moloch05
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This post includes photos of the other animals that I encountered while travelling through the central western Queensland.
I always enjoy seeing these beautiful Yellow-spotted Monitors (Varanus panoptes). They often seem fearless and I can walk along with them without them running away. This one was initially on the road but then moved into a pasture. It would periodically stop and look at me while I followed and photographed it.
I also found another large individual that was savouring the delights of a lightly sun-roasted and aromatic kangaroo. I saw it tear off and consume large chunks of meat.
... these are big lizards:
I saw a few Gould's Monitors (Varanus gouldii) as well. They were more common on red soil with Mulga forest. This one had a lovely, long tail.
Spencer's Monitors (Varanus spenceri) are a grassland inhabiting species. I found 1 AOR and 4 DOR animals in the Winton area so I suppose that they must be a fairly common species. The AOR was seen on the shoulder of the road while I was driving at 110kph. I stopped and returned to where the monitor had been but could not find it. This was the habitat:
I think that it probably had plunged into one of the many cracks in the clay.
Seeing DOR monitors is always sad but the death of a female like this was especially tragic:
... another DOR Spencer's:
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were a frequent sight on the trip. I saw more this year than ever before. I think that this may have been due to the temperatures that were not as high as when I usually head out west. I usually saw the dragons standing with their tails arched upwards and their heads held high.
If I stopped and approached a dragon, they would often attempt to blend with the surrounding plants and soil.
If that was not effective, they would then threaten to bite:
The following dragon was very lucky. I stopped to take a photo but it just vanished. I did not see where it ran and could not find it. I gave up and began driving down the road until I heard a strange scratching sound coming from the engine cavity. I stopped, opened the hood and found the dragon clinging below the engine. After a bit of an effort, I managed to remove it to the shoulder of the road.
Bearded Dragons were common up in the Dajarra area on granite outcrops. Here is an adult and juvenile.
This little juvenile was in the Mulga country:
A new lizard to me was this Down's Bearded Dragon (Pogona henrylawsoni). Like the Spencer's Monitor, it is a grassland inhabiting species. I saw two in the Mitchell Grass Downs a little south of Winton.
Eyrean Earless Dragons (Tympanocryptis tetraporophora) were abundant in the Eyrean Basin west of Winton. I have seen a few near Windorah before but west of Winton, they seemed to be everywhere. These are such strange lizards that stand upright on the hind legs with their tail arched upward. They stand like this on anything that they can find that is slightly elevated. On this trip, I was never able to take a shot of one standing completely upright. They always dropped or sat when I stopped the car for a photo.
These little lizards would shelter in the cracking clay if pursued.
I assume that this was a male in its nuptial colours.
Another new species to me was the Pebble Dragon (Tympanocryptis cephalus). As the name implies, they are pebble mimicking dragons and they blend well when on a gibber flat. I found two at night on the road, probably the only easy way to find these cryptic lizards.
The following lizard has me confused about its identity. It is a Tympanocryptis but I found it a little west of Dubbo, NSW, and am not certain of the id. It may be a T. tetraporiphora but it seems different to me and it lived in savannah grassland rather than on gibber flats where I normally see the species.
I was surprised to find only a single Ring-tailed Dragon (Ctenophorus caudicinctus) in the Eyrean Basin west of Winton. The habitat looked good but I could only find one lizard after lots of searching.
This is a juvenile Gilbert's Dragon (Amphibolurus gilberti). I also saw an adult on the road one evening.
Many species of Ctenotus skinks were possible in the areas that I visited. In the end, I only saw a single lizard near Dajarra. It was sheltering beneath a piece of metal.
Leopard Ctenotus (Ctenotus pantherinus):
I only saw a single live Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa) this year. It was near Bourke (NSW) and was walking along the shoulder of the road and plucking the flowers of a Solanum.
I only found two live snakes on the trip. Both were Curl Snakes (Suta suta):
... this was the largest Curl snake that I have ever seen. It was on the move, wild and it simple was not safe to try and take a better shot.
I found this DOR Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus) on the road near Muttaburra.
