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moloch05

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I've just returned from a two-night trip to Kosciuszko National Park. I visited the area to try and find a few of the alpine reptiles and butterflies that I had not yet seen. Most of my time was spent in the Charlotte Pass area along the summit walk to Mt. Kosciuszko. The weather was mostly sunny and warm with highs in the upper teens/low 20s.


Mt. Kosciuszko: I did not take the time to climb it but spent several hours along the summit walk. I was fortunate to have excellent weather on both days of my visit. Our highest mountain is really just a hill by world standards!
1MtKosciuszko_zpsc5973cec.jpg



Habitat near Charlotte Pass:
4habitatCharlottePass2_zps62a7f787.jpg

3habitatCharlottePass1_zps6a1329fd.jpg



Snow Gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora): These were the most beautiful at dusk. The low sun angles really seemed to accentuate the colours of the bark.
EucalyptuspaucifloraSnowGum1a_zpsee44bd81.jpg

EucalyptuspaucifloraSnowGum1b_zps37a6287d.jpg


... Many Snow Gums had bulbous trunks like this:
EucalyptuspaucifloraSnowGum3_zps915eee02.jpg




Gang Gang Cockatoo. I saw a few including a small group that was feeding on the roadside one morning.
Ganggang_zps4f42210a.jpg




Southern Grass Skink (Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii)?: Not certain but I think that the following are this species.
PseudemoiaentrecasteauxiiSouthernGrassSkink1_zpsa1eb60b1.jpg

PseudemoiaentrecasteauxiiSouthernGrassSkink2_zps6b1bf596.jpg

PseudemoiaentrecasteauxiiSouthernGrassSkink4_zpsba99eac9.jpg

lizardPseudemoia3a_zps71416aef.jpg


... transparent eyelid:
PseudemoiaentrecasteauxiiSouthernGrassSkink3_zpsd9e29409.jpg




Pseudemoia sp.: I saw several of these tiny skinks at dusk in a boggy area. They always reacted to the pre-flash. Any ideas as to the species?
lizardPseudemoiasp_zpsf1b9747a.jpg




Guthega Skink (Liopholis guthega): These were fairly common in the Charlotte Pass area.
LiopholisguthegaGuthegaSkink1_zps53af8625.jpg

LiopholisguthegaGuthegaSkink2_zps7c740b13.jpg



... juveniles
LiopholisguthegaGuthegaSkink3_zps7f9f2fd4.jpg

LizardGuthegaSkink3_zpsbac80d8f.jpg




Water Skink (Eulamprus tympanum): These were fairly common in rocky areas near water. Most were dark and almost appeared black in the morning.
AlpineWaterSkinkEulampruskosciuskoi3_zps2728f956.jpg

AlpineWaterSkinkEulampruskosciuskoi1_zpsb8a06f02.jpg

AlpineWaterSkinkEulampruskosciuskoi5_zpsc2e922d4.jpg


... some had a greenish tint to their scales:
AlpineWaterSkinkEulampruskosciuskoi7_zpse6cfc393.jpg



... habitat:
5habitatCharlottePass3_zps5f5d7ba0.jpg





Highland Copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi): This species was common the area and I encountered four. The first one below expressed its displeasure when it saw me in the grass in front of it.
snakeAustrelapsramsayiHighlandCopperhead1_zps3487d1c1.jpg

snakeAustrelapsramsayiHighlandCopperhead3_zps6d38588a.jpg



... I had a close encounter with this copperhead. I was concentrating on the approach to a Heteronympha butterfly and suddenly realized that I was standing right next to this snake. It had flattened its neck but otherwise remained motionless. The snake was fortunately well behaved.
snakeAustrelapsramsayiHighlandCopperhead2_zps0295747d.jpg




White-lipped Snake (Drysdalia coronoides): I saw this small snake as it crossed the summit walk one morning.
snakeDrysdaliacoronoides1White-lippedSnake_zps31a47386.jpg

snakeDrysdaliacoronoides2White-lippedSnake_zps0a62090e.jpg





A few plants were flowering. Composites were attractive to the Xenica butterflies.
flowerscollage1_zps13683765.jpg

flowerscollage2_zpsea6fc858.jpg




Orange Alpine Xenica (Oreixenica correae): This and the following were species that I really hoped to see. They are only active from mid-summer to early autumn in the high country of the Snowies.
Oreixenicacorreae1OrangeAlpineXenicafemale_zpsb5d3c53c.jpg

OrangeAlpineXenica_zps83b75dff.jpg


... habitat of Orange Alpine Xenica:
Oreixenicacorreaehabitat_zps36251fb0.jpg



Spotted Alpine Xenica (Oreixenica orichora): I think that the following are all Spotted Alpine Xencia. These and Orange Alpine Xenica are quite similar in pattern. I found these mostly above treeline in alpine areas with flowering composites.
Oreixenicaorichora4SpottedAlpineXenica_zpsd478f4a4.jpg

