Pantanal | Morten Ross

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Pantanal plant 51

My final plant encounter on my way out of Pantanal – a really beautiful color and my first of the species. Please help identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 51

My final plant encounter on my way out of Pantanal – a really beautiful color and my first of the species. Please help identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Wherever you go in Pantanal you’ll see wonderful species of plants, and thus I stop to photograph even as was on my way out of Pantanal. This is one I’ve not encountered before so naturally I needed to look at it and take some shots. Please help me identify it – leave a comment!

Pantanal Plant 50

Green-barred Woodpecker (Colaptes melanochloros)

This was a brief encounter with the species as I was about to leave SouthWild Pantanal and go to Chapada dos Guimarães – the rainmaker and the source of Pantanal’s water. It’s looking for food in the trees right outside the lodge. That’s what’s so amazing about Pantanal – you chill in a hammock, or […]

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia parviflora)

These plants grow in a pond right outside the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal. I find the long leaves quite decorative and a plant worthy of any garden.

Physalaemus sp

It looks much like Whistling frog (Physalaemus albonotatus), but I’m not certain, as I don’t recorded whether this one had the miauing sound or not. So any ID help is much appreciated!

Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)

In this moment in time it really could look like it’s touching its head with the wing like we humans would when we think D’OH after we have done something stupid. This bird was in no such state, nor do I think will it ever be. It was simply having a preening session in the […]

Chaco tree frog (Hypsiboas raniceps)

During the day it’s much harder to find the frogs as you don’t have their sounds to hone in on, nor are they sitting out in the sun. In one of the many ponds emerging around the lodge I found these two individuals – both clinging onto water hyacinth leaves. Both with relatively minimal shade, […]

Aspilia sp UV

In UV the all-yellow we humans see, is not at all present. The size and shape of the dark centre can in many instances be a key component in identifying species that are very similar morphologically.

Aspilia sp

This species was in some places growing in large and dense populations along Cuiaba river and the rivers further into Jaguarland. Several times I wanted to photograph them but for some reason it never happened, and I was left with this small specimen in one of the swamps in SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify […]

Aspilia sp

Justicia laevilinguis

This is a species I found sporadically in the fields around SouthWild Pantanal.

Justicia laevilinguis

This is a species I found sporadically in the fields around SouthWild Pantanal.

Amazon sword plant 01 (Echinodorus sp)

There are many species of Echinodorus in Pantanal, and some grow almost 2 metres tall, but this is a more modest one resembling those we see in Europe. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Amazon sword plant 01 (Echinodorus sp)

Queen (Danaus gilippus)

A truly amazing butterfly, and as I recall the only one of the species I encountered here at SouthWild Pantanal. Here it’s visiting a plant growing alongside the SouthWild Pantanal’s dirt road – just a couple of hundred metres away from the buildings.

Tropical Pickerelweed (Pontederia rotundifolia)

At first this looks like a starved water Hyacinth, and you might pass on to find one with a grand inflorescence. When you take a closer look you’ll see that it’s not a floating plant, but is rooted in the soil, and thus will be submerged in floods, but can also be swept away and […]

Tropical Pickerelweed (Pontederia rotundifolia)

Pantanal Plant 49 (Eleocharis sp)

In the more permanent water pools around SouthWild Pantanal, I found good populations of this species. I was in luck and found them in bloom. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 48

I encountered many species in the Fabaceae family in Pantanal, perhaps more than any other place I’ve visited, and the land around SouthWild Pantanal was rich with flowering plants.

Pantanal plant 48

I encountered many species in the Fabaceae family in Pantanal, perhaps more than any other place I’ve visited, and the land around SouthWild Pantanal was rich with flowering plants. Some have to me very unusual geometry, and my thoughts go to how the design ended up like this? Please help me identify it – leave […]

Pantanal plant 48

I encountered many species in the Fabaceae family in Pantanal, perhaps more than any other place I’ve visited, and the land around SouthWild Pantanal was rich with flowering plants.

