LOL The guy said he had just learned more french then in his 3 weeks stay! LOL

Take care

Martin


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## Timmy

Wow that's great stuff. Did you take any back to Canada?


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## Ythier

Hi there,
Most of Martin's photos and mine are the same, so here are some pics of other things.

I start with some landscape photos...




















Caves











































Martin and social spiders' web



















Convict prison in the forest













The prisoners 













The guards observed the prisoners walking on the cells







The toilets







Martin diging













Savannah







Cayenne

























Martin and myself







Our guards 











































Some nice wasps...







...me puting my head under cold water after being stung in the head by one of those wasps  (VERY painful)







A nice ant (more than 1 inch)...







...me after being stung in the hand and stomach by three of them  (EXTREMELY painful during 12 hours)


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## Ythier

Some mushrooms...


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## Ythier

Some insects...


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## Ythier

Some arachnids...





































An alcoholic Avicularia


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## Ythier

Some other animals...


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## tarcan

Éric,

Pictures are looking great!

Take care

Martin


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## Ythier

Thanks, your pics too Martin


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## drapion

Very nice pics to the both of you!!!! I love all the animals and forest pics....I'm just wondering where do we sign up to go on a hunting trip with you 3?


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## Kriegan

:clap: Excellent!! Amazing pics, more please!:worship:


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## ShadowBlade

_Dendrobates_!!  Yeah! I love them.


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## syndicate

wow awesome pics!looks like it was a great time.any more shots of that e.murinas ?


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## Galapoheros

Wow, very nice!  I'd love to do something like that!  I've got the time.  I only speak english though and that makes me a little uneasy.  So was that trip just for fun, school, both, or something else?  As so many mentioned, I might be tempted to stay in a place like that a while.  Really appreciate the time to both of you took to post those pics.  Thanks!


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## Ythier

syndicate said:


> wow awesome pics!looks like it was a great time.any more shots of that e.murinas ?


No, she didn't go outside her burrow



Galapoheros said:


> I only speak english though and that makes me a little uneasy.


So go to (ex english) Guyana !



Galapoheros said:


> So was that trip just for fun, school, both, or something else?


Just for fun


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## Sheri

Wow!  Really amazing pictures.

Eric, how did you get stung? Trying to photograph the wasps?

Martin, damn how cute that spider is with the net!  I've always thought they were cool as hell, but I wasn't prepared for how adorable they are!

Amanda, do you know what the species might have been of the two snakes tht you saw?

And wow, to see blondi in the wild...  the photo of the 8" blondi, was she the largest you saw? How hard were they to entice out of the borrow?  Any feeding behaviour observed?  

It seems the avicularia there are very common and easy to find!

Congratualtions to you all on an incredible field trip!


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## Ythier

Sheri said:


> Eric, how did you get stung? Trying to photograph the wasps?


Hi Sheri,
The wasp stung me because one of them came on my head and became tangled into my hairs (you can see how my hairs are very long  ), the ants stung me while I was putting my hand on a tree (I immediately thought I had impaled my hand on a big thorn !).
I let Martin and Amanda reply for the tarantulas.
Eric


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## Alakdan

Amazing images!  Makes me want to pack my bags and escape.


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## tarcan

Sheri,

And wow, to see blondi in the wild... the photo of the 8" blondi, was she the largest you saw? 

**yes, the only large one we saw, but we were not looking for large burrows anyway. Eric found 2 spiderlings as well.

How hard were they to entice out of the borrow? 

**very easy, extremely eager to attck the stick, she went back in her hole and we were able to have her out a few extra times easily.

Any feeding behaviour observed? 

**no, except for Amanda feeding the Avicularia sp. and E. murinus! LOL

It seems the avicularia there are very common and easy to find!

**not really, only seen 2 specimens, but again we were not really looking for these as well. I found any species to be quite hard to find actually.

Martin


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## Ythier

Hi,
Avicularia are very common and easy to see in gardens with Bromeliacae (pineaples and others), where most of them live in the center of each plant, or in the houses (ceiling or walls) where they can catch bugs and lizards, but in the forest it is much more difficult to see them.
Eric


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## drastak

tarcan said:


> Novak, I use a Canon Rebel XT


Hi, awesome pictures ... 

