moloch05
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One morning while staying at Mission Beach, QLD, I got up at 3:30 am and drove south for three hours to Mt. Elliot in Bowling Green National Park. This park is situated a little to the south of Townsville. I wanted to arrive soon after sunrise since lizards at that time of the day tend to bask and are more easily photographed. I have visited Mt. Elliot a few times before and know it to be a herp-rich locality. Someday, I want to spend a night here and go on the 17km walk up the mountain to try and find the spectacular endemic leaf-tailed gecko, Phyllurus amnicola.
Here are a few habitat shots from the areas where I searched for reptiles.
The Alligator River. There are 3 species of turtles here and many native fish. Lizards were abundant on rocks along the river.
The surrounding hills were covered with grass and Poplar Gums.
Some of the tropical deciduous trees were leafless but were flowering:
Skinks were the abundant family of lizards on the rocks. The first species that I encontered were these nicely marked Saxicoline Sun Skinks (Lampropholis mirabilis). These pretty little skinks have a tiny distribution that is centered within Bowling Green National Park.
I saw several Carlia folorium early in the morning before it became hot. These little skinks mostly remain beneath the leaf litter but they would bask early in the morning.
Male in breeding colours:
Female:
I saw these beautiful Blue-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rhomboidalis) along the river in the same habitat as C. folorium. I think that the males are beautifully patterned.
Females were more sombrely marked. This species has a transparent disk in its lower eyelid, a feature that can be seen in this photo:
The dry hillsides supported several other rainbow skinks. The nicest were these beautiful male Lined Rainbow Skinks (Carlia jarnoldae)
I think that the following skink is female Open-litter Rainbow Skink (Carlia pectoralis) although C. vivex is also a possibility.
Robust Rainbow Skinks (Carlia schmeltzii) were also found in the dry woodlands.
I saw a few Copper-tailed Skinks (Ctenotus taeniolatus) in the dry grassland habitat. None of these lizards had the copper-tail colour like those in the Wollongong area.
Dragons here included these confusing Diporiphora. They have a gular fold so I think that they are Tommy Roundheads (D. australis) although Two-lined Dragons (D. bilineata) are also possible.
Knobby Dragons (Amphibolurus nobbi) were also common.
One of the most interesting lizards was this young Black-headed Monitor (Varanus tristis) that watched me from a hollow log. I stayed with it for awhile but it would never fully emerge from the log.
Unadorned Rock Wallabies were common around the picnic area shortly after sunrise.
I saw a brown snake and an Yellow-faced Whipsnake in the dry country but both raced away before I could take a photo. The only amphibian seen was this Roth's Treefrog:
On the return trip to Mission Beach, I stopped for a couple of hours at Jourama Falls National Park, about a half-hour drive north from Townsville.
Black-throated Rainbow Skink (Carlia rostralis): These beautiful skinks were the abundant Carlia in this area.
Males in their nuptial colours:
Their scales refract the light.
females are not as brightly coloured.
I also found a couple of these water skinks (Eulamprus sp.). I think that this would be either an E. tenuis or a E. brachysoma but I don't know distinguish between these two species in the field.
[/i]
I also saw a Collared Whipsnake in about the same place as where I saw one in Dec 07. Unfortunately, it disappeared before I could take a photo.
Regards,
David
Here are a few habitat shots from the areas where I searched for reptiles.
The Alligator River. There are 3 species of turtles here and many native fish. Lizards were abundant on rocks along the river.
The surrounding hills were covered with grass and Poplar Gums.
Some of the tropical deciduous trees were leafless but were flowering:
Skinks were the abundant family of lizards on the rocks. The first species that I encontered were these nicely marked Saxicoline Sun Skinks (Lampropholis mirabilis). These pretty little skinks have a tiny distribution that is centered within Bowling Green National Park.
I saw several Carlia folorium early in the morning before it became hot. These little skinks mostly remain beneath the leaf litter but they would bask early in the morning.
Male in breeding colours:
Female:
I saw these beautiful Blue-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rhomboidalis) along the river in the same habitat as C. folorium. I think that the males are beautifully patterned.
Females were more sombrely marked. This species has a transparent disk in its lower eyelid, a feature that can be seen in this photo:
The dry hillsides supported several other rainbow skinks. The nicest were these beautiful male Lined Rainbow Skinks (Carlia jarnoldae)
I think that the following skink is female Open-litter Rainbow Skink (Carlia pectoralis) although C. vivex is also a possibility.
Robust Rainbow Skinks (Carlia schmeltzii) were also found in the dry woodlands.
I saw a few Copper-tailed Skinks (Ctenotus taeniolatus) in the dry grassland habitat. None of these lizards had the copper-tail colour like those in the Wollongong area.
Dragons here included these confusing Diporiphora. They have a gular fold so I think that they are Tommy Roundheads (D. australis) although Two-lined Dragons (D. bilineata) are also possible.
Knobby Dragons (Amphibolurus nobbi) were also common.
One of the most interesting lizards was this young Black-headed Monitor (Varanus tristis) that watched me from a hollow log. I stayed with it for awhile but it would never fully emerge from the log.
Unadorned Rock Wallabies were common around the picnic area shortly after sunrise.
I saw a brown snake and an Yellow-faced Whipsnake in the dry country but both raced away before I could take a photo. The only amphibian seen was this Roth's Treefrog:
On the return trip to Mission Beach, I stopped for a couple of hours at Jourama Falls National Park, about a half-hour drive north from Townsville.
Black-throated Rainbow Skink (Carlia rostralis): These beautiful skinks were the abundant Carlia in this area.
Males in their nuptial colours:
Their scales refract the light.
females are not as brightly coloured.
I also found a couple of these water skinks (Eulamprus sp.). I think that this would be either an E. tenuis or a E. brachysoma but I don't know distinguish between these two species in the field.
I also saw a Collared Whipsnake in about the same place as where I saw one in Dec 07. Unfortunately, it disappeared before I could take a photo.
Regards,
David