moloch05
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This is part 2 of the Exmouth area report. Once again, it is a combined report of animals that I found with my son in November, 2005, and with a friend in February, 2007.
We saw a number of Burton's Snake-lizards (Lialis burtonis) in November but none in February. All of those in the Exmouth area were heavily striped like this huge individual.
We only found a single live Delma nasuta and others that were dead on the road. This animal literally hurdled itself into the air to get off the road and then finally settled on the road shoulder. I don't think that I have ever seen anything behave like this before.
Fat-tailed Gecko (Diplodactylus conspicillatus) were the most common gecko, especially in the disturbed areas outside of the national park.
We saw several Diplodactylus mitchelli. These geckos varied considerably in pattern with some strongly marked and others pale. It is interesting but the second edition of "A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia" no longer shows D. mitchelli from North West Cape. I suppose that this was just an accidental omission.
Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris aberrans) -- these geckos were the second most common species of gecko found in November but were scarce in February. This race has black and yellow spines on the tail. Spiny-tails were found in area where there were shrubs next to the road. We saw few outside of the national park where the habitat was more disturbed.
... strange, regenerated tail.
Western Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus strophurus) -- we only found two and both were on the February trip.
Prickly (Bynoe's) Gecko (Heteronotia binoei) -- only a few of these geckos were encountered at night.
Sand-plain Gecko (Lucasium stenodactylus) -- common in the same areas as Fat-tailed Gecko. Some were pale and others were more strongly marked. These are fast moving geckos and often vanished before I could stop the car and run back for photos.
Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus laevis occidentalis) -- common and variable in pattern. Some of these were pink/blue whereas others were brown and looked much more like the Pilbara race of this species. None of the knob-tails at Exmouth looked like the beautiful animals from Shark Bay. Several species of reptiles that are mostly found in the Pilbara have isolated populations at North West Cape. It seems to me that these knob-tails must have had some contact with or perhaps be a derivative of the Pilbara race of this species.
Stimson's Python (Antaresia stimsoni[/]) -- common in November but only a single DOR juvenile found in February.
Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) -- This large adult had been injured on the road. I thought that it was paralyzed and I laid on the road nearby for photos. I had a real shock when it turned and raced off the road.
Northwestern Shovel-nosed Snake (Brachyurophis approximans) -- one seen on each trip.
Black-necked Whipsnake (Demansia calodera) -- unfortunately, only this single DOR was found.
Moon (Orange-naped) Snake (Furina ornata) -- twice seen on the November trip.
Pilbara Death Adder (Acanthophis wellsi) -- Nick and I were very happy to find one of these on our 5th night drive at Cape Range. It was the only individual of this species that we found.
Flowers -- Cape Range was a dry place but there still were a few flowers to be seen:
...Feather-flower (Verticordia sp)
Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona sp.)
Zebra Finch -- a common bird in the Cape Range NP
Regards,
David
We saw a number of Burton's Snake-lizards (Lialis burtonis) in November but none in February. All of those in the Exmouth area were heavily striped like this huge individual.
We only found a single live Delma nasuta and others that were dead on the road. This animal literally hurdled itself into the air to get off the road and then finally settled on the road shoulder. I don't think that I have ever seen anything behave like this before.
Fat-tailed Gecko (Diplodactylus conspicillatus) were the most common gecko, especially in the disturbed areas outside of the national park.
We saw several Diplodactylus mitchelli. These geckos varied considerably in pattern with some strongly marked and others pale. It is interesting but the second edition of "A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia" no longer shows D. mitchelli from North West Cape. I suppose that this was just an accidental omission.
Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris aberrans) -- these geckos were the second most common species of gecko found in November but were scarce in February. This race has black and yellow spines on the tail. Spiny-tails were found in area where there were shrubs next to the road. We saw few outside of the national park where the habitat was more disturbed.
... strange, regenerated tail.
Western Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus strophurus) -- we only found two and both were on the February trip.
Prickly (Bynoe's) Gecko (Heteronotia binoei) -- only a few of these geckos were encountered at night.
Sand-plain Gecko (Lucasium stenodactylus) -- common in the same areas as Fat-tailed Gecko. Some were pale and others were more strongly marked. These are fast moving geckos and often vanished before I could stop the car and run back for photos.
Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus laevis occidentalis) -- common and variable in pattern. Some of these were pink/blue whereas others were brown and looked much more like the Pilbara race of this species. None of the knob-tails at Exmouth looked like the beautiful animals from Shark Bay. Several species of reptiles that are mostly found in the Pilbara have isolated populations at North West Cape. It seems to me that these knob-tails must have had some contact with or perhaps be a derivative of the Pilbara race of this species.
Stimson's Python (Antaresia stimsoni[/]) -- common in November but only a single DOR juvenile found in February.
Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) -- This large adult had been injured on the road. I thought that it was paralyzed and I laid on the road nearby for photos. I had a real shock when it turned and raced off the road.
Northwestern Shovel-nosed Snake (Brachyurophis approximans) -- one seen on each trip.
Black-necked Whipsnake (Demansia calodera) -- unfortunately, only this single DOR was found.
Moon (Orange-naped) Snake (Furina ornata) -- twice seen on the November trip.
Pilbara Death Adder (Acanthophis wellsi) -- Nick and I were very happy to find one of these on our 5th night drive at Cape Range. It was the only individual of this species that we found.
Flowers -- Cape Range was a dry place but there still were a few flowers to be seen:
...Feather-flower (Verticordia sp)
Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona sp.)
Zebra Finch -- a common bird in the Cape Range NP
Regards,
David
