# Herp pics (warning - pic rich!)



## GeckPhotographer (Dec 8, 2013)

So this thread is composed of a bunch of reptile pics I've taken since back in October, through to now over a couple different trips. 

First off was a short night up around Newcastle with a couple of friends. 

This Rough-scale was one of the few snakes out on the road. 



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We also photographed a Red-belly in the day, but I got few decent shots. 



Pseudechis porphyriacus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I also took a few pictures of flowers



Actinotus helianthi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Viola hederacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We found a very small, yet attractive and uncommon frog.



Crinia tinnula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And a really cute Feather-tailed Glider. 



Acrobates pygmaeus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I then took a couple pictures at home 

Rocket Frogs



Litoria latopalmata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr




Litoria latopalmata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Water Dragon



Intellegama lesueurii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Before a short trip to the Barringtons yielded some nice skinks

Montane Garden Skink



Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lampropholis caligula by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Weasel Skink



Saproscincus mustelinus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And a nice Southern Angle Headed Dragon



Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Hypsilurus spinipes by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I took some more photos at home, this time of a Yellow-faced Whip Snake



Demansia psammophis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Demansia psammophis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Before I joined up with a bunch of other herpers on the AHS field trip to Smith's Lakes, where we saw and I took photos of numerous animals. 

Golden Crowned Snake



Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Cacophis squamulosus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Eastern Small Eyed Snake



Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Rough Scaled Snake



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Tropidechis carinatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A Revealed Tree Frog



Litoria revelata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Litoria revelata by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And Tyler's Tree Frog



Litoria tyleri by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr


Red Backed Toadlets



Pseudophryne coriacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Pseudophryne coriacea by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A Common Scaly Foot



Pygopus lepidopodus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Pygopus lepidopodus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Moritz' Leaf-tailed Gecko



Saltuarius moritzi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Saltuarius moritzi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Some Lycosid spider. 



Spider by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I then had a few days photographing around where I live, doing a couple nights up the mountains for frogs. 

Great-barred Frog



Mixophyes fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Giant-barred Frog



Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Mixophyes iteratus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Black-soled Frog



Frog Skin by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Frog Eye by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And another Small-eyed Snake



Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Cryptophis nigrescens by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A short trip North allowed me a couple pictures of some cool frogs. 

Sphagnum Frog



Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Philoria sphagnicola by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Pugh's Mountain Frog



Philoria pughi by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

After all this herping around the NSW coast, I was very ready for some desert air. Luckily I managed to get on a trip with Sydney Uni out to the Simpson Desert in western Qld. I'd visited the area once before and knew it to be pretty spectacular, this was not at all dulled on this trip. 

Of course my primary aim, as always was geckos. I particularly wanted pictures of the Smooth Knob-tails. 

While we did see a number of these I was often too busy to get pictures and didn't really get the ones I wanted. 



Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Nephrurus levis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I also took some photo of the Sand-plain Gecko



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Lucasium stenodactylum by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

And some of the features of a Fat-tailed Gecko



Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Diplodactylus conspicillatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Dragons Lizards were extremely abundant in the day, with several species being seen around. 

My favourites are the rather speccy Thorny Devils. We only saw one somewhat dull individual this trip, but it was a nice animal none-the-less. 



Moloch horridus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Moloch horridus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Central Netteds were aplenty with many juveniles of the species seen running into burrows around the place, or basking on low wood and shrubs. 



Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Ctenophorus nuchalis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

I had seen Millitary Dragons before, and found them very nice, but this was the first time seeing the males in their spectacular breeding colours. 



Ctenophorus isolepis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Ctenophorus isolepis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

A pair of Long-nosed Dragons hung around the camp area often seen sitting up in the trees, jumping from branch to branch.



Amphibolurus longirostris by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Some of the dune tops yielded these Cane-grass Dragons, this individual is the first one I've seen actually sitting on Cane Grass, though I'm sure it's not actually uncommon. 



Diporiphora winneckei by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

The hot conditions were also pretty good for skinks which were seen often foraging in the morning and afternoon or taking shelter at the edge of spinifex during the day. We saw plenty of species, though I photographed only a few. 

Red-tailed Fine-snout Ctenotus have long slender tails and toes. They're quite pretty skinks. 



Ctenotus leae by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Ctenotus dux were one of the more common species.



Ctenotus dux by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Ctenotus dux by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

As were Ctenotus ariadne.



Ctenotus ariadne by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

There were also plenty of Sand-sliders, namely Lerista labialis. 



Lerista labialis by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

As well as a single individual of Lerista aericeps. 



Lerista aericeps by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We saw a few snakes, including a large Mulga which I didn't photograph and some nice burrowing species. 

Most people dislike Blind Snakes, I kinda like them, though I agree they are a pain to photograph.



Ramphotyphlops endoterus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Ramphotyphlops endoterus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

On the other hand this Narrow Banded Shovel-nosed Snake was exciting for the whole team, as they rarely turn up in the area, and are extremely attractive.



Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Brachyurophis fasciolatus by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Along with these, another Snake-like animal was picked up. This time, a Legless Lizard. 



Delma nasuta by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Last but certainly not least were the Goannas we were lucky enough to track down. 

Gould's Monitors were certainly the easiest of these to find, walking through our camp, digging around the ground in it and letting me get pretty close for some pics. 



Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gouldii by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

We also saw a number of Pygmy Mulga Monitors, a delightful small, quite beautiful species. 



Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr


Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus gilleni by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

However my favourite find of the trip was this Short-tailed Monitor. This is the smallest species of Goanna in the world. On top of this it's quite attractive, displaying some nice red colour to match the sand of its surrounding. 



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr



Varanus brevicauda by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Unfortunately even the best trips come to an end. We soon found ourself driving out of the Desert, bid fairlwell by a pretty sunset over the Southern Cross in the town of Windorah. 



Sunset on the Southern Cross by Stephen Mahony, on Flickr

Hope you guys enjoy the thread!


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## richoman_3 (Dec 8, 2013)

This was boring … needed more carpet pythons on grass!


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## Bushman (Dec 8, 2013)

I think this is a great thread. What an amazing collection of photographs. It's about as good as herp photography gets! I especially like the close ups.
Thanks Stephen for your time and effort.


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## NickGeee (Dec 8, 2013)

your pics deserve to be in some of those field guide to Australian reptile book!


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## GeckPhotographer (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks a bunch guys!!


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## moloch05 (Dec 9, 2013)

Fantastic photos, Stephen. What a great year you have had! I loved the herps but that shot of the Feather-tailed Glider was my favourite.

Regards,
David


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## Grogshla (Dec 9, 2013)

incredible photos. thanks mate


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## Zeusy (Dec 11, 2013)

Amazing photos!!
Is it just me or is that macro shot of the frog's eye like those optical illusions pics going around? If it look at the eye, it seems like it moving. Hard to explain but has that weird optical effect. So cool

p.s. i am not high or drunk. lol


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