# Herping in the Mallee (DUW)



## jordo (Dec 14, 2007)

Went up to the Mallee in Sunset National Park near Mildura, NW Vic. I volunteering for a project run by Deakin and Latrobe studying the diversity of wildlife in areas that had been burnt at different times and frequencies.
It was a very busy week with 5am starts but well worth it for all the animals we caught 
Anyway this is some of what we got:





_Lerista bougainvillii_ quite common skink, usually very quick to burrow into the sand when released.





The most common snake we caught, _Simoselaps australis_, or coral snake, most of them were very tolerant of being remove and rather than bite they often curled into a little ball hiding their head which was very cute 





_Delma australis_ another common lizard, caught a lot on the last day. Was great to see the delmas sometimes hop away when they were released :lol:





_Morethia boulengeri_





_Lerista punctatovittata_ another squirmy burrowing skink





Called these guys helicopter beetles (very loud in flight) they tried to do naughty things with the yellow handled shovels we used 





_Delma butleri_ just like australis without the banding on the neck





Common Scaly-Foot, _Pygopus lepidopodus_, an amazing animal I was very suprised at how large they actually are in the flesh, this guy would have been about 50cm although it was mostly tail.





This cute little praying mantis looked a bit out of place on the planet Earth I thought :lol:





We caught _Ctenotus brachyonyx_ and _regius_ but I can't remember what this guy was, any ideas?





Found 2 of these guys during the week _Vermicella multifasciata_, bandy bandy, he even looped a little bit when released 





Found some nice painteds, _Ctenophorus pictus_





The most common lizard caught, beaded gecko





Caught a few of these cute little dunnarts, mostly young ones as they think the adults can jump out of the buckets.





Nobbi Dragon





This little guy was a good find, Aprasia inaurita, pink nosed worm lizard. He made a very high pitched noise in defence.





And would you have guessed there were heaps of Mallee Dragons, quite comical that they run circles around the spinifex if you chase them.





Suta nigriceps, quite grumpy so didn't get too many pics of him.

Excuse the white out marks that was to determine recaptures. enjoy


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## Python_Princess87 (Dec 14, 2007)

Nice Pics


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## hornet (Dec 14, 2007)

thats awsome jordo. How would one go about volunteering for something like this?


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## junglepython2 (Dec 14, 2007)

Great set of pics Jordo thanks for sharing. Did you see any vens there other then the S. nigriceps?


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## rexs1 (Dec 14, 2007)

Great pics mate. Apart from the bucket pit traps, what other methods of reptile capture was used? Also, what is the bandy bandy in. cheers Rex.


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## jordo (Dec 14, 2007)

junglepython2 said:


> Great set of pics Jordo thanks for sharing. Did you see any vens there other then the S. nigriceps?


Only the 3 snake species, all vens but not considered deadly.



rexs1 said:


> Great pics mate. Apart from the bucket pit traps, what other methods of reptile capture was used? Also, what is the bandy bandy in. cheers Rex.



There were 5 baited elliot traps (sort of like small walk in things that trigger a trap door to shut) used at each site, apparently used for marsupials but the pitfalls were much more successful for herps and mammals.
The bandy was in a little observation tank for pics he was released at the site of capture.
Thanks for the replies


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## Nephrurus (Dec 14, 2007)

jordo said:


> Excuse the white out marks that was to determine recaptures. enjoy



Why did you put so much on the snake in the fish tank?






-H


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## tooben (Dec 14, 2007)

hey jordo is that suta nigriceps a name for the curl snake because in my book it says theres only 4 medium siz spp of suta.just wondering what the common name is. because the only one in that area is the curl snake suta suta.


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## Jonno from ERD (Dec 14, 2007)

Is the Bandy Bandy not _Vermicella annulata?_


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## tooben (Dec 14, 2007)

it would have to be if its around there. i mean the bandy bandy


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## junglepython2 (Dec 14, 2007)

tooben said:


> hey jordo is that suta nigriceps a name for the curl snake because in my book it says theres only 4 medium siz spp of suta.just wondering what the common name is. because the only one in that area is the curl snake suta suta.


 
Look under Parasuta nigriceps, some references use this instead of Suta. It's common name is Mitchell's short-tailed snake.


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## PremierPythons (Dec 14, 2007)

Some awesome legless lizards there mate...


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## tooben (Dec 14, 2007)

thanks junglepython2 i see what you mean.


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## Mark Newton (Dec 14, 2007)

I'm very impressed with the diversity you found and identified, well done.


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## Tann Rep (Dec 14, 2007)

heya jordo.
i used to live in the mallee. great country! dad worked on the mice plagues there with csiro. good to see the uni's getting into it.
i was a bit young to go herping tho, but i will look into it when we visit again.
great pics, glad u found such a range, i remeber the elliot traps, we still have some, they work great, lol
newyas, glad u had fun.
Martyn


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## Jonno from ERD (Dec 14, 2007)

I've also herped a lot in the Mallee. I had done a lot in the Middlebacks, south west of Whyalla, and also inbetween the Barossa Valley and Renmark. I was introduced to North West Victoria relatively late, but absolutely fell in love with it and visited it most weekends. My favourite spot was Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. Species I, have found, or have been found while I was there, include - 

Broad Shelled Turtle _Chelodina expansa_
Long Neck Turtle _Chelodina longicollis_