Can you, please, specify what lens(es) did you use for these pictures?

Thanx


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## tarcan

Drastak,

I use 3 lenses:

the one that comes with the Rebel Xt (350D)

the canon 100 mm macro lense

the canon 70 - 300 mm zoom (with image stabilizer)


The macro lense is the one I have on 90% of the time

Take care

Martin


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## YouLosePayUp

To Martin & Eric:

Brothers from another mother?  
http://perso.orange.fr/eycb/28.jpg

To Eric:

What species is this? It's amazing!!
http://perso.orange.fr/eycb/86.jpg


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## Ythier

Hadrurochactas species. Only H.schaumii occurs in French Guyana but this specimen seems to be another species.
Cheers
Eric


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## drastak

tarcan said:


> Drastak,
> 
> I use 3 lenses:
> 
> the one that comes with the Rebel Xt (350D)
> 
> the canon 100 mm macro lense
> 
> the canon 70 - 300 mm zoom (with image stabilizer)
> 
> 
> The macro lense is the one I have on 90% of the time
> 
> Take care
> 
> Martin


Hmm ... I expected this answer. 100 marco is really good lense 

Thanx


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## maarrrrr

Looks like it was a really great trip. The pics are amazing! I'm jealous.


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## Ms. Peaches

Amazing pictures. Thats one place I would love to visit it looks beautiful from the landscape pics. Too bad you didnt see more snakes though.


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## Steven

WOW :drool: 

stunning,... :worship: :worship: :worship: 




but i seem to have missed the Scolopendra pictures :?


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## Endora

Martin, Amanda and Eric, Those pics were beyond amazing. I stared at them all in total awe. Glad to see you made it home safe, minus a couple of painful stings and probably a few close calls. 
:clap: 
Julie


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## Crotalus

Great pix Eric! Thanks for sharing!
What time of the year is the rain season in FG?


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## LongDucDong

What a paradise, in more ways than one. Absolutely stunning images, creatures and landscape. 

I cant begin to tell you how jealous I am. :worship:


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## tarcan

Lelle,

April to July, big rainy season

mid july to mid november, big dry season

mid november to february, small rainy season

march, small dry season

more or less, apparently getting less accurate now

Take care

Martin


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## Crotalus

Thanks for the info Martin
Now i need to learn french


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## tarcan

Lelle,

It is so simple, you won't believe it, it's like a second language to me;P 

Martin


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## Crotalus

LOL!
I just say "Viva la France" and all is good 
Speaking of FG, I once suggested to a friend that he joined the french foreign legion and get stationed in FG so he could send me some animals.. He didnt like that idea much


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## Jeremy Huff

Hi Guys,

I see you stayed at Joep's.  How are Joep, Marijka and Bernie? I collected 10 species of tarantulas in Joep's "backyard".

You can see photos (not to clear though) from my last trip to FG on our website scorpion.amnh.org under the fieldwork link.

Jeremy


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## Wadew

Great photo's ,thank you for sharing them! I think I will have to learn french as well 
                 Wade


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## Halgeir

Really cool pictures guys.
Wish I could go on a trip like that. So eduacational!

Once again, great pictures!


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## tarsier

beautiful pics there!!! looks like a wonderful place to visit


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## xgrafcorex

thank you both for taking the time to upload all those photos!  looks like you all had an amazing time out there.   

what is this one? http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=59146&stc=1&d=1165015854

hard enough to see while looking right at it, much less spotting it amongst everything else out there....good eyes!!


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## Mr_Baker4420

i speak french, now who is buying my plane ticket?lol


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## Doezsha

Awsome pix, it looks like you had a blast


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## Ythier

Steven said:


> but i seem to have missed the Scolopendra pictures :?


Yeah we didn't find any centipede this time  



Jeremy Huff said:


> I see you stayed at Joep's.  How are Joep, Marijka and Bernie? I collected 10 species of tarantulas in Joep's "backyard".


We didn't find many things in Joep's forest. The family seems to go well  



xgrafcorex said:


> what is this one? http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=59146&stc=1&d=1165015854


A very nice small hemipteran !


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## Stefan2209

Crotalus said:


> Did you get an ID on the Phoneutria?


