# First day of spring herping.



## cheekabee (Sep 1, 2012)

First day of spring so I thought I'd go for a bit of a herp, still a bit cold in Melbourne but I found a couple of nice herps. Any ways here they are.


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## Monitor_Keeper (Sep 1, 2012)

where those gecko's dead with the spider?


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## eddie123 (Sep 1, 2012)

good herping mate


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## cheekabee (Sep 1, 2012)

Na just lifted up a rock and found them all there nice and fat living like a family. Found this one dead though


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## richoman_3 (Sep 1, 2012)

very nice mate !
ill get there in the next few weeks !!

@TeKnO : they look pretty alive to me !!


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## Monitor_Keeper (Sep 1, 2012)

haha was just wondering, good spots though mate : )


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## damian83 (Sep 1, 2012)

Good effort!!!


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## caleb96 (Sep 1, 2012)

I won't to go herping but i don't no where to look can you guys give me some tips where in the bush and what stuff to look under and that?


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## cheekabee (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks guys. Pretty much any where really, places near a creek, grassy areas, national parks, reserves and just look under rocks, rubbish and just keep an eye out for anything sun bathing.


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## vicherps (Sep 1, 2012)

Nice work went herping myself today on the Mornington Peninsula found Weasel Skinks,Eastern Three-lined Skinks,Haswell's Froglet, Common Froglet, Delicate Skink and a Banjo Frog


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## cheekabee (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks Vicherps pretty good effort finding a Haswell's froglet never encountered one myself.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 1, 2012)

Nice pics ^^
Love the Gecko's snoozing, very cute 

Well in my backyard today, dont need to go herping :lol:
I found:
1 x _Pogona Barbata -_ Eastern Bearded Dragon
1 x _Pseudonaja textilis__ -_ Eastern Brown Snake
And I also noticed 2 x _Nephrurus Levis Levis_ - Smooth Knob-Tailed Gecko, mating and they were wild, never seen them around here but 100% Levis

Was fixing the fences up, noticed the brown, but even if I had the camera, he would of gone out of sight before I could get a pic, so I just watched him. Went next door and came back, noticed a Eastern Beardie camouflaged quite well on a tree, ran in to get my camera, came back out and he was gone. Put the camera back inside, came back out because my dog was barking and no joke, right in front of me, 2 Knobtails going at it. Was quite funny actually


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## WomaBoy (Sep 1, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> Nice pics ^^
> Love the Gecko's snoozing, very cute
> 
> Well in my backyard today, dont need to go herping :lol:
> ...



Moral of the story, always carry a camera im the backyard ahhah


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 1, 2012)

Yep, will learn that one, hopefully soon.
I bet that next time, I go back out to check the fences or do something else outside, I will take a camera, and I will see nothing, lol.


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## WomaBoy (Sep 1, 2012)

Yep that always happens !! Ahah


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## vicherps (Sep 1, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> Nice pics ^^
> Love the Gecko's snoozing, very cute
> 
> Well in my backyard today, dont need to go herping :lol:
> ...



Incase you didn't known levis levis distribution is nowhere near Port Stephens if that's where you saw them. If it is along the coast where I think it is it's either captives or something else. They live in sandy arid habitats a habitat that is not found where you are.


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## Bluetongue1 (Sep 1, 2012)

*BlackHeaded92*, your location says Port Stephens. _N. levis _naturally occur in the western half (approx) of NSW . Unless you have moved, what you may seen was _Nephrurus_ (_Underwoodisaurus_) _milli_, which looks very similar. Sprung doing the Spring thing. Haha.

Good pics. Nice looking Cunningham's, typically retreated to the safety of a rock crevice. Once in there they do not want to come out in a hurry.

Blue


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## Variety (Sep 2, 2012)

way to herp


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## GeckPhotographer (Sep 2, 2012)

Wild Geckos going during the day is damn unlikely in itself, 2 geckos of the same species 500+km outisde their known range going it in the day in the wrong habitat...


