# Photos from North West Cape, WA



## moloch05 (Jul 9, 2008)

Hello everyone,

I have been so busy at work lately that I have not had time to post. I have spent a fair bit of time back in a frosty Tasmania.

These photos were taken in a much warmer place. They are the combined results of a trip to the Exmouth area in November, 1995, with my son Nicholas and then on a second trip in February, 1997, with a friend from Arizona. Overall, the February trip was not very productive. The grasslands were dry and we saw few diurnal reptiles. It was different at night as well. In November, Nicholas and I saw masses of Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos on the road but I saw hardly any at all in February.

Most of our time was spent near the Lighthouse campground near North West Cape and then in the Cape Range National Park. Here are a few habitat shots of the areas that we visited.

Dry hills at the north end of the Cape Range:












A fossilized reef behind the Lighthouse Campground. This was the home of a pair of Perenties.






Red sand dunes near North West Cape. This area was full of lizards, particularly _Ctenophorus femoralis_.
















Dry, grassy hills of the Cape Range NP.






A gorge at the southern end of the paved road in the Cape Range NP.






For me, the highlight of the visits was finding a pair of Perentie (_Varanus giganteus_) near the top of a hill behind the Lighthouse Caravan Park. These big monitors had emerged from caves in the ancient reef and were basking in the early morning sun.

















Gould's Monitors (_V. gouldii_) were seen occasionally. This one watched us from the edge of the campground where we stayed.






Long-nosed Dragon (_Amphibolurus longirostris_) were probably the most widespread diurnal lizard that we encountered.











... attempting to keep its entire body in the shade:











Any ideas on this dragon? It was found on a dune near the beach and I don't know whether it is a _Rankinia parviceps_ or a Spotted Military Dragon (_Ctenophorus maculatus_). I cannot see the base of the tail well enough to tell whether or not there are spines.






_Ctenophorus femoralis_ are sand adapted lizards. We saw many but only on the red dunes not far from North West Cape.

















Central Military Dragon (_Ctenophorus isolepis_) -- seemed to be scarce. We only found a few of these.






Here is another dragon that I cannot recognize. Is it a Central Netted Dragon (_Ctenophorus nuchalis_) or a Western Netted Dragon (_C. reticulatus_)? 






I saw but could not get a photo of a Black Collared Dragon (_C. clayi_). It seems strange that there is a population at North West Cape and then a gap of hundreds of kilometers to the main portion of its range in central Australia.


This Lozenge-marked Dragon (_Ctenophorus scutulatus_) basked from a can along the road to the south of Exmouth.






We found a single Moloch on both trips in the vast grassy plains south of Exmouth. Here is a shot of the habitat with scattered termite mounds.





... a Moloch (_Moloch horridus_)







Another interesting dragon was this _Diporiphora winneckei_ that was initially basking right on the road.
















Cape Range National Park also protects Ningaloo Reef, the second largest reef in Australia. It really is a gorgeous place to snorkel with crystal clear water and lots of fish. White-tipped and Black-tipped Reef Sharks were abundant and we saw them every time that we went for a swim.






Green Turtles (_Chelonia mydas_) were nesting here in November. We saw some resting on the beach during the day.

















... most, however, remained in the water.







Flies were incredible here in November but not too bad in February. In November, it was hard to hear anything other than their buzzing when I tried walking through the grasslands.






... a _Banksia ashbyi_






... a beautiful grevillea


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## Hickson (Jul 9, 2008)

Great photos there! Looks like fantastic weather too!



Hix


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## hornet (Jul 9, 2008)

great pics as usual, love the winneckei, how big was this specimen? I have sone from the alice springs arwa, really nice lizard


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## cement (Jul 9, 2008)

AWESOME. What a nice trip for you to take your young bloke on.


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## hornet (Jul 9, 2008)

also i'd say the dragon is a rankia and the netted looks like a western netted.


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## Tim.Arm (Jul 9, 2008)

*Great shoot's like allways David.*


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## RedEyeGirl (Jul 9, 2008)

awesome pics


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## moloch05 (Jul 10, 2008)

Thanks for the comments.

Hornet, I am just guessing now but the winneckei was not large, maybe 10cm. It was a nice looking dragon. I was driving a little over a 100kph and saw it standing in the road. I was able to drive right over it and it did not move at all. We turned the car around and headed back only to find it still standing in the centre of the road. It seems heavy bodied so I assume that it was a gravid female.

Regards,
David


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## Jonno from ERD (Jul 10, 2008)

G'day David,

The age old question...any snakes?


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## melgalea (Jul 10, 2008)

WOW amazing photos. i loved looking at them. its great to see such a huge variety of reptiles there


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## moloch05 (Jul 10, 2008)

Hello Jonno,

Only a few ... in the next post about the nocturnals.


Regards,
David


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## ad (Jul 10, 2008)

Fantastic pics Moloch, well done again,
Your threads always make me want to get in the car and go!
Cheers
Adam.


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## Riley (Jul 10, 2008)

great shots again, i love the gould's monitor (sand goanna??)

Riley


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## callith (Jul 10, 2008)

One word....WOW


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## Sdaji (Jul 10, 2008)

Awesome pictures once again, David! They always make we want to get into the field!

I don't know how you manage to make so many wonderful trips, but well done!


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## moloch05 (Jul 10, 2008)

Thanks all.

Stewart (ReptilesDownUnder) kindly pointed out to me that my first unknown dragon must be a Spotted Military Dragon (_Ctenophorus maculatus_) since it has a conspicuous tympanum. _Rankinia parviceps_ has a hidden tympanum. This dragon must be _C. maculatus badius_ based on its distribution. It certainly was pale when compared with those from Kalbarri.

Regards,
David


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## moloch05 (Jul 10, 2008)

Here are a few more pics of the area:

... along the drive north to Exmouth:





... the northern end of the Cape Range











Euros were abundant and made driving at night hazardous. I usually did not exceed 40kph at night in the national park but one of these still managed to head but one of the car doors.






... euros make use of whatever cover they can find during the day. These were sheltering beneath mangroves.





... life seems hard for them in the summer.







Here is another Central Military Dragon, male, in breeding colours:






... a baby dragon. I think that it is a Central Netted Dragon (_Ctenophorus nuchalis_)






Another Gould's Monitor (Sand Goanna)


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## Matty007 (Jul 12, 2008)

Top photos and an awsome looking area. May have to visit. November !! Might think about September :lol: Again , excellent post mate Matt


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## mrmikk (Jul 12, 2008)

Great photos and thanks for sharing. Looks like a very rewarding trip.


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## LullabyLizard (Jul 12, 2008)

WOW! Those are great pics!!!!!!!


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## redbellybite (Jul 12, 2008)

David it brings back good memories, of when my family and I travelled around Aussie........thankyou..


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## hornet (Aug 1, 2008)

moloch05 said:


> Thanks for the comments.
> 
> Hornet, I am just guessing now but the winneckei was not large, maybe 10cm. It was a nice looking dragon. I was driving a little over a 100kph and saw it standing in the road. I was able to drive right over it and it did not move at all. We turned the car around and headed back only to find it still standing in the centre of the road. It seems heavy bodied so I assume that it was a gravid female.
> 
> ...



My males are only 5-6cm svl and full grown, very slender unlike female which that one you posted pics of certainly is. Dont have any mature fems at the moment, only a possible juvie fem.


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## lizardman59 (Dec 3, 2010)

great pics dave


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