Hi,

getting slowly prepared for FG myself...

About that Phoneutria protecting her sac: most likely (once again) P. reidyi.

After checking next to all ressources of pictures of Phoneutria from FG most of many proved to be P. reidyi, which is the same for Peru...   

I really wonder where those P. fera are gone?

Greetings,

Stefan


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## johnharper

Excellent pics really nice to see those wonderful animals in their natural enviroment. That skeleton tarantula is absolutely beautiful. What kind of spider was the one with the jelly looking eggs was it some kind of daddy long legs.  Those black ants where they in mounds or was they nomadic?


John Campbell


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## tarcan

John,

The ants are nomads

The green thing, at first I thought it might be one, but now I do not think it was an opilionid, looks more like a spider.

Take care

Martin


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## myrmecophile

The big black ant looks like _Dinoponera_, The smaller reddish ants are _Ectatomma ruidum_ near as I can tell. Of course the ant with leaf is an _Atta_ species.


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## pato_chacoana

Martin,

Great pics!!! what a wonderful place to go!

Best regards,
Pato.


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## tarascorpionman

*Wow*

Wow i do so envy you


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## evil_educator

i enjoyed myself looking at those pics


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## Jakob

Sweet pictures guys. Thank you for sharing!

Jakob


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## tarcan

Thank you everyone for the nice comments!


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## tarcan

I figure there is no sense to start another thread for a second trip to the same place...

Coolest salticidae I ever saw







Will try to get around to post more pictures eventually.

Martin


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## tarcan

Another one for tonight







Martin


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## fartkowski

Those guys are awsome Martin.
Can't wait for more


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## Ythier

Awsome salticid Martin ! Hope to join you next year  
Cheers
Eric


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## syndicate

tarcan said:


>


Very nice find Martin!!I was wondering when we'd see some pics from your recent trip 
-Chris


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## tarcan

Chris, well that is a picture from my recent trip.

Sorry if any of you were waiting, just finally got around to start resizing some pictures. So here are some of them, in no particular order.

This one I just like, an early morning in the jungle













These guys are very hard to photograph, they are the gigantic damsel flies, they really do not land for a long time. They are so thin and long (I would say this one was between 8 to 9" long) that they are hard to get as a whole properly. This picture is too bright, but the only decent one I managed to get, anyhow, I am very far from being a good photograph, so let's just enjoy the animals and forget about my lousy techniques!


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## tarcan

the last post was edited because I posted the turtle picture twice unstead of the damsel fly!

Some more pics







A nice crab spider







I really like wasps and their kins, there is certainly no shortage of these out there. These are some kind of solitary ones, quite nice, but again hard to picture as they never really land anywhere for any length of time


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## tarcan

some more







I really like these two!







One of my favourite bugs of the trip, I am happy about that picture


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## tarcan

These ones are for the scorpion lovers! I was very delighted about these finds, some Tityus cambridgei. Éric, Amanda and I had not found any on our first trip, so I was really happy and excited to see these. Impressive scorpions they are.


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## tarcan

some termites, plenty of these of course







back to spiders... the essentials! This little guy is so fuzzy that I thought I was not able to get the animal in focus from looking on the small view screen. I decided to give up only to find out that the pictures were in fact in focus, just that the spider was so fuzzy!







green little huntsman (I think)


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## tarcan

a bit of reptiles

found this fellow sleeping on a branch, fair size lizard... I think he was not happy to be bothered, but nevertheless we were "allowed" to take as many pictures as we wanted.







a smaller lizard







we never get to see any snakes usually, we were delighted to see this long slender snake in the middle of the path, was not easy to photograph once more because of it's slenderness (is that even a word! LOL).


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## tarcan

a praying mantid sleeping at night







a gorgeous spider







will post a few pictures of amphibiens... aside from spiders, they are definatly my favourites


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## tarcan

this little Hyla sp. (I think, I lent my book on FG amphibiens to someone, so I cannot ID it at the moment) was one of the highlights of the trip, I was so excited to see this little guy!







as per last time, plenty of D. ventrimaculatus, gorgeous little frogs, but hard to render their nice colors with pictures taken at night.







