# Far North Queensland 5 -- Atherton Tablelands



## moloch05 (Oct 4, 2008)

My wife and I spent a few days in the Atherton Tablelands. Unfortunately, it was cool with a steady drizzle for the first couple of days so it was definitely not good reptile weather. The tablelands are much cooler than the coast. Long ago, much of the tablelands was covered with rainforest but now, most of the forest exists as little islands on private land or in national parks.







These upland rainforests tend to have a denser canopy than forests along coast so it is dark along the trails.






... tree ferns were abundant:






... crown of a large rainforest tree:







There are several crater lakes in the tablelands and these form part of a national park. This is Lake Barrine.






Most of the enormous Bull Kauri Pines (_Agathis microstachya_) were cut long ago but there are still a few to be seen along the trails at the crater lakes.






I saw a couple of the spectacular Tree Waratahs (_Alloxylon flammeum_) in flower. These are members of family Proteaceae like other waratahs, bansksia, grevillea, ...











I walked along trails in the forests each night while we stayed in the highlands. I hoped to find the fabled Chameleon Gecko (_Carphodactylus laevis_) but once again I had no success. I did find a number of the beautiful Northern Leaf-tailed Geckos (_Saltuarius cornutus_). Sometimes, they here high up on trunks. 






... sometimes near the base of the trunks. They almost always face head downwards so I suppose that they are ready to pounce if something edible walks by.






... original tail:












... one with a regenerated tail:











These wet, cool forests were the habitat of the unusual Prickly Skinks (_Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae_) These skinks apparantly spend most of their lives beneath soggy, rotting logs.

















... a very dirty juvenile











This _Saproscincus czechurai_ was a lifer to me. It is another tiny shade skink that looks much like _S. tetradactylus_ of the lowlands, but unlike that species, it has five fingers. This skink is another one of the many that spends its life beneath leaf litter or other debris on the forest floor.












The damp nights brought out a few frogs. I believe that this is a Striped Marsh Frog (_Limnodynastes peroni_):






I am not certain about this but I think that it is _Litoria inermis_:






I suppose that this is another of the variably marked _Litoria jungguy_:






Here are a few other shots from the tablelands. This is Hastie's Swamp near the town of Atherton. It was a good place for Brolga and Sarus Cranes and of course large numbers of Magpie Geese.
















Long-nosed Bandicoot. This marsupial was busy digging and it allowed me to get quite close. I finally squeaked a little and it sat up to see what was making the strange sounds.






... an unusual road hazard. I did not see any Lumholtz Tree Kangaroos on this visit but I have found them before.






... Atherton endemic, Grey-headed Robin.






Cauliflorous tree:











Blue-faced Honeyeater in action:






Scaly-breasted Lorikeet






... juvenile White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a Grevillea:






This is the display site of a Tooth-billed Catbird. Catbirds are members of the bowerbird family. These are large, chunky birds with an incredibly loud voice. They clear the leaves from the forest floor, then redecorate with leaves that they like. The males then call and dance with hopes of attracting a female






Beautiful fungus:







Regards,
David


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## ad (Oct 4, 2008)

Fantastic pics and commentary Moloch,
always entertaining, Thanks for posting, 
Cheers
Adam


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## waruikazi (Oct 4, 2008)

Greta pics mate. Is it known what caused the 'crater lakes' or is it just a name?


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## caustichumor (Oct 4, 2008)

It would have been nice to see the area a hundred odd years ago, at least there are some pockets of rainforest scattered around.. great photo's as always.


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## shane14 (Oct 4, 2008)

looks like another successful herping trip


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## bundy_zigg (Oct 4, 2008)

awsome pics yet again - you should try staying at the canopy Tree House - every night the possums come down to your balcony and you feed them bananas and in the morning the king parrtos(and loand more) come down to the seed you put out the front IT IS AWSOME - and their is a resident cassowary and heaps of herps
http://www.canopytreehouses.com.au/


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## moloch05 (Oct 4, 2008)

Thanks all. Scott Eipper informed me on another forum that what I thought to be L. inermis is actually another L. jungguy.

Gordo,
I think that the two crater lakes (Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine) and the crater at Mt. Hypiamaee were all formed by volcanic explosions. Water eventually filled these depressions.

