All Over Namibia

[Westley Price]

I am spending quite a lot of time in Namibia so thought I'd share some finds.

Nothing fancy, but I appreciate others' pics so I thought I'd reciprocate.

Python natalensis





Molchus sundevalli



Pachydactylus punctatus (grey phase)



Amietophrynus poweri....I think. It lacked the pink hind legs, but I couldn't think of any other possibilities.



Bitis arietans



Hatchling Lygodactylus bradfieldi



Telescopus semiannulatus



Aspidelaps scutatus





Unknown Trachylepis. I think this is T. binotata



And lastly just an interesting observation. These two mantis would sit in the same spider web every night and steal the spider's haul. They are quite well camoed among those leaves.

[Scavenger]

Wow some nice finds there Westley, would love to travel up to Namibia some time

[froot]

Thanks for the pics, nice shot of the python.
I've never heard of mantids swiping spiders' food from their webs, thanks for that too.

[nvlooi]

Nice finds, that is definitely T.binotata.

How big was the T. beetzii?

[Westley Price]

Thanx for the comments guys.

Nvlooi, that is T. semiannulatus, not T. beetzi.

It was probably somewhere between 700mm to 800mm. Quite large.

I'm unablet o drive at night due to company policies, so I'm just finding loads of DOR every morning.

Also got a few Striped Skaapstekers.

[nvlooi]

My bad

[Pythonodipsas]

Awesome pics Westley! What camera are you using?

I also thought that was T.binotata (Ovambo tree skink), but it also leans toward Kalahari tree skink (T. spilogaster) - Im not sure but i think they both occur in your area? was it Grootfontein?

[Westley Price]

Ja it's from around Grootfontein. About 50km north east.

I think it's slightly out of the range of T. binotata, but maybe it's just an outlier or something. I also first thought T. spilogaster, but I think it's supposed to have light longitudinal stripes which this animal lacks.

I was using my old Olympus "mik-en-druk." Nothing fancy.

[Silvrav]

Westley, you making me miss home what a great place!

You must let me know if you want to go fishing. Can get the family to show you good spots.

[RustyJusty]

Im quite jealous, great sightings there..pity about the DOR's but thats common place in areas of high reptile density and long roads with high travelling speeds!

I leave for Namibia on the 30th of Nov and return to Jhb on the 13th of Dec...its my first trip to the country and actually a birding based one, but I am a serial twitcher and looking forward to picking up a number of new reptile and mammal species too...

Im still getting use to this forum (my first post as one can see)...and want to know where the best place is to ask for some tips on where to source species in Central and Northern Nam as well as the Caprivi as this is where we will be travelling for the 2 weeks....

Cheers,

Justin

[Nineve]

Nice!! I want to go there one day.

That is where urucone grew up.

[Silvrav]

source species in Central and Northern Nam as well as the Caprivi as this is where we will be travelling for the 2 weeks....

Cheers,

Justin

By source, I hope you not meaning by capturing and keeping? Most wild life and plants in namibia is off limits and endangered. You can get a serious fine and jail time if found in possession of wild life.

[RustyJusty]

Silvrav, thanks for the expressed concern but I have no intention on doing anything more than photographing the various species of fauna and flora.

I am a BSc Zoology student at Rhodes University, and am well aware of the wrong doings regarding the keeping and breeding of indigenous reptiles and the like.

I'm just looking for hints and tips as to where I may come across species, like for instance the Cunene Racer, as I will be @ Kunene River Lodge for 2 days, as well as what lizards, snakes I should look out for at Spitzkoppe and the Dunes around Walvis an Swakopmund etc etc.

I just dont want to go on such a trip, and return to find out I missed out on some Crag Lizard that one only finds on a small patch of rocks in the Kamanjab camp site, which I would be staying at..if you know what I mean?!

Any help would be appreciated, as well as people to contact in Namibia who may be active herpers who could join on an outing or two!

Cheers,

Justin

[froot]

People may know where to send you to find some good herps but they would be nervous divulging this information. Regardless of weather there is a special locality of a particular species that is near you photograph every reptile you find and release it back where you found it. Field guides provide many clues so grab as many as you can and take them with to help ID the herps you find AND THEN please show us your photos
If you're going to Kunene then Python anchietae is the target species to find and please KEEP THE LOCALITLES TO YOURSELF. Sharing localities will most probably seal those animals' fate.

[RustyJusty]

Thanks Froot,

I appreciate the response...one thing that has always bothered me about herpitology, is the fairly understandable selfishness of many of us.

As mentioned, I find it understandable, as I am studying the degree I am, to try in some way preserve the reptiles of Southern Africa. What annoys me, and I am sure many of the herpers that are not in the 'well known croud' is that a lot of what we should have equal rights to laying eyes on, is kept from us because of the selfish few who can't obey fairly simple laws and procedures.

Anyway thats my Rant Over

I will obviusly try my best to find as many species as I can in the limited time, and would love to photograph the Anchieta's Python....as well as a number of others..one of the target mammals is going to be the Small-Spotted Cat...and the number of birds is actually rediculous, so the trip should be a fun but sleepless one!

As requested I will happily submit images one here, and assume its done in the same way as other forums, where I first upload images to for eg: photobucket and then paste URL's?

I also hoping that many of you will be able to help confirm and provide ID's for large amount of reptiles I've come across over the last few years.


Cheers,

Justin