Definatly another highlight... was #1 on my wish list of things to see, we finally got to see some D. tinctorius... absolutly gorgeous animals, some true gems of nature. For me, there is not much that beats seeing these in the wild. Unfortunatly, not the best of pictures, I was very dissapointed when I got home.







We even had the luck to see another color form on a different mountain, this one lacks most of the blue on the sides and has a lot of yellow on top.







That is it for the moment, will resize some more when I get the chance.

Thank you for looking

Martin


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## JesseD

Wicked pics Martin! I can't wait to see more!


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## fartkowski

Very nice Martin


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## tarcan

Jesse & Chris, thank you for the nice comments.

Some more critters...

This frog, we spent at least an hour around it looking for small Ts on the ground, only noticed it because I almost put my hand on it! It was very well camouflaged.







Can you cay huge appetite, this little guy redefines the standards! At first I though it was carrying eggs (I know nothing about these type of bugs) and then I went "wait a minute", I still cannot believe how many termites he is carrying!







One of many caterpillars we have seen, don't know why, but I always enjoy seeing weird caterpillars.


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## tarcan

Seen quite a few opilionids this time, this is one of them













another strange caterpillar


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## tarcan

Another opilionid













anyone like crayfish? sorry the picture is not so good.


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## tarcan

another spider







plenty of these under leaves everywhere







I think a little gecko


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## tarcan

another mantid, it was extremely tiny







the only centipede we saw, a very slender but long one







I wonder what the tiny little guy is beside the fly, noticed it afterwards when I checked the pictures at home


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## tarcan

a cool lynx spider with eggsac







another opilionid







plenty of moths and buterflies everywhere


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## tarcan

we saw several small uropygids







E. femoralis, cute little frog, they were very abondant







anyone want to chew on this one?


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## Brian S

Looks like you had a great time Martin! Your pics are really good!


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## fartkowski

Hey Martin.
That crayfish is cool.
We have a whole bunch in our fishtank


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## tarcan

more caterpillars, we found a few groups like these, another place where you do not want to put your hand!







this is the biggest one I ever saw in my life, I have been told it is caterpillar of a moth, it has some skull patterns on it! It was about 7 to 8" long and about 1.5" wide!!!


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## tarcan

small jumping spider


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## Philth

How freakin wierd is that cluster of caterpillers.  Very nice Martin.
Later, Tom


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## tarcan

more lizards













and guess what, more caterpillars!


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## tarcan

last series of pictures for the moment until I resize some more













this velvet ant, I am very happy about. the picture itself is not great, but they are so difficult to take picture of, they move non stop! Gorgeous animals they are.


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## DrAce

What beautiful pictures!  I really do have to learn how to take decent photos.

Oh, and 'Slenderness' is a word.


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## tarcan

thank you again for the nice words.

the last series of photos

with plenty of caterpillars, you can expect plenty of buterflies, unfortunatly, these are not as easy to take pictures of!







this snake, I was happy to see, I lifted a small log and it burrowed, I only had time to see a bit of orange. Thankfully I was with my friend who is extremely knowledgeable about snakes of FG, he caught a glimpse and knew it what it was, more important that it was harmless, so he dug it up. I would have never been able to really see it if I would have been by myself.







this could have been the "shot" of the trip... but thanks to my lazyness and my stupidity, I decided that morning that I was fed up to carry all my other lenses that I never use, so I left them where I was staying. Result, I had only my 100 mm macro and this owl shows up! :wall: :wall: I think I will kick myself forever about that one. Still, the picture is salvageable, but you can imagine the result if I had my 300mm


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## tarcan

some more







another opilionid







one of the rare birds I managed to get a decent shot of


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## tarcan

some more

I love the eyes on that one


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## tarcan

plenty of nice dragonflies







this one is a stunner







the biggest freaking grasshoppers I ever saw, and one flew in my face!LOL


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## tarcan

this one is called a Martin Pêcheur (fishing Martin) in french, no clue how it is called in English


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## tarcan

full moon in the jungle!













these tegus are extremely hard to photograph, I still cannot believe I was lucky enough to get a shot of one.