SpottedAlpineXenica_zps4b06af9e.jpg


... habitat of Spotted Alpine Xenica:
Oreixenicaorichorahabitat1_zps93b2dcb5.jpg



Bright-eyed Bob (Heteronympha cordace): This was a tiny species of Heteronympha and not much bigger than the Xenicas. I only saw a few, mostly near Guthega. They had a habit of folding their wings and dropping into clumps of grass where they were hard to photograph.
HeteronymphacordaceBright-eyedBob1_zps8fbeacfb.jpg

HeteronymphacordaceBright-eyedBob2_zpsb1bf7cf8.jpg




Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi)
VanessakershawiAustralianPaintedLady_zpsdc6df059.jpg



Alpine Sedge-Skipper (Oreisplanus munionga): These were attractively marked skippers. I found several in a wet area on the outskirts of Guthega.
Oreisplanusmuniongaalpinesedge-skipper1_zps29b01c16.jpg

Oreisplanusmuniongaalpinesedge-skipper2_zps1416da44.jpg


... sedge-skipper habitat:
Oreisplanusmuniongaalpinesedge-skipperhabitat_zps52b88e7e.jpg




Photos of various insects.
1,2: Mountain Katydids were numerous, especially at dusk. Females (as pictured) are flightless and display these warning colours when disturbed. Males were winged and I saw many in the evening as they flew across the road.
3: A huge coccinellid.
4: These blue-green coloured grasshoppers were common in Epacris shrubs.
insectscollage_zpsf7c8ff72.jpg
 
Last edited:
Fantastic shots and a fantastic post. Cheers for sharing.
 
Awesome post!
First and third Pseudemoia look like pagenstecheri
the one your unsure of is an Acritoscincus
nice finds!!
 
Again , you post the best pics with descriptions .
I may be a bit strange as I think the best pics are the snow gums .
And I am also slightly disappointed that there were no corroboree frogs . but maybe the zoo's have them all :)
Rodney
 
And I am also slightly disappointed that there were no corroboree frogs . but maybe the zoo's have them all :)
Rodney

Just as well the zoos have CF's, because the chances of them surviving in the wild without human help would be pretty slim.

Great photos by the way!!!!
 
All great pics, I know someone that would be interested in obtaining a few of those mountain katydids and the colourful grasshoppers if that spot isn't National Park.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh yeah, I think the blue grasshopper is a male Chameleon grasshopper - Kosciuscola tristis, they can change colour with temperature changes, darken to blackish when colder and the blue you saw when warmer.

- - - Updated - - -

Doesn't matter about trying to obtain any, I just re-read where you were.
 
Last edited:
Wonderful Photos

I joined this site as a result of seeing your report on a trip to Taman Negara and loved the photos there as now. Keep up the good work. Well done.
 
Thanks very much, everyone, for the feedback.

Richo, I did not even think of Acritoscincus. These skinks were tiny. Their behaviour and size reminded me a little of Cryptoblepharus. Thanks for the suggestions about the identity of the Pseudemoia.

Rodney, I really enjoyed the Snow Gums as well. They are beautiful trees. I did not realize that they could be so colourful. Too bad that Corroboree Frogs have suffered so badly.

Thanks for the identification, critterguy. "Chameleon grasshopper - Kosciuscola tristis" -- an appropriate name for these pretty insects.

Asharee, that is an enormous ladybird beetle (Coccinellidae). It was about as large as my thumb nail, one of the largest ladybirds that I have ever seen.


Regards,
David
 
Thanks, tahnia and pappasmurf.

Here is another habitat shot from the alpine country:
habitat2_zps8d26e034.jpg



Guthega Skink:
LizardGuthegaSkink7_zps2a6fc758.jpg



Southern Water Skink, juvenile:
AlpineWaterSkinkEulampruskosciuskoi8_zps65f4b371.jpg



Snow Gums
snowgums7_zps95f2b2e5.jpg

SnowGums8_zps7a559338.jpg



Silver Xenica (Oreixenica lathoniella) -- this is another of the mountain Xenica butterflies. I photographed this one a couple of years ago at lower elevations near Threadbo. I think that these are the most colourful of the Xenica. I missed Small Alpine Xenica ((Oreixenica latialis) on this visit. According to the range maps, it should be the alpine habitat.
OreixenicalathoniellaSilverXenicaCollage_zpsd00a16e4.jpg



Shouldered Brown (Heteronympha penelope): These butterflies were common at lower elevations.
HeteronymphapenelopeCollage_zps202be01f.jpg



Chameleon Grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis)
ChameleongrasshopperKosciuscolatristis2_zps771c3647.jpg



Flowers
flowers11_zpsd431e2e6.jpg
 
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