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No, all the dragons drowned one very wet night in the floods at the beginning of the year.

That sucks mate, sorry to hear. You had a great collection of them too...
 
Thanks very much, everyone, for the feedback.

richoman,
We saw many centipedes but only a few scorpions. I went back through my photos and those of my friends but could not locate any centipede shots.

SamNabz,
I use a Canon 40D with a 100mm macro at night or a 180mm macro by day. My friend was using a Nikon D90 with a 105mm macro.


Thanks, Danny, for the info regarding the Tympanocryptis. Very interesting.


Regards,
David
 
Hands down your threads take the cake David. i drop everything to check them out, your photography is superb! Thanks.
 
Mission Beach

Thanks very much, dneti and cement.

After two interesting days near Winton, we drove on to Porcupine Gorge NP near Hughenden. This was only a short drive of a few hours. Unfortunately, there were bush fires in the area so it was smoky and conditions for photographs were not good.

Along the way, we stopped at a lookout with several large Queensland Bottle Trees (Brachychiton sp.). These fat trees remind me a little boabs from the Kimberleys or baobabs from Madagasgar.
habitatbottletree.jpg

habitatbottletree2.jpg



The gorge was filled with smoke. Something interesting here were the large fish that could be seen in some of the pools far below. They were dark and looked like huge Sooty Grunters.
habitat1.jpg



The habitat above the gorge was dry eucalyptus savannah.
habitat2.jpg

habitat3.jpg



My friends thought that this must be one of the native Erythrina (coral bean) Trees.
habitatcoralbean.jpg



We went for a night drive but only saw a single fast pygopodid and many marsupials. Rufous Bettong were numerous. These were small macropods that are not much larger than a rabbit.
RufousBetong.jpg


Andrew's shot:
RufousBetong2.jpg



Andrew also photographed this Spectacled Hare Wallaby. This species was new to me. It seemed to be fairly common in the area.
AndrewSpectacledHareWallaby.jpg



After awhile, we gave up on the night drive and walked to a lookout. Although it was dry, we found this huge Green Tree Frog sitting on the trunk of a tree.
GreenTreeFrog1.jpg



We called it a night and Andrew and I headed to our tents. Ted visited the washroom and soon we heard the call of "Snake!". Ted saw what looked like a cord wrapped around one of the floorboards but it did not look right to him. He had a look under the washroom and saw the head and tail of the snake so he called us over. It turned out to be an interesting little elapid that was new to me, a Pale-headed Snake (Holocephalus bitorquatus). We watched it for awhile. It was methodically checking the cracks between the floorboards for geckos. On one occasion, we saw a Gehyra dubusia emerge and run for its life when the snake checked the crack where the gecko had been hiding.
Hoplocephalus1.jpg

Hoplocephalus2.jpg



One of the Cryptoblepharus skinks. I have not yet checked the distribution vs. species so don't yet know the identity of this little Snake-eyed Skink.
Cryptoblepharussp1.jpg



The following day, we drove on to Mission Beach. While heading towards the coast, we stopped briefly at the White Mountains NP. I hoped to be lucky enough to find the Dark Opal (Nesolycaena medicea), an endemic butterfly that is active in November. I soon found a bronze-coloured butterfly and thought that I had found my target. After taking a photo, I realized that I had the much more common and widespread Twin Dusky-Blue (Candalides geminus).
blue1.jpg

blue2.jpg



We also saw this large, freshly killed (DOR) Greater Black Whip Snake (Demansia papuensis).
DemansiaGreaterBlackWhipsnake.jpg


oops ... meant Gehyra dubia, not Gehyra dubusia.


We arrived at Mission Beach in the late afternoon. Mission Beach is a coastal village that is surrounded by rainforest. Unfortunately, Cyclone Yasi did enormous damage to the area when in struck in February of this year. The rainforest canopy is gone for now. It will be a number of years before the plants regenerate to their prior beauty.