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## tarcan

two last pictures are taken in Guadeloupe, thanks to Air France's strike, we spent a night there unstead of Miami, cannot complain!







this last one is a funny one, I was trying to get a picture of a pelican. I was waiting for it to come back and suddenly on the corner of my eyes I realized that all that time there was a huge iguana not too far from me... I said screw the pelican! lol


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## Singbluemymind

oh man i'm so jealous. how much does a trip like that cost i would love to go sometime


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## syndicate

Excellent photos Martin!Thanks for sharing :]
I especially like those wasps/hornets you found!Id be wary bout getting to close to them tho hehe.Hey wheres all the tarantula photos?I'm sure you must have seen some there ;]
-Chris


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## tarcan

Singblue,

FG is actually expensive because of the plane ticket and the fact that everything is in euros down there. Depends of course what you do exactly down there, if you rent a car, what kind of accomodations you choose, etc. For two weeks, if you want freedom (rent a car), hard to make it under 3000$ I would say, plane alone will set you back 1500$ or more. There are some much cheaper destinations like Costa Rica where you will see as many, if not more things (from what I have been told from people who done both, the FG forest is very discrete).

Chris, there certainly are some T pics, but I am not putting them on the net, not to be a jerk or anything, just that I am working on a publication and wish to keep the shots for that. So eventually you should be able to see them.

Thank you everyone once more

Martin


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## GoTerps

Fantastic images Martin!

Thanks for sharing!

Eric


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## eman

Wow! Amazing shots Martin, congrats to you and Amanda!

Cheers,

Emmanuel


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## Nerri1029

Hey guys  

Awesome pics !!!!!

Martin so sad about the Owl. 
I feel your pain.. been there myself but it was that I decided to leave the camera at home all together.


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## pato_chacoana

Always great to see your pics Martin!!  

Best regards,
Pato-


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## calum

wow, great photos. 

I know where I want to go on holiday!


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## tarcan

thank you again everyone, can't wait to go back on the field!

Martin


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## Anthony Straus

tarcan said:


> the last post was edited because I posted the turtle picture twice unstead of the damsel fly!
> 
> Some more pics
> 
> 
> I really like wasps and their kins, there is certainly no shortage of these out there. These are some kind of solitary ones, quite nice, but again hard to picture as they never really land anywhere for any length of time


Pretty sure that is a fly. Only 1 set of wings means diptera.


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## tarcan

thank you! shows how much I know! LOL Looked waspish to me he he

Martin


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## Anthony Straus

tarcan said:


> thank you! shows how much I know! LOL Looked waspish to me he he
> 
> Martin


Actually now that I'm looking closer I can't tell 100%...haha

I cannot see any calypters, and I cannot tell for sure that there is not another wing behind the other. 

If you have a high-rez image you can have a go at trying to ID, at least to family based on the wing venation.


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## J.huff23

Amazing pics! I love it! cant wait to see more!!!!!!


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## Andras

*Wow*

Those pictures are incredible!  Thank you for sharing them with us.  You must have an awesome camera, and even more skills to use it.  I haven't had the best luck taking pics of my own T's in their keepers.  Thanks again, I can't wait for future pictures from you.


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## tarcan

well... for those who are not bored yet with my FG pictures, here are some from our new trip, just came back a week or so ago. I hope you like them.

I will start with the amphibians

First is a classic, the cane toad. I normally do not bother taking pictures anymore, but it was first time I see a couple mating and the second one, I just liked the pose on a coconut shell, looks like the master of the pond!































next one, an Atelopus sp., I think A. franciscus, a very dark one. I am always excited to see harlequin toads in nature, it is like a kid's dream come true



















then the dendorbatids, first D. ventrimaculatus, this was on the patio porch where we were staying, hence the unfortunate cerramic tiles.







and of course, the ever amazing D. tinctorius in all it's splendor













Martin


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## tarcan

for the reptile lovers, here are a few pictures

the sleeping beauty







this false coral, I was very happy to see.













last, but certainly not least, the guy I almost stepped on, might have been the end of me, a Bothrops atrox.



















More to come

Martin


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## tarcan

will get rid of the bird pics, only two since I suck at taking bird pictures!













more to come

Martin


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## tarcan

All right, time to get serious and carry on with the bug pictures, in no particular order or classifications!



































































more to come

Martin


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## tarcan

more bugs























































more to come

Martin


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## tarcan

some more











































more to come

Martin


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## tarcan

take a look at the eyes on this one, totally insane!























































more to come!

