Prickles!

A nocturnal climb up to the top of the Heavitree Range near Alice Springs was a very rewarding little expedition. On the gecko front, I first encountered Diplodactylus conspicillatus, Heteronotia binoei, Oedura marmorata and Strophrurus ciliaris. I spotted a couple of very pretty Centralian treefrogs (Litoria gilleni) right up top, then the animal I'd been hoping for showed too.

It's a central ranges endemic species - one of the prickly knob-tailed gecko species: Nephrurus amyae or the Centralian knob-tailed gecko. It's claim to fame is it's the 'most massive' (meaning heaviest rather than lengthiest) Aussie gecko.

And a cute little one just as an added bonus.

Floating frogs (or Frogging the Alice)

So much rain, good thunderstorms, warm weather... only more free time could make conditions better for frogging around Alice Springs. I have managed to get out once recently and was amply rewarded. As well as the relatively 'boring' Spencer's Burrowing Frog (Platyplectrum spenceri) and the Desert Treefrog (Litoria rubella), a couple of other interesting species were calling away from flooded roadsides just out of Alice Springs.

Neobatrachus centralis, Trilling frog

Cyclorana maini, Main's waterholding frog

Neobatrachus centralis, Trilling frog


Sminthopsis sp., Dunnart


Narrow-banded sandswimmer, Eremiascincus fasciolatus