Here are a few before/after shots of the Mission Beach area:

Mission Beach in Nov 2010:
habitat3a.jpg


... now
habitat3.jpg



Lacey Creek area in Nov 2010:
habitat2a.jpg



... now
habitat2.jpg

habitat1.jpg



Birds, butterflies and reptiles were all relatively scarce. I was very pleased to see this Southern Cassowary one afternoon. There seemed to be little fruit available and I was afraid that their numbers might have been decimate by the cyclone. I spoke to the volunteers at the information centre and they think that only 9 Cassowaries were killed at Mission Beach by the cyclone. Mission Beach is the best place in Australia for this big bird.
Cassowary3.jpg

Cassowary1.jpg

Cassowary2.jpg



Butterflies were relatively scarce but I did see a few. One of the more common species on this visit was the Large Green-banded Blue (Danis danis), a gorgeous species. Depending upon the light, its colour varied from turquoise to bottle green.
DanisdanisLargeGreen-bandedBlue3.jpg

DanisdanisLargeGreen-bandedBlue2.jpg

DanisdanisLargeGreen-bandedBlue1.jpg



The Green-banded Blue (Nacaduba cyanea) had similar markings but was much smaller.
NacadubacyaneaGreen-bandedLine-blue1.jpg

NacadubacyaneaGreen-bandedLine-blue2.jpg



I saw Black-spotted Flash (Hypolycaena phorbas) on several occasions.
HypolycaenaphorbasBlack-spottedFlash2a.jpg

HypolycaenaphorbasBlack-spottedFlash1.jpg



Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus)
Zizinia1.jpg



blue1: still working on the identification
blue2.jpg



blue2: still working on the identification
blue1.jpg


Orange Bush Browns (Mycalesis terminus) were one of the most common butterflies along the forest edge.
MycalesisterminusOrangeBushBrown1.jpg

MycalesisterminusOrangeBushBrown2.jpg



I found a single Orange Plane (Pantoporia consimilis) at Lacy Creek
PantoporiaconsimilisOrangePlane1.jpg

PantoporiaconsimilisOrangePlane2.jpg



Ambrax Swallowtail (Papilio ambrax)
PapilioambraxAmbraxSwallowtail1.jpg



Skippers are always difficult. I think that these are Greenish Darter (Telicota ancilla) rather than Northern Large Darter (T. ohara) due to the pattern of the underwings.
TelicotaancillaGreenishDarter1a.jpg

TelicotaancillaGreenishDarter2.jpg



Darter of some sort (Telicota sp.)
dartlet4.jpg



I think that the following are Wide-brand Grass-Darts (Suniana sunias):
dartlet2.jpg

dartlet1.jpg



We found this lovely Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota) on a drive near Mission Beach.
LitoriamoreliaJunglePython1.jpg

LitoriamoreliaJunglePython3.jpg



Brown Tree Snakes (Boiga irregularis) were the most commonly encountered snake near Mission Beach.
BoigairregularisBrownTreeSnake1.jpg

BoigairregularisBrownTreeSnake3.jpg



Litoria jungguy are sexually dimorphic with small yellow males and large brown females. These frogs were common along Lacey Creek.
Litoriajungguy1.jpg

Litoriajungguy2.jpg



We also saw a couple of the White-lipped Tree Frogs (Litoria infrafrenata). These are the largest of all tree frogs.
LitoriaWhite-lippedFrog1.jpg

LitoriaWhite-lippedFrog2.jpg



Creek Frog (Litoria rheocola)
Litoria2.jpg



This Striped Possum was looking for insects in a rotting tree.
StripedPossum1.jpg



Rhinoceros Beetle
Rhinobeetle1.jpg



Robber Fly eating a preying mantis:
robberfly1.jpg
 
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Thanks, Jordan and Daniel.

After Mission Beach, we drove to Chillagoe for a couple of nights. This is an interesting area with lots of limestone outcrops and caves. There were thunderstorms each night.
habitat6.jpg

habitat12.jpg

habitat2.jpg

habitat10.jpg

habitat14.jpg



The surrounding habitat was dry eucalyptus savannah. Large termite mounds were numerous in some area.
habitat11a.jpg

habitat1.jpg



These rocky habitats were good for lizards.

