Creature Feature (many pictures)

[rvanhuyssteen]

I have not posted anything in some time. I have been traveling a lot. Here are some photos of reptiles, frogs and the odd arachnid.

Enjoy!
KZN

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) - Sodwana


Eastern Tiger Snake (Telescopus semiannulatus) - Mkuze


Trachylepis striata - Mkuze


Mozambique Rain Frog (Breviceps mossambicus) - Mkuze


Twig Snake (Thelotornis capensis) - Mkuze


Snoring Puddle Frog (Phrynobatrachus natalensis) - Ongoye


Tinker Reed Frog (Hyperolius tuberilinguis) - Umlalazi


Water Lily Frog (Hyperolius pusillus) - Umlalazi


South African Slug-eater (Duberria lutrix lutrix) - Howick


Greater Leaf-folding Frog (Afrixalus fornasinii) - Durban


Brown Water Snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus) - Durban


KwaZulu Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion melanocephalum) - Durban


Bibron's Stiletto Snake (Atractaspis bibronii) - Durban


Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) - Durban


Gauteng

Cape Skink (Trachylepis capensis) - Suikerbosrand


Marsh Terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) - Johannesburg


Common Girdled Lizard (Cordylus vittifer) - Johannesburg


Limpopo

Flatdog (Crocodylus niloticus) - Welgevonden


Spotted Sand Lizard (Pedioplanis lineoocellata) - Welgevonden


Variable Skink (Trachylepis varia) - Welgevonden


Herald Snake (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia) - Welgevonden


Speckled Rock Skink (Trachylepis punctatissima) - Welgevonden


Short-snouted Grass Snake (Psammophis brevirostris) - Welgevonden


Cape Centipede Eater (Aparallactus capensis) - Welgevonden


Schlegel's Beaked Blind Snake (Megatyphlops schlegelii) - Welgevonden



Waterberg Flat Lizard (Platysaurus minor) - Masebe


Bushveld Rain Frog (Breviceps adspersus subsp. adspersus) - Masebe


Speke's Hinged Tortoise (Kinixys spekii) - Masebe


Sundevall's Writhing Skink (Mochlus sundevallii) - Masebe


Waterberg Girdled Lizard (Smaug breyeri) - Masebe


Dwarf Sand Snake (Psammophis angolensis) - Masebe


Rear horned baboon spider (Ceratogyrus darlingi) - Masebe


Parabuthus mossambicensis - Masebe


Opistophthalmus glabrifrons - Masebe


Watched this solifuge kill another. It kept attacking the one from a position underneath the abdomen close to the head area. Eventually it killed the other and ran off with it. Quite a sighting!


Parabuthus transvaalicus - Masebe


Spotted Rock Snake (Lamprophis guttatus) eating Waterberg Girdled Lizard (Smaug breyeri) - Masebe



Common egg-eater (Dasypeltis scabra) - Masebe


The Boss. Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) - Masebe


Flap-necked Chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis) - Masebe


Red Toad (Schismaderma carens) - Soutpansberg


Natal Sand Frog (Tomopterna natalensis) - Soutpansberg


Wahlberg's Velvet Gecko (Homopholis wahlbergii) - Soutpansberg


Peter's Ground Agama (Agama armata) - Soutpansberg


Yellow-Throated Plated Lizard (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis) - Soutpansberg


Bibron's Stilleto Snake (Atractaspis bibronii) - Soutpansberg


Western Stripe-bellied Sandsnake (Psammophis subtaeniatus) - Soutpansberg


Natal Rock Python (Python natalensis) - Soutpansberg


Soutpansberg Flat Lizard (Platysaurus relictus) - Soutpansberg


Soutpansberg Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus ocellatus subsp. soutpansbergensis) - Soutpansberg


Flat Girdled Lizard (Smaug warreni subsp. depressus) - Soutpansberg



Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) - Soutpansberg


Giant Plated Lizard (Gerrhosaurus validus) - Soutpansberg


Unknown Afroedura species - Soutpansberg


Unknown Afroedura Species - Soutpansberg


Zimbabwe Flat Gecko (Afroedura transvaalica) - Soutpansberg


Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) - Soutpansberg


Turner's Tubercled Gecko (Chondrodactylus turneri) - Soutpansberg


Turner's Tubercled Gecko (Chondrodactylus turneri) - Makuleke/Pafuri


Afroedura transvaalica - Makuleke/Pafuri


Southern African Rock Python (Python natalensis) - Makuleke/Pafuri


Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis) - Makuleke/Pafuri


Western Stripe-bellied Sand Snake (Psammophis subtaeniatus) eating Trachylepis varia - Makuleke/Pafuri




Heligmomerus (possibly the most aggressive/defensive animal I have come across). - Makuleke/Pafuri


Speckled Gecko (Pachydactylus punctatus) - The Klasserie


Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis) - The Klasserie


Northern Pygmy Toad (Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti) - The Klasserie


Thanks for looking.

[Mitton]

This post is fantastic, so many species and some great sightings. That Spotted Rock Snake eating the Lizard is great!!

Thanks for sharing.

[reptile]

Fabulous, amazing pictures, love the egg eater, it has amazing colors. The spotted rock snake is also a grate find. Nice selection!

[jka]

Great Post! Many Pictures is a understatement

[Kennyakagera]

Some stunning pictures and amazing sighting... Thanks for posting these pictures, where in Mkhuze did you find these nice critters ? Just driving or active searching ?

Cheers and good job !

Kenny.

[Westley Price]

Awesome post man, best in weeks!

All the predation pics are awesome, but let's be honest, they're all great.

Regarding P. punctatus, I spoke to Aaron Bauer a few weeks back when he visited Namibia; I recall he mentioned punctatus will be split into 6 different species. I always though the distribution and amount of different habitat is too varied for a single species.

[Jamster]

One of the nicest collections of indigenous photos I have seen on the forum! You almost have a field guide there, haha. Really awesome

[rvanhuyssteen]

Thanks for the replies and general enthusiasm.

There are only a few from Mkuze. I was working in Zululand Rhino Reserve during the early part of winter of this year and just ran into them. I had absolutely no time to do any active searching there. The rest were found actively searching or just by being in the right place at the right time.

It will be interesting to see which species this P. punctatus will be.

[Nick Evans]

Awesome post!

The Spotted Rock Snake eating that Girdled Lizard was an amazing sighting! Nice photos too!

Seeing Black Mambas in the wild is a real privilege. The one from Masebe looks like it was a really nice sighting.

[rvanhuyssteen]

I have been lucky with Black Mambas this year, have already seen five in the wild since the first of January. That one at Masebe was the best though. I was walking with a group of about 18 people and the snake moved slowly over the rocks and went under a big boulder. It just laid there and everyone who wanted to get a closer look and a photo was able to. The snake was very relaxed.

The spotted house snake was very lucky. I knew I was going to see something special when I saw that girdled lizard just hanging there.

[Scavenger]

Ryan guessing you were helping out with WEI at Welgevonden? some very nice finds there, I was hoping to use your photo of the Psammophis brevirostris ? believe it or not but that's the first photo I've seen of the species on the reserve and that now confirms it occurs here and I'll add it to the growing list. Regards Sam

[The real Rory]

Stunning photos, some amazing finds!!! got to love Africa

[Kev]

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing!

[Joshhowell94]

Awesome post and I love all the pictures! Please keep them coming:)