Stinking passionflower (Passiflora foetida)

Very similar to the species found on the Galapagos – Galápagos passion flower (Passiflora foetida galapagensis) The resin is impossible for leaf eating insects to traverse, or at least so unpleasant the insect will turn back. This is an efficient pesticide, but when the flower has opened, it is free of such defenses, and can […]

Stinking passionflower (Passiflora foetida)

There are many species of passion flower in Pantanal, and unfortunately I have passed bright red ones by car, hoping to see the species later, but have not. I will have to come back for them 🙂 SouthWild Pantanal has a few species and this one reminds me of one I saw on the Galapagos […]

Pantanal Morning Glory 02 (Ipomoea sp)

During my stay at SouthWild Pantanal there were many species of morning glory in bloom, and due to the size of the inflorescence you see them as beacons of color amongst the lush green landscape. But without the leaves they can be hard to identify. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal Morning Glory 02 (Ipomoea sp)

During my stay at SouthWild Pantanal there were many species of morning glory in bloom, and due to the size of the inflorescence you see them as beacons of color amongst the lush green landscape. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 47 UV

In UV I think this flower is as beautiful, perhaps even more than in visible light! The patterns, and shades are at least as intricate and detailed in UV as in visible light. That’s what I find so exciting – I never know from my visual standpoint whether or not the flower is a beauty […]

Pantanal plant 47

Yet another plant producing beautiful flowers that makes it an interest candidate for a human’s garden. For me the natural garden of SouthWild Pantanal was just as it should be – cultivated land in the process of regaining natural vegetation. Hopefully with foliage it is easy to identify. Please help me identify it – leave […]

Pantanal plant 47

Yet another plant producing beautiful flowers that makes it an interest candidate for a human’s garden. For me the natural garden of SouthWild Pantanal was just as it should be – cultivated land in the process of regaining natural vegetation. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 46

Just a couple of metres from the rooms of SoutWild Pantanal I found a group of plants with these beautiful flowers. In Pantanal you simply do not need to introduce popular plants in your garden – just invite some of the local flora, and you will have a self sustaining garden with flowers of different […]

Pantanal plant 46

Whistling frog (Physalaemus albonotatus)

The sound of this frog is hilarious, and I immediately wanted it as a ring tone! Especially fascinating when you reach a pond with 10+ individuals all miauing as loud as they can. Common name should definitely be miauing frog, as it really sounds like a cat miauing. Sound recording courtesy of Marcos Felix, as […]

Tarantula (Lasiodora sp)

Night time in Pantanal is as exciting as the daytime, and during my several nightwalks – mostly focusing on the huge number of frog species – I came across this beauty very slowly climbing this large tree. The land around this tree is slowly being sumberged, and all the new pools around this tree were […]

Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)

This is a critical moment for the cormorant. It’s a large fish and from my vantage point it seems unlikely it would swallow it. If it struggles too long, other birds might try to steal it. If it swims into the vegetation, it could be attacked by a caiman. It’s fascinating how a bird can […]

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

When the green iguana is in its right element – the foliage of trees or in lush green vegetation – it is extremely hard to see and only patience and a trained eye will know where to look. This one is on a branch overhanging the water and only its very careful movements revealed it […]

Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias)

My first, brief encounter with this species in Pantanal. It took off right after this shot, so I was unable to get a shot in the clear at this location, which was really beautiful. Unfortunately I was also unable to photograph the beautiful plumage seen in flight, but I did see it and it’s hard […]

Pantanal Morning Glory 01 (Ipomoea sp)

One of many wonderful species of morning glory growing in the fields surrounding SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment!

Pantanal Morning Glory 01 (Ipomoea sp)

One of many wonderful species of morning glory growing in the fields surrounding SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

When a sea of water hyacinths are in bloom you forget for a moment that this is a weed like no other – it can block rivers for years on end! All the plants are completely suffocating life below, and is a green desert most of the year, but now it’s a beautiful meadow.

Costus arabicus

Plant stands tall and vital and some use it in their garden. Here it’s in the dark undergrowth of the forest not far from the river by SouthWild Pantanal.

Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare)

A downpour last night has made old and dry waterways yet again flowing with water and this caiman is old enough to remember. Thus it’s waiting here where the new stream meets the old and murky water of last year. During this time fish will migrate up the stream, just like the Atlantic and Pacific […]

Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)

It’s the end of the dry season in the Pantanal, and the torrential downpour of last night is now flowing towards the permanent rivers and lakes. In this photo the heron is walking in one such stream. This fresh water does not go unnoticed by those living in the permanent waters. Fish and crab will […]

Chaco tree frog (Hypsiboas raniceps)

The nights at SouthWild Pantanal were filled with the sounds of frogs of many sizes and colors, and I was lucky to be able to reach this species without going deep into the water where apparently most of them were located. This pond was not far from the water tower of the lodge and I […]

Leptodactylus chaquensis

This frog was one of several of the species roaming the ground around the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal. I had to be careful where I put my feet, so a headlight is a must both if you want to see all the species, but also to avoid stepping on one. We do after all move […]

Paraguayan swimming frog (Pseudis platensis)

It’s the beginning of the wet season, and there are frogs everywhere. The nights are filled with the songs of many species and it might seem a simple task to find them. They are very sensitive to movement, and how the sound waves are changed by a moving object like my body. With patience you’ll […]

Pantanal lepidoptera 02

One of just a few nocturnal lepidopteras I encountered at SouthWild Pantanal. I wonder how many species you can see here in the high season… Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal lepidoptera 01

One of just a few nocturnal lepidopteras I encountered at SouthWild Pantanal. I wonder how many species you can see here in the high season… Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Veined treefrog (Trachycephalus venulosus)

The rainy season has barely begun in Pantanal, but frogs are everywhere. This frog is climbing the walls of SouthWild Pantanal, and is one of many species I encountered. A frog haven! It’s also called milky treefrog, as the frog excretes a milky substance when caught.

