Northern Territory Frogging 2010
- Thread starter froggyboy86
- Start date
-
- Tags
- antaresia childreni antaresia maculosa antaresia stimsoni chlamydosaurus kingii crocodylus porosus cryptophis pallidiceps ctenotus dux hemidactylus frenatus liasis fuscus liasis olivaceus limnodynastes ornatus litoria bicolor litoria caerulea litoria gilleni litoria nasuta litoria rubella morelia oenpelliensis morelia spilota variegata nephrurus sheai varanus giganteus
Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:
- Status
$NaKe PiMp
Very Well-Known Member
for snake enthusiasts we still love our froggys,im a closet frog nerd
froggyboy86
Active Member
I agree, more frog enthusiasts need to come out of the closet - they need all the help they can get!
Billiemay - the best book is A Field Guide to Australian Frogs by Barker, Grigg and Tyler but it can be hard to get a hold of these days. There is a new book out by Tyler and Knight but I don't think it is that useful to anyone because the information and drawings are very poor.
The last few days of my trip across the NT were spent in the "Red Centre" from Alice Springs to Uluru. It was a beautiful sight to see the desert in full bloom after recent rains and the dunes were cloaked in green.
I spent two nights in Alice Springs and I was really impressed. It is a vibrant and modern city on the edge of the desert and I was expecting something a lot less welcoming. Alice Springs is built around the Macdonnell Ranges which are a series of mountains stretching east to west across the desert and form a small refuge for a variety of unique plants and animals.
Simpsons Gap in the West Macdonnell Ranges
The West Macdonnells held an amazing amount of frogs, a lot more than I expected. The first new species I encountered was the Spencer's Burrowing Frog (Platypectrum spenceri). This is the inland form of the more well known Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platypectrum ornatum).
Another frog which occurs in the West Macdonnells and across much of arid inland Australia is the Main's Burrowing Frog (Cyclorana maini). These are nicely marked moderately large frogs which emerge after rain to breed.
However the froggy highlight for me was the West Macdonnell endemic, the Centralian Tree Frog (Litoria gilleni). These are large and attractively spotted species which eke out an existence in rocky gorges.
Whilst photographing the tadpoles of the above species I was shocked to turn around and see a large Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) slithering past. This snake was very docile and curled up amongst some shrubs whilst I took more photos of the tadpoles.
The other common frog of the inland is the Desert Tree Frog (Litoria rubella) and these were abundant around any waterbody in the vicinity of Alice Springs
Driving south towards Uluru the landscape changes to rolling red dunes and sand hills and dry salt lakes. Lake Amadeus is in the distance of this shot.
The petrol stations in the Northern Territory often carry this disclaimer on their bowsers
Uluru/Ayer's Rock at sunset. A truly amazing sight and a lot different seeing it in the flesh than on a postcard.
Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas) unflatteringly referred to as Uluru's ugly sister however I found these rock formations fascinating.
Sand Monitors (Varanus gouldi) were common on the roads and along tracks.
It was fun watching a juvenile monitor wrestle with a small moth at the hotel
Skinks and dragons are common in the area but I found them difficult to approach. I only saw one DOR Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) and no Perentie (Varanus giganteus). I did photograph this skink which I think is Ctenotus dux from the Olgas.
Aaron
Billiemay - the best book is A Field Guide to Australian Frogs by Barker, Grigg and Tyler but it can be hard to get a hold of these days. There is a new book out by Tyler and Knight but I don't think it is that useful to anyone because the information and drawings are very poor.
The last few days of my trip across the NT were spent in the "Red Centre" from Alice Springs to Uluru. It was a beautiful sight to see the desert in full bloom after recent rains and the dunes were cloaked in green.
I spent two nights in Alice Springs and I was really impressed. It is a vibrant and modern city on the edge of the desert and I was expecting something a lot less welcoming. Alice Springs is built around the Macdonnell Ranges which are a series of mountains stretching east to west across the desert and form a small refuge for a variety of unique plants and animals.
Simpsons Gap in the West Macdonnell Ranges
The West Macdonnells held an amazing amount of frogs, a lot more than I expected. The first new species I encountered was the Spencer's Burrowing Frog (Platypectrum spenceri). This is the inland form of the more well known Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platypectrum ornatum).
Another frog which occurs in the West Macdonnells and across much of arid inland Australia is the Main's Burrowing Frog (Cyclorana maini). These are nicely marked moderately large frogs which emerge after rain to breed.
However the froggy highlight for me was the West Macdonnell endemic, the Centralian Tree Frog (Litoria gilleni). These are large and attractively spotted species which eke out an existence in rocky gorges.
Whilst photographing the tadpoles of the above species I was shocked to turn around and see a large Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) slithering past. This snake was very docile and curled up amongst some shrubs whilst I took more photos of the tadpoles.
The other common frog of the inland is the Desert Tree Frog (Litoria rubella) and these were abundant around any waterbody in the vicinity of Alice Springs
Driving south towards Uluru the landscape changes to rolling red dunes and sand hills and dry salt lakes. Lake Amadeus is in the distance of this shot.
The petrol stations in the Northern Territory often carry this disclaimer on their bowsers
Uluru/Ayer's Rock at sunset. A truly amazing sight and a lot different seeing it in the flesh than on a postcard.
Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas) unflatteringly referred to as Uluru's ugly sister however I found these rock formations fascinating.
Sand Monitors (Varanus gouldi) were common on the roads and along tracks.
It was fun watching a juvenile monitor wrestle with a small moth at the hotel
Skinks and dragons are common in the area but I found them difficult to approach. I only saw one DOR Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) and no Perentie (Varanus giganteus). I did photograph this skink which I think is Ctenotus dux from the Olgas.
Aaron
moosenoose
Legendary
I'm hoping, instead of a 40th birthday party this year, that I'm taken somewhere into the Territory!! 
I truly love seeing images like this!
I truly love seeing images like this! 
timportas
Not so new Member
Great photos of some fantastic species!
T
thals
Guest
Amazing shots, NT's a great place to visit - the vast array of scenery and wildlife is spectacular! Very much enjoyed all pics, that olive's a classic - nothing I like better than a snake with attitude
Slats
Well-Known Member
And you didnt even give me a PM when you came into Katherine!!!
Theres a couple of large swamp/ dams in the surrounding 200 k's that i think you would be rather interested in.
We dont have stimsoni here only childreni.
Next time give us a yell haha
Theres a couple of large swamp/ dams in the surrounding 200 k's that i think you would be rather interested in.
We dont have stimsoni here only childreni.
Next time give us a yell haha
froggyboy86
Active Member
Thanks for that, I didn't know that there were any forum members in Katherine! Would have been handy to get some local knowledge, I'll be definately heading back up to the NT in the next few years, still have 8 species of frog there I havent seen.
- Status
