moloch
New member
Nicholas and I left Wollongong on the Windorah trip at 4:30am. We drove to Mt. Kaputar National Park in northern New South Wales where we walked for three hours. We then continued on to Moonie, Queensland, waited for dark and then set off on a night drive through remnant patches of brigalow. Much of the brigalow belt has been cleared for agriculture or grazing. I would like to thank Danny (Geckodan) for suggesting a route that encompassed some of the remaining patches of forest.
We drove until about 1am and then set up our tent in the Glenmorgan area. This was our first exposure to brigalow and it certainly looks like great herping habitat. We found several interesting species although we failed to find a Woma (a python) which was at the top of our a wish list for the trip.
Here are a few shots of the brigalow near our campsite.
This road was particularly good. We found a Golden-tailed Gecko and Box-patterned Gecko in this area.
The highlight of the evening was finding a beautiful Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda). The gecko appeared to be warming itself on the road when we first encountered it. We found this gecko quite late, about 12:30am.
We only encountered a single Eastern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus williamsi). This particular animal was very pale with few black markings. It looked quite different to those from the Warrumbungles. Does anyone know if this colour-pattern is typical of those from the brigalow?
Not far from the golden-tail was this gorgeous Box-patterned Gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri). It was a richly coloured lizard and I think one of the nicest of the genus Diplodactylus.
We saw Tessallated Geckos (Diplodactylus tessellatus) a few times.
Eastern Stone Geckos (Diplodactylus vittatus) were variable in pattern. Some were pale like this one:
Others, however, were much darker. I think that these are quite stricking with the broad, straight-edged dorsal stripe. They remind me a little of photos that I have seen of Diplodactylus granarius rex from Western Australia.
We found two Beaked Geckos (Rhynchoedura ornata).
Common Dtella (Gehyra variegata) were recorded twice.
This little skink was on the road shortly after dark. It is a member of the genus Lerista and I think it to be L. punctatovittatus. Members of this genus are numerous in Australia but I always have a hard time finding them. They are burrowers and most prolific in the sands of Western Australia.
We drove until about 1am and then set up our tent in the Glenmorgan area. This was our first exposure to brigalow and it certainly looks like great herping habitat. We found several interesting species although we failed to find a Woma (a python) which was at the top of our a wish list for the trip.
Here are a few shots of the brigalow near our campsite.
This road was particularly good. We found a Golden-tailed Gecko and Box-patterned Gecko in this area.
The highlight of the evening was finding a beautiful Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda). The gecko appeared to be warming itself on the road when we first encountered it. We found this gecko quite late, about 12:30am.
We only encountered a single Eastern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus williamsi). This particular animal was very pale with few black markings. It looked quite different to those from the Warrumbungles. Does anyone know if this colour-pattern is typical of those from the brigalow?
Not far from the golden-tail was this gorgeous Box-patterned Gecko (Diplodactylus steindachneri). It was a richly coloured lizard and I think one of the nicest of the genus Diplodactylus.
We saw Tessallated Geckos (Diplodactylus tessellatus) a few times.
Eastern Stone Geckos (Diplodactylus vittatus) were variable in pattern. Some were pale like this one:
Others, however, were much darker. I think that these are quite stricking with the broad, straight-edged dorsal stripe. They remind me a little of photos that I have seen of Diplodactylus granarius rex from Western Australia.
We found two Beaked Geckos (Rhynchoedura ornata).
Common Dtella (Gehyra variegata) were recorded twice.
This little skink was on the road shortly after dark. It is a member of the genus Lerista and I think it to be L. punctatovittatus. Members of this genus are numerous in Australia but I always have a hard time finding them. They are burrowers and most prolific in the sands of Western Australia.
