# Herping 2012



## Demansiaphile (Feb 1, 2013)

Last year I looked for snakes and lizards.
I found some. 

Cairns Dry Season



Morelia kinghorni by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia kinghorni by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia kinghorni by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Junguy by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Stegonotus cucullatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Lepidodactylus lugubris by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Saltuarius cornutus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Saltuarius cornutus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Saproscincus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Glaphyromorphus nigricaudis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




C. taeniolatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr

- - - Updated - - -




Ctenotus taeniolatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Skinky by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Crytophis boschmai by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diporiphora bilineata by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Nactus cheverti by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Furina ornata by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Burtons by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Burtons by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Enhydris polylepis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Macleays Habitat by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Crystal Cascades by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Crystal Cascades by J. Kelk, on Flickr

I met up with a Yank because we couldn't find these. 
Then we did. 



Carphodactylus laevis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Saproscincus by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Then I flew home. 

A few weeks later I was on Mid semester break and instead of studying calculus and thermodynamics I went to the glorious Mt Isa in the middle of the dry season. 

After telling a very believable story that contained my friend and myself doing work experience in the mines to my mother, we were off. 




Denisonia devisi by J. Kelk, on Flickr

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Our first stop was the Brigalow. It's just west of Brisbane and has a wide variety of reptiles. Some can even be found during the cold...




Parasuta dwyeri by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Lucasium steindachneri by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Lucasium steindachneri by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After road cruising and walking for a few hours we decided we should head to Charleville. 
Killing a Kangaroo on the way we fell into a deep slumber.

The next day we woke up and drove to Windorah, where I'd been earlier that year.

Monitors are often found on the road.



Varanus gouldii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

These guys are very common in the sand dune flora. 
Extremely easy to find at night as they sit on fences as they sleep.



Diporiphora winnecki by J. Kelk, on Flickr

These guys are another extremely common herp. They are often seen in small trees and on the roads at night. You can even find them in town. 



Strophurus williamsi by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We put our hoodies and took that as a sign to leave Windorah.

- - - Updated - - -

Upon leaving Windorah we found ourselves in the Morney Plains. 

There's a few Elapids there I'd love to find but neither were seen this time. 

This was our morning view. 



Morney Plains Sunrise by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morney Plains by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We drove through Bedourie and Boulia. 
After Kraken said it was ok to go through there in a conventional car I thought it would be bee knees and smooth sailing so to speak.

We nearly crashed and died a few times.
Some how we didn't. There was a few hours of uncomfortable silence after every incident and it was a very long drive...

Eventually we made it to Mt Isa

We stopped at a random outcrop of rocks and found a few reptiles. 




Ctenophorus caudicintus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Ctenotus saxatilis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The sunset at D Town.



Dajarra by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We drove to a large body of water the next day and found a few bits and pieces. 




Amphibolurus gilberti by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Carlia munda by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After getting sick of the cold windy weather we decided to head to Blacksoil country.




Ctenotus robustus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Egernia stokesii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We then drove further East back to the Brigalow where things were familiar and friendly. 




Carlia pectoralis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Parasuta dwyeri by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After getting a tad restless of boring road cruising and seeing the same geckos and snakes over and over again, coupled with the fact of working hard for them. We decided to head home.

- - - Updated - - -

A few months later my band was playing a show in Sydney. I made the most of the crappy town and went herping before playing a wicked show. 




Ctenotus taeniolatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr





Vermicella annulata by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Eulamprus heatwolei by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After a day and night with no success I headed to my Dad's and had a few drinks with the old man. 

Waking up to a mind splitting head ache I headed out again with a good mate of mine and we flipped this. 




Hoplocephalus bungaroides by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Hoplocephalus bungaroides by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Hoplocephalus bungaroides by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Hoplocephalus bungaroides by J. Kelk, on Flickr

I was thoroughly content so I went back to my Dad's once again and played our show later that night. Followed by a long drive home.

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Throughout the year I made a few efforts to find SEQ Frill Necked Lizards. They aren't very common there and it's the most Southern part of their distribution. 

Although I had been shown the exact spot to find them several times I failed. 
Then one sunny weekend. 
SUCCESS!




Chlamydosaurus kingii by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Chlamydosaurus kingii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Definitely not as pretty as the Northern Frill Necks but are still cool nonetheless. 
They also don't frill up. Redundant lizards.


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## Rampant (Feb 1, 2013)

Great pics there mate , cheers for sharing


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 1, 2013)

Waiting for the Wet season to kick in was unbearable. Months of talking of herping was building up into a real trip. 

After many late nights talking to Geckophotopher on facebook I finally met him in the flesh. 