Outcrop Rock Skink (Liburnascincus mundivensis). I found several on rocks at the mouth of a cave.
Carliamundivensis1.jpg

Carliamundivensis2.jpg



Chillagoe Litter Skink (Lygisaurus rococo). This little skink is only found at Chillagoe. They seem to be crepuscular.
Carliarococo1-1.jpg



Lined Rainbow-Skink (Carlia jarnoldae). Males are particularly colourful.
Carliajarnoldi2.jpg



Lively Rainbow Skink (Carlia vivex)
Carliavivex2.jpg



One of the Snake-eyed Skinks (Cryptoblepharus sp.)
Cryptoblepharus1.jpg



Barsided Skinks were often seen near the entrance or within caves. I think that these are Northern Barsided Skinks (Eulamprus brachysoma) but am not certain of the identification.
Eulamprus1.jpg

Eulamprus2.jpg



We saw a few of the Two-lined Dragons (Diporiphora bilineata). These were often tame and allowed close approach. The one below was watching something between Andrew and I. It then hopped off the rock, ran to our feet and captured a walking stick that we had disturbed. It ate this while standing right at our feet.
Diporiphorabilineata1.jpg

Diporiphorabilineata2.jpg



At night, Ring-tailed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus tuberculatus) were abundant on the rocks. These could be quite large.
Ring-tailedGecko1.jpg

Ring-tailedGecko2.jpg



We found a single Northern Velvet Gecko (Oedura castelnui), a really beautiful species.
Oeduracastelnui3.jpg

Oeduracastelnui4.jpg



New to me was a Zigzag Velvet Gecko (Oedura rhombifer).
Oedurarhombifera1.jpg



Prickly Geckos (Heteronotia binoei) were fairly common. I also saw a single Nactus chevreti but do not have a photo.
Heteronotiabinoei1.jpg

Heteronotiabinoei2.jpg


... Andrew's shot of another:
Heteronotiabinoei2Andrew.jpg



This Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata) was oddly marked.
Gehyravariegata1.jpg

Gehyravariegata2.jpg



Dubious Dtella (Gehyra dubia) were common.
Gehyradubia2.jpg


Burton's Snake-Lizard (Lialis burtonis)
Liasisburtonis1.jpg

Liasisburtonis2.jpg


Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)
Boigairregularis1.jpg



Andrew found this Spotted Python (Antaresia maculosa) at night near a cave. It looked as if it was waiting to ambush a bat.
(Andrew's photo)
AntaresiamaculosaSpottedPythonAndrew-1.jpg



Blue Argus (Junonia orithya) are beautiful butterflies. They were common in the grassy areas.
ButterflyBlueArgus1a.jpg


The entrances to caves attracted large numbers of butterflies. Most of these were Common Crows (Euploea core) but I also saw a few Two-brand Crows (Euploea sylvester)and Lined Grass-Yellows.
habitat3.jpg


Common Crow (Euploea core)
EuploeacoreCommonCrow1.jpg

EuploeacoreCommonCrow3.jpg


... one perched on snake skin, probably that of a Spotted Python (Antaresia maculosa)
EuploeacoreCommonCrow2.jpg



Two-brand Crow (Euploea sylvester)
EuploeasylvesterTwo-brandCrow1.jpg



Lined Grass-Yellow (Euema laeta). These were shy and invariably landed where they were at least partly hidden by dry grass.
ButterflyLinedYellow1.jpg

EuemalaetaLinedGrass-Yellow2.jpg



Lurcher (Yoma sabina). Only observed once when it stopped briefly on the trail.
YomasabinaLucher1.jpg



Clearwinged Swallowtails (Cressida cressida) were common but they rarely seemed to settle. Andrew found and photographed this male.
CressidacressidaClear-wingedSwallowtailAndrew-1.jpg



Huntsman
Spiderhuntsman1.jpg



Tarantula
Spidertarantula1.jpg
 
very nice !!! love the ring tailed gecko and jungle!
T looks interesting, did you get any more shots of it?
 
awesome pics ! love the captions you have with them there are so many diffrerent dragons out there i would love to have a home just for every dragon out there :) but they look soo beautiful in the wild ..once again awesome will look forward to more :)
 
Georgetown

Thanks, all. No more tarantula shots, Richo. It remained under the rock.

