Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

moloch05

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Messages
772
Reaction score
8
I have just returned from a whirlwind trip through central western Queensland. This area is beautiful and supports a variety of habitats. I visited a number of sites ranging from the Mitchell Grass downs of Muttaburra/Aramac to the granite hills near Dajarra. I especially enjoyed the scenery in the Eyrean Basin between Winton and Dajarra. The habitat was in great shape with the biggest clumps of spinifex that I have ever seen. There must have been ample rainfall since the spinifex was green and flowering.

This region is a long distance from Wollongong and I ended up driving about 6000km in one week. Needless to say, I spent much of the last week sitting in the car but I now know of several interesting areas to visit again someday when I can spend more time.

There aren't many people in this part of Queensland. I saw very few cars on the road at night. On the downside, there was no radio or mobile phone coverage. I usually camped off small side roads. The stars at night were incredible due to the dry air and no artificial lights. This was a typical campsite.
camp.jpg




Here are a few habitat shots of the areas that I visited.

Mitchell Grass Downs near Muttaburra and Winton:
habitat_spencersmonitor.jpg


habitat_spencersmonitor3.jpg




Acacia (several species) Savannah:
habitat_winton1.jpg





Mulga forest:
habitat_mulga.jpg




Eyrean Basin between Winton and Boulia:
habitat_boulia1.jpg


habitat_boulia10.jpg


habitat_boulia9.jpg


habitat_boulia6.jpg




Granite outcrops near Dajarra:
habitat_dajarra1.jpg


habitat_dajarra2.jpg


habitat_dajarra5.jpg



... and now, the geckos:


Tessellated Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus) -- this was by far the most abundant species. There were hordes of these on the road through many areas. They seemed to be particularly common in the Mitchell Grass Downs.
Diplodactylus_tesselatus1.jpg


Diplodactylus_tesselatus2.jpg


Diplodactylus_tesselatus3.jpg



This little animal was different to any that I have seen before. Its ventral surface was white with black streaks. Is this the pattern of a juvenile?
Diplodactylus_tesselatus5.jpg




Robust Dtella (Gehyra robusta) -- a new species to me. It was common on granite outcrops. Some animals were ghostly pale (maybe shedding?) but others were nicely coloured.
Gehyra_robusta1.jpg


Gehyra_robusta1a.jpg


Gehyra_robusta2.jpg




Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata) (I think) -- these lived on the same rock outcrops as G. robusta.
Gehyra_variegata1.jpg


Gehyra_variegata3.jpg




Prickly Gecko (Heteronotia binoei) -- I like the glowing eyes. This animal was found during the day. At night, they are grey with black barring on the back.
Heteronotia_binoei1.jpg


Heteronotia_binoei2.jpg




Box-patterned Gecko (Lucasium steindachneri) -- their disruptive colouration makes them hard to see on dry grass:
Lucasium_steindachneri1.jpg


Lucasium_steindachneri2.jpg




Pale-striped Ground Gecko (Lucasium immaculatum) -- these were numerous here at the northern end of their range. I have only seen one previously in the Windorah area of QLD.
Lucasium_immaculatum1.jpg


Lucasium_immaculatum2.jpg


Lucasium_immaculatum4.jpg


Lucasium_immaculatum5a.jpg



Prickly Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus asper) -- I was very pleased to find this species. It was new to me. I saw two adults and a very cute little juvenile.

adult 1:
Nephrurus_asper1.jpg


Nephrurus_asper2.jpg


... amazing tail:
Nephrurus_asper_tail.jpg



adult 2:
Nephrurus_asper5a.jpg


Nephrurus_asper5.jpg



juvenile:
Nephrurus_asper7.jpg


Nephrurus_asper8.jpg




Marbled Velvet Gecko (Oedura marmorata) -- these are also a lovely sight. I saw several.
Oedura_marmorata3.jpg


Oedura_marmorata4.jpg


Oedura_marmorata5.jpg



... very pale. About to shed?
Oedura_marmorata2.jpg




Beaked Gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata) -- I only took one photo before it streaked away and could not be relocated. These seem to be much more common further south.
Rhynchodera_ornata1.jpg




Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris) -- I only saw this single animal.
Strophurus_krisalys2.jpg