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## vicherps (Sep 2, 2012)

BlackHeadedPython92 Smooth Knob-tailed Geckos spend there time in burrows and Thick-tailed Geckos would be sheltering either in burrows,rocks,logs during the day. I presume when you say going at it you mean mating? Such activities would be done at night (should of read your post a bit more thoroughly to notice that you said you also found a Eastern Bearded Dragon and Brown Snake Eastern Beardeds being diurnal and Eastern Browns being mostly diurnal but they may be active at night but that happens in warmer weather).

If we are talking about around the eastern edge of its distribution in NSW for the Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko it would be more like 600-800km away from Port Stephens as a rough estimate.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 2, 2012)

Hence why I posted it here, they were 100% Levis Levis, I may not like Gecko's but they were 100% there.

So I am guessing someones pets have escaped or something or they have moved in. I have never seen them before and havn't seen them since.
Yes it was daylight, yes it was Levis Levis and yes they were mating.

Also I know there habitat, I know where they originate from etc. I couldnt believe it and honestly I wish I had of taken 50 pictures to show you. However I did not have my camera...


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## WomaBoy (Sep 2, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> Hence why I posted it here, they were 100% Levis Levis, I may not like Gecko's but they were 100% there.
> 
> So I am guessing someones pets have escaped or something or they have moved in. I have never seen them before and havn't seen them since.
> Yes it was daylight, yes it was Levis Levis and yes they were mating.
> ...



I belive ya unlike the rest of em


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanks mate, I can understand why they wouldnt believe me, I couldnt believe it myself.


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

Aha no worries


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> Hence why I posted it here, they were 100% Levis Levis, I may not like Gecko's but they were 100% there.
> 
> So I am guessing someones pets have escaped or something or they have moved in. I have never seen them before and havn't seen them since.
> Yes it was daylight, yes it was Levis Levis and yes they were mating.
> ...



I guess it possible but they would be captives being being active out in the open mating during the day would be abnormal behaviour, but photos would still be needed to confirm weather it was the species you say it is. Also you should hand them in to the appropriate wildlife authorities, bbut try and get pics first.


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## GeckPhotographer (Sep 3, 2012)

I would consider this event statistically impossible (where impossible is not defined as 0 but as a small enough number the rule out rational possibility). 



> Hence why I posted it here, they were 100% Levis Levis, I may not like Gecko's but they were 100% there.



Firstly, Nephrurus levis levis, NOT Nephrurus Levis Levis. Secondly you positively ID'd the sub-species? An ID which other than location wise (of which they were 600km from the nearest pop and you suspect escapees), requires complex morphometrics, and scale size and shape analysis, which for this species is still somewhat debated as to accuracy? That is absolutely preposterous and I wouldn't be prepared to believe it were you a scientist who had studied reptiles for decades (though of course I'd believe you to ID the species then).

So at the very best you can say you were sure they were Nephrurus levis. Just one levis, not two.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

sure they werent garden skinks with regen tails ?


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

GeckPhotographer said:


> I would consider this event statistically impossible (where impossible is not defined as 0 but as a small enough number the rule out rational possibility.



I wouldn't considered it impossible I would consider it highly unlikely.


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## GeckPhotographer (Sep 3, 2012)

> I wouldn't considered it impossible I would consider it highly unlikely.


Statistical impossibility - Conservapedia

Statistical Impossibility doesn't mean impossible, it's just such a low chance it mayaswell be impossible. And since if you tried to quantifiy this with actual numbers (which is pretty much impossible  ) you get a probability in the hundreds if not thousands of decimal places, I would certainly consider this statistically impossible.


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

GeckPhotographer said:


> That is absolutely preposterous and I wouldn't be prepared to believe it were you a scientist who had studied reptiles for decades (though of course I'd believe you to ID the species then).


You don't have to be a 'scientist' to id a species in the field of herpetology, your not a scientist (at least not at the professional level) and I'm sure you can id species.



