froggyboy86
Active Member
Hi guys,
Just some pics from my trek across the NT this past month looking for some frog species I haven't seen before. It was a fairly successful trip with 19 new ones in all - unfortunately I was a bit late following the rains in the desert so I missed out on most of the frogs of the arid zone.
Days 1-3 were spent around the Darwin area from the CBD eastwards to Fogg Dam and westwards towards Adelaide River. Darwin was a nice city, bit short on decent customer service but overall a very enjoyable place to spend a few days. There is still a fair amount of wildlife around but not as much as I remember from the pre-toad days. Goanna's and quolls were conspicuous in their absence.
View from the Esplanade at Darwin over the Arafura Sea.
First new species of the trip and one that would be the most commonly encountered
Giant Frog (Cyclorana australis)
There were lots of snakes on the roads mainly slatey greys and keelbacks. The keelbacks were common and often I would hear a poor frog screaming as a keelback devoured it.
Cane Toads (Rhinella marina) were common across the top end and I was surprised how far into the inland of the NT they had penetrated. Unlike in Queensland I found the toads tended to prefer disturbed or polluted habitat leaving the more 'pristine' sites for the native frogs.
The second new species of the trip was this rather worried looking Floodplain Toadlet (Uperoleia inundata).
A more attractive species and one that posed readily was the Northern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria bicolor). These were abundant across a wide range of habitats in the Top End.
The Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) was seen around dwellings along with the larger Northern Dtella (Geyhra australis) and in the forests the Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata) was common.
A trip to the NT looking for wildlife is not complete without a visit to Fogg Dam. There are crocodiles at Fogg Dam which made approaching the waters edge risky and there were reports in the media of a large Saltwater Crocodile which continually evaded capture by the rangers. This place is famous for the immense number of Dahl's Frogs (Litoria dahli) which were everywhere. Also this is a good place for Water Pythons (Liasis mackloti) and there were many people cruising the dam wall at night looking for them.
There were also lots of Marbled Marsh Frogs (Limnodynastes convexiusculus) honking away in shallows. These would have to be one of the most beautifully marked frogs in Australia.
A lifer for me was the Javelin Frog (Litoria microbelos). I looked high and low for them last year in Cairns and was relieved to find them in good numbers across the floodplains.
A common frog of the east coast and again across the NT was the Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
And there were several large angry Olive Pythons (Liasis olivaceus) crossing the roads at night.
Heading westwards towards the township of Adelaide River there were large areas of inundated grasslands and rocky streams.
During the day there were several small skinks running around. I think this is a species of Lampropholis.
And this a type of Crytoblepharus...
I was very excited to hear the whooping call of the Northern Spade Foot (Notaden melanoscaphus) however the frogs are not particularly photogenic when they deflate and get defensive.
Also common in the grasslands was the Stonemason Toadlet (Uperoleia lithomoda)
I'll upload some more photos once I have sorted through the thousands I took from Kakadu and heading towards the Red Centre.
Aaron
Just some pics from my trek across the NT this past month looking for some frog species I haven't seen before. It was a fairly successful trip with 19 new ones in all - unfortunately I was a bit late following the rains in the desert so I missed out on most of the frogs of the arid zone.
Days 1-3 were spent around the Darwin area from the CBD eastwards to Fogg Dam and westwards towards Adelaide River. Darwin was a nice city, bit short on decent customer service but overall a very enjoyable place to spend a few days. There is still a fair amount of wildlife around but not as much as I remember from the pre-toad days. Goanna's and quolls were conspicuous in their absence.
View from the Esplanade at Darwin over the Arafura Sea.
First new species of the trip and one that would be the most commonly encountered
Giant Frog (Cyclorana australis)
There were lots of snakes on the roads mainly slatey greys and keelbacks. The keelbacks were common and often I would hear a poor frog screaming as a keelback devoured it.
Cane Toads (Rhinella marina) were common across the top end and I was surprised how far into the inland of the NT they had penetrated. Unlike in Queensland I found the toads tended to prefer disturbed or polluted habitat leaving the more 'pristine' sites for the native frogs.
The second new species of the trip was this rather worried looking Floodplain Toadlet (Uperoleia inundata).
A more attractive species and one that posed readily was the Northern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria bicolor). These were abundant across a wide range of habitats in the Top End.
The Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) was seen around dwellings along with the larger Northern Dtella (Geyhra australis) and in the forests the Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata) was common.
A trip to the NT looking for wildlife is not complete without a visit to Fogg Dam. There are crocodiles at Fogg Dam which made approaching the waters edge risky and there were reports in the media of a large Saltwater Crocodile which continually evaded capture by the rangers. This place is famous for the immense number of Dahl's Frogs (Litoria dahli) which were everywhere. Also this is a good place for Water Pythons (Liasis mackloti) and there were many people cruising the dam wall at night looking for them.
There were also lots of Marbled Marsh Frogs (Limnodynastes convexiusculus) honking away in shallows. These would have to be one of the most beautifully marked frogs in Australia.
A lifer for me was the Javelin Frog (Litoria microbelos). I looked high and low for them last year in Cairns and was relieved to find them in good numbers across the floodplains.
A common frog of the east coast and again across the NT was the Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
And there were several large angry Olive Pythons (Liasis olivaceus) crossing the roads at night.
Heading westwards towards the township of Adelaide River there were large areas of inundated grasslands and rocky streams.
During the day there were several small skinks running around. I think this is a species of Lampropholis.
And this a type of Crytoblepharus...
I was very excited to hear the whooping call of the Northern Spade Foot (Notaden melanoscaphus) however the frogs are not particularly photogenic when they deflate and get defensive.
Also common in the grasslands was the Stonemason Toadlet (Uperoleia lithomoda)
I'll upload some more photos once I have sorted through the thousands I took from Kakadu and heading towards the Red Centre.
Aaron
or maybe thats just me.