Pantanal toad 01

After sunset a cacophony of frogs were calling and roaming the grounds of SouthWild Pantanal. This magnificent toad was right outside my room, and you’d better use your flashlight to ensure you don’t step on one of the slower species! Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Elachistocleis matogrosso

I encountered an amazing amount of frog species during my stay at SouthWild Pantanal, and think this one has to be the most peculiar of them all. I wonder what sounds it makes? That’s the problem with frogs – when you see them they are usually already aware of your presence and go silent, and […]

Camptosema paraguariense

A very slender plant.

Camptosema paraguariense

One of many species in the fabaceae family growing around SouthWild Pantanal. This one I found by the trail along the river, in open landscape with plenty of sun. In the wet season it will be submerged. It’s a slender vine-like plant.

Freshwater crab (Trichodactylidae)

Quite far from any lake or river I encountered this crab on one of the trails in the forest around SouthWild Pantanal. As the rain showers become more frequent in addition to the water from the Chapada dos Guimarães, the limited waterways of the dry season is transformed to a large wetland. At this time […]

Bauhinia glabra

A very unique growth, which is sufficient to identify the species. Unfortunately I found none with foliage – it also has a very distinct shape, hoof-like leaves.

Costus arabicus

This species I found in the dark undergrowth of the forest not far from the river by SouthWild Pantanal.

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

This one was sitting in branches overhanging the river, and if you’re not really looking it’s almost impossible to locate it! They are extremely shy too, so they will escape long before you’re reasonable close to take a photo. This was in fact the only one of the many I encountered in Pantanal that I […]

Thoasa Sister (Adelpha thoasa)

Another species in the Adelpha genus! Some are very hard to identify as the patterns look very similar, but this of the easy ones. I encountered it as I was photographing the many wonderful flower species in bloom here at Southwild Pantanal.

Pantanal plant 45

This is a plant I found alongside one of the trails in the forested areas around SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 45

This is a plant I found alongside one of the trails in the forested areas around SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 44

This is a plant I found alongside one of the trails in the forested areas around SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me Identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 44 (Palicourea sp)

This is a plant I found alongside one of the trails in the forested areas around SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me Identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Julia (Dryas iulia)

This butterfly turned up as I was photographing flowers alongside one of the trails around SouthWild Pantanal.

Pantanal plant 43

It’s the beginning of the rainy season, and rain showers have become more frequent, thus the plants have found ideal conditions to bloom. This is one of many species in on the property of SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 43

It’s the beginning of the rainy season, and rain showers have become more frequent, thus the plants have found ideal conditions to bloom. This is one of many species in bloom on the property of SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Talinum triangulare

This species was in some places growing in dense groups, and as all were in bloom I could see a dense pinkish carpet from afar. Outside flowering season the leaves must do for identification.

Talinum triangulare

This species was in some places growing in dense groups, and as all were in bloom I could see a dense pinkish carpet from afar.

Pantanal plant 41

It’s the beginning of the rainy season, and rain showers have become more frequent, thus the plants have found ideal conditions to bloom. This is one of many species in bloom right outside the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Sphinctanthus sp UV

Not a striking difference in color in UV. In visible light the color is even more uniform – creamy white. But not surprisingly, the stigma in the center of the flower has a distinct darker color than that of the petals. The same goes for the anthers, the flat & oblong segments resting between the […]

Sphinctanthus sp

Not far from the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal I found this species in large numbers, but only this one with a fresh and vibrant flower. The others were past their prime and fading. The petals are very thick and leathery. They all were small bushes reaching to my knee, but seemed to have been pruned […]

Justicia laevilinguis

This is a species I found sporadically in the fields around SouthWild Pantanal.

Sphinctanthus sp

Not far from the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal I found this species in large numbers, but only this one with a fresh and vibrant flower. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Macroptilium lathyroides UV

In visible light this is a very dark flower, but in UV lots of light is reflected, and seen here as yellowish and without any darker areas around the center of the flower which is where the insects should be directed if the plant is to be pollinated. With this very unusual design I wonder […]

Macroptilium lathyroides

A very peculiar layout of the flower! First time I see this species. One of many growing right outside the houses of SouthWild Pantanal.