GeckPhotographer said:


> That is absolutely preposterous and I wouldn't be prepared to believe it were you a scientist who had studied reptiles for decades (though of course I'd believe you to ID the species then).


You don't have to be a 'scientist' to id a species in the field of herpetology, your not a scientist (at least not at the professional level) and I'm sure you can id species.

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GeckPhotographer said:


> Statistical impossibility - Conservapedia
> 
> Statistical Impossibility doesn't mean impossible, it's just such a low chance it mayaswell be impossible. And since if you tried to quantifiy this with actual numbers (which is pretty much impossible  ) you get a probability in the hundreds if not thousands of decimal places, I would certainly consider this statistically impossible.


Perhaps your right but that link does say that the probability is so low it is not worth mentioning but I think it is worth mentioning in this scenario that whilst what BlackHeaded92 probably saw was something else there is still a possibility that he saw escaped captives although it is highly unlikely.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

Well they both looked extremely similiar to this Gecko:



For starters, I will not be answering GeckPhotographers things, I could say so much to those but have chosen not to argue with someone when they are clearly set in their ways. I have already taken over a thread, sorry to the OP.
Anyway to richoman - I am not an idiot, I have been volunteering around reptiles for about 2 or so years. I know what the different species is.
Thank you vicherps for trying to help me out.
I am serious, they were at least ONE levis and they were mating out in broad daylight.

Edit: Also I am sorry that I dont like to stick cameras in the face of "wild animals" while they are trying to have a private session. If I would of have had my camera, yes I would have taken a few distance shots, even though it is only an iphone anyway as most of my money goes to my pets. Not to buy a $1000 at least, camera.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

to the untrained eye that gecko can look extremely similiar to a thick tailed gecko which is most likely the case


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## GeckPhotographer (Sep 3, 2012)

vicherps said:


> You don't have to be a 'scientist' to id a species in the field of herpetology, your not a scientist (at least not at the professional level) and I'm sure you can id species.
> 
> Perhaps your right but that link does say that the probability is so low it is not worth mentioning but I think it is worth mentioning in this scenario that whilst what BlackHeaded92 probably saw was something else there is still a possibility that he saw escaped captives although it is highly unlikely.



You're right you don't have to be a scientist, I'm simply saying I'd be more trusting of someone who worked on geckos or reptile in general and highlighting that even these people wouldn't be able to ID ssp with certainty of an animal of unkown locale. 

You can hold to your opinion on the second point that's fine. And is more an argument of symantics really. It's just my opinion that even the combined chance of escaped captives, happening to both have escaped, both met up, in the day time, be breeding in the day time, I just find it far to small a chance. 

While I'd believe it if it were milii I'd still find that pretty unlikely. 


Blackheaded, I've met you, and I quite liked you, you were a nice person. But you're right, my mind is made up, there is no way they were Nephrurus levis.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

GeckPhotographer said:


> Blackheaded, I've met you, and I quite liked you, you were a nice person. But you're right, my mind is made up, there is no way they were Nephrurus levis.



I liked you as well Mate, I got a good Beardie off you and you are a nice person adn I would prefer it to stay that way. It looked very similiar, including the purply colour and yes they were mating in broad daylight, hence why I couldnt believe it myself and I said I am not a Gecko fan but these guys looked really nice.


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## GeckPhotographer (Sep 3, 2012)

Underwoodisaurus milii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

milii occur in the area, are very similar, and display that purple-ness even more than levis usually.


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

GeckPhotographer said:


> You can hold to your opinion on the second point that's fine. And is more an argument of symantics really.


Don't you mean semantics.



GeckPhotographer said:


> You can hold to your opinion on the second point that's fine. And is more an argument of symantics really.


Don't you mean semantics.

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GeckPhotographer said:


> You can hold to your opinion on the second point that's fine. And is more an argument of symantics really. It's just my opinion that even the combined chance of escaped captives, happening to both have escaped, both met up, in the day time, be breeding in the day time, I just find it far to small a chance.
> 
> While I'd believe it if it were milii I'd still find that pretty unlikely.