Straight away we were greeted with that Brisbane charm. An old homeless man acosted us about his tales of collecting cans. After trying to leave quietly a few times we eventually escaped. 

It was a great ice-breaker for the two of us. 
We spent the night at my girlfriends. Had a few drinks and a small BBQ to get the accustomed with each other. 
The herping begain with a small dodgey skink we found while returning the BBQ. 



Anomalopus verreauxii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We watched doco's till late night and went to bed with big hopes for the next week.

The Driver picked us up early the next morning and we made our way West and North to MT Isa.

We stopped at some good looking habitat just after Charleville and found a few things. 
Tree Skinks which I lost. 
and 



Amphibolurus burnsi by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morethia boulengeri by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Lerista punctatovittata by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We drove on til night fall and found another good place to have a look around. 

There was many marmorata, strophurus and a few other bits and pieces that were active. 




Oedura marmorata by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Oedura marmorata by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Eremiascincus richardsonii by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Eremiascincus richardsonii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The Driver made it as far as we could before we collapsed from being tired. Around this time I decided to sleep in a tent. Things got rather romantic as Geminids Meteor Shower lit up the sky.

The next morning we came to a small town where we saw a stunning Brolga. It was amazingly friendly and came right up to us. 




Brolga by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After arriving at Cloncurry we started really looking around. 




Amphibolurus gilberti by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Amphibolurus gilberti by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Carlia amax by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We kept driving until we saw a large sign laying on the ground. Filled with the exciting prospect of hiding snakes we smashed on the brakes. 
Annnd nothing. 

But we found a few of these around the rocks. 




Varanus acanthurus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Varanus acanthurus by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We saw plenty of Panoptes and Gouldi crossing roads. 



Varanus panoptes by J. Kelk, on Flickr


We headed to a large lake later that night. We found this Olive python waiting in ambush mode. 



Liasis olivaceus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Liasis olivaceus by J. Kelk, on Flickr






Liasis olivaceus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Gehyra robusta by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diplodactylus conspicillatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diplodactylus conspicillatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Gehyra australis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Exhausted once again we hit they hay in the early morning.

- - - Updated - - -

Waking up we headed to the Central Hub of Mt Isa... Maccas. 

Refueled and ready to find reptiles we headed out into the heat. 

Central Netteds are extremely common and easy to catch if you know how they behave. 



Ctenophorus nuchalis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We had a small touch of rain which brought us some luck. 




Chlamydosaurus kingii by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Chlamydosaurus kingii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The Mt Isa variety are much more beautiful than the SEQ populations. As shown here. 



Chlamydosaurus kingii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

These Earless Dragons along with Central Netteds are possibly the only reptiles that can be active in the middle of the day when it often hits 40 degrees. 




tympanocryptis tetraporophora by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After it cooled down we managed to find one of our key targets.



Varanus storri by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Our time in Mt Isa came to an end and we made our way back home. 

Heading towards Channel Country and Jump Up Country we found a few very cool critters.

- - - Updated - - -

This being one of them 




Varanus giganteus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Varanus giganteus by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Heading further into the Jump Up we waited till night fall. 




Lucasium immaculatum by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Tympanocryptis intima by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Again we found another of our targets!




Nephrurus asper by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Nephrurus asper by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Amalosia rhombifer by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Amalosia rhombifer by J. Kelk, on Flickr

There was plenty of Stimis floating about. 



Antaresia stimsoni by J. Kelk, on Flickr

By this time Geckophotographer had passed out in the back seat (he missed out on one of his favourite species, gluttony is a deadly sin). The Driver and I weren't far from the same.
We eventually found Truck Stop and fell into a light coma.

Waking up we rendezvoused with a Man we previously met briefly as we skimmed through the Mitchell Grass Plains. 

This Man was a Biologist who has published a few reptiles books and was recently responsible for the split of a new species of Dragon, whom he named after his daughter, Amelia. 

We drove out early that morning to the ends of his property (which was very large by the way) in which Amelia's Dragon resided. 

The four of us (The Driver, The Man9 Myself and GP) spent a few minutes cutting our hands up in spinifix before we found our target.

After Geckophotographer gave this small beast brain damage I managed to take a few shots. Unfortunately, The Driver in his infinite wisdom forgot his camera back at the homestead. 




Diporiphora ameliae by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Adult Male



Diporiphora ameliae by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diporiphora ameliae by J. Kelk, on Flickr

This small lerista resided in The Man's gardens. He had something to do with its description but I'm not sure what. 
Either way it's named in his families honor which is pretty rad. 




Lerista emmotti by J. Kelk, on Flickr

After finding Amelia's Dragon we headed out. 
Hitting the Mitchell Grass Downs for another boring suicide inducing drive, we managed to see a few new species on the way.




