Eastern And Western Cape , January 2012

[Fooble]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments nice to see you guys appreciate it.
We really had a great trip and we were lucky enough to find a nice array of species.

Tony we were very chuffed with the berg adder, not sure if you now exact locations but i shall PM you with a google earth image , we thought the particular area was good and bang on in the open the little bugger was sitting.
The afternoon spent at your place must have been good karma for finding the Dwarf Bitis finds.
Thanks again for taking some time out to share some of your knowledge and observations with us it was much appreciated.
Yes the pool near the bridge spent many hours there indeed!

The Southern Ghost frog we found at night by driving up the pass, it was just walking along a moist moss covered bank. Easy to grab which was great.
"This species is endemic to the coastal mountain ranges of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, from the Huis and Pederberg Rivers in the Outeniqua Mountains in the west, eastwards along the Tsitsikamma and Kareedouw mountain ranges to the Krom River Forest Reserve in the east. Its altitudinal range is 230-790m asl."

Interestingly the tad poles can take up to two years to become fully developed into small frog lets.

I seemed to omit these two images from the main topic

Trachylepis capensis - Cape Skink


Hyperolius marmoratus verisocus - Painted Reed Frog ( Southern Sub species)

[Scavenger]

All of you are aware myself and Fooble made a trip through the Eastern Cape and part of the Western Cape heading through from Durban to George. The scenery in which we had the pleasure of driving through was fantastic. This is the second time we have done such a trip, as it is already necessary for me to get to George for my studies. We moved from the relatively moist KZN coast through into mountainous grasslands heading towards one of South Africa’s largest biomes the Nama karoo. Where the landscape seemed to change before your very eyes which I found absolutely incredible. As already mentioned we made it an 8day trip with 32 Reptile and Amphibian species in total. With some other interesting sights such as the Bat Eared Foxes. We had the pleasure of meeting JKA who showed us around and pointed us in the right direction for herps and among other things such as banana peels and Chicken pieces , we also had an opportunity to meet Armata who told us some fabulous stories about his snake research and past experiences which was very humbling to hear from a legend in the industry which I hope to be involved in one day.


So let me begin with some scenery shots.









And now onto better things starting with the Chelonian Family
Marsh Terrapin Pelomedusa subrufa


Leopard Tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis


Angulate Tortoise Cherisna angulata


Then onto the Gekkonidae Family
Spotted Thick Toed Gecko Pachydactylus maculatus


Bibron's Tubercled Gecko Chondrodactylus bibronii


Cape Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus capensis


Other Lizards
Blue Spotted Girdled Lizard Cordylus coeruleopunctatus


Western Rock Skink Trachylepis sulcata


Ground Agama Agama aculeata


Knysna Dwarf Chameleon Bradypodion damaranum


Little Karoo Dwarf Chameleon Bradypodion gutturale


Then the Snakes which included a lot of lifers for me
Cape Coral Snake Aspidelaps lubricus Tyrone already mentioned about this spp shamming death was a very intrigueing observation. This one was a big Lifer for me






Cape Cobra Naja Nivea




Boomslang Dispholidus typus


Puff Adder Bitis arietans


Mole Snake Pseudaspis cana


Red-lipped Herald Snake Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia


Common Slug Eater Dubberia lutrix


Olive Snake Lycodonomorphus inornatus




And obviously I couldn't forget about the Berg Adder find, which had to be the find of the trip
Berg Adder Bitis atropos






Then finally the Frogs which included a very cool frog that I've been looking for, for a whole year! Which also came as a surprise.
Boettger's Caco Cacosternum nanum


Cape River Frog Amietia fuscigula


Tandy's Sand Frog Tomopterna tandyi


Karoo Toad Vandijkophrynus gariepensis


Painted Reed Frog Hyperolius marmoratus subsp


Unfortunately or fortunately for the spider this reed frog got caught.


And finally the grail Southern Ghost Frog Heleophryne regis






Hope you enjoyed all the pics and Tyrone we must definitely plan a trip like this again.

[Fooble]

Sam your images are great!

It's interesting to me although we spot all the Sam stuff the different approaches to our own photographs does differ.
The scenery images are awesome ( now i bet everyone can tell who did all the driving )

Well done!

Is it just me or the angle is is that reed frog missing it's front leg? Can't believe you got that poor frog eaten ha ha!

Same time same place next year

[marc bt]

Dam guys!! looks like you had a rad trip!
What was the reaction like when you found the atropos?
Would love to do something like this one day soon.

[Mitton]

Great pics Sam, I really like the Ghost Frog and Berg Adder shots.

[Scavenger]

Thanks Eugene Marc it was a really cool find, found it just chilling in the open in a grass tussock honestly don't know how I spotted the bloody thing. But am super excited as this specimen was found roughly an hours hike from where I study so hopefully will find some more Tyrone only noticed that now very peculiar i think it's just the angle.

[Durban Keeper]

Sam the last berg adder shot is just too nice. I love the fact that with the atropus, lubricus, nivia ect u take a step back and take landscape shots, where the snake is very much present, but not the main focus of the image. Great job. You both shoot with very different styles indeed and have contributed greatly to the quality of this forum.