I think it would be unlikely being a thicky and very highly unlikely that Blackheaded saw Nephrurus levis levis and mating but I would not rule it out as statistically impossibly because even though it's highly unlikely there's still a possibility even if very slim that they were levis escapees and showing abnormal behaviour by being out in the day.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

I know it sounds weird and I can understand why you guys do not believe me.
It was a purple Gecko that looked like levis levis and they were 2 that were mating, I know they were Geckos, I know they had a purple sheen and trust me, they were mating. Anyway they were Geckos mating.

So today, I had to go down the shops and noticed a dead RBB on my way, pulled over, had a look, seemed like someone had chopped its head off, no tire marks. I was furious as these are my favourite Australian Venomous Snake. Anyway, I looked around and noticed something else, looked like a bunch of rags with blood on and their dog wasnt there, they are neighbours of mine, I know there dog. So maybe the dog got bitten so they chopped its head off?


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

Hey guys, just belive him ! Why would he lie ? I 100% belive him.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

BenjiBoy said:


> Hey guys, just belive him ! Have you not seen where people hook up tracking systems to animals and see how far they go ? Yeah there has been some cases where they have travelled double 600km ! So why isnt this possible on a gecko ? Its is possible, i for one 100% belive him, why would he lie ?



...............................................

i never knew levis migrated into terrain where they would die


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

Why whould he lie tho, what would he get ouuta it ?.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

BenjiBoy said:


> Why whould he lie tho, what would he get ouuta it ?.



it is not a matter of misbelief, we are simply suggesting she has identified it incorrectly


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

I did not lie, also I am female 

However I promise you I did not lie, as I said though I can understand why you dont believe me as I have never seen any Geckos around here, let alone those two. Plus it is hard to believe with them being out during the day, let alone mating. I can totally understand why you guys wouldnt believe me, however I was not expecting the reaction I got, especially since I have been on here over six months now.
I dont know why people would lie about this anyway, plus I hate liers.

Edit:
I mustnt have identified it correctly, it looked alot like a levis levis, well pictures that I have seen of them anyway. So I posted them as being levis levis. So for them to be 600k's away from there natural habitat, they either must have been escapees or I have definitely incorrectly identified them.
It might be what GeckPhotographer suggested, I noticed they were Geckos, they were mating, they were out in broad daylight, they were purple, so thought they must be levis levis with the colouring and all.

I am sorry this has taken over the thread and I hope this might explain what I saw, if not, well then Im sorry guys, I give up, I hate being called a lier, especially since lieing is something that I hate. So I will not be posting on here anymore.


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

Half of you are more then simply suggesting.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

no one called you a liar ?
we are just suggesting that it wasnt a levis but you said it definately was a levis so we just tried to be more straightforward with our opinions why


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

richoman_3 said:


> no one called you a liar ?
> we are just suggesting that it wasnt a levis but you said it definately was a levis so we just tried to be more straightforward with our opinions why



This is what I meant:


BenjiBoy said:


> Why whould he lie tho, what would he get ouuta it ?.



It was in reply to that, I am not lieing. That is what I mean.

I understand the suggesting, I am not a Gecko person as previously stated and the only purple Gecko I know was levis levis, I am sorry I got it wrong.


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## thomasssss (Sep 3, 2012)

BenjiBoy said:


> Hey guys, just belive him ! Why would he lie ? I 100% belive him.





BenjiBoy said:


> Half of you are more then simply suggesting.


wow , that was a quick swing around , one minute your suggesting that they think hes lying , then your backing them up that its only a suggestion  what side are you on


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

Conclusion: if they were levis they were captive escapees not wild (highly unlikely)' or you could of saw thickies (unlikely) but during the day you would expect to find one sheltering under cover/or in a burrow or you may of seen some other lizard. The ultimate solution to your problem would have been to go back into your house grab your camera hoping to see them when you get back or ask your parents and get a decent picture.


