Herping Finds :)

[richoman_3]

on a typical winter Melbourne day (cold,rain,wind and a random 4 minutes of sunshine) i went out to one of my usual spots for a couple of hours
i usually just find a heap of spotted marsh frogs and a couple of marbled geckos, but found some better stuff today
sorry, pics arnt that good :|

Start with the Spotted Marsh frogs (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) these guys are everywhere if you know where to look, but so hard to photograph!

Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus)

2 blueys which i was suprised to find!
Mr.sleepy

Mr.angry

And finally, find of the year, Little whip snake (Parasuta flagellum) i was SOOO happy to find this, spent 20 minutes looking at it, when i found it, it wouldnt stop moving, but soon it retreated into a curl and stopped

Centipede (cormocephalus aurantiipes)

thats it , also found a Lerista bouganvilla but that got away

 

[waruikazi]

Nice finds and pics!

That little whip is Parasuta flagellum, not Suta.

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Awesome find with the "Suta" but don't you mean Parasuta?(Edit: Looks like Waruikazi got there first.) . I must disagree with you on one thing, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis are one of my favourite ground frogs to photograph, in my opinion they always sit nice and look good with backgrounds that would make other frogs look ghastly... such as grass.

 

[danjerus]

Nice finds Nick ... glad you had a better run than normal

 

[richoman_3]

thanks guys
changed it Waruikazi , always thought it could be either?

@Geckphotographer: They are so quick for me, when i lift a rock/log there is usually 50 under that at a time and they just explode out and never sit still!, i did get some too though, but i never get any good pics :/

 

[Smithers]

Good gets there Nick, Thanks for sharing

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Do you have sufficient flash setup with you camera to photograph at night? If so I would recommend you go out and find a few sitting around at night time which can be generally easy to do in the right places and try and get some photographs without disturbing them (which is the hard part). I really want to get a pic of one calling but they are so bloody easy to freak when sitting as far out in the water as they do at my house.

 

[waruikazi]

thanks guys
changed it Waruikazi , always thought it could be either?

@Geckphotographer: They are so quick for me, when i lift a rock/log there is usually 50 under that at a time and they just explode out and never sit still!, i did get some too though, but i never get any good pics :/

Similar genus' but pretty different too. All the Suta's have a coloured eye and eliptical pupil but the Parasuta all have black eyes... along with a lot of other differences.

 

[richoman_3]

Do you have sufficient flash setup with you camera to photograph at night? If so I would recommend you go out and find a few sitting around at night time which can be generally easy to do in the right places and try and get some photographs without disturbing them (which is the hard part). I really want to get a pic of one calling but they are so bloody easy to freak when sitting as far out in the water as they do at my house.

I only have a crappy digital camera :|, so it doesnt really give you much settings to choose from...
and also, i wouldnt be allowed to go out at night, A. Parents wouldnt let me, B. this spot is 40 mins away

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Oh well I can see you problem then, keep practicing with your photography I have seen some amazing pics off a crappy point and shoot. Your pics are not half bad either.

 

[Wally]

Nice pics richoman. There is a bluey near my place that has taken residency under a footpath still showing it's head on the right days. Not sure if you handled the bluey or not but looks like a bit of mite crap around the head, always make sure you've cleaned yourself up before touching your own critters.

 

[richoman_3]

Nice pics richoman. There is a bluey near my place that has taken residency under a footpath still showing it's head on the right days. Not sure if you handled the bluey or not but looks like a bit of mite crap around the head, always make sure you've cleaned yourself up before touching your own critters.

nah didnt handle it, it walked out onto the rocks trying to get some sun then went back under

 

[snakeluvver]

I'm jealous, and I'm in Queensland!
Wait, I find pythons... never mind.
lol Well done pretty good for Melbourne!

 

[Renenet]

Well done pretty good for Melbourne!

In winter! I'm impressed. Where were you looking, Richoman?

 

[PeppersGirl]

Some great finds there! Yes where were you, I'm never that lucky lol

 

[jordanmulder]

great finds!

 

[Damiieen]

Nice pics Nick,

Lovin the frog

 

[Treknotechelaps]

Good pics mate , at least you found a few sp., been out a few times this winter and have had a bit of success. Sometimes you can go somewhere and not find hardly anything except for a few garden skinks or 'Elf' skinks (Anepischetosia).

I was stoked when I found my first Little Whip Snake too (many years ago though), something different to the more conspicuous species you get around Melbourne, will never forget the smell they emit when being handled, you can't get it off your hands until you really scrub them
And will never forget the day when one bit me on the finger :x, didnt think too much of it until about an hour later when i became dizzy and threw up, the bite area was itchy for about a week.

 

[dihsmaj]

Wow! I didn't know you could find these species in Melbourne.

I wonder what I'm doing wrong, I haven't found a single reptile, amphibian, or even arachnid/centipede.

 

[Wally]

Wow! I didn't know you could find these species in Melbourne.

I wonder what I'm doing wrong, I haven't found a single reptile, amphibian, or even arachnid/centipede.

Walking around with your eyes closed perhaps?