iHerp Australia Issue 13 | Page 3

The ‘Wrangler’ Writes... Hello and welcome to another issue of iHerp Australia – your premier FREE online herping resource! It’s great to see our subscription numbers rising steadily; if you enjoy the magazine please tell your friends. Heading into winter, most herpers with substantial collections will be thinking about what they hope to achieve next season, along with conducting important annual maintenance. It’s a good opportunity to change all your UV lights if you haven’t done so recently. We have a great line up of articles for you in this issue, starting with an excellent piece from Simon Fearn on snake bite in Tasmania and the early settlers’ interactions with the local elapids. It’s one of Simon’s pet topics and makes for fascinating reading. Then we travel to Alice Springs for a week to go field herping with four mates and tick off as many species as possible. Aussie reptiles are very popular in the US; Dr T. C. Houston is a dedicated breeder of blue-tongues in Denver, Colorado, and has contributed a report on a birthing event that took nearly two weeks! Of course, Ben Dessen is along, and on this occasion focusses his attention on enclosures, and how to choose what is best for your reptiles. Andrew Horlor is going to stir up some controversy with a well-constructed argument that we be allowed to keep some exotic species, and we hear firsthand from a keeper who recently experienced a serious bite from a Spotted Black Snake. Plus our US correspondent Vickie Lillo journeys to Costa Rica to investigate some amazing amphibians, and there is another instalment in our continuing series on historical herpetology; this time we look at the stellar but tragic career of Gerard Krefft. Finally, we have another update from one of our favourite conservation projects. The Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation is struggling to receive recognition from government authorities for its ground-breaking work with turtles on WA’s Coral Coast, and is desperate for support. There is merchandise and sponsorship options available on their website – please help them in any way you can. Happy Herping! John McGrath This case also demonstrates the uncertainty surrounding snake identification during the colonial period. Because of extensive variation in colour, particularly amongst Tiger Snakes, 60 and the use of interchangeable common names, it is often unclear as to the species in question. Early newspapers are full of editorial debates on the topic, and it was not widely accepted until the 1930s that W ater was poured from a height of 12 feet over his head, ammonia every five minutes to the nostrils, severe beatings on the back and the arms nettled.... iHerp Australia only three variable species occurred in the state - the water poured from a height of 12 feet over his head and Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus), the Lowlands neck every five minutes, ammonia every five minutes to Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) and the White-lipped the nostrils, severe beatings on the back (worthy to be Snake (Drysdalia coronoides). In 1930 Herbert Hedley remembered), the arms nettled, and ammonia rubbed in Scott, Curator of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art also on the spine. At 3 o'clock we looked hopelessly on Gallery in Launceston, appears to have lost patience with him; he was inanimate, and the heart’s action almost the endless debate about snake identity and wrote a long suspended. I told the men all depended on their exertions letter to the editor of the Examiner in which he supplies a and they were redoubled. At this stage a mustard plaister useful list of all the common names that had been was applied along the whole spine, and the feet placed in employed in the state. 68 Tiger Snakes were called hot water and mustard, this appeared to be the turning ‘brown-banded snakes’, ‘black ‘carpet point nd - he so evidently rallied; at about he knew in November 2018, Jack 5 o'clock numbers of Central Netted Dragons where snakes’ I felt we and were unlikely to se snakes’. There Copperheads called ‘superb his mother, and recognised friends.’ But (Ctenophorus the patient’s nuchalis). and I returned to ‘The his Alice’, was were anything else, so snakes’, I put the foot dow ‘copper snakes’, snakes’, ‘large-scaled ordeal over yet. Fearful whether to dirt let him along was with not Andrew Mihelakis, and sleep large rocks mounded up ‘diamond a bit and started heading snakes’ back to another friend from Melbourne, and along the sides of the road, creating base. About 10 minutes later, we Will Kruger, also originally from perfect habitat for the dragons, sped past a nuggetty little gecko at Melbourne but now working as a which basked on top of the rocks and about 90kph. I knew immediately keeper in Featherdale Wildlife Park, made their burrows underneath. that it was a knob-tail, so I slamme Sydney. We chose to visit in spring, Unfortunately, since our last visit the on the brakes and turned around ju when many animals would be road had been remade; the roadsides in time to see the gecko making a particularly active, and our trip also had been completely cleared and bolt for the side of the road. It was coincided with part of the lunar cycle there wasn’t a Central Netted Dragon male Centralian Knob-tailed Geck in which there would be no moon at in sight. (Nephrurus amyae); a species that night – an added advantage for we were very keen to tick off. It w nocturnal herping. We did see a couple of Central also the only one we would see on Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) this trip. Most nights we drove the along the road, but our best find was roads until sometime between 11:0 a Lined Firetail Skink (Morethia pm and 1:00 am. ruficauda ruficauda), which was Upon arrival in Alice Springs in the discovered by turning a piece of junk late morning, Jack, Andrew and I that we had spotted at the side of the picked up the rental car and headed road. The temperature was quite hot, to our accommodation in a cabin in probably in the low 30s; most of the Alice Springs Tourist Park. Although week was not overly hot, and a lot of The following day we again heade there are some places that you can the time the