Pogona henrylawsoni by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Going back a few days to Mt Isa. 
We found a few other reptiles very close to the city. 




Delma nasuta by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diporiphora bilineata by J. Kelk, on Flickr

This was probably the most exciting new herp for me as well as the Varanids. 



Demansia quaesitor by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Ctenotus spp by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Ctenotus spp by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Ctenotus spp by J. Kelk, on Flickr


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## TheJoyces (Feb 1, 2013)

They are really gorgeous photographs. Thanks for sharing.


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 1, 2013)

Arriving back in the Brigalow were things were familiar and friendly we made a beeline to one of my favourite spots. 

As the sun fell, the storms were brewing and at this time we were having some serious car troubles. 

Our steering wasn't amazing and we couldn't do any U-turns or sharp turns. And then one of windscreen wipers stopped working. Which was just peachy.

After seeing very little snake life the whole trip we saw two Spotted Blacks and an Eastern Brown within 20 mins. Which made me slightly happier.




Pseudechis guttatus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Varanus storri by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Pseudonaja textillis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Whilst I was taking photos with The Driver working with real reptiles, Geckophotographer spotted a pathetic Golden Tail for us. 




Strophurus taenicauda by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Strophurus taenicauda by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Strophurus taenicauda by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Just as we took the final photos the torrential storm came down and we smashed it back home before we crashed into a hard earned bed (separate beds).


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## ZackBeaven (Feb 1, 2013)

Cool story bro haha last few photos are pretty dam cool especially


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## Murtletheturle (Feb 1, 2013)

Great photos, really like the last one


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## Dendrobates (Feb 1, 2013)

You need to learn how to herp.


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## cheekabee (Feb 1, 2013)

Wow man awsome herping


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## Xeaal (Feb 1, 2013)

That was absolutely fantastic! I felt like I went on the journey with you..lol. The photos were just brilliant.. thank you so much for sharing this


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## snakeman478 (Feb 2, 2013)

Demansiaphile said:


> Arriving back in the Brigalow were things were familiar and friendly we made a beeline to one of my favourite spots.
> 
> As the sun fell, the storms were brewing and at this time we were some serious car troubles.
> 
> ...



I hear 'The Driver' is a top bloke. But his herping skills on these trips left a lot to be desired. I mean he cant even eyeshine geckos


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 2, 2013)

The Driver still found more Ackies than that Demansia loving freak.


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## snakeman478 (Feb 2, 2013)

Hahahahahahahaha. That Demansia loving freak is ok. Goes herping in random caravan parks and s%&t. Still delivers the goods though.


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 2, 2013)

Thanks for the positive feedback. 

Not long after The Driver and I got home. Wanderlust set in and we had to make a move for it. Unfortunately cars aren't invincible and that had to be repaired first.

Things weren't looking hopeful but my friend who we shall call The Twin, decided to fly up from Melbourne regardless of the availability of cars. Which I personally thought was a bit risky but oh well.

My luck is usually pretty awesome...and this time proved me right again!

A text the next day told me we were in business. 
6 hours later we left for sunny humid Far North Queensland. 

Our first stop was Mackay. 
There's a few species of geckos there that live in very small ranges amongst rocky boulders.

Arriving at our destination at 11PM we started making way on a random track.
Fairly certain we were in the wrong place we kept walking any way. 




Morelia spilota by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Oedura monilis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Oedura monilis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Things weren't looking good. 
This particular species is known to be on trees as well as boulders. 
We came to creek that was perfect habitat and within seconds The Twin spotted this. 




Phyllurus nephthys by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Phyllurus nephthys by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Phyllurus nephthys by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Filled with glee we took our photos and headed north until we found a patch of dirt to sleep on. 

Awaking to The Twin getting drenched by rain I laughed as we made our way to Cairns. 

We found very little on the way up. Which was rather depressing



Carlia sp by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We met up with a good friend of mine and we cranked it to Cooktown. 




Black Rock Mountain by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Nactus galgajuga by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Liasis fuscus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Furina tristis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia spilota by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia spilota by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Returning from Cooktown we hiked out west into the Savannah. 

These carlia's have plenty of personality and will climb on you once settled down. 




Carlia jarnoldae by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Nephrurus asper by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Boiga irregularis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Cyrtodactylus mcdonaldi by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Falling asleep whilst taking photos we crashed by a local creek. 

Being in the mid 30's and extremely humid coupled with no showers we decided to go for a dip. Snorkelling is really fun when your surrounded by native fish and turtles.




Wollumbinia latisternum by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Heading back East to Cairns we dropped off my mate, tuned his guitar and checked out some rainforest not far away. 

