1: That pata on the left caught my attention, too. A rather unusual shape, but it being a transitional form makes perfect sense.
2: Even if Spiral hadn't paid for the right to take the photos, the copyright is his. It is the depiction, not the thing depicted, which is copyrighted. Someone esle could take nearly the same photo and have an independent copyright, for example, but Spiral has the right to dictate how his photos are used (or not used).
3: For the amount of free legal advise I give out, you guys should put me on retainer.