# VIC Mallee herping !



## richoman_3 (Nov 15, 2013)

Well Matt beat me to the APS post on this... but last is always better.

After a riveting day of school Matt and I wasted no time (Maccas is not wasting time!) getting to Little Desert NP

On arriving there we set up our camp, and the tempting calls of banjo frogs nearby lured us to their pond


Theyre hot looking banjos out that way!




Eastern Banjo Frog (Limnodynastes dumerili) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Also saw these guys banging, Matt (who is immature) thought it was pretty funny




Water scorpions mating by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Getting up early in the morning we went out looking for one of our targets, common scalyfoot.

After a few hours searching, and chasing after a sand goanna, we finally gave up . well got distracted by this amazing create :/




Obscure Skink (Morethia obscura) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Bored of little desert, we headed north to big desert .. where we later met up with 3 other people

On the way there, along with the millions of shinglebacks, this fella greeted us in the middle of the road




Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Arriving at Big desert, we were swarmed by masses of dragons running across the road!
catching them was an extreme challenge

only got one photo of a boring female painted dragon, the bright blue males eluded us this time...




Painted Dragon (Ctenophorus pictus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Mallee dragon




Mallee Dragon (Ctenophorus fordi) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Our first day was very successful at Big Desert, I found this guy basking in spinifex and it was absolute ecstasy catching it after reaching into a spiky bush




Common Scaly-foot (Pygopus lepidopodus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Common Scaly-foot (Pygopus lepidopodus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


a boring looking burtons




Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


The first night brought out many geckos, and we cleared all the species up!

Beaded




Beaded Gecko (Lucasium damaeum) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


An adorable wood gecko!




Wood Gecko (Diplodactylus vittatus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


And southern spiny tailed geckos .. never get sick of seeing these




Southern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus intermedius) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Southern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus intermedius) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Blind snakes were out on the dunes, and it wasnt even raining .. something sus was up!




Dark-spined Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops bicolor) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr




Prong-snouted Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops bituberculatus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Mitchells short tailed snakes




Mitchell's Short Tailed Snake (Parasuta nigriceps) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Mitchell's Short Tailed Snake (Parasuta nigriceps) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


The next morning produced an awesome Tri-coloured burtons, i was super happy when i caught this guy




Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Matt found this scalyfoot active among the spinifex dunes .. these were getting boring! .. Rocket agrees 




Common Scaly-foot (Pygopus lepidopodus) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


We were sitting down at camp that evening, and being the great leader i was on the trip, i suggested the weather was too perfect to stay at big desert ... if blind snakes were out with no rain .. something was up ... could it of been the lack of any moon?
taking a risk i told everyone to pack up and move further north to hattah .. i had a real target on my mind now seeing as blind snakes were out!


And here it was in all its glory! .. (wow im funny!)




Variegated Dtella (Gehyra variegata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Variegated Dtella (Gehyra variegata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Well we hadnt found anything driving through hattah at night .. good move nick! you idiot ...
maybe taking a leak would relieve some pressure
*unzips*
oh lord .. oh jesus christ.. OH WOW WOW WOW!

A bandy bandy had come to admire the show!
now this was an awesome find for VIC .. my move did work! tick!




Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


I think all 5 of us agreed that that day was awesome and it couldnt get better ... oh were we wrong (seriously how?)
Getting up early in the morning, and having to battle for food with these annoying birds was our first challenge




IMG_92715 by Nick Volpe, on Flickr

We headed out to the spinifex country hoping to chase some diurnal stuff

The mallee dragons are a bit of a redder colour at hattah .. maybe it was embarrased that Matt had outrun it




Mallee Dragon (Ctenophorus fordi) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


Ctenotus brachyonyx darted from spinifex clumps




Murray Striped Skink (Ctenotus brachyonyx) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Murray Striped Skink (Ctenotus brachyonyx) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr


ASPID! ... One of the guys spotted this and Akash (cheekabee) wasted no time getting it .. finally someone had found something other from Matt and I 
they redeemed themselves! .. well done akash and dan on this guy!




Strap-snouted Brown Snake (Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Strap-snouted Brown Snake (Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr

Matt and I went back to camp for a bit of a chill sesh, being a bit bored i went to take a crap!
walking to the toilets i heard thousands of bird screeches coming from nearby. i sent out detective Matt to solve the mystery
well lucky i alerted him because he screamed back there was a lacey... i had to hold it in for now. AGAIN!
Damn this was a cool way to spend an hour, sitting on a chair, sipping a coke watching a lacey 20 meters up in a tree fighting off birds that were annoying it!




Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) vs raven by Nick Volpe, on Flickr

Knowing we were leaving the next morning, i joked to matt saying this trip could seriously not get any better. like cmon. we've basically cleared everything cool in VIC!.
But Matt didnt accept that we were finished, Matt did what all good Matts should do. Go out and find a DESERT SKINK. good Matt, Matt gets a pat




Desert Skink (Liopholis inornata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



Desert Skink (Liopholis inornata) by Nick Volpe, on Flickr

Now to seriously put the icing on the cake... Dan came back with this bad boy
with this bad boy that made my eyes pop out (damn you for keeping it!)
a vic tarantula!




Vic Selenotholus by Nick Volpe, on Flickr



So yeah.. what a way to spend 3 and a half days out! ... it was a bloody epic trip for VIC standards! 
im very happy!
(btw all other inverts that were found on the trip are in this thread - http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/animals-5363/hell-yeah-invert-pics-209460/ )

but enjoy! ...


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## NickGeee (Nov 15, 2013)

Amazing photography as always


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## richoman_3 (Nov 16, 2013)

thanks mate


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## Sel (Nov 16, 2013)

Quite enjoyed that little story. Great pics


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## Reptiles101 (Nov 16, 2013)

Love how that Raven photobombed the Lacies photo haha, great photos by the way.


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## richoman_3 (Nov 16, 2013)

Thanks all … haha yeah i love how the raven vs lacey shot turned out .. not bad for a 100mm macro lens, 20 meters up


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## moloch05 (Nov 17, 2013)

You guys are producing some amazing images! Top photos and finds. I love that closeup of the Strophurus.

By the way, your insects are in family Nepidae and known as water scorpions. I've only seen them a few times. They no doubt account for many tadpoles and other small aquatic animals.

-- oops, just saw that you had these labelled already.

Regards,
David


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## eipper (Nov 17, 2013)

It Has to be said you all did well.....couple of tips.....if the prey is moving usually the predators are......no/new moon is the way to go especially in the Mallee/Desert, I plan my trips around moon phases, I have done since the 90's. good work on the Hattah Verm.....I know a bloke who found them there years ago 
.....did your loop?


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## richoman_3 (Nov 17, 2013)

eipper said:


> It Has to be said you all did well.....couple of tips.....if the prey is moving usually the predators are......no/new moon is the way to go especially in the Mallee/Desert, I plan my trips around moon phases, I have done since the 90's. good work on the Hattah Verm.....I know a bloke who found them there years ago
> .....did your loop?



That person sounds gross ... nah it didnt loop up, must've liked us too much

thanks david!, there was plenty of mosquito fish for the water scorps to munch on


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## moosenoose (Nov 18, 2013)

Really top shelf!


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## richoman_3 (Nov 18, 2013)

moosenoose said:


> Really top shelf!



cheers moose!


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## buckziggy (Nov 24, 2013)

great pics and is the beaded gecko and the mallee dragon pregnant


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## richoman_3 (Jan 23, 2014)

buckziggy said:


> great pics and is the beaded gecko and the mallee dragon pregnant



sorry never got around to looking at that.
Yes the gecko was pregnant (you can see the eggs on the side of her)
I never checked if the dragon was pregnant, it could have been?


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