This short article is an account of some of the animals seen during the wet season of early 2007 in the Whitsunday Shire. These animals are definitely cute and cuddly. I am sure you will like the closeup photography, especially of the second section. Enjoy...

The first couple come from Dittmer, at the base of the Clarke Range to the west of the Whitsunday Islands. I was kindly invited to visit my co-worker Chris Bell on the Crocodile Safari at his residence. The old house in the rainforest had been invaded by Velvet Geckoes. I was very keen to photograph these, so I gladly took up the offer. As the sunlight faded, Asian House Geckoes (Hemidactylus frenatus) emerged first. Soon enough, a slightly different gecko emerged. I had a closer look and gently caught the creature. The different feel and the strong zig-zag pattern on the back immediately gave it away as the Zigzag Velvet Gecko (Oedura rhombodialis.) Like many geckoes, they do have a distinct "velvet" feel about them.

A much larger gecko snuck around the lights. I also caught this one and took some photos. The smaller mouth and general heavy build revealed that it was a Tree Dtella (Gehyra dubia.)

Many geckoes have large expanded pads on their fingers and toes. These have "sticky" lamellae under them, used to grip to almost any surface- including glass! The claws would be a backup of sorts. Ground dwelling geckoes generally have very reduced or absent pads.

Geckoes, like many other animals can change colour using special cells called chromatophores. These contain colours and the animal can vastly change its colour by expanding or contracting these cells.

One of my favourite creatures is the native tarantula with no common name- simply Coremiocnemis tropix. Recently discovered and described, it is common in the vine thickets of the Whitsundays. During the Wet season in particular, these spiders wander around, often coming into houses.

A good profile of a smallish one, about the size of a business card. They (apparently,) and related species can reach about CD size.

In defensive posture. These spiders are from a group often called the "primitive" spiders. Their fangs do not pinch together- instead point down. To bite, they must rear up in this manner. Funnel Web Spiders and Trapdoors also belong to this group.

The fangs are stored in grooves, and can be folded down ready for action. The fangs by the way are larger than most Australian snakes' fangs! Also very, very strong and sharp. The bite of this species is very painful, but fortunately no serious symptoms have yet been recorded. Dogs and cats, however die within an hour of a bite.

-NL