Konrad Wothe / Two Rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus), one perched upside-down in flowering Jacaranda tree, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Konrad Wothe / Rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) perched in rainforest, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Konrad Wothe / Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) male on lilies feeding on nectar, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Konrad Wothe / Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) male feeding on nectar from flower, rainforest, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Konrad Wothe / Lumholtz's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) sitting in rainforest tree, North Queensland, Australia, October

Konrad Wothe / Victoria's riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae) male perched in rainforest, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Mike Read / White-bridled Finch (Melanodera melanodera) female resting on grass. Falkland Islands, South Atlantic, January.

Mike Read / New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura) feeding on nectar from New Zealand flax. New Zealand, December.

Alex Mustard / A Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) photographed against open water. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsular, South Australia, December.

Alex Mustard / A Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) swims over seagrass meadow. Wool Bay, Edithburgh, South Australia, November.

Alex Mustard / A male Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) carrying eggs. Wool Bay, Edithburgh, South Australia, Gulf of St Vincent, November.

Alex Mustard / A Golden / White's Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) camouflaged on a rope net. Manly, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, March.

Alex Mustard / A female White's Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) on an orange sponge. Manly, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, November.

Alex Mustard / A male Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) swimming. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsular, South Australia, November.

Alex Mustard / A male Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) carrying eggs under his tail. Wool Bay Jetty, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, Australia, December.

Alex Mustard / A portrait of a male White's Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei). Chowder Bay, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, November.

Alex Mustard / An adult Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) swims over a bed of seagrass. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsular, South Australia, November.

Alex Mustard / A pair of Leafy Seadragons (Phycodurus eques) camouflaged sheltering amongst seaweeds. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsular, South Australia, December.

Alex Mustard / A diver watching a Weedy Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) as it swims over a seagrass meadow. Flinders Jetty, Mornington Peninsular, Victoria, Australia, March.

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff working in a mobile lab in the bush. To handle the highly venomous Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) he puts the head and upper portion of the snake in a plastic t...

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff extracting a tooth from the mouth of a highly venomous Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus). The death adder ranks 9th out of the top 10 most venomous snakes in the w...

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff showing everted hemipenis of a road kill Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) in a mobile lab in the bush. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff catching a highly venomous Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) found 10 minutes into his group's evening road collection. The death adder ranks 9th out of the top 10...

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff catching a highly venomous Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) found 10 minutes into his group's evening road collection. The death adder ranks 9th out of the top 10...

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff photographing an olive python (Liasis olivaceus) on a termite mound. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff handling a Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus). Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff covering a curl snake (Suta suta) with his hat to encourage it to coil and rest quietly for photography. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff showing the fangs of a curl snake (Suta suta) caught earlier in Corella Dam. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff handling a curl snake (Suta suta) caught earlier in Corella Dam. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Researcher Guido Westhoff leafing through his snake ID book with a crate of sea snakes in the background. Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Juergen Freund / Guido Westhoff with a Faraday shield. He uses this contraption to find out if sea snake tail has light receptors. The Faraday shield is used for shielding off noise. The electrodes and a light source...

Juergen Freund / Freshly caught sea snakes stored in orange ice box. These snakes have been caught as part of a project to discover more about seasnake skin ultrastructure and sensory receptors. Queensland, Australia,...

Juergen Freund / Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) well camouflaged in its natural habitat, seen from above. Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) perched on top of a termite mound. Many pythons shelter in hollow termite mounds when not hunting. Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Close-up of Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) head and coils. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Close-up of Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) head on white background. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) on white background, seen from above. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) coiled in a figure-of-eight on white background with head raised. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) on white background stretching head high into the air. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Close-up of Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) head on white background. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) coiled on white background with head raised. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) seen from above, coiled on white background. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) beginning to uncoil on white background. Taken in Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Young Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) coiled, on white background. Queensland, Australia

Juergen Freund / Curl snake (Suta Suta) resting on red gravel. Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Close-up of head of Coastal carpet python (Morelia Spilota McDowelli) on white background, Queensland, Australia

Juergen Freund / Spotted python (Antaresia maculosa) resting on a wrecked car radiator. Queensland, Australia, February

Juergen Freund / Young Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) on white background, Queensland, Australia

Juergen Freund / Young Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) coiled, on white background. Queensland, Australia

Juergen Freund / Detail of scale pattern on skin of a young Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli). Queensland, Australia

Juergen Freund / Young Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli)on leaf, Queensland, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Golden brushtail possum (Trichosurus caninus), Tasmania, Australia

Juergen Freund / Moonlighter fish (Tilodon sexfasciatus) and the artificial coral-reef on pilon beneath the 2km long Busselton Jetty. Busselton, Western Australia

Barry Bland / Pied cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius), Australia

Barry Bland / Southern black-backed gull (Larus dominicanus) in flight over water, New Zealand.

Barry Bland / Red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus scopulinus) standing in shallow water, New Zealand.

Barry Bland / Red billed gulls (Chroicocephalus scopulinus) on rocks, Aramoana, New Zealand.

Barry Bland / Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) hanging in a tree, Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia.

Barry Bland / Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) hanging in a tree, Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia.

Barry Bland / Snares Island penguin (Eudyptes robustus), Dunedin, New Zealand.

Barry Bland / Red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus scopulinus) walking, Aramoana, New Zealand.

Barry Bland / Brown trout (Salmo trutta), Clutha River, Wanaka, New Zealand.

Roberto Rinaldi / Diver looking at a Potato cod (Epinephelus tukula), Cod Hole dive site, Great Barrier reef, Australia

Roberto Rinaldi / Lizardfish (Synodontidae sp.), Flinders Reef, Australia

Roberto Rinaldi / Diver and potato grouper (Epinephelus tukula), Cod Hole dive site, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Roberto Rinaldi / Diver looking at a Potato cod (Epinephelus tukula), Cod Hole dive site, Great Barrier reef, Australia

Roberto Rinaldi / Wobbegong shark / Carpet shark (Orectolobus sp) under a rock, with shoal of fish, Australia

Roberto Rinaldi / Elongate flounder (Ammotretis elongatus), Tasmania, Australia.

Roberto Rinaldi / Metal tag on fin of female Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Heron Island, Australia