Italy / Malta trip !

[richoman_3]

hey guys,
i recently went to visit family in Italy and Malta for 6 weeks, (3 in each)

i had a great time there and met alot of family members ill probably never see again. I saw most of the touristy icons such as the colosseum, pisa, etc.
but best of all were the small variety of herps i found (didnt actually get a chance to go herping, most of the stuff was found on familys farms.)


i was unable to bring my good canon camera so i only had a Point & Shoot (so sorry for bad quality :/ )

anyway ill get some boring pics out of the way before the herps (if you want to see more touristy pics i can upload them)


first stop was Rome,

Colosseum by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Colosseum by richoman_europe, on Flickr

there were fountains everywhere ! this one was pretty cool

Fountain in Rome by richoman_europe, on Flickr


Ruins around rome where there was alot of italian wall lizards


Ruins in Rome by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Ruins in Rome by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Next we went to Lucca for a couple of days (no pics)
than we checked out Pisa

Pisa by richoman_europe, on Flickr

me and my brother

Pisa by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Next we went to Venice which was very nice !


Venice by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Venice at night by richoman_europe, on Flickr



than off to pompeii


Ruins in Pompeii by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Ruins in Pompeii by richoman_europe, on Flickr


Next we went to a small town near Salerno called Pontecagnano where most of my dads side of the family lived
just some quick shots of me and family members


Me, my brother and uncle by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Me, my dad and his uncle by richoman_europe, on Flickr




Than we made it down to Aquara where my grandmother grew up, and we saw more family members and my great grandmother.
There is a very nice river down the road from them where my dad used to remember swimming in. This is where i found Italian Stream Frogs


River near Aquara, Italy by richoman_europe, on Flickr

River near Aquara, Italy by richoman_europe, on Flickr

River near Aquara, Italy by richoman_europe, on Flickr

River near Aquara, Italy by richoman_europe, on Flickr







Next we went to Malta to see my mums side of the family.
its a very nice place with some amazing beaches and grottos !


St. Pauls Bay by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Blue lagoon was amazing !


Blue Lagoon, Comino by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Blue Lagoon, Comino by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Small cave near Comino by richoman_europe, on Flickr



Blue Grotto


Blue Grotto by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Blue Grotto by richoman_europe, on Flickr


We stopped at Gozo for a couple of days


Xlendi, Gozo by richoman_europe, on Flickr

and a shot of me and my little cousin


Me and my cousin by richoman_europe, on Flickr








Now the interesting stuff !
HERPS !

as i mentioned before unfortunately i didnt get much time to herp, most of the stuff is found on family members farms

and sorry for the bad quality pics as i only had a point and shoot !!


Turtle in fish farm


Turtle at a fish farm by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Wall Lizards were found nearly on every ruin and stone house in Italy


Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr




Moorish Gecko were found alot, during the day and night !


Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

this one was from Gozo


Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) by richoman_europe, on Flickr


A snake that got away in pompeii !


Snake that got away ! by richoman_europe, on Flickr

This Common Toad was found in a well at one of my dads uncles farm, it was MASSIVE


Common Toad (Bufo bufo) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Stream Frogs were found in stony creeks, these were actually hard to find


Italian Stream Frog (Rana italica) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Italian Stream Frog (Rana italica) by richoman_europe, on Flickr


and my favourite find in Italy, a European Green Lizard, these things were STUNNING !


European Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis) by richoman_europe, on Flickr


Now on to Malta !

Painted Frog


Mediterranean Painted Frog (Discoglossus pictus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Levant Water Frog (introduced to Gozo)


Levant Water Frog (Pelophylax bedriagae) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Maltese Wall Lizards were just as quick as the Italian ones!


Maltese Wall Lizard (Podarcis filfolensis) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Maltese Wall Lizard (Podarcis filfolensis) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Maltese Wall Lizard (Podarcis filfolensis) by richoman_europe, on Flickr




Ocellated Skinks were a common find after you found your first few


Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr




Unfortunate looking one !

Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

some got quite big

Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Turkish Gecko (found on the last day to tick off all malta's lizards!)


Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr



Western Whip Snake - this was a cranky fella, i burnt my hand on the rocks i was lifting (they were about 10000c ) so i had to use a glove to grab it


Western Whip Snake (Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Western Whip Snake (Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Western Whip Snake (Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) by richoman_europe, on Flickr




and best of all

CHAMELEON !!!!!!

took me ages to find one but paid off


Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) by richoman_europe, on Flickr





hope you enjoyed the pics !

im happy to be back in Australia though, but i miss the heat !!

Nick

 

[Rissi]

CRAZY good. not only made me wish I was back in Italy but made me wish I hadn't spent all my time just eating when I was there.

 

[JrFear]

Wow awesome pictures! i didnt no there were Chamaeleons in that area of the world!

 

[jahan]

Nice pics richoman.

 

[richoman_3]

cheers guys
yes the food was amazing !
i was stunned when our bed and breakfast place gave us pizza and massive chocolate croissants for breakfast !
but we soon got used to it

really wish i could of explored more of italy !!!

didnt find too much inverts, was really to dry.

but found this mantid in malta


Mantis by richoman_europe, on Flickr


and this scolopendra cingulata


Scolopendra cingulata by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Scolopendra cingulata by richoman_europe, on Flickr

 

[SteveNT]

Great stuff Richo! The lizards (and the whip snake) seem to have trouble keeping an original tail! Wouldn't it be good if we had chameleons, I might have to retire to Madagascar I think.

 

[richoman_3]

thanks steve !
yes its annoying how alot of stuff lost their tails, its because there is SO MANY stray dogs and cats in Malta they apparantly attack and eat lizards and snakes all the time

 

[cheekabee]

Great pictures and some awesome exotics species man. I am in total awe

 

[Asharee133]

Any pics of the "Frozen people" In Pompeii?

 

[thals]

Gorgeous pics mate! One thing, the Lacerta you have there is actually 'Bilineata' as you find Viridis over in Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, they are fascinating creatures, especially observing the males come mating season, gorgeous vibrant colours!

 

[sarah_m]

As always, great photo's! I didn't realise there were so many colourful herps in that part of the world. Love the chameleon shots!

 

[happynagini]

sooo jealous of you going to malta and pompeii, the two destinations i want to go to the most!!
couldnt help but laugh at the chameleon.. sooo funny looking hahaha

 

[Smithers]

Stunning quality as always, thanks Richo some of those lizards are insane.....

 

[Justdragons]

wow the chameleon is amazing

 

[richoman_3]

thanks everyone
yes the chameleons are very awesome creatures ! they dont seem real, looks like they are from a computer game the way they move their eyes and puff up !

thanks thals i always though bilineata was a subspecies but ill change it now


only got these 2 pics asharee


Frozen person in Pompeii by richoman_europe, on Flickr

Frozen person in Pompeii by richoman_europe, on Flickr

 

[vicherps]

Sea Turtle looks like a Loggerhead Turtle can't count count all the coastals on the carapace cause the back of the pic is blurry. Prefrontals look more consist with a loggerhead than Hawksbill or Green Sea Turtles.

bilineata was once considered a subspecies of viridis in its taxonomic history but thats not the case and hasn't been fore a while.

 

[richoman_3]

yeah it is a loggerhead, forgot to mention that

 

[moloch05]

Fantastic post, richoman. Looks like you had an excellent trip and found lots of interesting animals. I really like the wall lizards and some of those that you found were stunning. The Chameleon would have been my favourite animal.

Regards,
David

 

[richoman_3]

thanks david !
i saw some much nicer wall lizards near where my family was in aquara (alot of green and blue markings mixed with yellow and black) but alot are just to quick for photos, and my crappy camera made it no better !

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

a whole heap of herps we havent seen before,very exciting to find