- - - Updated - - -

btw nice shot of Underwoodisaurus milii Stephen.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

vicherps said:


> Conclusion: if they were levis they were captive escapees not wild (highly unlikely)' or you could of saw thickies (unlikely) but during the day you would expect to find one sheltering under cover/or in a burrow or you may of seen some other lizard. The ultimate solution to your problem would have been to go back into your house grab your camera hoping to see them when you get back or ask your parents and get a decent picture.



I dont have to ask permission from my parents to take a picture? Or at least a decent picture.
I didnt want to disturb them as I pointed out in the last page, hence why no pictures. I also put on the previous page that I didnt think I would get such a weird reaction from everybody. I used to really like this and the people that gave me advice were nice on here but you are all getting too big for your heads now.... And having a go at people when they make a simple mistake. I said I have no interest in Gecko's at all and I saw these two, the purple colouring etc and thought they were levis.
This is honestly beyond the joke :/


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> I dont have to ask permission from my parents to take a picture? Or at least a decent picture.
> I didnt want to disturb them as I pointed out in the last page, hence why no pictures. I also put on the previous page that I didnt think I would get such a weird reaction from everybody. I used to really like this and the people that gave me advice were nice on here but you are all getting too big for your heads now.... And having a go at people when they make a simple mistake. I said I have no interest in Gecko's at all and I saw these two, the purple colouring etc and thought they were levis.
> This is honestly beyond the joke :/



Lol...no not ask your parents for permission but to ask them to quitely bring the camera to you but you made it clear that you didn't want to get close to them.

Getting a decent picture is critical because if you got a decent pic then you could go onto aps post the shot/s and see what other people think it is.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> I also put on the previous page that I didnt think I would get such a weird reaction from everybody. I used to really like this and the people that gave me advice were nice on here but you are all getting too big for your heads now.... And having a go at people when they make a simple mistake. I said I have no interest in Gecko's at all and I saw these two, the purple colouring etc and thought they were levis.
> This is honestly beyond the joke :/










you said were certain you saw 2 levis mating at your location
we told you its most likely a milli
you said 'Hence why I posted it here, they were 100% Levis Levis, I may not like Gecko's but they were 100% there.'

so obviously you werent convinced, we just tried to convince you more straightforward why it isnt.

no one was having a go at you.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

.. Actually nevermind, I am over this.


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

Nicely said Nick and haha at the drawing, if it was a gecko it was probs a Thicky but I would've expected to see them sheltering during the day rather than mating during the day, but then again awareness of where they are at at a particular time is less concentrated when copulating


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## Bluetongue1 (Sep 3, 2012)

There have been several more posts while I was writing this but I do not have time to change it. Sorry about that...
*
BlackHeaded69*,

You obviously live on a small property adjacent to bushland. This would, I guess, put your house at some distance to the nearest neighbour. The east coast bush or grazing land is really not very suitable habitat and east coast summers are wet and humid. To reach your property, they would have to travel from at least next door at the closest and do so together (which does not happen in nature). If they are mating, they are adults. The female must have sufficient condition on her to allow the male to mount – so somehow they are more than just surviving. Adults do not disperse and if displaced only move as far as necessary to find shelter and food. 

Clearly, you know what Nephrurus levis levis look like. However, if ou are unfamiliar with Underwoodisaurus milii, which is a very variable species, it would be dead easy with certain morphs to think they were N. levis. They can be incredibly similar and it is only that they lack the tiny knob on the end of the tail, that helps distinguish them at a difference. Given they were mating, the tails were not likely fully visible. Unfortunately, in theses sorts of circumstances our mind can alter our perception to remember things as we thought they were rather than exactly as they were. It has happened to me more than once in the past. Innocent people get jailed because the victims get it wrong. I realise only a photo would provide the sort of evidence you would need to change your mind. I would like you to know that I do not hold that against you.

