# Far North Queensland 1 -- Mt. Elliot



## moloch05 (Sep 15, 2008)

One morning while staying at Mission Beach, QLD, I got up at 3:30 am and drove south for three hours to Mt. Elliot in Bowling Green National Park. This park is situated a little to the south of Townsville. I wanted to arrive soon after sunrise since lizards at that time of the day tend to bask and are more easily photographed. I have visited Mt. Elliot a few times before and know it to be a herp-rich locality. Someday, I want to spend a night here and go on the 17km walk up the mountain to try and find the spectacular endemic leaf-tailed gecko, _Phyllurus amnicola_.

Here are a few habitat shots from the areas where I searched for reptiles.

The Alligator River. There are 3 species of turtles here and many native fish. Lizards were abundant on rocks along the river.

















The surrounding hills were covered with grass and Poplar Gums.






Some of the tropical deciduous trees were leafless but were flowering:











Skinks were the abundant family of lizards on the rocks. The first species that I encontered were these nicely marked Saxicoline Sun Skinks (_Lampropholis mirabilis_). These pretty little skinks have a tiny distribution that is centered within Bowling Green National Park.





















I saw several _Carlia folorium_ early in the morning before it became hot. These little skinks mostly remain beneath the leaf litter but they would bask early in the morning.

Male in breeding colours:





Female:






I saw these beautiful Blue-throated Rainbow Skinks (_Carlia rhomboidalis_) along the river in the same habitat as C. folorium. I think that the males are beautifully patterned.











Females were more sombrely marked. This species has a transparent disk in its lower eyelid, a feature that can be seen in this photo:











The dry hillsides supported several other rainbow skinks. The nicest were these beautiful male Lined Rainbow Skinks (_Carlia jarnoldae_)

















I think that the following skink is female Open-litter Rainbow Skink (_Carlia pectoralis_) although _C. vivex_ is also a possibility.






Robust Rainbow Skinks (_Carlia schmeltzii_) were also found in the dry woodlands.











I saw a few Copper-tailed Skinks (_Ctenotus taeniolatus_) in the dry grassland habitat. None of these lizards had the copper-tail colour like those in the Wollongong area.







Dragons here included these confusing _Diporiphora_. They have a gular fold so I think that they are Tommy Roundheads (D. australis) although Two-lined Dragons (_D. bilineata_) are also possible.
















Knobby Dragons (_Amphibolurus nobbi_) were also common.











One of the most interesting lizards was this young Black-headed Monitor (_Varanus tristis_) that watched me from a hollow log. I stayed with it for awhile but it would never fully emerge from the log. 






Unadorned Rock Wallabies were common around the picnic area shortly after sunrise.





I saw a brown snake and an Yellow-faced Whipsnake in the dry country but both raced away before I could take a photo. The only amphibian seen was this Roth's Treefrog:







On the return trip to Mission Beach, I stopped for a couple of hours at Jourama Falls National Park, about a half-hour drive north from Townsville. 






Black-throated Rainbow Skink (_Carlia rostralis_): These beautiful skinks were the abundant _Carlia_ in this area.
Males in their nuptial colours:










Their scales refract the light.






females are not as brightly coloured.






I also found a couple of these water skinks (_Eulamprus_ sp.). I think that this would be either an _E. tenuis_ or a _E. brachysoma_ but I don't know distinguish between these two species in the field.



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I also saw a Collared Whipsnake in about the same place as where I saw one in Dec 07. Unfortunately, it disappeared before I could take a photo.


Regards,
David


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## Mr_miyagi (Sep 15, 2008)

I really like the pic of the Black headed Monitor. Thanks for sharing.


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## porkosta (Sep 15, 2008)

Great photos. Thanks for sharing


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## cracksinthepitch (Sep 15, 2008)

Man you get to travel to some fantastic places David. Once again the photos are brilliant.


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## ad (Sep 16, 2008)

Great pics Moloch,
Thanks for sharing,
Cheers
Adam


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## krusty (Sep 16, 2008)

nice pics,they look like great spots for herping.


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## moloch05 (Sep 19, 2008)

Thanks, all, for the comments.


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## Chris1 (Sep 19, 2008)

wow, u found all that in one day!

awesome pix, thanks for sharing!!


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## lozza_rae (Sep 19, 2008)

Great photos. What kind of camera are you using, and how close did you have to get to get those macro photos? Do you have a zoom lens?
I used to live in Townsville when I did my degree there. And we went out to Alligator Ck a few times, it's beautiful. I really thought you'd of seen at least one of the huge lacey's that hang out up at the picnic area (where you saw the wallaby). They just cruise around trying to take peoples lunch


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## borntobnude (Sep 19, 2008)

top photos , do you go to M B very often my parents have lived ther for 30 yrs it is agreat place for discoveries . we wont be back til 2009 as mum flys south for cyclone season


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## moloch05 (Sep 19, 2008)

borntob,

Yes, we visit Mission Beach every year or two. It was our favourite family destination when the kids were young. I love the area, but unfortunately, development is catching up with the area. There are so many new clearings and sub-divisions going in. We always stay at the Hideaway but it was quite noisy from 5:30am onwards as the tradesman headed off to their jobs.


Regards,
David


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## moloch05 (Sep 19, 2008)

Iozza,

I now use a Canon 40D with a 90mm macro and a 12x250 zoom. I spent most of my time along the river so the Lace Monitors may have been present but I was not in the picnic area much at all. I would like to have seen them.


Regards,
David


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## jcbrisbane (Jan 22, 2009)

the tristis is wicked I only seen the windorah type with the black head


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