National Geographic “Dream Team” knee-deep in Guyana’s biodiversity National Geographic “Dream Team” knee-deep in Guyana’s biodiversity By Andrew Short of the University of Kansas Originally published by NationalGeographic.com, October 30, 2013 Our driver, Leroy, slammed on the brakes. The large Bedford truck behind us carrying our gear and most of our crew ran into a patch of think mud and was now sunk up to its axels and listing to one side. Up to now, our three-truck caravan had snaked its way towards to our first base camp without any problems.We are here in southern Guyana to conduct a rapid biological

Purring monkey and vegetarian piranha among 400 new Amazon species Purring monkey and vegetarian piranha among 400 new Amazon species Jessica Aldred, theguardian.comWednesday 23 October 2013 | Click Here to see the original post At least 441 new species of animals and plants have been discovered over the past four years in the vast, underexplored rainforest of the Amazon. The discoveries made from 2010 to 2013, include a flame-patterned lizard, a vegetarian piranha, and a monkey that purrs like a cat A purring monkey, a vegetarian piranha and a flame-patterned lizard are among more than 400 new species of animals and

Guyana travel warning: you may fall in love with the people Guyana travel warning: you may fall in love with the people Guyana travel warning was the most common piece of information I found when researching for a recent trip to South America. Besides warnings, it was hard to get concrete travel advice. Even Traveldudes did not have one travel tip for Guyana (this has now changed as I own the Guyana section) and besides Brendan Van Son, who has been everywhere, there were not many travel blogs on the subject. Happily , he finds that the hype is much worse

National Geographic at Kaieteur Falls (video) National Geographic at Kaieteur Falls (video) Visitors traversing the eastern coast of South America on the National Geographic Explorer cruise ship spent a few days in Guyana this Autumn. The journey was awarded National Geographic’s 2013 Tours of Lifetime distinction. Wilderness Explorers is proud to be recognized for the 2nd time with operating a Guyana tour carrying this prestigious label. Our Amerindian Guyana itinerary was singled out in 2011 as one of National Geo’s Tours of a Lifetime.Tour planners from Nationial Geographic wrote in to say“…thank all of you belatedly for all you did to

An Experience to Remember Another new species – this time a Plec is discovered in Guyana Guyanese musician, historian, philosopher, and global personality Dave Martins spent time on the National Geographic Explorer cruise ship which recently made a call at the Port of Georgetown, Guyana. He reflects on the experience.Sometimes, in the everyday course of life, an interaction comes along, out of the blue, that is unusual and startling and revealing all at the same time. This past week, for example, my wife Annette and I had been asked by the folks at Wilderness Explorers (Teri and Gavin O’Brien) to do

Another new species – this time a Plec is discovered in Guyana Another new species – this time a Plec is discovered in Guyana A new genus and species of a weakly armoured plec has been described from the upper Mazaruni River in northwestern Guyana. and was named by Jonathan Armbruster and Donald Taphorn as Paulasquama callis.The head and body of most plecs are covered with bony plates, with only the belly, lower surface of the head and the area around the fins lacking plates. Paulasquama differs from most plecs in lacking bony plates in two oval areas on the top

Significant archaeological discovery in Guyana’s Rupununi Significant archaeological discovery in Guyana’s Rupununi Intriguing remains of a culture long extinct have been unearthed in the Rupununi savannah close to Amuku Lake which in the 18th century was believed to be the site of the fabled golden city of El Dorado.In June, Victor Pires, the owner of the Waikin ranch located in the North Rupununi, Region Nine was digging post holes outside the paddock when he hit a huge ceramic pot covered by another. The pot, which has all the characteristics of a burial urn, was excavated by employees and was in an“almost

New Electric Fish discovered in Guyana New Electric Fish discovered in Guyana A previously unknown genus of electric fish has been identified in a remote region of South America by team of international researchers including University of Toronto Scarborough professor Nathan Lovejoy.The Akawaio penak, a thin, eel-like electric fish, was discovered in the shallow, murky waters of the upper Mazaruni River is northern Guyana.Lovejoy’s team at UTSC analyzed tissue samples collected during a recent expedition by researchers led by Hernán López-Fernández at the Royal Ontario Museum. By sequencing its DNA and reconstructing an evolutionary tree, Lovejoy’s team discovered the fish is

Stunning Guyana photography from Andrew Snyder Stunning Guyana photography from Andrew Snyder The mouth and esophagus of the leatherback turtle are a perfect example of how an animal can become adapted to its diet and habitat. When the turtle consumes jellyfish (and it must eat many, as jellyfish have low nutritional value), the esophagus stores both the jellyfish and the seawater that have been swallowed. However, to prevent the stomach filling with water, the seawater must be expelled. So how does this happen?The answer lies in the backwards-pointing spikes you see in the mouth of the turtle, which continue down the