Martin


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## tarcan

more bugs



















the abominable snow bug!























































more to come

Martin


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## tarcan

this last bug, I am making a special post for it! It is just insane. Very tiny, first pic is at 1:1 (which can give you an idea how small this thing was) and the two others are at 2.5:1 (roughly). Unfortunately I was not able to control the nasty reflections of the flash.

Still, I find it incredible. The head is hiden behind the carapace that is transparent at the level of the head. Nature is just insane!



















ok, going to start supper and will post some more

Martin


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## tarcan

all right, here a shot of the peripatus we found.

not a colourful species, but a ver exciting find nevertheless













Martin


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## tarcan

ok, now the misc. arachnids































Martin


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## tarcan

and finally the spiders


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## tarcan

some more



























































































That's it, I hope you liked them

Martin


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## Nerri1029

SWEEEET  

Been waiting for this addition to the thread 

AWESOME pics.. 
I need more practice :worship: :worship:  but I did post some


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## moose35

fan-friggin-tastic pics.  :clap: 

someone else had said this the other day...but i believe i also just had an ocular orgasam.


thanks very muck for posting

          moose


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## Endagr8

These are some of the best photographs and coolest animals I have ever seen. :clap: :clap: :clap:


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## ZergFront

WOW, I think I just saw a bullet ant in one of those pics eating the termite. They have nasty stings!


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## JC50

Mother nature is truly spectacular,and those pictures just proved it.Awesome and thanks for sharing.


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## t-lover

that mantis is awesome


tarcan said:


> a praying mantid sleeping at night
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> a gorgeous spider
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> will post a few pictures of amphibiens... aside from spiders, they are definatly my favourites


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## t-lover

that spider is cool it spits silk that stuns its prey i love it


tarcan said:


> another spider
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> plenty of these under leaves everywhere
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think a little gecko


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## lhystrix

Amazing photos!

The snow bug and tortoise? beetle are awesome.

You had this guy with the bugs, but in case you didn't realize, it's an ant mimic jumping spider.


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## pato_chacoana

Hi Martin!

flawless pics as always, very sharp macros !! Amazing diversity, can't wait to go to the guayanas!

but please post theraphosa pics!!! 


Cheers,
Pato


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## tarcan

jeff h said:


> Amazing photos!
> 
> The snow bug and tortoise? beetle are awesome.
> 
> You had this guy with the bugs, but in case you didn't realize, it's an ant mimic jumping spider.


Jeff... damn, it sure did fool me!!!!!:wall: :wall: thank you for spotting that out, now I wish I had taken more pictures of it   . Really amazing, now that I look at it, specially the eyes, I just cannot believe I did not see it.

Pato, thanks a lot for the nice comments. I am sure you will like it in the Guianas, which ever you choose (although I have yet to go to Guyana, should be soon). Maybe I have to go to Argentina one day! On this trip, we only seen one Theraphosa, which worries me a little as last time we have seen tons.

Take care

Martin


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## tarcan

Too bad I do not have other good shots of that spider, I am a bit sad now, I guess I should have paid more attention to it, nevertheless, here are two others of the animal.













Martin


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## Anthony Straus

Amazing work Martin! Your pics get better each time and if these are any indication I cant imagine the next batch .

How about some T's!?!


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## lhystrix

Lol, it fooled me, too. I thought it was a jumping spider, but a friend looked at the images and told me it is actually in Corinnidae, another spider family with ant mimic genera. 

It is a ponerine ant mimic.


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## The Spider Faery

I love the second hummingbird pic.  The green one.


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## Anansis

Very nice Martin. 
Unless I'm mistaken you have a picture of another ant mimicking spider that Amanda showed me. I'll have to have another look tonight.

Ollie


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## tarcan

Anansis said:


> Very nice Martin.
> Unless I'm mistaken you have a picture of another ant mimicking spider that Amanda showed me. I'll have to have another look tonight.
> 
> Ollie


Ollie, don't tell me that, if two fooled me, I am retiring!