After Chillagoe, my friends and I shifted out to Georgetown. Georgetown is an gold-mining town at the base of Cape York. One of these abandoned mines has a dam that can be quite good for some of the northern birds. I also wanted to see if the Merten's Water Monitors were still along the creek where I found them 5 years ago.

The drive out passed through dry country. I usually stop at this creek since it is usually good for a variety of lizards.
habitat2.jpg

habitat1.jpg



I checked this pool again and found Merten's Water Monitors (Varanus mertensi). They were here on a herping trip back in 2007. This was pleasing since Cane Toads were abundant. The monitors have obviously learned not to eat the toxic pests.
habitat3.jpg



We stopped initially in the afternoon. The temperture was in the low 40s so was too hot to see much. It did not take long, though, to find a couple of these.
Merten's Water Monitors (Varanus mertensi)
VaranusmertensiMertensWaterMonitor1.jpg



Then next day, we stopped by earlier in the morning and found these while they were still heating up. One of them gaped but I don't know whether this was a threat or part of its thermoregulatory behaviour.
VaranusmertensiMertensWaterMonitor4.jpg

VaranusmertensiMertensWaterMonitor2.jpg

VaranusmertensiMertensWaterMonitor3.jpg



As long as we moved slowly, the monitor would allow us to approach for photos.
Andrew1.jpg



These little Shaded-litter Rainbow Skinks (Carlia munda) were abundant.
male:
Carliamunda.jpg


female:
Carliamunda2-1.jpg



These Kapoks or Silk Cotton Trees (Bombax sp.) were fruiting. Red-winged Parrots were ripping into the seed pods. Red-wings are gorgeous birds in flight with the lime-green bodies and scarlet wing patch.
bombaxAndrew.jpg


male Red-winged Parrot:
Red-wingedParrot1.jpg

Red-wingedParrot1a.jpg



female:
Red-wingedParrot2.jpg




We went for a night drive but saw very little. The best find was this Curl Snake (Suta suta):
Sutasuta1.jpg



We also found a couple of these Burton's Snake-Lizards (Lialis burtonis). They certainly vary in colour. See TNWJackson's report from the top end to see even more of the lizards.
Lialisburtonis1.jpg

Lialisburtonis2.jpg



We saw a skinny "gecko" and stopped to find this nicely coloured Two-lined Dragon (Diporiphora bilineata).
Diporiphorabilineatus2.jpg

Diporiphorabilineatus1.jpg



There was very little on the road. We finally decided to walk and had much better success. These small pythons were common. I am not certain about their identity. I assumed that they were Spotted Pythons (Antaresia maculosa) but when I look at the book, it seems that Stimson's (A. stimsoni) would also be possible. Most of these were found in ambush positions along a dry creek or in trees.
Antaresiamaculosa1.jpg

Antaresiamaculosa4.jpg

Antaresiamaculosa5.jpg

Antaresiamaculosa3.jpg

Antaresiamaculosa6.jpg



We blundered into this snake and immediately jumped back until we realized that it was a harmless Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii).
TropidonophismairiiKeelback1.jpg



spider
spider1.jpg



Tawny Frogmouths "sang" all night at the campground. The next morning we found a pair and their kids.
TawnyFrogmouth1.jpg



... a native milkweed (Andrew's photo)
milkweedAndrew.jpg
 
"... a native milkweed (Andrew's photo)"
That's not a native, it's Calatropis procera, Rubber Bush, a bad weed in the north of Australia. It has light seed spread by wind. A native of southern Asia.
 
Atherton Tablelands

Thanks, all.

waruikazi, the clouds were building but the wet had not really commenced yet near Georgetown.

tropicbreeze, thanks for the info. I only saw these as sporadic, isolated plants. I did not recognize these as an invasive species.


