Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

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BeMoreAssertive
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Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by BeMoreAssertive »

Here are a few of the herps I saw while staying in Oahu for a week.

The only native herp I saw: Green sea turtles basking on the north shore.

Image"What do you want to do today?" "I dunno, what do you want to do today?" by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

There were five of them in a small area closed off by rope and a woman who must have worked for the parks department or something as she answered questions. Apparently they bask in this area with regularity.

ImageTurtles with more awestruck viewers by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

Surprisingly, people were allowed to splash around in the water right behind the turtle.

ImageTurtle with meddling beachgoers by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

Farther down the beach, there was a lone turtle grazing, unperturbed by the constant waves: ImageTurtle getting hit by the surf by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

And now for the most abundant herp by far: everyone's favorite invader, the brown anole.

ImageAloha sagrei by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

I'm from the lizard-deficient northeast so even though this species isn't considered terribly exciting for most, I still photographed and observed nearly everyone I saw.

ImageBasil anole, but not a basal anole Ha ha ha by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

There is also a fair amount of dorsal pattern variation in this species. This pattern's my favorite.
ImageDiamondback by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

This guy happened to display in the sunlight, allowing his dewlap to really shine.
ImageLizard doing the neck thing again. by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

The good ole green anole was found on higher perches and less abundant, although they could just be harder to spot higher up.
Image1. Feeling fine by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

The only frog I took pictures of was Dendrobates auratus, although I did see a few cane toads and a single japanese wrinkled frog in a manmade pond in an arboretum. The dart frogs were surprisingly skittish. I always found them on bromeliads. You could also find tadpoles in many of the bromeliads as well.

ImageLittle frog big bromeliad by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

The variation in patterning in this species is also pretty striking.
ImageHunting for not mosquitoes by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

ImageStill not hunting mosquitoes by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

But my favorite reptile by far was the gold dust day gecko. They're so pretty! And extremely abundant in certain areas.

ImageSobe by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

And the hatchlings were so cute!
ImageReally cute! by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

ImageWow! Look at that lizard! by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

ImageSo cute! by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

Image15 minutes could save you 15% or more by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

ImageBamboo by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

This gecko was particularly bold, hanging around the bathrooms and letting people get really close. It crawled into a garbage can to lap up some green tea.
ImageHe likes green tea. by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

Unfortunately there weren't many nocturnal geckos around the house I was staying at and I don't have any pictures except this one, taken during the day surprisingly:

ImageWhy can't I be pretty? by Johann Sioux, on Flickr

I think it's Lepidodactylus lugubris, but anyone else know?

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to look for chameleons or skinks. I also would have liked to try to find the other species of day gecko, although I heard they're not as widespread as the gold dusts. Anyway, if you'd like to see the rest of my pictures you can do so here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johannsio ... 531044813/
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chris_mcmartin
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by chris_mcmartin »

BeMoreAssertive wrote:I think it's Lepidodactylus lugubris, but anyone else know?
I think you're right.

Great photos (and image file titles..."15%..."). :lol:
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umop apisdn
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by umop apisdn »

Yup, that's a mourning gecko. I saw quite a few of them at Diamondhead Crater. I'm jealous of the day geckos!
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El Garia
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by El Garia »

Nice post,,, I like seeing what people are finding in The Islands.

It's a real bummer seeing what's become established in Hawai'i, but they're beautiful animals, nonetheless
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orionmystery
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by orionmystery »

Very nice...love the gold dust day gecko!
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by Mike VanValen »

Great photography! I have a friend who lives out there and keeps bugging me to fly out...
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Calfirecap
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by Calfirecap »

Great photos! Were the auratus fairly common?
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Ribbit
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by Ribbit »

Very fun post -- I laughed out loud at a few of the captions. Loved the photos too, especially the beautiful day geckos.

John
BeMoreAssertive
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by BeMoreAssertive »

Thanks for all the ID/comments, guys! And I'm glad I could make a couple of you laugh!
Calfirecap wrote:Great photos! Were the auratus fairly common?
I'd say they were fairly common, and at least for one or two individuals, they were still hanging around the same bromeliad on two different days. If you look around bromeliads when it's damp out I'd say you're pretty likely to find them, but maybe I just got lucky!
El Garia wrote:It's a real bummer seeing what's become established in Hawai'i, but they're beautiful animals, nonetheless
Yeah it's an interesting situation, apparently only one of the chameleons preys upon endemic tree snails while the rest eat introduced insects so their effect is seemingly benign. Ecological consequences aside, I think it's quite the deal to see Phelsuma from Madagascar while still in the US. A cheaper plane ticket for sure!
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jason folt
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Re: Oahu: Sea turtles, anoles, day geckos, oh my!

Post by jason folt »

Really cool. I spent a month on Oahu in 2011 and had fun looking for the same critters. I was able to see all 3 day geckos, but with a lot of work. I had a hell of a time finding the auratus though and did not find them common at all.

Thanks for sharing,

Jason
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