moloch
New member
It is autumn in Wollongong and the temperatures are dropping. This past week , however, was warm with a few humid nights. I decided to walk up into the hills and visit a Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko (Phyllurus platurus) colony that I have watched for a few years. On my first visit, I only saw a single gecko but on the second, I found two. These lizards are so cryptically coloured that it is possible to walk right by them even when they are standing on an open rock face.
In this area, I almost always find the geckos on rock outcrops within eucalyptus forest. Here are a couple of examples of the gecko habitat:
This individual had its original tail. It was initially standing head-downwards at the base of a boulder. This seems to be typical of these geckos when they are hunting. In this photo, the gecko had shifted a little and was working its way towards a crevice.
... the tail:
... a closeup of the tail:
This gecko had a regenerated tail:
As I walked along, I saw a slight movement on a rock face. It took me awhile to finally spot the animal. When it pressed itself tightly against the rock, it was very easy to miss. It had recently lost its tail and was just beginning to regenerate a new one:
A night walk is always interesting since there are plenty of animals to see. I hear the yapping of Sugar Gliders each night but they usually are hard to spot in the treetops. Last night, a Brush-tailed Possum bounded away and harshly scolded me from a tree. Further along, I heard something moving in a tree above me and then found this cute Common Ring-tailed Possum.
I imagine that the geckos and some of the larger spiders compete for food on the rock faces. Spiders like this are a frequent site near crevices:
Crickets are frequent on the rocks. The most common is this small species:
... sometimes I see these that remind a little of Camel Crickets:
These big predaceous crickets are also a frequent sight. I think that they are King Crickets. The female regurgitated an absolutely rank smelling fluid on my fingers.
... female (during day):
... male:
Here is a mystery photo from the day in the same area. I wonder if anyone can recognize what is behind the branches?
Regards,
David
In this area, I almost always find the geckos on rock outcrops within eucalyptus forest. Here are a couple of examples of the gecko habitat:
This individual had its original tail. It was initially standing head-downwards at the base of a boulder. This seems to be typical of these geckos when they are hunting. In this photo, the gecko had shifted a little and was working its way towards a crevice.
... the tail:
... a closeup of the tail:
This gecko had a regenerated tail:
As I walked along, I saw a slight movement on a rock face. It took me awhile to finally spot the animal. When it pressed itself tightly against the rock, it was very easy to miss. It had recently lost its tail and was just beginning to regenerate a new one:
A night walk is always interesting since there are plenty of animals to see. I hear the yapping of Sugar Gliders each night but they usually are hard to spot in the treetops. Last night, a Brush-tailed Possum bounded away and harshly scolded me from a tree. Further along, I heard something moving in a tree above me and then found this cute Common Ring-tailed Possum.
I imagine that the geckos and some of the larger spiders compete for food on the rock faces. Spiders like this are a frequent site near crevices:
Crickets are frequent on the rocks. The most common is this small species:
... sometimes I see these that remind a little of Camel Crickets:
These big predaceous crickets are also a frequent sight. I think that they are King Crickets. The female regurgitated an absolutely rank smelling fluid on my fingers.
... female (during day):
... male:
Here is a mystery photo from the day in the same area. I wonder if anyone can recognize what is behind the branches?
Regards,
David