Underwoodisaurus milii is perhaps the only Australian gecko outside of a few of the Strophurus group to be observed actively foraging in daylight and even full sun in the wild and consistently doing so during daylight hours in captivity (Herptofauna 33 (2) 2003). These geckos are also known to aggregate in their daytime shelters. So there is a very real potential that, at this time of year, mating may occur as well. No Nephrurus species, either wild or captive, have been reported to be active during daylight hours.

Blue


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## cheekabee (Sep 3, 2012)

lol this is the logest threaad I have ever made.


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

[/QUOTE]



Bluetongue1 said:


> There have been several more posts while I was writing this but I do not have time to change it. Sorry about that...
> *
> BlackHeaded69*,
> 
> ...


Oh ok well then it makes the possibility of a milii much more likely.


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## richoman_3 (Sep 3, 2012)

cheekabee said:


> lol this is the logest threaad I have ever made.



well done 
you must be popular  !


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## cheekabee (Sep 3, 2012)

What can I say


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

thomasssss said:


> wow , that was a quick swing around , one minute your suggesting that they think hes lying , then your backing them up that its only a suggestion  what side are you on



I was saying most ppl were doing more the suggesting, as in having a go at her.


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## vicherps (Sep 3, 2012)

BenjiBoy said:


> I was saying most ppl were doing more the suggesting, as in having a go at him.


BlackHeaded is a female not a male....


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

Her* sorry.


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## GeckoJosh (Sep 3, 2012)

Hey Black head, have you ever seen a U.milii with a regen tail? they are heart shaped, similar to N.levis, perhaps this is one of the reasons you didn't recognise it as U.milii


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## Tobe404 (Sep 3, 2012)

I don't think *BlackHeaded92* is going to be bothered posting in this thread anymore (or possibly even this whole site). Can't say I blame her either.
Without pictures NO ONE can positively ID the spiecies of Gecko that she saw.
No need to be so negative towards her about it.

I'm not going to weigh in on this more so than I already have. But at the end of the day all creatures are continually evolving and adapting to new areas. We will never know one way or the other... Lets agree to disagree.


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## Venomous_RBB (Sep 3, 2012)

Thank you Blue and the others that have been nice, especially Benji and Tobe as well 
Sorry to take over your thread cheekabee, at least you found some humour out of it


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## jedi_339 (Sep 3, 2012)

Sometimes around here Blackheaded92 you just have to shrug it off and let it be like water off a ducks back, admittedly in your case it was more like a torrential tropical downpour, and the duck was looking for a while like it was in danger of drowning, but you get the point.

There are plenty of armchair experts or otherwise here, it's hard to know who's who with the secretive veil of the internet and anonymity, but if you just cruise in every now and again like I do you don't get caught up in the usual keyboard warrior crossfire.

Good luck, and I wouldn't give up just yet on the place, it has its fair share of morons (like any internet site), but it is balanced out by some nice people


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## WomaBoy (Sep 3, 2012)

BlackHeaded92 said:


> Thank you Blue and the others that have been nice, especially Benji and Tobe as well
> Sorry to take over your thread cheekabee, at least you found some humour out of it


 changed my name, WomaBoy now


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## Bluetongue1 (Sep 3, 2012)

Seems to me there were quite a few mistakes made in this thread by a range of posters. That was never the problem. The issues arose with those making assessments of others making statements that they considered were wrong. You cannot hammer people without expecting them to become defensive. I react that way myself. Ideally what should happen is that you post what you see as the facts, without making value judgments, whether explicit or implied, about others. Consequently, I would recommend that you forego the post mortem and simply be happy about taking away a little new found knowledge. 

Blue


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## Mulgaaustralis (Sep 3, 2012)

Someone was wrong on the internet!
Look out!


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## thomasssss (Sep 3, 2012)

WomaBoy said:


> I was saying most ppl were doing more the suggesting, as in having a go at her.


ooops my bad , happily corrected  i must learn to fully read before posting and not skim read it


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## WomaBoy (Sep 4, 2012)

thomasssss said:


> ooops my bad , happily corrected  i must learn to fully read before posting and not skim read it


 Haha all good


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## syeph8 (Sep 6, 2012)

So much for coming on and looking at a few pages of herping pics... Seriously? 4 pages of pedantic rubbish? 