The late afternoon produced another target I wanted to see. 



Hypsilurus boydii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We had some culinary delights for dinner as darkness fell like a blanket (canned spaghetti).




Mixophyes schevilli by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We found several species that I had seen before but The Twin and The Driver hadn't (hence half arsed photos)




Saltuarus cornutus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia kinghorni by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Morelia kinghorni by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The next morning we headed west and south to a Chartered Town.

It's known for their high amounts of varanus storri but for several reasons i won't mention here their numbers have drastically reduced within the town. 

We only found common species that day. 
Interestingly the colours in Tommy Round Heads can change immensely within km's. 
Here's a rather drab grey. 



Diporiphora australis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diporiphora australis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Two km's later. 
Same species. 



Diporiphora australis by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Diporiphora australis by J. Kelk, on Flickr

Rather ****** off and feeling blue we headed south and east to Mackay. 

Once again we were gecko hunting. This time for Phyllurus ossa. These guys only have two known populations and live on large boulders. Due to their habitat, the lack of access and general scarcity these were going to be a tad harder to find than our last Phyllurus. 


Hiking for about a hour or so we headed uphill in the afternoon and did some skink spotting. 

These have a habit of sleeping in rocks... in the open.




Eulamprus amplus by J. Kelk, on Flickr

I'm not 100% on what this is but I'm going with Eulamprus brachysoma. 




IMG_7467 by J. Kelk, on Flickr




IMG_7445 by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The three of us had a great time jumping from boulder to boulder (some of them were about the size of a car) and we were sweating like pedos at kindy. Waiting for that ever important darkness we rehydrated, made a game plan and head off. 

One hour of searching I glimpsed a pair of eyes shining in the distance... followed by a body and coincidently a tail. 
Success! 



Phyllurus ossa by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Phyllurus ossa by J. Kelk, on Flickr

The three notches on the rostal scales are common amongst ossa. 




Phyllurus ossa by J. Kelk, on Flickr

More success! 



Phyllurus ossa by J. Kelk, on Flickr

We headed down hill and after a few twisted ankles and lots of grazed skin, we made camp very happy and elated. 

Unfortunately we had to go home tomorrow but had one more place to go to. 

10 hours of driving later we were on the Sunshine Coast. 
We headed to the first national park we could find. 
Having a few hours before The Twin had to fly out we made the most of it. 




Cacophis squamulosus by J. Kelk, on Flickr




Cyclodomorphus gerrardii by J. Kelk, on Flickr

And that was the end of our trip, The Twin flew hom, I went back to my girlfriends for a massage and The Driver was last seen in Dalby somewhere stuck in a flood. 
Oh well.

And that trip brought me up to 150 repticks within a year of herping.


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## clopo (Feb 2, 2013)

Great post and well done on finding so many herps. The couple of skinks from Mount Isa look like ctenotus lateralis and C. pulchellus. The ctenotus here in Mount Isa are extremelly variable but will usually key out to a species, There is probably some potential for reclassification though. The second one could actually be C. saxatillis. 

Also the Diporiphora billineata around Mount Isa and Dajarra dont key out to any species at the moment and are different to the D. billineata up closer to the gulf and up into the cape.


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## Dendrobates (Feb 2, 2013)

Take me herping.


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 2, 2013)

Clopo, those Ctenotus skinks didn't key out to any species according to Wilson and Swan. Myself and Geckophotographer have asked a few people about them and no one has managed to give us a definite answer. 

We saw pulchellus between Mt Isa and Dajarra and I've seen saxatillis in that area as well.


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## clopo (Feb 2, 2013)

Fair enough, the first one looks very much like the C. lateralis here. I have quite a few in my back yard. Here is a young one.




Ctenotus lateralis by R. Francis, on Flickr


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## Barrett (Feb 4, 2013)

Awesome photos, Especially love the Hoplocephalus Bungaroides! Wish I was able to herp like you do


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## GeckPhotographer (Feb 6, 2013)

Clopo we did see C.pulchellus but no photographs, the C.lateralis like things don't really look like saxatilis and lack the pale edging to the vertebral your lateralis clearly shows, the other Ctenotus is much more similar to C.schomburgki but lack the dorsal patterning that species should have.

Also Mr Demansia, read the name it's Geck, not bloody gecko.  Drives me insane when people call me GeckoPhotographer.


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## Demansiaphile (Feb 6, 2013)

Shut up GeckoPhotographer.


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## Zipidee (Feb 20, 2013)

What an amazing thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## richoman_3 (Feb 20, 2013)

Demansiaphile said:


> Shut up GeckoPhotographer.


couldnt agree more!

cool thread .. i guess!


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