moloch05
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- Aug 26, 2006
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Hello everyone,
I have been so busy at work lately that I have not had time to post. I have spent a fair bit of time back in a frosty Tasmania.
These photos were taken in a much warmer place. They are the combined results of a trip to the Exmouth area in November, 1995, with my son Nicholas and then on a second trip in February, 1997, with a friend from Arizona. Overall, the February trip was not very productive. The grasslands were dry and we saw few diurnal reptiles. It was different at night as well. In November, Nicholas and I saw masses of Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos on the road but I saw hardly any at all in February.
Most of our time was spent near the Lighthouse campground near North West Cape and then in the Cape Range National Park. Here are a few habitat shots of the areas that we visited.
Dry hills at the north end of the Cape Range:
A fossilized reef behind the Lighthouse Campground. This was the home of a pair of Perenties.
Red sand dunes near North West Cape. This area was full of lizards, particularly Ctenophorus femoralis.
Dry, grassy hills of the Cape Range NP.
A gorge at the southern end of the paved road in the Cape Range NP.
For me, the highlight of the visits was finding a pair of Perentie (Varanus giganteus) near the top of a hill behind the Lighthouse Caravan Park. These big monitors had emerged from caves in the ancient reef and were basking in the early morning sun.
Gould's Monitors (V. gouldii) were seen occasionally. This one watched us from the edge of the campground where we stayed.
Long-nosed Dragon (Amphibolurus longirostris) were probably the most widespread diurnal lizard that we encountered.
... attempting to keep its entire body in the shade:
Any ideas on this dragon? It was found on a dune near the beach and I don't know whether it is a Rankinia parviceps or a Spotted Military Dragon (Ctenophorus maculatus). I cannot see the base of the tail well enough to tell whether or not there are spines.
Ctenophorus femoralis are sand adapted lizards. We saw many but only on the red dunes not far from North West Cape.
Central Military Dragon (Ctenophorus isolepis) -- seemed to be scarce. We only found a few of these.
Here is another dragon that I cannot recognize. Is it a Central Netted Dragon (Ctenophorus nuchalis) or a Western Netted Dragon (C. reticulatus)?
I saw but could not get a photo of a Black Collared Dragon (C. clayi). It seems strange that there is a population at North West Cape and then a gap of hundreds of kilometers to the main portion of its range in central Australia.
This Lozenge-marked Dragon (Ctenophorus scutulatus) basked from a can along the road to the south of Exmouth.
We found a single Moloch on both trips in the vast grassy plains south of Exmouth. Here is a shot of the habitat with scattered termite mounds.
... a Moloch (Moloch horridus)
Another interesting dragon was this Diporiphora winneckei that was initially basking right on the road.
Cape Range National Park also protects Ningaloo Reef, the second largest reef in Australia. It really is a gorgeous place to snorkel with crystal clear water and lots of fish. White-tipped and Black-tipped Reef Sharks were abundant and we saw them every time that we went for a swim.
Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) were nesting here in November. We saw some resting on the beach during the day.
... most, however, remained in the water.
Flies were incredible here in November but not too bad in February. In November, it was hard to hear anything other than their buzzing when I tried walking through the grasslands.
... a Banksia ashbyi
... a beautiful grevillea
I have been so busy at work lately that I have not had time to post. I have spent a fair bit of time back in a frosty Tasmania.
These photos were taken in a much warmer place. They are the combined results of a trip to the Exmouth area in November, 1995, with my son Nicholas and then on a second trip in February, 1997, with a friend from Arizona. Overall, the February trip was not very productive. The grasslands were dry and we saw few diurnal reptiles. It was different at night as well. In November, Nicholas and I saw masses of Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos on the road but I saw hardly any at all in February.
Most of our time was spent near the Lighthouse campground near North West Cape and then in the Cape Range National Park. Here are a few habitat shots of the areas that we visited.
Dry hills at the north end of the Cape Range:
A fossilized reef behind the Lighthouse Campground. This was the home of a pair of Perenties.
Red sand dunes near North West Cape. This area was full of lizards, particularly Ctenophorus femoralis.
Dry, grassy hills of the Cape Range NP.
A gorge at the southern end of the paved road in the Cape Range NP.
For me, the highlight of the visits was finding a pair of Perentie (Varanus giganteus) near the top of a hill behind the Lighthouse Caravan Park. These big monitors had emerged from caves in the ancient reef and were basking in the early morning sun.
Gould's Monitors (V. gouldii) were seen occasionally. This one watched us from the edge of the campground where we stayed.
Long-nosed Dragon (Amphibolurus longirostris) were probably the most widespread diurnal lizard that we encountered.
... attempting to keep its entire body in the shade:
Any ideas on this dragon? It was found on a dune near the beach and I don't know whether it is a Rankinia parviceps or a Spotted Military Dragon (Ctenophorus maculatus). I cannot see the base of the tail well enough to tell whether or not there are spines.
Ctenophorus femoralis are sand adapted lizards. We saw many but only on the red dunes not far from North West Cape.
Central Military Dragon (Ctenophorus isolepis) -- seemed to be scarce. We only found a few of these.
Here is another dragon that I cannot recognize. Is it a Central Netted Dragon (Ctenophorus nuchalis) or a Western Netted Dragon (C. reticulatus)?
I saw but could not get a photo of a Black Collared Dragon (C. clayi). It seems strange that there is a population at North West Cape and then a gap of hundreds of kilometers to the main portion of its range in central Australia.
This Lozenge-marked Dragon (Ctenophorus scutulatus) basked from a can along the road to the south of Exmouth.
We found a single Moloch on both trips in the vast grassy plains south of Exmouth. Here is a shot of the habitat with scattered termite mounds.
... a Moloch (Moloch horridus)
Another interesting dragon was this Diporiphora winneckei that was initially basking right on the road.
Cape Range National Park also protects Ningaloo Reef, the second largest reef in Australia. It really is a gorgeous place to snorkel with crystal clear water and lots of fish. White-tipped and Black-tipped Reef Sharks were abundant and we saw them every time that we went for a swim.
Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) were nesting here in November. We saw some resting on the beach during the day.
... most, however, remained in the water.
Flies were incredible here in November but not too bad in February. In November, it was hard to hear anything other than their buzzing when I tried walking through the grasslands.
... a Banksia ashbyi
... a beautiful grevillea