Anyone else gone out with a camera yet this year? And well done to the OP! some good photos in there. My herping adventures often end as soon as I see a spider (usually before I see any herps). What area did you go herping in? As a fellow melbournite I rarely find anything other than the odd garden skink or copper head. I usually go around the jells park area or down the peninsula along the blairgowrie/sorrento backbeach


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## jordo (Sep 6, 2012)

Don't let this species' ease in captivity fool you. They're a specialist species in the wild with a very niche, dependant on sandy soils in the arid zone. Yes, there is always the chance of getting range extensions and having animals pop up in random, unexpected places. But I can nearly guarantee that levis wouldn't turn up in coastal NSW due to their basic habitat requirements (evolution doesn't happen that quickly).

The only possibility as suggested would be escapees but if they were active during the day they would become lunch to a magpie in no time.



jedi_339 said:


> There are plenty of armchair experts or otherwise here, it's hard to know who's who with the secretive veil of the internet and anonymity


Indeed, I can think of a few recent examples of these experts mis-IDing herps on this forum include basics such as calling a YFW a brown snake, calling legless lizards snakes, calling reduce limbed skinks legless lizards. I should point out that these miss-IDs are at genus AND family levels not just a simple case of two similar looking species.

So yes, I don't doubt that you saw what you saw but I suspect your ID skills might be a bit lacking... Even if you posted a photo of a levis in your backyard I still wouldn't believe it wasn't staged. That's my opinion.

Don't let this species' ease in captivity fool you. They're a specialist species in the wild with a very niche, dependant on sandy soils in the arid zone. Yes, there is always the chance of getting range extensions and having animals pop up in random, unexpected places. But I can nearly guarantee that levis wouldn't turn up in coastal NSW due to their basic habitat requirements (evolution doesn't happen that quickly).

The only possibility as suggested would be escapees but if they were active during the day they would become lunch to a magpie in no time.



jedi_339 said:


> There are plenty of armchair experts or otherwise here, it's hard to know who's who with the secretive veil of the internet and anonymity


Indeed, I can think of a few recent examples of these experts mis-IDing herps on this forum include basics such as calling a YFW a brown snake, calling legless lizards snakes, calling reduce limbed skinks legless lizards. I should point out that these miss-IDs are at genus AND family levels not just a simple case of two similar looking species.

So yes, I don't doubt that you saw what you saw but I suspect your ID skills might be a bit lacking... Even if you posted a photo of a levis in your backyard I still wouldn't believe it wasn't staged. That's my opinion.

- - - Updated - - -



syeph8 said:


> So much for coming on and looking at a few pages of herping pics... Seriously? 4 pages of pedantic rubbish?


A forum is for discussion, problem?
Here's another Melb local for the people that bothered to get to the second page :lol:



Ctenotus robustus 004.jpg by Jordan de Jong, on Flickr


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## thomasssss (Sep 6, 2012)

syeph8 said:


> So much for coming on and looking at a few pages of herping pics... Seriously? 4 pages of pedantic rubbish?


and you just added to the pedantic rubbish and bought it back to the top of the forum , let it die people let it die it was almost there now its back at the top


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## mrblack66 (Sep 9, 2012)

what is the orange snake?


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## cheekabee (Sep 10, 2012)

I've been seeing a couple of browns lately and I found this one dead, cut in half, any ideas how? BTW what orange snake? Your probably looking at the little whip snake.


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## CalMac (Sep 12, 2012)

Perhaps these geckos are escapees, or the descendants of escapees, or perhaps it's an isolated population no one had noticed until now. Maybe everyone has been mistaking them for other species without taking a closer look. 
Moral of the story, don't get so worked up over semantics, distribution maps are ambiguous at best and horribly wrong at worst.


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