Reptiles and Amphibians

Freshwater crocodile

Freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni). Taking photos like this has been a huge goal of ours since we first moved to the Northern Territory, a lot of time has gone into searching for safe, accessible, reasonably shallow, Saltwater croc free areas with decent visibility. There are a lot of factors that come into play with this sort of photography! For anyone who is curious, this croc is approximately 80cm long.

Freshwater crocodile

Crocodylus johnsoni

Northern long-necked turtle

Here's a nice result from a late night snorkelling session last night, a Northern long-necked turtle (Chelodina oblonga) from the Adelaide River area.

Northern long-necked turtle

Chelodina oblonga

Northern long-necked turtle

Here's my first shot of the Northern long-necked turtle (Chelodina oblonga) I found last night. It was in this exact position when I first spotted it though I saw it first from head on - I momentarily though for sure that I'd found a large water snake... Long-necked turtles indeed!

Northern knob-tailed gecko

One of my favourite Top End geckos, a Northern knob-tail gecko (Nephurus sheai) blending into the rocky escarpment of Nitmiluk. Cara and I found this guy whilst hiking around in search of nocturnal turtles.

Arnhem land long-neck turtle

Chelodina burrungandjii

Arnhem land long-neck turtle

Here's another shot of the Sandstone long-neck turtle (Chelodina burrungandjii) I posted yesterday from Kakadu National Park. This shot shows the turtle swimming though deeper water, where the turtle was literally the only thing I could see in the blackness, a trutly mesmerising vision. #sandstonelongneckturtle #arnhemlandlongneckturtle #longneckturtle #snakeneckturtle #chelodinaburrungandjii #chelodina #turtle #freshwaterturtle #freshwater #uwpics #underwaterphotography #ausgeo #australianmuseum #olympusomd #olympusaustralia #herping #fieldherping #australia #Nature #wildlife #NT #kakadu #kakadunationalpark #outbackaustralia #earthpix #wildtropics #Wildlifeplanet

Arnhem land long-neck turtle

Sandstone long-neck turtle (Chelodina burrungandjii), Kakadu National Park. I had great fun snorkelling in Kakadu over the weekend. Unfortunately the turtles don't seem to engage in much diurnal activity at the moment so no great in-habitat shots. #sandstonelongneckturtle #arnhemlandlongneckturtle #longneckturtle #snakeneckturtle #chelodinaburrungandjii #chelodina #turtle #freshwaterturtle #freshwater #uwpics #underwaterphotography #ausgeo #australianmuseum #olympusomd #olympusaustralia #herping #fieldherping #australia #Nature #wildlife #NT #kakadu #kakadunationalpark #outbackaustralia #earthpix #wildtropics #Wildlifeplanet

Arnhem land long-neck turtle

Chelodina burrungandjii

Darwin carpet python

My luck at finding Darwin carpet pythons has definitely taken a change for the better. This handsome snake is waiting in a typical sit and wait ambush position, holding out for passing prey. I'm still holding out for a large specimen in a photographable situation!

Darwin carpet python

This young Carpet python is another fine example of Darwin's remarkable suburban wildlife. This species is sometimes encountered around suburban and rural properties (until last night seemingly never by me though!!) in the area where they probably help control rodent populations and go largely unnoticed. Yet if you search in what appears to be good habitat in the Top End's national parks, these snakes can be very hard to track down. Once again it's heartening and a massive privelege to find such amazing wildlife on our doorstep in Darwin - I can't wait to come across this little fellows parents!

Northen blue-tongue

Northern blue-tongue

Blue-tongues are amongst the largest skinks in the world reaching up to an impressive 50cm or so in total length. These lizards do indeed have a large blue tongue, though I have only rarely seen them dislay it at night. Amazingly my wife and I came accross this skink in a remnant patch of monsoon forest in suburban Darwin, it is the first Blue-tongue either of us has seen around Darwin where (anecdotally) they were once very common. Like many herpetofauna populations in the Top End I suspect Blue-tongues have declined following the arrival of non-native, toxic Cane toads. Around Darwin they have no doubt suffered from habitat fragmentation and predation by cats and dogs to boot. It is heartening to see such a beautiful and rarely ecountered animal living so close to home.

Northern knob-tailed gecko

A Northern knob-tailed gecko from the NT/WA border. Members of this genus - Nephrurus - are large geckos found only in Australia where they typically inhabit quite arid environments and prey on invertebrates, including spiders and caterpillars, and even other geckos!