Socotra Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus) with bark snails

Socotra Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus) with bark snails

You can find these dormant (aestivating) land snails (Achatinelloides) sporadically throughout Socotra, but find them covering an entire Socotra cucumber tree…


Socotra Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus)

Socotra Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus)

A very young Socotra Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos socotranus) that has survived the insatiable appetite of the goats - only because it growing where they cannot…


Violet Zoanthids (Zoanthus sansibaricus)

Violet Zoanthids (Zoanthus sansibaricus)

Socotra's biodiversity on land is undisputed and world famous, but it is equally diverse on the coast and in the sea. I am focusing on the terrestrial realm…


Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

This is the only place I've encountered Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) on Socotra. It thrives here in the shadow of the tall cliffs of Socotra's northeast, and…


Principe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii)

Principe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii)

An encounter with the endemic Principe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii). I arrived in Principe just in time to enjoy the Principe sunbirds building nests or…


Black-throated sunbird (Aethopyga saturata)

Black-throated sunbird (Aethopyga saturata)

Sunbirds are strikingly colorful, and you definitely get associations to the hummingbirds of the New World. Depending on the angle of the light the colors…


Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda)

Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda)

Driving ever higher, seeing more and more frost from last night, together with larger and larger patches of snow, one might not expect to see such lavishly…