From Georgetown, we had a relatively short drive back to the Atherton Tablelands. This is a beautiful part of Australia with remnant patches of montane rainforest. The tablelands are usually lush and green and this year was not an exception. I was a little slack here and did not take much in the way of habitat shots. Here is shot from a couple of years ago. It is an example of what much of the tablelands is like:
habitat_atherton2009.jpg


The tableslands have a number of waterfalls and crater lakes. Here is the lovely Millaa Millaa Falls.
habitatMillaaMillaaFalls.jpg



... and the Millstream Falls:
habitatMillstreamFalls1.jpg



... Andrew's photo near the falls at Mt. Hypipamee.
habitatAndrew1.jpg



We had good luck here with a couple of the more interesting geckos. Northern Leaf-tailed Geckos (Saltuarius cornutus) were numerous at one of the sites. Their eyes were reflective and we could see them high in the trees. They usually were standing near the base of large epiphytic ferns such as the birdsnest and staghorn in this photo:
Carphodactylushabitat1.jpg



Their bodies were flattened and they were well camouflaged when standing on the trunk of a tree:
Saltuarisswaini1.jpg

Saltuarisswaini2.jpg


... nice eyes:
Saltuarisswaini3.jpg



Even more exciting was my first Chameleon Gecko (Carphodactylus laevis). I have looked for these on a number of occasions over the years. I was surprised by the large size of the gecko, the length of the legs and its general "inertness". It hardly moved at all while we photographed it.
CarphodactyluslaevisChameleonGecko1.jpg

CarphodactyluslaevisChameleonGecko2.jpg

CarphodactyluslaevisChameleonGecko6.jpg



The gecko seemed to have visors over the eyes. I wonder if this has anything to do with the high rainfall in these mountains?
CarphodactyluslaevisChameleonGecko7.jpg



We went spotlighting a couple of times for possums. The tablelands are the home of several relict species and we saw two of these: Herbert River Ringtail Possum and Green Ringtail Possum. Green Ringtails are such beautiful animals. This one decided to rest and it curled into a ball. Possums have a thumb and first finger that is opposable to the other three digits.
GreenRingtail1.jpg


... one of the possums was carrying this adorable baby on its back. The baby would reach out and nibble on leaves while the mum was feeding.
GreenRingtail2.jpg



Sleeping Bower Shrike-Thrush, an Atherton endemic.
BowerShrike-Thrush.jpg



Common Brush-tailed Possum (Andrew's photo). This is a normal colour phase. We also saw the bronzy colour phase as well.
Brush-tailedPossum1.jpg



Long-nosed Bandicoot (Andrew's photo):
Long-nosedBandicootAndrew.jpg



Andrew also photographed this bizarre arachnid:
arachnid-1.jpg



At night, these little fungi were phosphorescent. In some areas, the fungus covered the soil and this would all be glowing green. Glow worms were also frequent. These were all nice to see when the flashlights were flicked off.
Phosphorescentfungi1.jpg



White-kneed King Crickets:
White-kneedCricket1.jpg



During the day, we found this lone Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii)
HypsilurusboydiiBoydsForestDragon.jpg



Rainforest Sunskink (Lampropholis coggeri)
Lampropholiscoggeri1.jpg



Eastern Water Skink (Eulamprus quoyii)
EulamprusquoyiiEasternWaterSkink1.jpg



one of the Snake-eyed Skinks (Cryptoblepharus sp.)
CryptoblepharusSnake-eyedSkink1.jpg



This Nobbi Dragon (Amphibolurus nobbi) was in its nice breeding colours.
AmphibolurusnobbiNobbiDragon1.jpg



The most interesting to me was this small Spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus scalaris) that was initially on the ground but then climbed to the top of a big rainforest tree.
Spotted Tree Monitor (Andrew's photo):
VaranusscalarisSpottedTreeMonitorAndrew.jpg



Butterflies were here in low numbers. I did see this lifer, a Yellow-banded Jezebel (Delias ennia). This and several other butterflies were feeding in a tree but they remained several meters above me. They never came down to where I might take better shots.
DeliasenniaYellow-bandedJezebel.jpg



