My old man Found clutch of eggs hatching

[JrFear]

I was also leaning toward Juvie browns because on the head marking!

 

[-Peter]

Where is your dad and how big are the eggs? I reckon Pseudonaja sp.

 

[Jonesy1990]

We are in esperance southern wa. Not sure how big cos he just took a few photos and has now left the area ill ask him when I see him next

This is where they all were but are gone now. It's an ant nest! Is that weird? I would have thought they would damage the eggs.

 

[Dendrobates]

These are definitely hatchling Dugites.

 

[user 23122]

Legless lizards...

Jamie

Surely you must admit you are wrong even with your knowledge and experience with reptiles you can see in that second pic it is definetely no Delma.

 

[Shotta]

eastern browns?

 

[OzGecko]

To me they look like a brown species. Legles lizards only have clutches of 2 eggs, sure it could be a communal nest site, but I doubt it. In the second pic the eye size looks larger than I'd expect for a delma species. Yes legless lizards do have forked tongues, but its a large flat fleshy tongue as opposed to a thin tongue. So I'd say Pseudonaja.

 

[Bushman]

This humble pie tastes good.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Sorry guys, no way is that a Brown Snake of any species, and definitely not a Dugite - hatchy Dugites may have a band on the neck, but they have a dark or black head. This is a Delma, probably fraseri, which is common in the Esperence/south coast of WA. As far as identifying it as a legless lizard, the vent is about where the top of the key is, and the tail is several times longer than the s/v length, a characteristic of this genus - and most legless lizards actually.. If you Google Delma fraseri, you'll find picks of animals almost identical to this, although it is a variable species, and adults may differ in appearance considerably from hatchies/juvies like this.. The species also has a slightly bifurcated tongue, which can make them look a bit snake-like to the unititiated.

I draw on 55 years of life in WA, probably several hundred observations of baby Dugites and Western Browns (Gwardars) in that time, in making that observation.

Having said that, I do urge caution when dealing with ANY unidentified species of snake-like creature.

Jamie

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Here's a photo from Brian Bush, of animals from Lort River on the south coast. Brian used to work in this region before moving to Perth many years ago, but he's probably one of WA's most experienced herpetologists...

Thanks Brian, Jamie

 

[saratoga]

Consistent taper from head to tail tip, and the very slender nature of the animal in the first pick to me says it is a legless lizard, a Delma.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

You guys born & raised on the east coast need to brush up on your Brown Snakes...

Jamie

 

[ArcticMonkey]

Is it possible the Delma's have evolved to look like juveniles of venomous species to deter predators?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Surely you must admit you are wrong even with your knowledge and experience with reptiles you can see in that second pic it is definetely no Delma.

I've ALWAYS been VERY happy to admit the fact that I'm in error when I am wrong, but in this case I'm not wrong, and I'd bet not only my leftie, but both nuts on it! Care to look at the Brian Bush photo of two Delma fraseri from the Esperance (Lort River) region I uploaded? I admit the head shot does look very Brown Snake in form, but the whole body photo can't be anything but a Delma... They are NOT hatchling Dugites, despite the insistence of some members here...

As far as a mass hatching event is concerned, lizard eggs have a far more variable development time than snakes (which can often be timed to the day), lizards such as monitors can vary by months for the same species. It just may be that they reach a stage of development and remain ready to hatch until the conditions are suitable - if anyone here knows otherwise, let me know. Also, bown snakes prefer to lay eggs in heaps of rotted vegetable matter or similar humid environments - in my experience they don't lay eggs in ants nests.

Jamie

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Is it possible the Delma's have evolved to look like juveniles of venomous species to deter predators?

That is absolutely correct!!!

J

 

[imported_Varanus]

They certainly do a good job! There's several Delma Sp. around OZ that mimic Pseudonaja to one degree or another. D. tincta does a resonable job also. Nice find!

 

[Bushman]

Well I'll be blowed! That's convincing evidence for Delma fraseri.
I'm sorry I doubted you Jamie.
Does anyone else want to share this delicious but tart humble pie with me. There's plenty that needs to be eaten.

 

[ArcticMonkey]

Haha, we'll they seem to have fooled most people too.

That is absolutely correct!!!

J

 

[Nephrurus]

ZING! I admit, the second photo was a bit confusing. But the length is EXTREME and very Delma. Admittedly I've only seen one baby dugite, but they're a baby brown. They aren't that long and skinny.

I think what we're missing here is that the record of the communal breeding is really cool- probably the first time it's been seen. A really cool record (if it's recorded- maybe send an email to the herp people at the museum?).

-H

 

[user 23122]

Well I'll be blowed! That's convincing evidence for Delma fraseri.
I'm sorry I doubted you Jamie.
Does anyone else want to share this delicious but tart humble pie with me. There's plenty that needs to be eaten.

+1