Herping in the Mallee (DUW)

[jordo]

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

 

[Python_Princess87]

Nice Pics

 

[hornet]

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

 

[junglepython2]

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

 

[rexs1]

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.

 

[jordo]

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.

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

 

[Nephrurus]

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

 

[tooben]

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.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

Is the Bandy Bandy not Vermicella annulata?

 

[tooben]

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

 

[junglepython2]

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.

 

[PremierPythons]

Some awesome legless lizards there mate...

 

[tooben]

thanks junglepython2 i see what you mean.

 

[Mark Newton]

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

 

[Tann Rep]

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

 

[Jonno from ERD]

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!

 

[junglepython2]

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

 

[jordo]

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)

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.

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!

 

[junglepython2]

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.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

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.