I also saw this Red-banded Jezebel (Delias mysis) that was feeding even higer in the tree.
DeliasmysisRed-bandedJezebel.jpg



Black Jezebels (Delias nigra) were seen occasionally in the gloom of the rainforest understorey.
DeliasnigraBlackJezebel1.jpg



These Tailed Emperors (Polyura semipronius) were big and impressive butterflies. This one eventually perched beneath a branch about 2m above me. I think that they look a little like the Blue Nawabs in Singapore and Malaysia.
PolyurasemiproniusTailedEmperor1.jpg



Hamadryad (Telervo zoilus), our only Ithomiinae.
TelervozoilusHamadryad.jpg
 
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Great photos! I'm surprised all those pixels didn't crash the server ;)
 
Thank you so much, always look forward to your threads never failing to give top notch pics with the bonus of text to go with it makes it like we are with you along the trip. Thank you. Adore the gecko images, sorry bit bias there ;)
 
Jourama Falls

Thanks, Wookie and Smithers. Geckos are one of my favourite families as well. We are lucky to have such an incredible diversity in Australia.


We left Atherton after two nights and began our return journey. We stopped briefly in Cairns and walked through the botanic gardens. I hoped to show the guys the nicely coloured Little Kingfisher but could not locate it. We did have good views of Yellow Orioles. While there, we saw a number of Archer Fish in a mangrove lined canal.
ArcherFishCairns2.jpg

ArcherFishCairns.jpg



We stopped for a few hours at Jourama Falls. This area is a pretty place and it is herp rich. I always see lots along the creek in this area. It also was a good place for birds with a few of the more unusual species such as Pied Monarch, Northern Fantail, White-browed Robin, Macleay's Honeyeaters and Noisy Pittas all being heard or seen. Unfortunately, we were just a little too early to see the spectacular White-tailed Kingfisher.
habitat1.jpg

habitat2.jpg


Black-throated Rainbow-Skinks (Carlia rostralis) were abundant. Some of these were so tame that I could walk all around them and take shots. They completely ignored me and the flashing camera.
... male
Carliarostralismale1.jpg

Carliarostralismale2.jpg



... I think that this is a female although she looks a little different to those that I have seen before.
Carliarostralisfemale.jpg



One of the water skinks was also common. Several of these bar-sided water skinks are possible in this area so I am not certain of the species.
Eulamprus1.jpg

Eulamprus2.jpg

Eulamprus3.jpg




Eastern Striped Skinks (Ctenotus robustus) are fairly common in grassy areas along the trail.
CtenotusrobustusEasternStripedSkink.jpg



Eastern Water Dragons (Physignathus lesueurii) were common. This female seemed to be enjoying the cool water on a hot afternoon.
EasternWaternDragon1.jpg



Jourama Falls is usually a good place to see Lace Monitors (Varanus varius). Ted and Andrew found one and Ted was able to take this amazing shot of one that climbed a tree near the trail. It obviously was not happy to see people in the area.
VaranusvariusLaceMonitorTed.jpg



...it had relaxed when I saw it 10 minutes later but it remained in the tree.
VaranusvariusLaceMonitor2.jpg



Forest Kingfishers are pretty birds.
ForestKingfisher.jpg



White-browed Robins are not so easy to find. There were a couple of pairs here that were singing along the creek in the picnic area.
White-browedRobin.jpg



Here is a nicely coloured male Brush Turkey. These birds are common near campgrounds and picnic sites.
BrushTurkey1.jpg



Black-spotted Grass-Blue (Famegana alsulus)
blue1.jpg



Orange-steaked Ringlet (Hypocysta irius)
ringlet1.jpg



We continued south and then went night-driving along a road 100km west of Townsville. On this trip, it was incredibly quiet with no live snakes at all. We did encounter the sad sight of a freshly killed Black-headed Python. Strophurus krisalys and Gehyra variegata were the only geckos and we saw several Burton's Snake-Lizards. We camped near the Burdekin Dam and found this Echidna.
echnida2.jpg

echidna1.jpg
 
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