Herping the Brigalow-belt, QLD

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Jesses Wildlife
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Herping the Brigalow-belt, QLD

Post by Jesses Wildlife »

For my first post on Field Herp Forum, I thought I'd share some finds from one of (in my opinion) the best places to herp in Australia, the Brigalow-belt region in Queensland. I have visited the region a couple of times in the past year and these are some of the species we have seen on the trips -

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Pale-headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bitorquatus). We were stoked to find our main target for the area active on a 17 degree night, something none of us expected.

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Dwyers Snake (Parasuta dwyeri). A small elapid that was a first for everyone on the trip!

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Brigalow Scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis). A rather uncommon Brigalow endemic. Two were found on this particular night.

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Box Patterned Gecko (Lucasium steindachneri). A very common species in the area.

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Lace Monitor (Varanus varius). Bells Phase. On one particular morning in the Brigalow, we would've seen close to 20 of these lizards on/near the road with a mix between both bells and normal forms

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Spotted Python (Antaresia maculosa). Two of these snakes were found sheltering under the same piece of tin.

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Yellow Spotted Monitor (Varanus panoptes). They have always been to quick for me to get photos in the past but I got to snap a few shots of this one when it ran up a tree.

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Tree Skink (Egernia striolata). Took me way to long to actually photograph one of these awesome skinks!

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Curl Snake (Suta suta). Although very common through central Australia, it wasn't until my 6th time herping their range that I found one!

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Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata). I can never get tired of finding Bearded Dragons!

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Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii). An unexpected find while walking around a dried up dam at night, and then we found another.

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Spotted Black Snake (Pseudechis guttatus). One of the more common large elapids in the area. Still yet to find an actual spotted one though.

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New Holland Frog (Cyclorana novaehollandiae). A large species of frog that can look similar to Cane Toads to the untrained eye, which was another species we found nearby.

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Tessellated Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus). A terrestrial species that won't move more then 100 metres of their birth site their entire life!

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Robust Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops ligatus). This is one of the only times a Blind Snake has sit still enough for me to take a photo.

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Barking Frog (Limnodynastes fletcheri). This lone frog was found sitting in the mud near an almost completely dried up pond in a major drought.

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A beautiful young Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) from our first trip to the Brigalow. This was the highlight of the trip and I haven't seen one since so I'm very keen to get back out there and get some better pics of one!

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Burns' Dragon (Amphibolorus burnsi). A very fast and alert dragon that is usually quite difficult to sneak up on.


Hope you enjoyed the first of (hopefully) many posts to come!
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Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
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Re: Herping the Brigalow-belt, QLD

Post by Kfen »

Thanks for posting. I always love seeing Australia posts. I am hoping to get there in the next couple of years.
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Jesses Wildlife
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Joined: February 6th, 2016, 11:31 pm
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Re: Herping the Brigalow-belt, QLD

Post by Jesses Wildlife »

let me know when you're here and we can go for a herp!
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Ameron
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Joined: June 10th, 2010, 5:57 pm
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Thanks from Pacific NW USA

Post by Ameron »

I can't tell you how much I enjoy posts like this.

I've been fortunate to have lived in 8 states in the USA, and I've seen Canada & Mexico briefly. However, since 1990, I've mostly been in a region that is often overcast & gloomy, with cool temperatures. You can count the number of reptile species seen around here on one hand.

At times, I got away to arid & desert regions where the landscape is more exposed & apparent, and the skies more sunny & clear. In June 2006, at Cabo San Lucas, I experienced a rare moment when a sea turtle came ashore at night to lay her eggs on a beach. What has saved my Herper soul has been infrequent excursions into Nevada, eastern Oregon and Washington, including the little-known Alvord Desert. A tiny spot in the SE corner of Oregon, it has Mojave Desert-like conditions, and reptile species usually found much farther south.

I've researched Australia & surrounding regions often, along with viewing travel documentaries - including one where two young men crossed the continent herping, with a detailed video log. I'm very familiar with many of your reptile species, and I've previously kept Spotted Pythons.

I wont' be lucky enough to be joining you two in Australia soon, but I can wish you the best and look forward to future posts where you were able to collaborate.

Shine on - Explorers & Discoverers!!
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