Blog
Three new Queensland rock monitors
Goannas are an iconic genus of lizards that encompass deep time and size variation. Plus they’re intelligent and often rather pretty. We recently described three new species from north-east Queensland - the state’s first endemic rock monitors. Adorned with an amazing array of colours, these three species haunt the rocky outcrops of the Einasleigh Uplands and the edges of the Wet Tropics.
The ACT's new herp field guide!
Brian, Bridget and I have been (sometimes) busy over the last couple of years finalising a field guide covering all of the ACT’s reptile and frog species. And it’s finally here! Hopefully you like it.
WA Heteronotia sampling (Part 2)
The second part of the great Bynoe’s hunt. We send it around the Cape Range and Goldfields regions before heading back to Canberra.
WA Heteronotia sampling (Part 1)
The second part of the great Bynoe’s hunt. We send it around the Cape Range and Goldfields regions before heading back to Canberra.
The great WA raking trip (Part 4)
The final instalment for what was an insane raking trip. We make our way across the centre of Australia on the Great Central Road.
The great WA raking trip (Part 3)
The absolutely gut wrenching tale of three fellas and an elusive Aprasia (plus success with other species).
The great WA raking trip (Part 2)
We back up our early success with several more rarely seen Aprasia and a bucketload of Lerista.
The great WA raking trip (Part 1)
The first entry following Nick, Justin and myself as we traverse the west coast, followed by a lightning run to Alice trying to find as many fossorial squamates as possible.
2023 Summary
A quick wrap up of what I’ve been up to for the year. Hopefully I’ll keep more up to date now Honours is finished.
The great Gehyra hunt (Part 4)
The final instalment of the Gehyra sampling trip. We sprint from Broome to Alice and find a few goodies on the way.
The great Gehyra hunt (Part 3)
A long overdue instalment, covering the rest of our time in the Pilbara using Gehyra as an excuse to go herping generally.
The great Gehyra hunt (Part 2)
Following on from our success in the northern Pilbara, we chase the many endemics on the North West Cape for three days.
The great Gehyra hunt (Part 1)
The first entry as the gang attempt the monumental feat of sampling as many western Australian Gehyra and Heteronotia as possible.
North Queensland winter 2022 (Part 3)
Making it back to Townsville, we spend the final couple days of the trip mopping up some of the few remaining local species.
North Queensland winter 2022 (Part 2)
Swapping rainforest for rocky outcrops and savannah, we escape the rain in search of Lerista and geckos.
North Queensland winter 2022 (Part 1)
The first entry for Nick, Justin and I’s third go at north Queensland over the last three years. We start of soggy in the wet tropics.
SA dragons 2022 (Part 2)
The second entry for our dash through SA. We ended spending a lot of time dodging flooded roads, but managed to find some nice species along the way.
SA dragons 2022 (Part 1)
The first half of Bridget and I’s trip through much of SA targetting as many reptile species as possible.
November 2021
A slap dash entry for what has been a chaotic November, with some smaller roadtrips around NSW and Victoria.
The Lerista trip of '21 (Part 5)
The final leg to our almost 3 week long herp trip. We wrap it up with some more fossorial skinks.
The Lerista trip of '21 (Part 4)
Heading south from Lockhart, we sweep through the Cooktown area and the Atherton Tablands in two days.
The Lerista trip of '21 (Part 3)
Leaving our fossorial skinks behind, we join the hordes of caravanning fools heading north.
The Lerista trip of '21 (Part 2)
Nick, Justin, and I blitz through 10 Lerista species in just over four days through the Einasleigh Uplands.
The Lerista trip of '21 (Part 1)
The uneventful beginning to a winter trip of raking with Justin and Nick. Things will pick up in the subsequent entries.
Autumn 2021 (Vic/Part 2)
Following Nick down to Melbourne, we spend two nights chasing some of Victoria’s autumn calling frog species.
Autumn 2021 (Qld/Part 1)
Venturing back into Qld and following a similar path to our first trip together, Nick and I chase fossorial skinks and dragons with mixed luck.
Rainforests and bronzebacks (Part 5)
The conclusion to another huge two week trip in the company of Nick. We round it out with a few more fossorial skinks and some geckos.
Rainforests and bronzebacks (Part 4)
Putting the arid interior behind us, we descend on the Eyre Peninsula and target some different species in beach dunes and mallee sands.
Rainforests and bronzebacks (Part 3)
Heading west, Nick and I make our way to the infamous township of Coober Pedy on the tail of fossorial pygopods and gibber inhabiting squamates.
Rainforests and bronzebacks (Part 2)
The second instalment and the conclusion of our adventure in the north-east part of NSW on the trail of frogs and skinks.
Rainforests and bronzebacks (Part 1)
The beginning of Nick and my last trip for the year as we combine a week of rainforest with another of desert, mallee, and gibber.
Townsville 2020 (Part 5)
The final days of our 13 day road trip, rounding it out with a grand total of 103 reptile species.
Townsville 2020 (Part 4)
We finally make it to the Atherton Tablelands in search of spinifex loving Strophurus and rainforest reptiles.
Townsville 2020 (Part 3)
The third instalment of our two week trip, with several days spent in the vicinity of the mighty township of Townsville and its impressive array of herpetofauna.
Townsville 2020 (Part 2)
Our first major run in with rainforest in the vicinity of the Clarke Range as we make our way up the coast. Two nights full of Phyllurus and skinks see us clean up most of the Mackay endemics.
Townsville 2020 (Part 1)
The first big trip with the exceptional company of Justin and Nick. Over two weeks, we drive from Narrabri to Mareeba and back in search of some of the most range restricted Qld geckos and other species.
SEQ 2019 (Part 2)
Nick and I shoot around rainforests in the vicinity of Brisbane.
SEQ 2019 (Part 1)
The esteemed Nick Gale and myself head to SEQ.