Recent finds in the Straits

[St3v3]

 

[dragonlover1]

what on earth is that ?

 

[Bluetongue1]

To answer on behalf of Steve, that is a caterpillar, with eye spots and a horn. It has turned back on itself into a U-shape. I reckon it’s a Hawk Moth larva. Here are a couple of very similar ones, but I don’t think either is the same species.



I’d reckon photo 1 is Carlia sexdentat. When was it taken? The reason I ask is that there is possibly a brownish/red colour developing on the lizard’s side, indicating it is a male just beginning to transition into breeding colours.

Got to love Oedura castlenaui.

Where was photo 3 taken? The gecko this Common Tree Snake is eating appears to be a Gehyra species, based on the structure of its feet – lamellae of toe pads and structure of claws. Yet the two species of Gehyra known to inhabit PoW island do not possess this type of colour pattern.

Is the Spotted Python eating something or simply exhibiting gravid (pregnant) behaviour? What is it eating?

I see that even there you have not been spared the plague of Black Portuguese millipedes.

Love the photos. Please keep posting them.

 

[dragonlover1]

To answer on behalf of Steve, that is a caterpillar, with eye spots and a horn. It has turned back on itself into a U-shape. I reckon it’s a Hawk Moth larva. Here are a couple of very similar ones, but I don’t think either is the same species.
View attachment 335367 View attachment 335368


Is the Spotted Python eating something or simply exhibiting gravid (pregnant) behaviour?

The python is definitely eating something, you can see little feet in the background

 

[Bluetongue1]

Thanks DL – I just could not make out what it could be coiled around. Mind you, I had been to see the eye surgeon yesterday afternoon and copped half a dozen different drops in my eyes along with a bit of laser surgery. I probably should not have been even using my laptop last night. The snake is clearly in a feeding position and the “gravid” comment was me being tired and a last minute thought that was simply clutching at straws.

Here are some photos of another similar moth species, the Vine Hawkmoth (Hippotion celerio), that show how the eye spots work to try and scare off potential predators. As you can see the main eyespot is on the first abdominal segment, and the head and thoracic segments are hidden underneath. This makes the caterpillar look like a very different beast to what it actually is.

 

[St3v3]

Thanks for the encouragement Bluetongue.

Pic 1. is on Thursday Island, the main reason I snaped him is I noticed this unusual tail.
Pic 2 is on POW, first time seeing a northern velvet there.
Pic 3 is on POW, saw this fellow multiple times over 2 days in my shed.
Pic 4 is on POW, in my shed, eating gecko, would they be Papuan spotted? Not sure what the difference is. Have been finding a lot of these lately.
Pic 5 is on Dauan Island (closer to PNG than OZ) there were quite a few just curled up around the place during the day.
Pic 6 is about 20km south of Bramwell on the cape, it is such amazing country in peak wet season. Plenty of pigs around that area,
heaps of country have been influenced by them when they are in such high numbers. Air accesses only when it is that wet.