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moloch05

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The drive between Brisbane and Wollongong is a long one so we decided to spent a night in the granite belt of southern Queensland. Conditions this year were wet and cool so I did not see much but did find one of my long-time targets. I will combine the results of this trip with photos from two previous trips (Jan 2007, Feb 2006) since this is a beautiful area and one that is rich with reptiles. It is well worth a visit for those of you who travel along the New England Highway.

Firstly, here are a few habitat shots. The area is scenic with many granite domes and strange rock formations:
habitat122.jpg


habitat322.jpg


habitat4.jpg


girraween2.jpg


habitat5a-1.jpg



Many of the outcrops were cracking and these cracks provided shelter for a number of species of herps. A walk in these areas by day or night was always very interesting.
habitat5.jpg


girraween4.jpg



This year, there was plenty of water for a change. These riparian habitats were also good for a number of herps.
girraween1.jpg



... now the herps. I will start with a new one that I finally found on a misty night this year. I have tried several times before without success. I was under the impression that this gecko must be rare but participants on another forum indicated that they see it regularly in the New England area of northern NSW.

Granite Belt Thick-tailed Gecko (Underwoodisaurus sphyrurus)
granite2.jpg


... the gecko usually held its tail with the tip pointed downwards
granite5.jpg


granite6.jpg


... the scales and pigmentation would allow this lizard to blend well with the granite boulders
granite7.jpg



Southern Spotted Velvet Gecko (Oedura tryoni) were always a pleasant sight:
SouthernSpotted1.jpg


SouthernSpotted6.jpg



Lesueur's Velvet Geckos (Oedura lesueurii) were the most common gecko of the area.
leseuers1.jpg


Leseuers1.jpg



I saw a number of Wyberba Leaf-tailed Geckos (Saltuarius wyberba) on my first visit but have not again found the species. They are an endemic of the granite belt and quite a spectacular reptile.
Leaftail7001.jpg


Leaftail37001.jpg



I have not seen many snakes here but did encounter a few Eastern Small-eyed Snakes (Crytophis nigrescens).
SmallEyedSnake2.jpg



One night, I found a huge Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata) that appeared to be warming itself on the granite:
Bandy3.jpg



Nobbi Dragons (Amphibolurus nobbi) were occasionally encountered.
knobby1a.jpg


knobby2.jpg



Jacky Lizard (Amphibolurus muricatus).

... this Jacky was a little odd in colouration.
jacky1.jpg


... another particularly large individual
jacky2.jpg



Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbarata) attempting to hide on top of a rock:
bearded1.jpg



Eastern Water Dragons (Physignathus lesueurii) were a common sight along the creek.
waterDragon1-1.jpg


waterDragon122.jpg



I saw a few Eastern Striped Skinks (Ctenotus robustus):
striped1-1.jpg




The beautiful granite belt race of the Cunningham's Skinks (Egernia cunninghami) were abundant on warm days.
cunninghams2.jpg


cunninghams3.jpg



Another Egernia skink was also common on the boulders.
Egernia mcpheei
mcpheei4.jpg


mcpheei1.jpg


mcpheei1a-1.jpg



Eulamprus martini were a rock dwelling Eulamprus.
eulamprusMartini3.jpg


eulamprusMartini.jpg



Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) were a frequent sight along the creek.
Golden1.jpg




I saw a few Snake-necked Turtles (Chelodina longicollis) in the creek. Someone has obviously marked this turtle so there must be study underway. Unfortunately, I still did not find any of the endemic Bald Rock Creek Turtles (Elseya bellii).
turtle.jpg



Amphibians of the area included the following:

Painted Burrowing Frog (Neobatrachus sudelli)
Ornate1-1.jpg


Eastern Banjo Frog (Limnodynastes dumerili).
limno2.jpg


... Spotted Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) ??
spottedGrass1.jpg


spottedGrass2.jpg



... Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax) ??
frog2.jpg



... any ideas?
frog1.jpg



... a pretty terrestrial orchid of some sort was common this year. Does anyone know its name?
girraweenOrchid1.jpg
 
Lovely photos, I love the Eastern Beardie - looks quite big from the photos. The EWD are cute as well.
 
You constantly amaze me with your habitat and wildlife photography where ever you travel,

EXCELLANT PICS



cheers Roger
 
well done moloch05, sphyrurus is a fantastic find, they are one of the best geckos out there, very hard to come accross. great work.
 
Thanks for the comments.

Here are a couple of the other animals seen:

I don' t know their identity but they looked like big, flattened hunstman.
spider1a-1.jpg



I like the "Christmas Tree" pattern on the abdomen of this spider:
spider.jpg




Regards,
David
 
Brilliant photos David, you did well spotting so many species in the belt. I am going for a wander up to QLD later in the year, I will have to go past have a look.

Thanks for sharing
 
G'day David,

You seem to have this uncanny ability to make all of us who devote our lives to herping look stupid - how on earth do you have so much success so often?

Nice post, as usual!
 
Great pics, thanks for taking the time to post them.

I believe that last frog is Litoria verreauxi, but someone please correct me if I am wrong.
 
Great photos David...... That granite area looks amazing. I'd be keen to get up there are go for a bit of a search about. I'd love to see the granite belt thick tails.

That last frog pic looks a bit like a Litoria verreauxi.

Great pics, I look forward to the next series of photos.

-H
 
Thanks for the replies.

Jonno, as youi know, it is all just a matter of luck.

Thanks, Sassy and Henry for the frog id.


Regards,
David
 
The sphyrurus are definitely a very nice species indeed!!!!!!!

Would love for them to become better established in captivity!
 
Alls i can say is WOW!! Every one of those pics are amazing, all great finds :D
Great job mate n' big thanks for showing us all those incredible shots!!
 
Thats not an orchid, not sure what it is. Orchids have 6 segments to the flower that only has 5
 
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