Sand Goanna _Varanus gouldii gouldii_
Lace Monitor _Varanus varius_

Beaded Gecko _Diplodactylus dameus/Lucasium damaeum_
Western Stone Gecko_ Diplodactylus granariensis_
Stone Gecko _Diplodactylus vittatus_
Variegated Dtella _Gehyra variegata_
Bynoes Gecko _Heteronotia binoei_
_Nephrurus stellatus_
Southern Spiny Tail Gecko _Strophurus intermedius_

Red Tailed Worm Lizard _Aprasia inaurita_ (regurgitated by Mitchells Short Tailed Snake)
_Delma butleri_
Burtons Legless Lizard_ Lialis burtonis_

_Cryptoblepharus carnabyi_
_Ctenotus orientalis_
_Ctenotus regius_
_Ctenotus robustus_
Desert Skink _Egernia inornata_
Gidgee Skink_ Egernia stokesii_
Tree Skink_ Egernia striolata_
Broad Banded Sand Swimmer _Eremiascincus richardsonii_
_Hemiergis decresiensis_
_Hemiergis peronii_
_Lerista bougainvillii_
_Lerista punctatovittata_
_Menetia greyii_
_Morethia boulengeri_
Western Blue Tongue _Tiliqua occipitalis_
Shingleback _Tiliqua rugosa_
Common Blue Tongue _Tiliqua scincoides_

Nobbi Dragon_ Amphibolurus nobbi_
Crested Dragon _Ctenophurus cristatus_
Tawny Dragon _Ctenophurus decresii_
_Peninsula Dragon Ctenophurus fionni_
Mallee Military Dragon_ Ctenophurus fordi_
Painted Dragon _Ctenophurus pictus_
Thorny Devil _Moloch horridus_
Inland Bearded Dragon_ Pogona vitticeps_
Lined Earless Dragon_ Tympanocryptis lineata
_
_Ramphotyphlops bituberculatus_

Common Death Adder _Acanthophis antarcticus_
_Bracyurophis semifasciatus_
Yellow Faced Whip Snake_ Demansia psammophis_
Mitchells Short Tailed Snake _Parasuta nigriceps_
_Parasuta spectabilis_
Mulga Snake _Pseudechis australis_
Western Brown Snake _Pseudonaja nuchalis_
Eastern Brown Snake_ Pseudonaja textilis_
Curl Snake _Suta suta_
Bandy Bandy_ Vermicella annulata_ 
Carpet Python _Morelia spilota sp._


That's a copy/paste from my records, a few other species like _Underwoodisaurus millii_ and _Diplodactylus tessellatus_ spring to mind. I love the Mallee!


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## junglepython2 (Dec 14, 2007)

Was the Mulga and adder found in Victoria Jonno or from surrounding areas as I didn't think they had been recorded in Victoria previously? Nice list by the way.

Edit - There is a recording of Acathophis antarcticus back in 1865


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## jordo (Dec 14, 2007)

Jonno from ERD said:


> Is the Bandy Bandy not _Vermicella annulata?_


Indeed it is, good correction (I was in a bit of a rush, when I posted the thread I was getting kicked off the computer)



tooben said:


> hey jordo is that suta nigriceps a name for the curl snake because in my book it says theres only 4 medium siz spp of suta.just wondering what the common name is. because the only one in that area is the curl snake suta suta.





junglepython2 said:


> Look under Parasuta nigriceps, some references use this instead of Suta. It's common name is Mitchell's short-tailed snake.


Yep that's the one  Do you know which is the most current name?

Jonno they also found a lot from your list but I was only there for a week 
And your list jogged my memory on the striped skink, it's _C. orientalis_ it doesn't appear to be listed in cogger so that's why I couldn't find it!


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## junglepython2 (Dec 14, 2007)

jordo said:


> Yep that's the one  Do you know which is the most current name?
> 
> 
> 
> > In Wilson and Swan it is Parasuta which is the most current field guide I have. 5th edition cogger has them as Suta. Just to add to the confusion some older texts have them under Unechis while others use Rhinoplocephalus.


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## Jonno from ERD (Dec 15, 2007)

junglepython2 said:


> Was the Mulga and adder found in Victoria Jonno or from surrounding areas as I didn't think they had been recorded in Victoria previously? Nice list by the way.
> 
> Edit - There is a recording of Acathophis antarcticus back in 1865


 

G'day mate,

That list was from the herping I've done in the Mallee, which includes the Eyre Peninsula which is where I have seen Adders and Mulga's. The record of the Adder in Victoria is highly disputed.

Hopefully I'll get to add to that list later on next year, I really love the Mallee and hope to get down there for a few weeks.


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## Serpentes_15 (Jan 13, 2008)

Good Pics Jordo. Can't wait till i go there.


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## Cj3cooper (Jan 16, 2008)

I spent the week up there with jordo but also spent the previous week in gluepot reserve in SA. thought i might share some pics from up there.


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## jordo (Jan 16, 2008)

Nice pics mate, you found all the good stuff! Hopefully I get some jewelled gex among other things up in NSW to pay you out about


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## Cj3cooper (Jan 16, 2008)

here are some more from both gluepot and murray-sunset, jordo and myself are both heading off to different parts of the mallee (nsw and sa) over the next 3 weeks so hopefully we wil have a whole heap more to share soon!

chris


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## Cj3cooper (Jan 16, 2008)

yeah good luck finding one, if you do i want pics of it! no pics, no proof!


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## jordo (Jan 16, 2008)

And hopefully I get a pygmy possum this time, that's two trips I've missed out so far 
That last gecko pic of it on the book was a beaded gecko found in sunset national park, a significant range extension for this species.


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