And the bush has friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him, In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, And at night the wonderous glory of the everlasting stars.

Banjo Paterson (1889)

Saturday, June 27, 2009

In From The Coast - Reptiles

During our late spring fauna surveys in Banksia woodland, we always catch some wonderful reptiles.



A beautiful Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snake (Brachyurophis fasciolata). I got into a bit of trouble over this snake from my employer Jen, because I let it go without showing it to her. It's an uncommon snake and she had never seen one before. I still occasionally remind her how fantastic it was!



To match the white sands of Banksia woodland, here's a light-coloured Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor).


I'm a stick, I'm a stick. You can't see me and I'm just a stick.





Another more common Brachyurophis species, a Southern Shovel-nosed Snake (Brachyurophis semifasciata).


What a beautiful colour and pattern on this harmless burrowing snake. Amazingly the two Brachyurophis species in Western Australia feed on reptile eggs.



The common Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus spinigerus) again, but this time the orange-eyed form inornatus.




This is another of my personal favourites, not a snake, but a harmless Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis). This one's a light coloured individual to match the coastal white sand. He's an ambush reptile hunter, so if you're a gecko, look out.

1 comment:

Stuart Price said...

Some great shots but I'll have nightmares thinking about those Mygalomorph spiders a couple of posts back.......