# Mt Glorious 08/09



## smacdonald (Jan 1, 2009)

On New Year's Eve I was kickin' it old school, by driving up a mountain to look for crocodiles. We didn't find any crocodiles, but we did come across some other reptiles. There seemed to be a few other like-minded people up the mountain. If you were up there, you may well have seen me. I was the one wearing a full-body latex suit with a big "S" on the chest (my traditional field outfit, contrary to popular belief).

Here's a brief pictorial overview of what I saw.





Common scaly-foot (_Pygopus lepidopodus_)






Pink-tongued skink (_Cyclodomorphus gerrardii_)​
We found the cranky little guy below around midnight. I think I can say that I was photographing it from 2008 until 2009. That's a long photo shoot! No wonder he was cranky! I think I've got a bit of an obsession with close-up shots of snake tongues.





Eastern small-eyed snake (_Cryptophis nigrescens_) - close...






Eastern small-eyed snake (_Cryptophis nigrescens_) - closer...






Eastern small-eyed snake (_Cryptophis nigrescens_) - closest...​
Golden-crowned snake (_Cacophis squamulosus_) are always a favourite of mine. They're so photogenic, it's hard to take a bad picture of them. But I tried.





Golden-crowned snake (_Cacophis squamulosus_)






Golden-crowned snake (_Cacophis squamulosus_)






Orb weaver spider






Orb weaver spider. Look at his beady little eyes!






Is this the world's largest moth? That's a normal, adult-sized hand. But it's not my hand - my nails aren't that pretty.​
I also saw some southern spotted velvet geckos (_Oedura tryoni_) which I didn't photograph because they're a bit wussy, a Burton's legless lizard (_Lialis burtonis_) which I didn't photograph because they're a bit wussy, some green tree frogs (_Litoria caerulea_) which I didn't photograph because they're a bit wussy, a road-killed Stephens' banded snake (_Hoplocephalus stephensii_), two road-killed eastern small-eyed snakes (_Cryptophis nigrescens_) and a road-killed spotted python (_Antaresia maculosa_) - my first for this area.


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## slacker (Jan 1, 2009)

reptilesDownUnder said:


> On New Year's Eve I was kickin' it old school, by driving up a mountain to look for crocodiles. We didn't find any crocodiles, but we did come across some other reptiles.



Them Mt Glorious crocs are sneaky buggers. They hang out below the trees waiting for drop-bears, so if you can find one of the resident communities of drop-bears, the crocs shouldn't be far away.



reptilesDownUnder said:


> I was the one wearing a full-body latex suit with a big "S" on the chest



Hot.

Love your small-eyed shots too, Safety Stew.


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## smacdonald (Jan 1, 2009)

slacker said:


> Them Mt Glorious crocs are sneaky buggers. They hang out below the trees waiting for drop-bears, so if you can find one of the resident communities of drop-bears, the crocs shouldn't be far away.



I see! I guess I'll be going back up there soon to look for a group of drop bears. What's the collective noun for drop bears? A _plummet_ of drop bears?


Stewart


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## Rocket (Jan 1, 2009)

Great Scaly-foot photo.


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## ryanharvey1993 (Jan 1, 2009)

lol love all the comments, great pics aswell


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## Australis (Jan 1, 2009)

Any photos of the DOR stephensii and mac?

I didn't see much on NYE, just a couple of rockspiders
and bushpigs. :| ... one suspected bunyip.


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## smacdonald (Jan 1, 2009)

Australis said:


> Any photos of the DOR stephensii and mac?



I don't have any, but maybe someone else saw them as well and took some pics.


Stewart


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## slacker (Jan 1, 2009)

Australis said:


> Any photos of the DOR stephensii and mac?


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 1, 2009)

Great pics stewart, love the close up shots of the small eyed and the golden crowned.


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## Australis (Jan 1, 2009)

Are spotted pythons a rarity down SEQ Stewart?
Not many field posts from down there include
them, in fact this would be the first i can think of.
Hopefully you two find a live one next time in
that area.

This is my last spotted for 08.. was a little shy *whistle*


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## smacdonald (Jan 1, 2009)

Australis said:


> Are spotted pythons a rarity down SEQ Stewart?



They're not unknown, but they're not particularly common. I know Jonno Lucas has seen them up at Mt Glorious a few times. And I think people on here were recently talking about finding them around Wivenhoe Dam (which is down the back of Mt Glorious).

The other day I saw some at a mate's place, but they were in an enclosure so they probably don't count.


Stewart


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## Mangles (Jan 8, 2009)

Great photos Stewart. I took my son up to Mt Glorious earlier this week for our maiden herping trip, however it was a fairly cool night and all we managed to find was a Brown Tree Snake. Just a question from a novice for the next time we go, do you find all the reptiles alongside or on the roads or do you go for a walk on the tracks in the park? If it is just on the roads, are there a few back roads as we didn’t have any luck on the main roads?


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## andyscott (Jan 8, 2009)

Golden-Crowned Snakes as well as White-Crowned, are my favorite elapidaes.
That Close up head shot is stunning. Id love to come across some on a herping trip.
Fantastics pics.

Although I hate seeing road kill pics.


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## smacdonald (Jan 8, 2009)

Mangles said:


> do you find all the reptiles alongside or on the roads or do you go for a walk on the tracks in the park?



Just on the road (or off to the side). I just drive along the main road going over the mountain.

Keep in mind that it's illegal to interfere with any wildlife up there. It's technically illegal to move a snake off the road, and it's illegal to collect a dead snake (with the intention of depositing it with the Queensland Museum) without a permit, even though the EPA won't issue permits for this activity. Collecting a dead snake may result in it being confiscated last night by a ranger.

It is, of course, perfectly legal for you to accidentally run over an endangered species up there.

But don't let that stop you from getting out and enjoying nature.

Good luck!

Stewart


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