Hi all,

Been a while, so I thought I'd send another email out. I trust you are all in good health.

Around Shute Harbour the other day I managed to find a healthy population of Bynoe's Geckoes (Heteronotia binoei.) These are great little critters, they have sharp little claws and practically no adhesive pads. Most geckoes have adhesive pads to help them climb. This species is mostly found in dry areas, so finding them on the coast at Shute was a surprise. I had only seen them in the deserts of Central Australia and the other side of the Dividing Range here in Queensland until now.

This skink was racing around under my parked car, so I caught her for some pictures. No common name, it is either a female Carlia vivax, but more likely a Carlia pectoralis. The females of the two mentioned species are very similar, except for the fine details of the scales. I need to go through the photos with a fine tooth comb so I can be sure. Rainbow Skinks are a tropical group, with only one species reaching northern Vic. Males of the various species put on spectacular breeding costumes during the summer breeding season, usually blues, greens, reds and blacks. Rainbow Skinks have the odd habit of hunting with their tails held high, waving them from side to side like an agitated cat. I'm yet to figure out the reason for this.

On my street the other night, some movement in the gutter caught my eye. In the dark I could not quite see what was going on - I assumed it was a snake of sorts, so I reached down and picked it up. It turned out to be a snake indeed - a Blind Snake. After some fussing about, I decided it must be Ramphotyphlops grammaticus (no common name.) Like other blind snakes, these live underground feeding on the larvae of insects- usually ants. They only emerge at night. Absolutely harmless and incapable of biting a human, they are safe to handle. They do prod and poke hands that are holding them with a sharp spur on the tail tip. It doesn't hurt, the spur is used to anchor the snake so it can push itself into the ground.

Boofhead, one of our star crocs on the Safari has been up to no good. Note the freshly skinned edge of his mouth. Fighting often involves crocs bashing their heads together, resulting in such injuries. Boofhead seems OK, he's still smiling...

With the bit of heavy rain we had, frogs have been active. This is a Northern Laughing Tree Frog (Litoria rothii.)

And this is a Little Red Frog (Litoria rubella.)

On Wednesday I drove south to the Clarke Range, near Eungella NP. I based myself at Platypus Bush Camp, owned by Wazza, a friend of mine. Rain had raised the level of the streams and creeks in the area, many were muddy. I went for a walk to Finch Hatton Gorge. On the walk, in a soak I heard the sharp, rapid "Tinking" of the Eungella Tinker Frog (Taudactylus liemi.) I could not find any, they would stop calling when I was less than four metres away. There is a creek on the edge of the National Park that borders private property - I'm not sure of the status of the creek- whether or not is is part of the Park, or half of it or whatever- [I'll check with QPWS before I can officially put the photos on my site.] I had a look near the road and found a real prize...

This is a Eungella Torrent Frog (Taudactylus eungellensis.) These frogs truly are remarkable. The group Taudactylus belongs to a family of frogs that are essentially land frogs. Frogs from the Taudactylus group are unique in the family in that they have suction pads on the fingers and toes. By the way, Taudactylus literally means "T- Fingered" (They have a T shape under each pad.) Six species were originally described from this group - one on the Sunshine Coast, one near Gladstone, two in the Clarke Range and two in the Cooktown-Townsville area. Three species died since being described (all in undistrurbed, protected habitats!) The only three that remain are the two in the Clarke Range and the one near Gladstone (T. pleione.)

Because of the fast water, they cannot effectively call to each other. There is a call but it is near impossible to hear. Males instead communicate by head-bobbing, hopping distinctively and waving their arms! Only one other frog- from South America is known to do this.

Habitat.

When I got back to the bush camp, I heard a familiar "Warrrk...grunt..." sound. Wazza had told me that he has a Great Barred Frog near his office, but I had never been able to find him. He was calling this night, so I found him and got some shots.

The Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus) is from a group of frogs found in rainforests from Cooktown to the Victorian border, and New Guinea. They are all large, about the size of a large lemon and dwell in leaf litter. Typically, males call from under the leaf litter for females. They lay eggs in fast flowing streams, and some species will take two years to go from egg to frog!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this and I trust you have a happy Christmas and a great new year, if I don't get in touch before then.

[Read more on the Taudactylus species on Frogs Australia Network's Taudactylus page.]

[See more photos on frogs.org.au on their Taudactylus search.]

Cheers

-Nathan