Wollongong, NSW -- Phyllurus platurus

moloch · #1 04-12-2006, 06:53 PM

In early January, I found a few Southern Leaf-tailed Geckos (Phyllurus platurus) on rocks near the summit of Mt. Kiera (Wollongong, NSW). I failed to find them, however, on visits later in the month and again in February. Last night, I decided to try again. The day had been unseasonably hot (33C) and the evening was warm although not humid as in the summer. This time, I encountered 7 Leaf-tailed Geckos. The geckos were usually in or near vertical cracks in the sandstone. Those that had emerged tended to stand head downward near the base of their rock. I have seen others do this before and according to my references, they do this to ambush animals as they walk by below.

Here are photos of 6 different geckos:

This one had emerged from a crevice beneath an overhanging block a couple of meters above me. It was standing head downwards. I have included this photo as an example of the sort of place where the geckos live.

This was a large adult. It never emerged from the crevice during the hour that I spent searching the rocks.

DDReptiles · #2 04-12-2006, 06:57 PM

Very Nice, wish I could find those herp hunting

chahoua · #3 04-12-2006, 07:07 PM

Great shots!

Thanks for sharing pictures of Phyllurus in their natural habitat.

Ken Bartenfeld · #4 04-12-2006, 08:05 PM

Oh yea, nice nice shots!

We always wait for your pics I am sure! I know I do!

One of those has such a wide tail compaired to the rest...maybe he/she eats better?

Magpie · #5 04-12-2006, 09:51 PM

Nice pics.
How do you go about finding leaf tails?
I have an area near me that I want to check out (I did one night, but as we got over 300mm of rain that night, the only herps I saw were frogs).
Do you use a torch and look for eye-shine?

moloch · #6 04-13-2006, 03:18 AM

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.

Ken,
I am not sure whether the tail width reflects how well the geckos feed. I know that the tail is variable in some of the northern Phyllurus so perhaps there is variation with Southern (Broad-tailed) Leaf-tailed Gecko as well. There seemed to be plenty of invertebrates on the rocks including crickets, ****roaches and spiders.

Craig,
I have never seen eye shine from the leaf-tails. I find the geckos by slowing walking along the rocks and scanning into crevices or looking near the base of the rocks. Sometimes the geckos are on the ground and can be heard rustling through the leaf litter. They don't move much on the rock faces so can be hard to spot.

Good luck up north. Who knows, maybe you will get lucky and find a new species. I read that two species, P. nepthys and P. gulbaru, were discovered in the last 8 years. There must be others on some of those seldom visited peaks.

Magpie · #7 04-13-2006, 05:37 AM

Yeah, from what I've read, in some areas there is expected to be a diferent species on each mountain, seperated by the valleys / lowlands.
Slow walking eh? Sounds like I may need to develop some patience.