moloch05
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2006
- Messages
- 772
- Reaction score
- 8
On the way to/from South Australia, I camped near Fowler's Gap along the Broken Hill to Tibooburra road in far northwestern New South Wales. This area is about a 15 hour drive from Wollongong so it is a good place to spend the night. The habitat here is incredibly bleak with many gibber flats (flats covered with small stones) and only low growing shrubs except along creek beds.
Here are a few habitat shots starting from the Broken Hill area in the south and ranging north into the drier country near Fowler's Gap.
I found two Gould's Monitors (Varanus gouldii) in this sort of habitat just a short distance north of Broken Hill. Here, along dry creek beds, there were a few eucalyptus trees.
Bluebush was the dominant shrub along the drive north Broken Hill.
The road passed near rocky hillsides. This is the habitat where I found several Ctenotus skinks (photos below) as well as many feral goats.
... very desolate country:
... gibber flats were frequent near Fowler's Gap:
I visited this road a few years ago and found many geckos. Once again, it was productive and I saw many geckos by night and a few skinks/monitors by day.
This is the only place where I have ever seen Gibber Geckos (Lucasium brynei). This species has a farily large distribution in inland NSW, SA and QLD but I have never encountered it elsewhere even though I have been in different parts of its range on a number of occasions. In this area, Gibber Geckos were the most common reptile on the road at night. These are photos of some of the Gibber Geckos that I saw on my two night drives. There was a fair amount of variation in colour and pattern among these geckos.
... these little geckos will run rapidly a few meters then crouch like this. They blend well and are very easy to loose at night.
Tessellated Geckos (Diplodactylis tessellatus) were also common, especially in bluebush and gibber habitats. I only photographed two individuals.
I saw three of the nicely marked Box-patterned Geckos (Lucasium steindachneri) and photographed two of these (the third vanished when I briefly looked at the settings on my camera).
... gecko 1
... gecko 2
I saw a single gravid Beaked Gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata).
I also encountered a single Gehyra variegata (no photo) and this Prickly Gecko (Heteronotia binoei):
This Broad-banded Sand-Swimmer (Eremiascincus richardsonii) was found on a dirt track at night. This skink is crepuscular or nocturnal.
I only found a single snake, this small Australian Coral Snake (Brachyurophis australis). It is another one of the burrowing, reptile egg specialists.
These big crickets were fairly common on the road:
This Gould's Monitor (Varanus gouldii) was initially on the road but then ran and attempted to hide in the low growing shrubs. Monitors often respond like this and attempt to blend with what cover is available:
... the monitor shifted a meter or so and then leaned into a shrub to try and disappear:
... I moved slowly and the monitor relaxed. It seemed to doze a little while I took these photos:
... a cute face:
I was able to photograph two Ctenotus skinks. I think that both are Eastern Barred Wedgesnouts (Ctenotus strauchii) although there are other similar species here.
... skink 1
... skink 2
I saw several Shinglebacks (Tiliqua rugosa) including this darkly coloured, grumpy one:
... and a younger animal:
Regards,
David
Here are a few habitat shots starting from the Broken Hill area in the south and ranging north into the drier country near Fowler's Gap.
I found two Gould's Monitors (Varanus gouldii) in this sort of habitat just a short distance north of Broken Hill. Here, along dry creek beds, there were a few eucalyptus trees.
Bluebush was the dominant shrub along the drive north Broken Hill.
The road passed near rocky hillsides. This is the habitat where I found several Ctenotus skinks (photos below) as well as many feral goats.
... very desolate country:
... gibber flats were frequent near Fowler's Gap:
I visited this road a few years ago and found many geckos. Once again, it was productive and I saw many geckos by night and a few skinks/monitors by day.
This is the only place where I have ever seen Gibber Geckos (Lucasium brynei). This species has a farily large distribution in inland NSW, SA and QLD but I have never encountered it elsewhere even though I have been in different parts of its range on a number of occasions. In this area, Gibber Geckos were the most common reptile on the road at night. These are photos of some of the Gibber Geckos that I saw on my two night drives. There was a fair amount of variation in colour and pattern among these geckos.
... these little geckos will run rapidly a few meters then crouch like this. They blend well and are very easy to loose at night.
Tessellated Geckos (Diplodactylis tessellatus) were also common, especially in bluebush and gibber habitats. I only photographed two individuals.
I saw three of the nicely marked Box-patterned Geckos (Lucasium steindachneri) and photographed two of these (the third vanished when I briefly looked at the settings on my camera).
... gecko 1
... gecko 2
I saw a single gravid Beaked Gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata).
I also encountered a single Gehyra variegata (no photo) and this Prickly Gecko (Heteronotia binoei):
This Broad-banded Sand-Swimmer (Eremiascincus richardsonii) was found on a dirt track at night. This skink is crepuscular or nocturnal.
I only found a single snake, this small Australian Coral Snake (Brachyurophis australis). It is another one of the burrowing, reptile egg specialists.
These big crickets were fairly common on the road:
This Gould's Monitor (Varanus gouldii) was initially on the road but then ran and attempted to hide in the low growing shrubs. Monitors often respond like this and attempt to blend with what cover is available:
... the monitor shifted a meter or so and then leaned into a shrub to try and disappear:
... I moved slowly and the monitor relaxed. It seemed to doze a little while I took these photos:
... a cute face:
I was able to photograph two Ctenotus skinks. I think that both are Eastern Barred Wedgesnouts (Ctenotus strauchii) although there are other similar species here.
... skink 1
... skink 2
I saw several Shinglebacks (Tiliqua rugosa) including this darkly coloured, grumpy one:
... and a younger animal:
Regards,
David
Last edited: