# Milne Bay and surrounding Island Trip *Big Thread*



## Niall (May 22, 2010)

Hi everyone.
As a few of you know I and 4 other people went on the Papu New Guinea Herping trip that Des organised.

It turned out to be a bloody good holiday/expericence and I would recommend it to anyonewho has a interest in birds, snakes, lizards, frogs and inverts.
The first couple of days we stayed on the main land and just had a wonder around the surrounding areas to see what we can find.

Rhana genus.























Latoria genus.














Hylaphorbus genus.






Carlia Genus.


















Emoria genus.






















Eameled Skink.










Sepraskinkus genus.










Nacktus genus.














Small Eyed Snake.






The First Island we went to was Normanby Island.

Latoria genus.






Rhana genus.














Carlia genus.






Brown Tree Snake. Not as colourful as the NT and WA type but were still great fun to photograph.










Green Tree Snake. This would have to be the best snake to photograph because it showed white stripes along its body when it got angry and was tasting the air none stop.














Slaty Grey. This has to be one of the best looking slaty-greys I have ever seen!










Striped Crowned Snake. This fella was found alongside the creek just on the edge of the village and looks like it had a feed a few days before.










New Guinea Ground Boas. We saw a good number of these boas and I think we all copped 1 or 2 bites from them.














Salt water Croc. It was only a baby and was the first time the villagers have seen one that far up the river.

[ IMG]http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac196/Viper_Niall/PNG2347.jpg[/IMG]





Second Island we went to was Fergusson Island.

Latoria.






















Rhana.










Hylaphorbus Genus.














Nacktus Genus.










Carlia Genus.






Pacific Ground Boas.


















We didn’t end up going to Goodenough Island as none of us were wanting to be on the banana boats for four hours on the way back to the main land if the seas were going to be rough.

We headed back to East Cape and stayed at Napatana lodge for a couple for days, relaxing and recovering.

Next we headed out to a village on the main land to stay there for a night, I forgot the name of the place but it was a really nice place and the people who owned it were really nice.

Rhana Genus.






Many-scaled Keel back.






Hylaphorbus Genus.






Rhana Genus.










I am going to call this Boa and Ground Boa, even though we found it in a tree because it did not have the colour/Patten that Tree Boas have.










On the last day, we had a quick look in a Cave where Des went last time and found a good number of different bats.
We ended up seeing a White Lip Water Python, Brown Tree Snakes and loads of good looking tarantulas.

Tarantula.













Brown Tree Snake.






Rhana Genus.






This big guy, none of us know what he is or Genus he is in, we found him and 2 others under a pile of coconuts.
When we where in Port Moresby we went to the museum and ask to see the Reptile Person to see if they could identify what he was, but from the face he had when we showed him the picture we do not think he has seen one before and he did not know what it was.










These are just other Reptiles I could not find a Genus for, if you know what they would go under let us know.














*I tryed my best to get the animals in the right Genus, I do know there is a few that do not fit in a Genus but it was the closest I could find for them*

I would like to Thank Glen, Arthur, Ross and Des for making this trip a trip to remember and a Big Thanks to Des for organising this trip!
Enjoy.


----------



## syeph8 (May 22, 2010)

that slaty grey was something else! looks like you dropped a bucket of white paint on it!


----------



## Niall (May 22, 2010)

It does look a hell of alot different then the Slaty Greys we get here in Aus.
When I first saw it, I didn't know what it was until Des, who has seen them in PNG before said it was a slaty, I think we all got a shock.


----------



## syeph8 (May 22, 2010)

hell yeah, i would too. i would have no clue what it was. so is that pretty indicative of what they look like over there? 
great shots by the way and good work. it sounds like you guys had a ball over there playing with the boas.


----------



## Niall (May 22, 2010)

Yea most of them all look like that or a bit darker, but not as dark as the Aussie ones.
Thanks, it was great! I think all of us got 2 or 3 bites each from the boas and couple of other snakes whiles trying to photograph them.


----------



## syeph8 (May 22, 2010)

lucky not the small eyed, wouldnt imagine they would have much in the way of antivene over there?


----------



## Kenshin (May 22, 2010)

i would have to say my fav's are that slatey grey and the emerald skink but even better then those two are the pacific and ground boa's makes you wish that PNG was aussie territory >: )


----------



## Niall (May 22, 2010)

I don’t think they have little to any antivene for the snakes that are found around PNG.

Most snake bites where from inside the oil palm plantations where Tiapans, Brown snakes and death adders are most common so most snake bite victims are too far away for medical treatment.
Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of them 3 snakes, I blame the 2days of flooding Rain we got that flooded all the Plantations up to 1.5m deep.

The Slaty and the GTS would have to be my fav of all snakes well including the Ground Boas.




> makes you wish that PNG was aussie territory >: )


Totally agree with you on that one Kenshin haha


----------



## Sock Puppet (May 23, 2010)

Great pics, love the fat unknown skink. Did you get any pics of the white lipped python?


----------



## Niall (May 23, 2010)

Nah I didn't

We found it along the wall and I was getting my Camera ready until it found a small whole where she went into, tried to get her out but there was no chance.

Looks like I might be going back next year at the same time, but hopfully driving through the middle of PNG right up to the North Coast and all that area has not had much wildlife studies done so hopfully I find something better then the Elephant Nosed Frog. Haha

The un-identifiable skink was a good size aswell


----------



## moloch05 (May 23, 2010)

Great stuff, Niall. You found lots of interesting animals and your pics are excellent. 

There are a handful of New Guinea photos here: Lizards of Papua New Guinea

I think that the following skink is in genus Eugongylus:






Regards,
David


----------



## Nephrurus (May 23, 2010)

I was about to say the same thing David! Great post. I was in New Britain earlier this year and mainland PNG late last year. I found it difficult to get out to herp properly. I'd have loved to see one of those unidentified skinks. 

Maybe this might be some help with your IDs. 

Papuan Herpetofauna Taxa


----------



## Niall (May 23, 2010)

Cheers for that David.
I have just been told that the big unidentified skink is _Sphenomorphus muelleri _thanks to Scott eipper.

New Britain looks like a great place to explore!


----------



## moloch05 (May 23, 2010)

Looks like Scott is correct. That was quite an amazing skink. I had no idea that Sphenomorphus could be so large.

Bishop Museum Natural Science Databases
http://reptilicus-shop.hp.infoseek.co.jp/reptilicus-image.files/IMG_4887.JPG


Regards,
David


----------



## eipper (May 24, 2010)

David,

The Genus _Sphenomorphus_ is a mess....I suspect when someone gets around to it there will a number of new genera/ressurected genera come out of it.

Niall,


Frogs of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands is fairly comprehensive by Robert Menzies..it has keys that are apparently quite accurate....I would suggest trying to get hold of a copy.

The second _Nactus_ is a _Gehyra_.

The Small Eyed Snake...is one of the _Stegonotus_ genus

The Striped Crowned Snake is one of _Tropidonophis_, not _Aspidomorphus_

David and Henry are right about the _Eugongylus_

The first frog on the back of the mainland is labelled as a _Rana_....it is a _Lechriodus_ sp

The first about last sets of Boa's look like _Candoia carinata paulsoni_ (the short tailed form of carinata)

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## DanN (May 24, 2010)

Hi Niall,

As Scott eluded to, your Slaty Grey and Small Eyed are mixed up - the pretty one is the Small Eyed.

Dan


----------



## richoman_3 (May 24, 2010)

absolutley beautiful pics mate , i love the tarantulas and that emerald skink sooo much


----------



## eipper (May 24, 2010)

Dan,

The Slatey is labelled correctly...the whitish colour form in known from PNG....

The "small eyed" i think might be S. diehli

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## moosenoose (May 24, 2010)

Facinating photos and a superb thread! Thanks for sharing


----------



## DanN (May 24, 2010)

Hi Scott,

Thanks for that. Very confusing. I have spent a little time in New Guinea and the snake looks a lot like the 'Small Eyed's' I've seen.

Dan


----------



## Niall (May 24, 2010)

Cheers for the corrections everyone.

For some reason I can not edit the first post to change the names.


----------



## waruikazi (May 28, 2010)

Great pics bud. I find it interesting and slightly disapointing that we can share so many different genus' of snakes with PNG but not the boas. Thanks for the pics again.


----------



## Niall (Nov 23, 2010)

waruikazi said:


> Great pics bud. I find it interesting and slightly disapointing that we can share so many different genus' of snakes with PNG but not the boas. Thanks for the pics again.



Yeah thats true,
I noticed so many animals and plants over there that are also native to the FNQLD area.
There is so many places to still explore in FNQLD and other parts of AUS, you never know what will be discovered next.


----------



## longqi (Apr 18, 2011)

The green one with the awesome sheen we call Gonocelphus or something very close to that
[Im a dunce with scientific names]
really strong musk and they puff their chins/throats up when angry
Gorgeous snakes but very active so you need a huge viv
Wicked set of teeth


----------



## Niall (Apr 19, 2011)

longqi said:


> The green one with the awesome sheen we call Gonocelphus or something very close to that
> [Im a dunce with scientific names]
> really strong musk and they puff their chins/throats up when angry
> Gorgeous snakes but very active so you need a huge viv
> Wicked set of teeth



Are you talking about the Green Tree Snake?
If so i know what you mean about being active, we noticed it in a tree on the side of a river and when trying to grab it from the tree, it leaped off the tree and with in a few seconds it was already in the middle of a river, thank god the river wasn't high and one of the boy ran and tailed it.


----------



## longqi (Apr 19, 2011)

Yes the one you called green tree snake
I have a couple of friends who keep them so I will contact them and get the scientific name if you want
They also come in like a charcoal grey and are simply stunning but not easy to tame so I never bothered getting any
Way they puff up is AWESOME and every movement brings out different colours


----------



## snakes123 (Apr 19, 2011)

Great pictures!! i love the boas


----------



## Greenmad (Apr 19, 2011)

Great pics mate thanks for sharing your trip.


----------



## Niall (Apr 19, 2011)

That would be great if you could get the scientific name for me, if I can remember correctly there is ment to be over 6 different sub species in PNG and Islands.


----------



## longqi (Apr 19, 2011)

Here it is called Gadung Luwuk or 
Species : Gonyosoma oxycephala Boie,1827 
N.I. : Red-tailed Racer, Dak Awu, Gadung Luwuk/Gadung Perak.
or
red tailed green rat snake
or mangrove snake



These are two of the huge number of colour variables
I am 99% sure yours will fit into this genus somewhere


----------



## Niall (Apr 19, 2011)

cheers for that mate, does look alot like the 2nd photo, just not as green.
Have to admit they are a good looking snake when you piss them off.


----------



## cement (Apr 20, 2011)

I would be tempted to keep slatey's if they looked like that here.. Excellant photos Niall I enjoyed your thread.


----------



## DanN (Apr 20, 2011)

Hi Longqi,

It seems like I am forever disagreeing with you  Your snake is from Sundaland. It does not cross Wallace's line and is not found in New Guinea. 

Niall,

You were correct the first time with D.punctulata.


----------



## longqi (Apr 20, 2011)

DanN said:


> Hi Longqi,
> 
> It seems like I am forever disagreeing with you  Your snake is from Sundaland. It does not cross Wallace's line and is not found in New Guinea.
> 
> ...



Thanks Dan
Looks just like the ones my friend has but he sent me that scientific name
I am lousy with names
Good to have a scientific answer from someone who knows his stuff
I will have to ask him where he got them from as he lives in Manado which is just outside the Wallace Line??

I truly dont mind being corrected
Its the only way to learn more


----------



## eipper (Apr 24, 2011)

Niall's tree snake is a Dendrelaphis...not one of the Asiatic Rats

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## lizardman59 (Jul 23, 2011)

wow niall these pica are some of the awesomest pics i have seen on this forum look like you did well on the herping found some amazing reoptiles especially that skink it was quite big too when i looked down didnt think it would be that big but wow awesome


----------



## Niall (Jul 23, 2011)

Cheers mate!

Im heading up to the Kimberley in September, so be on the lookout for a Kimberley thread.


----------



## lizardman59 (Jul 23, 2011)

awesome cant wait


----------



## dihsmaj (Jul 23, 2011)

Niall, the Rhana and Latoria are actually _Rana_ and _Litoria_.
Sorry if it makes me seem mean-ish but it just got to me that you spelled them wrong. Again, sorry.

Amazing photos by the way. Loved the green skink and the previously unidentified one.


----------



## SteveNT (Jul 23, 2011)

Great stuff, keep em coming!


----------



## Niall (Jul 23, 2011)

Hi snakeluvver3

All good mate, it took me near 2 hours to make the thread so at the end of it I was spelling everything wrong and never bothered fixing the names and spelling up.


----------



## Treknotechelaps (Jul 30, 2011)

Niall, this is one of the best (if not the best) fieldherpin thread i've seen so far, so many photos and so many awesome species. 
New Guinea has heaps of interesting species and so many that are undescribed and undiscovered, its always exciting to see what they discover next there. Would absolutely love to do a trip there sometime. That wierd looking _Sphenomorphus muelleri _is exceptionally interesting. Currently there's around 300 species of frogs described there so far, herpetologists working there predict that this number may double and reach 600 eventually.
Had a go at trying to identify a few species i haven't seen been identified yet:
2, 5, 29 & 50 are _Platymantis papuensis_
10, 11, 13, 17 & 31 are _Carlia eothen _
14 & 18 are _Emoia longicauda_
15 is _Emoia pallidiceps_
16 is _Emoia jakarti_
27, 46 & 49 are _Litoria thesaurensis_
39 & 40 are _Tropidonophis aenigmaticus_
47 is _Litoria bibonius_
73 is _Hylarana arfaki _but this is a species complex
The last 3 which you couldn't allocate a genus to are _Cophixalus_ (the frog) and _Sphenomorphus_ (the skinks)
6, 7 & 8 are an undescribed species related to and currently lumped with _Litoria genimaculata_
The _Hylophorbus_ species are probably all the same species, currently assigned to _H. rufescens_, but _rufescens_ contains a number of undescribed species.
The _Nactus_ species could all be the same or different species, a revision of this genus in New Guinea is forthcoming.
As well as the website Papuan Herpetofauna, another website to look at is the Official Website of Mark O'Shea which has photos of herps he's found in Papua on he's expeditions.


----------



## SteveNT (Jul 30, 2011)

completely off topic but Milne Bay was the first place the Japanese were defeated in a land battle in WW2. Our boys of course.

They would have done some involuntary herping I think.


----------



## cracksinthepitch (Jul 30, 2011)

Great thread Niall, mate love the spiders, nice red tinge to the setae on one and the Mask on the other sensational. Great pics


----------