daytime temperature did west to the West MacDonnell only visit in a 4WD, the roads are not exceed the high 20s. National Park to do some explorin generally very good. We chose a by foot amongst the open, rocky normal sedan, as it would be gorges and dried river beds. Long- That night we cruised the roads west perfectly adequate to get to the spots nosed Dragons (Amphibolurus of Alice Springs, following the West on our list. We returned to the airport MacDonnell Ranges for around 150 longirostris) love to hide up in the to pick up Will, who had flown in kilometres. We saw heaps of dry watercourses – they were ever from Sydney, at about 1:00 pm, and Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos where. They are also incredibly fas then immediately drove to a location (Strophurus ciliaris) on the road – so which means that for every 50 you about 20 kilometres south of town, in many that we soon tired of stopping see, you will probably get a good which we had previously seen large to have a look. It got to the stage look at one or two. A Black-heade Issue A 13 | July - August 2019 CONTENTS Snakes and snake bite in early Tasmania. 4 4 Day 1. Day 2. Simon Fearn examines the colourful history of the island state. Alice’s Wonderland. 7 days; 29 species of herps... Hard Labour! Prolonged Parturition in a Captive Northern Blue-tongue Skink. What’s New? Ben’s Reptiles 101: ‘Home Sweet Home.’ Choosing an enclosure for your reptiles. A Good Book. ‘Reptiles of Victoria.’ Exotics are Everywhere – Even in Your Collection! 16 24 28 1. 1 . 33 34 will (again, like many large frogs) eat anything they can fit into their mouths, including other frogs, bird chicks, and even snakes and scorpions. This species Veined Tree Frog (Hyla phlebodes). We even manag to stumble across the very common, but difficult to see, Bransford’s Litter Frog (Craugastor bransfordii) a master in the art of camouflage. As a ground- dwelling species on a forest floor rife with predator this diurnal rain frog has created its own niche, and avoids predation by a series of rapid hops before diving into the leaf litter. Another species to emplo direct development, Bransford’s Litter Frogs’ eggs hatch as tiny froglets. 24 All of a sudden, Jason stops. He slowly approaches a large green leaf, broad as my hand, and shines his torch underneath the foliage. “This is an Emerald Glass Frog,” he explains. “There is a large black “There is a large black market for these; in Europe they go for upwards of $600 apiece.” also has the distinction of possessing more sex chromosomes (six pairs) than any other vertebrate, and will miaow like a cat if handled! market for these; in Europe they go for upwards of $600 apiece. People want them to put in a terrarium, where they can live for 5-6 years.” Virtually transparent, this see-through amphibian’s 2 Bitten! 38 Hopping around Costa Rica. 44 Vickie Lillo in search of some unique amphibians. 52 44 Historical Herpetology. At iHerp Australia, we believe the work at Gnaraloo to be An artist at heart: Gerard one of Krefft. the most important and 2. outstanding conservation pro- jects in the country. So much so, that we created a limited edition poster to benefit the turtles (see below). The Chair of the GWF, Karen Hattingh, is a tireless advocate for the turtles, and to think that all of their accomplishments have been, inexplicably, totally bereft of government funding - or indeed recognition - is not only fundamentally wrong (you would be hard pressed to find a more deserving project), but also perhaps indicative of government mismanagement and inefficiency. Turtles struggle to find a voice, as Conservation Program fails to gain recognition. A letter to the editor. 1 In the following days, the female’s behaviour was observed as typical postpartum activity: eating, drinking and thermoregulating normally. No contrac- Other ‘living jewels’ of the Costa Rican rainforest make a offspring brief appearance, were like the yellow Hourglass tions or attempts to birth more Tree Frog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus), and the The case for allowing non-native species in Australia. Envenomation by a Spotted Black Snake. 16 young and one underdeveloped stillborn. Once again, by 18:00 on 7 June the parturition process had paused and all observable contractions had ceased. 54 54 3. 58 Below left: the Gnaraloo Turtle Conservation Program collected baseline data and protected nesting sites for more than a decade. Above: the beaches at Gnaraloo are vital for Go to: endangered Loggerhead Turtles. www.gnaraloo.org Postal Address: Images courtesy of Karen Hattingh, Gnaraloo Turtle gnaraloo.org/be-a-turtle-friend/ Conservation Program. 12 Haines Facebook: Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation and Street Mitcham, Victoria, 3132 Below: the limited edition poster now available at the Gnaraloo Turtle Conservation Program. GWF website (see left). Advertising Enquiries: Publisher: John McGrath [email protected] IT & Marketing: Andy Round And to purchase your poster to support the turtles, [email protected] [email protected] visit: http://gnaraloo.org/shop/ [email protected] Social Media: Vince Pintaudi On the cover: On the cover: although this juvenile Additional Design: Tiger Snake possesses venom as potent as any Rachael Hammond adult, it initially relies on its impressive defensive Next Issue: September 2019. display to ward off potential predators. Tiger Website: www.iherpaustralia.com.au Snake (Notechis scutatus), Rocky Gully, Western Facebook: Australia. Image by Ross McGibbon. www.facebook.com/iherpaustralia/ Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in our published works are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions of iHerp Australia or its editors. The information contained has been obtained by iHerp Australia from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither iHerp Australia nor its authors guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein and neither iHerp Australia nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or claims for damages, including exemplary damages, arising out of use, inability to use, or with regard to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in iHerp Australia publications. All rights reserved.