smacdonald
Well-Known Member
I headed out to the Brigalow Belt in Queensland to meet some friends of ours and see what cool critters we could find. I've been out to this particular spot a few times, but have never managed to see a De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi), despite this area being well-known for this snake species. So on this trip I was determined to find one.
The friends that we were with weren't particularly into waiting around while we photographed the critters we saw, so the vast majority of pics below are pretty average.
The only other things we saw that I didn't manage to get any pics of were a marbled velvet gecko (Oedura marmorata) and a large elapid that slithered off the road and into the grass before we could get close to it. It was large and chunky, so I'm guessing it was a mulga snake (Pseudechis australis).
I should warn you that I have a bit of an interest in road kill, so there are some pics of squished animals below.
I've posted this series on a few other forums, so apologies if you've already seen them.
Stewart
Roadkilled De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). We knew we were in the right place when we found a dead specimen of our target species.
Roadkilled mulga snake (Pseudechis australis). This particular area is home to a gorgeous colour form of this impressive snake. This dead one is just a little fellow.
Curl snake (Suta suta). This is the only pic we got of this snake before our friends started driving off without us!
Australian coral snake (Brachyurophis australis). Photo by Alecia Carter.
De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). At last! The first specimen of our target species! This one looked like it had been run over. We moved it off the road.
De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). We ended up finding four individuals of this species on the last night we were out.
Beaked gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata)
Fat-tailed gecko (Diplodactylus conspicillatus)
Eastern spiny=tailed gecko (Strophurus williamsi)
Eastern spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus williamsi)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Eastern stone gecko (Diplodactylus vittatus) that has had its head run over. He was still running along the road. I took this pic while someone else grabbed a rock to put the gecko out of its misery.
Brigalow scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis), a threatened species of legless lizard. The small 'flaps'' either side of the vent are the remains of legs lost over the course of millions of years of evolution.
Brigalow scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis). Photo by Alecia Carter.
Juvenile eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata)
Roadkilled eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides). We found four dead blue tongues on the roads. They were all large, and possibly males killed while in search of females. That's Alecia in the background wondering why I'm taking a photo of yet another dead animal.
Eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides), Photo by Alecia Carter. Thankfully this skink was alive when we found him. He was very angry, obviously not understanding that we just wanted to move him off the road and to safety.
Eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala)
Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala)
Roadkilled hare
Roadkilled shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa). This skink was completely eviscerated, probably by crows or birds of prey.
Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). Not a herp, but probably the closest you can get to a herp while still being a mammal!
Sunset through a fence. Photo by Alecia Carter. This is the last sunset we saw out there before heading back home.
The friends that we were with weren't particularly into waiting around while we photographed the critters we saw, so the vast majority of pics below are pretty average.
The only other things we saw that I didn't manage to get any pics of were a marbled velvet gecko (Oedura marmorata) and a large elapid that slithered off the road and into the grass before we could get close to it. It was large and chunky, so I'm guessing it was a mulga snake (Pseudechis australis).
I should warn you that I have a bit of an interest in road kill, so there are some pics of squished animals below.
I've posted this series on a few other forums, so apologies if you've already seen them.
Stewart
Roadkilled De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). We knew we were in the right place when we found a dead specimen of our target species.
Roadkilled mulga snake (Pseudechis australis). This particular area is home to a gorgeous colour form of this impressive snake. This dead one is just a little fellow.
Curl snake (Suta suta). This is the only pic we got of this snake before our friends started driving off without us!
Australian coral snake (Brachyurophis australis). Photo by Alecia Carter.
De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). At last! The first specimen of our target species! This one looked like it had been run over. We moved it off the road.
De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi). We ended up finding four individuals of this species on the last night we were out.
Beaked gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata)
Fat-tailed gecko (Diplodactylus conspicillatus)
Eastern spiny=tailed gecko (Strophurus williamsi)
Eastern spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus williamsi)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Box-patterned gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri)
Eastern stone gecko (Diplodactylus vittatus) that has had its head run over. He was still running along the road. I took this pic while someone else grabbed a rock to put the gecko out of its misery.
Brigalow scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis), a threatened species of legless lizard. The small 'flaps'' either side of the vent are the remains of legs lost over the course of millions of years of evolution.
Brigalow scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis). Photo by Alecia Carter.
Juvenile eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata)
Roadkilled eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides). We found four dead blue tongues on the roads. They were all large, and possibly males killed while in search of females. That's Alecia in the background wondering why I'm taking a photo of yet another dead animal.
Eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides), Photo by Alecia Carter. Thankfully this skink was alive when we found him. He was very angry, obviously not understanding that we just wanted to move him off the road and to safety.
Eastern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae), Photo by Alecia Carter.
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Young eastern snapping frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae)
Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala)
Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala)
Roadkilled hare
Roadkilled shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa). This skink was completely eviscerated, probably by crows or birds of prey.
Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). Not a herp, but probably the closest you can get to a herp while still being a mammal!
Sunset through a fence. Photo by Alecia Carter. This is the last sunset we saw out there before heading back home.