... this was the nearby habitat where the python had lived:
Regards,
David
I always enjoy seeing these beautiful Yellow-spotted Monitors (Varanus panoptes). They often seem fearless and I can walk along with them without them running away. This one was initially on the road but then moved into a pasture. It would periodically stop and look at me while I followed and photographed it.
I also found another large individual that was savouring the delights of a lightly sun-roasted and aromatic kangaroo. I saw it tear off and consume large chunks of meat.
... these are big lizards:
I saw a few Gould's Monitors (Varanus gouldii) as well. They were more common on red soil with Mulga forest. This one had a lovely, long tail.
Spencer's Monitors (Varanus spenceri) are a grassland inhabiting species. I found 1 AOR and 4 DOR animals in the Winton area so I suppose that they must be a fairly common species. The AOR was seen on the shoulder of the road while I was driving at 110kph. I stopped and returned to where the monitor had been but could not find it. This was the habitat:
I think that it probably had plunged into one of the many cracks in the clay.
Seeing DOR monitors is always sad but the death of a female like this was especially tragic:
... another DOR Spencer's:
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were a frequent sight on the trip. I saw more this year than ever before. I think that this may have been due to the temperatures that were not as high as when I usually head out west. I usually saw the dragons standing with their tails arched upwards and their heads held high.
If I stopped and approached a dragon, they would often attempt to blend with the surrounding plants and soil.
If that was not effective, they would then threaten to bite:
The following dragon was very lucky. I stopped to take a photo but it just vanished. I did not see where it ran and could not find it. I gave up and began driving down the road until I heard a strange scratching sound coming from the engine cavity. I stopped, opened the hood and found the dragon clinging below the engine. After a bit of an effort, I managed to remove it to the shoulder of the road.
Bearded Dragons were common up in the Dajarra area on granite outcrops. Here is an adult and juvenile.
This little juvenile was in the Mulga country:
A new lizard to me was this Down's Bearded Dragon (Pogona henrylawsoni). Like the Spencer's Monitor, it is a grassland inhabiting species. I saw two in the Mitchell Grass Downs a little south of Winton.
Eyrean Earless Dragons (Tympanocryptis tetraporophora) were abundant in the Eyrean Basin west of Winton. I have seen a few near Windorah before but west of Winton, they seemed to be everywhere. These are such strange lizards that stand upright on the hind legs with their tail arched upward. They stand like this on anything that they can find that is slightly elevated. On this trip, I was never able to take a shot of one standing completely upright. They always dropped or sat when I stopped the car for a photo.
These little lizards would shelter in the cracking clay if pursued.
I assume that this was a male in its nuptial colours.
Another new species to me was the Pebble Dragon (Tympanocryptis cephalus). As the name implies, they are pebble mimicking dragons and they blend well when on a gibber flat. I found two at night on the road, probably the only easy way to find these cryptic lizards.
The following lizard has me confused about its identity. It is a Tympanocryptis but I found it a little west of Dubbo, NSW, and am not certain of the id. It may be a T. tetraporiphora but it seems different to me and it lived in savannah grassland rather than on gibber flats where I normally see the species.
I was surprised to find only a single Ring-tailed Dragon (Ctenophorus caudicinctus) in the Eyrean Basin west of Winton. The habitat looked good but I could only find one lizard after lots of searching.
This is a juvenile Gilbert's Dragon (Amphibolurus gilberti). I also saw an adult on the road one evening.
Many species of Ctenotus skinks were possible in the areas that I visited. In the end, I only saw a single lizard near Dajarra. It was sheltering beneath a piece of metal.
Leopard Ctenotus (Ctenotus pantherinus):
I only saw a single live Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa) this year. It was near Bourke (NSW) and was walking along the shoulder of the road and plucking the flowers of a Solanum.
I only found two live snakes on the trip. Both were Curl Snakes (Suta suta):
... this was the largest Curl snake that I have ever seen. It was on the move, wild and it simple was not safe to try and take a better shot.
I found this DOR Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus) on the road near Muttaburra.
... this was the nearby habitat where the python had lived:
Regards,
David
