Dongara - Flora & Fauna 6

DONGARA FLORA & FAUNA

by Br W H van Veen sac

Part 1

Reptiles at Brennand Rd

Shingle-back Lizard

The shingle-back is one of the most distinctive and abundant of Australian lizards. It is immediately recognizable by its short, rounded depressed tail. The diurnal lizard feeds on insects and other arthropods snails, carrion, flowers, fruit and berries. Shingle-backs produce one, two or rarely three large young. It shelters under fallen timber, leaf-litter, and porcupine grass when inactive. The lizards are in abundance in the Irwin catchments areas but not here so close to the beach. In W.A. is the subspecies rugosus.

Lizard

Cryptoblepharus is a widely distributed genus of small, active diurnal lizards.

Crytoblepharus plagiocephalus is brownish and sometimes grayish above, usually with some indication of a narrow, ragged-edged pale dorso-lateral stripe or zone from above eye to tail. I have seen this lizard in the catchments area of the Irwin River. I do not know if the lizards are so close the beach.

Gecko

Seen here for the first time near the house in April 2008. The gecko belongs to an endemic Australian genus (Heteronotia) currently with only two species. Bynoe’s geckos are highly variable in colour, ranging from pale grey through dull brown to bright reddish-brown in the Irwin catchment areas and in Dongara almost black. The strongly clawed geckoes are a group consisting mainly of ground-dwellers which do a minimum amount of climbing. Its forages in open areas at night.

Western bearded Dragon
		This pale grey species belongs to the largest endemic genus of Australian dragon lizards. More divisions of the genus over time are likely. The genus includes species with a wide variety of form, size and habit and found throughout most parts of Australia including Tasmania. In the dune behind the house this dragon lives among vegetation on this sandy soil. The same dragon lizards live in the catchments area, but here they are a lot smaller. I think the dragons are common here near the sea.

Lerista Species

Most of this group of elongated smooth-scaled cryptozoic or fossorial lizards are burrowing species, some times called sand swimmers. Members of the genus are confined to continental Australia. The forelimbs are absent and the body virtually devoid of strong patterns. The lizards live mostly on small insects. The lizards are common in the sand dune behind the house.

Mulga Snake

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A very large snake up to 2m long. The upper surface is brown to blackish brown but can be variable in colour depending where it lives. It is common in the greater part of catchment area and in Dongara. This is one of Australia’s most venomous snakes and is also known as the King Brown Snake. It lays eggs and largely feeds on other snakes.

The name “australis” (strictly southern, but in this and many other cases meaning Australian).

Gwardar

A moderately large Pseudonaja up to 1.6m long. The upper coloration is very variable but the belly always whitish with two rows of small orange spots. The photo shows a Juvenile. The snake is very common in the Irwin catchment area but away from the vicinity of the coasts. A Gwardar is highly nervous and highly venomous. In Dongara they are generally outnumbered by the Mulga Snake. The name “nuchalis” refers to the dark mark to the neck that commonly persists there.

Stimson's Python

The small Morelia sometimes up to 87cm long. The python family is among the most primitive of the snakes. A python still have the remnants of hind legs on each side of the vent, in the form of spurs or claws. All the pythons have climbing ability. I do not know if the Stimson’s Python are common here in Dongara. I have seen it twice, a road casualty near by and the one checking out the camera in front of the house. It is named after Andrew F. Stimson of the British Museum (Natural History).

Lerista Species
Most of this group of elongated smooth-scaled cryptozoic or fossorial lizards are burrowing species, some times called sand swimmers. Members of the genus are confined to continental Australia. The forelimbs are absent and the body virtually devoid of strong patterns. The lizards live mostly on small insects. The lizards are common in the sand dune behind the house.

Gwardar
A moderately large Pseudonaja up to 1.6m long. The upper coloration is very variable but the belly always whitish with two rows of small orange spots. The photo shows a Juvenile. The snake is very common in the Irwin catchment area but away from the vicinity of the coasts. A Gwardar is highly nervous and highly venomous. In Dongara they are generally outnumbered by the Mulga Snake. The name “nuchalis” refers to the dark mark to the neck that commonly persists there.