Strophurus_krisalys1.jpg




Burton's Snake Lizard (Lialis burtonis) -- one in the Mitchell Grass Downs.
Lialis_burtonis1.jpg


Lialis_burtonis3.jpg




Eastern Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus schraderi) -- there was hardly any traffic on the road at night so this poor little lizard was incredibly unfortunate. I assume that it is schraderi and not steelescotti since it was found about 100km west of Winton. The range maps seem to indicate that steelscotti is found a little north of this area.
Pygopus.jpg




Regards,
David
 
Disgusting!
It is people like you that make the rest of us feel the need to start our posts with "sorry about the picture quality"
Fantastic photos and some great finds
 
Nice pics, i wish i could travel as much as you do David, Surely you would of had to found some snakes, dragons, skinks.....ect.
Thanks Tim.
 
Great pictures!
I cant wait to get out and do some traveling now I've got my 4WD. Looking forward to parts 2 and hopefully 3!
 
great quality pics you must have a good camera .. i was at Windorah not so long ago and saw a dog hooked up on a street sign with a butchers hook looked like it had been there for a fair while got a pic off it but best not post it ... did you see many pigs /roos on your trip ?
 
Always a pleasure looking at the pics from your field trips! Thanks for sharing, cheers, Brad
 
Great photos! And an epic trip in a little car!
 
Mate what an awesome trip,i would love to do the same some time.
Crystal clear pics mate,thanks for sharing,good thread.
 
Top quality as always Dave.
You did great with the night life but did you see any diurnal herps?
Did you see what mouth colour the spiney-tail had?
I only recently got back from SW Qld as well, I'll post some pics from the trip soon.
 
Great work as usual! Fantastic array of geckos, I love the look of that Northern Spiny Tail, what a cracker!
Looking forward to the rest of the pics.
 
Great photos David, you have a good knack of finding lots of geckos. Shame about the DOR schraderi.
I look forward to seeing the rest of the photos.

Aaron
 
Thanks, everyone. I am glad the the photos are enjoyed.

Tim, I have been "forced" to use 12 weeks of leave this year so I have plenty of trips planned. I have another post that will show the diurnals.

Dan, a 4x4 will be useful. I am looking forward to photos from your outback trips.

kcustoms, I saw many feral goats and a few pigs. There were masses of kangaroos and wallabies in some areas. There were kangaroos lining both sides of the road a little north of Charleville one night. I could only drive at 50/60kph so that I could avoid the inevitable leap onto the road. I managed to hit a small wallaby during the day when it suddenly appeared in front of me at about 9am. The wallaby was killed and I did a little damage to the bumper.

thanks, Levis, Brad, jessie, Brettix, Ryan and Aaron.

Serpentes, I used to own a Pajero but I far prefer these little cars for the long trips. They are so much more economical and I really don't like driving on rough gravel or dirt roads anyway.


Jordo, your assumption was correct. I mis-identified the Strophurus. It really is S. krisalys rather than S. ciliaris, due to the blue mouth lining. Looking forward to your pics.

Here are a few more pics:
Strophuruskrisalys4.jpg


Oedura_marmorata6.jpg


Lucasium_immaculatum7.jpg


... "growling"
Nephrurus_asper10.jpg


Nephrurus_asper9.jpg




Regards,
David
 
ALL of those photos are amazing! I love the northern spiny tail, reminds me of an eccentric old man.
 
Great pics...and all done in a hyundai getz!! Goes to show we don't all need Hummers to see the bush:)
 
Wow Dave your pics are great ..what amazes me even more is HOW CLEAN YOUR CAR IS ...considering where you were ...and you had no worries driving that little car around that type of area?
so any snake pics at all?
 
Thanks, all.

redbelly, I only saw 2 Curl Snakes, 1 DOR Black-headed Python and 3 DOR Brown Snakes on the trip. For whatever reason, snakes did not seem to be active at the moment. Maybe they are awaiting the wet which should commence in another month or so.


I recently bought the Getz for these trips. I have used them often as hire cars and really like their performance and economy. I think of these as "disposable" cars. They are cheap, reliable and fuel efficient but when they wear out, they can be easily replaced. I used to use a Pajero but would never buy one of those expensive, thirsty beasts again. I don't really like travelling on rough roads anyway.


Regards,
David
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top