Caustic,
I would imagine that the fragmentation of habitat has caused some of the animals to decline. Southern Cassowaries probably have a hard time but I have not heard of any herps that have been severly impacted. 


bundy,
I looked at the website and the Canopy Tree House looks like a wonderful place. I did not try much for possums on this visit but in earlier years, I often would take my kids up to Mt. Hypipamee to see Striped Possums, Green Ringtails, Herbert River Ringtails, and Lemuroid Ringtails. My son and I once had quite a surprise when a Lumholtz crashed out of a tree in front of us while we were walking through a thick area of forest to a Golden Bowerbird bower.

Regards,
David


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## salebrosus (Oct 4, 2008)

The Prickly Forest Skinks are by far my fave in that series of shots David. What awesome little critters they are. Don't suppose you have ever been able to photograph the Nangur Prickly Forest Skink? Would love to see some of those too.


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## moloch05 (Oct 4, 2008)

Thanks, salebrosus. There is a resemblance between Prickly Skinks and Nangur Prickly Forest Skinks. I wonder whether there is any relationship between the two (besides being skinks).

I also would like to see photos of the Nangur skinks. I have never had the chance to look for those.

Regards,
David


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## warren63 (Oct 4, 2008)

Magnificent pics as usal, thank you


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## RedEyeGirl (Oct 4, 2008)

Great pics as usual.Thanks for posting!


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## saratoga (Oct 4, 2008)

Another great report and nice images...thanks David!!


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## froggyboy86 (Oct 4, 2008)

Great photos once again David. I Prickly Forest Skinks look awesome. 

Aaron


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## salebrosus (Oct 4, 2008)

moloch05 said:


> Thanks, salebrosus. There is a resemblance between Prickly Skinks and Nangur Prickly Forest Skinks. I wonder whether there is any relationship between the two (besides being skinks).
> 
> I also would like to see photos of the Nangur skinks. I have never had the chance to look for those.
> 
> ...



I have been told where to go for them and have searched for them but was unsuccessful. I will go back to that spot and have another look soon - doubt i can take as good a shots as you though. Geckodan said to me that the Nangur's look like the northern ones on steroids.

Simone.


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## dougie210 (Oct 4, 2008)

OMG! Moloch! GReat photos once again!and great adventures you always have going on! You must love going on all these holidays!


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## moloch05 (Oct 5, 2008)

Thanks, again, for the comments.

Simone,
Nangur would certainly be a great find. I hope that you can get pics if you return again.


Last December, my son Nicholas and I visited the Atherton Tablelands. Here are a few pics from that trip.

Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko:






Boyd's Forest Dragon:
















_Eulamprus tigrinus_:






a juvenile Carpet Python:











DOR Rough-scaled Snake:











A spectacular Flame Tree:






Regards,
David


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## Moko (Oct 5, 2008)

Fantastic shots .... Love the leaf tails , always my favourites....


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## smacdonald (Oct 6, 2008)

Great pics and info as usual, David.



moloch05 said:


> Thanks, salebrosus. There is a resemblance between Prickly Skinks and Nangur Prickly Forest Skinks. I wonder whether there is any relationship between the two (besides being skinks).



They appear to be quite closely related to each other, and to the _Eulamprus tenuis_ group. For those playing at home:

O'Connor, D. and Moritz, C. (2003) *A molecular phylogeny of the Australian skink genera Eulamprus, Gnypetoscincus and Nangura*. Australian Journal of Zoology, 51(4):317-330.

I'm going _Nangura_ hunting later this year. I'll let you know how I get on. People wanting to look for this species themselves should be aware that some areas in those forests might have restricted access. You should check with the EPA or forestry department before crawling around in there.


Stewart


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## moloch05 (Oct 6, 2008)

> They appear to be quite closely related to each other, and to the Eulamprus tenuis group



Thanks for the information, Stewart. The relationship to the E. tenuis group is really surprising.

Regards,
David


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## moloch05 (Oct 6, 2008)

Here is a link to an abstract of the article referenced by Stewart:
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15293265

It is very interesting. It looks like Eulamprus might be split into 3 genera: Eulamprus (the quoyii group), Concinnia (the tenuis group) and something new(murrayi group). Nangura and Gnypetoscincus would be retained but are considered allied to the Concinnia skinks.


Regards,
David


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## $NaKe PiMp (Oct 6, 2008)

what a beautiful and special place is the atherton tableland


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## krusty (Oct 11, 2008)

great pics it is one very very nice spot.


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