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## eelnoob

jeff h said:


>





tarcan said:


> Martin




Amazing animal:clap:


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## Spider-Spazz

Just looked at everyone of those pictures.
They're ALL amazing! I would love to go on a trip like that, especially to see the scorpions and spiders! I envy you!


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## pato_chacoana

Hi Martin,

Sorry to hear about the Theraphosa, they are my favourite spiders and it kills me that they are disappearing in the wild. I hope the massive exports and habitat destruction stops and the populations can recover...
Next year I'm looking forward to make the Guayanas Amazon trip, I still have to figure out what's the cheapest and best way to get there though.

Best wishes,
Pato


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## tarcan

pato_chacoana said:


> Hi Martin,
> 
> Sorry to hear about the Theraphosa, they are my favourite spiders and it kills me that they are disappearing in the wild. I hope the massive exports and habitat destruction stops and the populations can recover...
> Next year I'm looking forward to make the Guayanas Amazon trip, I still have to figure out what's the cheapest and best way to get there though.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Pato


Pato,

In fact, in the case of FG, it is a bit different (although still collection), the main problem is the specimens being collected, killed and framed for the stupid tourists who buy them. All this illegally and the authorities do nothing to control that.

As far as cheap goes, you can rule out FG (euros, cost of living 40% higher then mainland Europe, difficulty of flights going in, etc.), that is for sure. You will probably end up with Guyana I suppose, which is quite exciting, I am looking forward to go there myself. We were supposed to go in December, but Amanda wants a break from the tropic for the next trip and have a real vacation. Maybe next year, who knows.

Good luck

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Hi Martin,

Yes, same problem in most places, massive collection for the ''dead trade''. Tons of spiders framed for tourists, it's crazy. Same fate for beetles and a lot of insects, and Jaguars (they sell their teeth!) and everything I guess.......... In Perú I saw a lot of big black Pamphobeteus framed this way, most of them adult females. I don't get how people buy these?!

Well, yes I'd probably go to Guyana. I hope to see Theraphosa there and lots of wildlife, and of course I can't miss the Kayateur Falls, the longest fall in the world... an amazing sight. It would be easier to go from Venezuela I guess, I'm already saving for this trip.

I hope I get to see the Jaguar this next time, and not only the fresh tracks! Although it was exciting to know I was living only meters away from the Jaguar in the wild, only I could never spot him! 

Thanks for the info! and have a nice vacation, I hope you can talk Amanda into a jungle trip again! hehe. Maybe a place with a nice beach ?

Take care,
Pato


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## tarcan

Pato,

he he, no beach for us, we hate that. We are thinking maybe New Zealand next.

I do not think you will be able to cross from Venezuela, these two countries are at a long time border dispute and as far as I know, there are no legal crossing points between the two countries, but I could be wrong.

A jaguar... I guess it is on everyone's list! One needs a lot of luck... OK, you are on, first who gets a picture of a jaguar in the wild wins!

Take care

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Good to know about the border issues, I was thinking a plane from Bolivar or Caracas to Georgetown, but I will find out everything that I can so I can make the trip smoothly.


Alright! but it has to be in the wild! you're on for the bet  I can't wait for summer :razz: 

Cheers,
Pato


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## eman

Wow! Another set of superb shots Martin! Glad to see you guys had a great trip (despite the minor setback  ).

Cheers,

Emmanuel


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## tarcan

thanks Eman!

Talk to you soon, as last time we did not get much time

Martin


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## mitchnast

Martin Pêcheur, in english, we call these "martin's kingfisher"


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## MyNameIsYours

jaw-dropping photos...


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## syndicate

Martin amazing photos!!Your gettin so much better with that cam!!
Thanks for sharing!
-Chris


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## hamfoto

Very, very nice, Martin!  The animals and your lighting are wonderful...keep it up!

Chris


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## tarcan

thank you everyone for the nice comments

Martin


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## urs

Hi Martin & Amanda!
Great photos, see you've enyojed a lot! 
Nice to meet you also. 
Take care and wish you good luck with 'breeding' project! 

Best regards Uros


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## tarcan

Hey Uros,

Very nice to meet you too! I am glad you made it back safely to Slovenia! We are waiting at Paris airport right now!

Talk to you soon

Martin


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