Ludwigia bonariensis

A common species in the pantanal, and this I found right outside the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal.

Ludwigia bonariensis

A common species in the pantanal, and this I found right outside the buildings of SouthWild Pantanal.

Ludwigia bonariensis UV

In the light we humans see, this flower is uniformly yellow, with a hint of variance in the centre. In UV this variance is very dark and different from the outer areas of the petals. This is what the pollinating insects see. It’s like the bull’s eye of a dart-board. If you come here you […]

Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus)

On the way from Porto Jofre, on the Transpantaneira, to SouthWild Pantanal I stopped several times to take a closer look at the flora and fauna. This is the first time I have seen this species, and I was in luck as the seemingly lone male that caught my attention was in fact a family. […]

Polka-dot Treefrog (Hypsiboas punctatus)

I stopped on the Transpantaneira in Pantanal to photograph some orchids out in the swamp. I managed to walk a few steps until I realised I was walking on floating vegetation that was slowly giving way to my modest weight. I was unsure as to the depth of the water, and unwillingly returned towards the […]

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia parviflora)

On the way to SouthWild Pantanal from Porto Jofre I encountered this species of water hyacinth as I was wading out to an orchid, a fantastic specimen too, with a pollinating bee busy visiting every single flower. I later also found them growing at SouthWild Pantanal. Most of us think of the pink, and completely […]

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

After my encounter with George just a few minutes ago, that came to an abrupt halt due to a thunderbolt that scared him off, I headed downstream and back to Porto Jofre. Just around a bend in the river I got a glimpse of yet another Jaguar! How interesting! 4 days with just a 3 […]

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

After 4 days here in Jaguarland I’ve seen a jaguar for a merely 3 seconds – not enough to even get a shot! This being my last day I was hoping for a longer encounter, but as the day progressed it did not look very promising. We took some new routes, but not a single […]

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

After waiting a long while for George, the name assigned him from those protecting and keeping score of the population here, to move out of the thickets, the weather changed. One thunderstorm that seemed far away, was quickly joined by several others, that soon joined and became one major storm. This was the cue for […]

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

After many days in the north of Pantanal I had just seen a jaguar for 3 seconds – too brief to even photograph it. Finally seeing this one I was determined to get a shot no matter what, at least as proof. I was in a boat and the location was very unstable. The only […]

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Beautiful flowers on a plant species that in some instances can block all human activities. There are many rivers that have been totally blocked for years on end, only unplugged by an abnormal flood.

Eurema agave

Sitting on an inflorescense on a sandbank of the river Cuiaba upriver from Porto Jofre.

Sticky Nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium)

This plant was growing on the side of Cuiaba river – very close to the water, and will likely be submerge in the coming weeks. Also called Fire-and-Ice plant, Litchi Tomato, or Morelle de Balbis.

Sticky Nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium)

This plant was growing on the side of Cuiaba river – very close to the water, and will likely be submerge in the coming weeks. Also called Fire-and-Ice plant, Litchi Tomato, or Morelle de Balbis.

Sticky Nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium)

Looks edible and tempting – is it? This plant was growing on the side of Cuiaba river – very close to the water, and will likely be submerge in the coming weeks. Also called Fire-and-Ice plant, Litchi Tomato, or Morelle de Balbis.

Pantanal plant 36

This plant was growing on the side of Cuiaba river – very close to the water, and will likely be submerge in the coming weeks. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Pantanal plant 36

This plant was growing on the side of Cuiaba river – very close to the water, and will likely be submerge in the coming weeks. Please help me identify it – leave a comment 🙂

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana)

This one I encountered as it was preening the feathers, and my entrance did not disturb this behavior, so I could watch as it was doing its business in the light rain. This was on a very small river, almost clogged with water hyacinths. a Perfect place for the jacana to hunt, as it can […]

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

This is a very skittish species, perhaps one of the most nervous of all. When I drive up any river these are the birds that first take to the wings to escape. This juvenile was a rare exception, as it was simply sitting there as I passed slowly. This is an adult which also is […]

Mendoncia puberula

This is a vine growing very close to the river and I noticed it as it was hanging down toward the water.

Jabiru Stork (Jabiru mycteria)

The huge jabiru stork is a Pantanal icon, and I was in luck to encounter a few nests with chicks during my trips up and down the many rivers in Jaguarland. They always nest high up in the canopy and are hard to reach with lens or in person. When their nest is located on […]

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