Asia year in review

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jonathan
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Asia year in review

Post by jonathan »

This is a herps-only post from the year I spent in Asia. If you like inverts or birds, you can check out the following posts:

Birds of Thailand: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=9278
Insects of Thailand: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=9321
Other inverts of Thailand: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=9372
Inverts of Laos: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=9218
India trip report: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9130



I've done trip reports all year, so this is just a summary. Here are the herps I saw:



Yellow-striped Caecilian (Ichthyophis kohtaoensis) - DORs only

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Berdmore’s Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla berdmorei)

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Ornate Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla fissipes)

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Darkside Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla hermonsi)

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Painted Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla pulchra)

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Inornate Froglet (Micryletta inornata)

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Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra)

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Round-tongued Floating Frog (Occidozyga martensii)

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Unknown frog species in Kolkata, India

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Asian Grass Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis)

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Limnonectes gyldenstolpei

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Three-striped grass frog (Hylarana macrodactyla)

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Sapgreen Stream Frog (Hylarana nigrovittata)

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Green Paddy Frog (Hylarana erythraea)

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Chinese Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus)

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Indian Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)

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Common Indian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

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Unknown Toad species in Delhi, India (one or two species?)

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Four-lined Treefrog (Polypedates leucomystax)

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Northern Treefrog (Polypedates mutus)

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Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)

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Asian Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)

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Asian Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys dentata)

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Malayan Snail-eating Turtle (Malayemys subtrijuga)

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Southeast Asian Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis)

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Black Mud Turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis)

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Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (Hieremys annandalii)

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Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta)

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Mississippi Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni)

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Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)

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Long-tailed grass lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)

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Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor)

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Blue Crested Lizard (Calotes mystaceus)

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Indochinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus)

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Rough-bellied Mountain Dragon (Acanthosaura lepidogaster)

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Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon lionotum)

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Flattail House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus)

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Yellow-Green House Gecko (Hemidactylus flaviviridis)

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Spinytail House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)

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Sri Lankan House Gecko (Hemidactylus parvimaculatus)

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Brook's House Gecko (Hemidactylus brookii)

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Bark Gecko (Hemidactulus leschenaulti)

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Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata)

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Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)

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Siamese Leaf-toed Gecko (Dixonius siamensis)

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Cardamon Slender-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus intermedius)

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Short-limbed Supple Skink (Lygosoma quadrupes)

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Bowring’s Supple Skink (Lygosoma bowringii)

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Speckled Forest Skink (Eutropis macularia)

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Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)

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Long-tailed Sun Skink (Eutropis longicaudata)

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Dussemier's Litter Skink (Sphenomorphus dussumieri)

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Streamside Skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus)

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Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus)

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White-headed Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops albiceps)

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Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)

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Red-tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis ruffus)

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Sunbeam Snake (Xenopeltis unicolor)

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Yellow-bellied Water Snake (Enhydris plumbea)

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Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris) - DOR only


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Puff-faced Water Snake (Homalopsis buccata) - released individual only

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Yellow-spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus)

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Checkered Keelback (Xenochrophis piscator)

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Big-eyed Mountain Keelback (Pseudoxenodon macrops) - camera broken

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Collared Reed Snake (Calamaria pavimentata)

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Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus)

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Long-nosed Whip Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)

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Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata)

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Painted Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus) - camera broken

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Banded Kukri Snake (Oligodon fasciolatus)

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Striped Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniatus)

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Copperhead Racer (Coelognathus radiata)

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Indo-Chinese Rat Snake (Ptyas korros)

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Vogel's Pit Viper (Viridovipera vogeli)

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Here's the full species list for my time in Asia:


Yellow-striped Caecilian (Ichthyophis kohtaoensis) - DORs only

Four-lined Treefrog (Polypedates leucomystax)
Northern Treefrog (Polypedates mutus)
Berdmore’s Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla berdmorei)
Ornate Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla fissipes)
Darkside Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla hermonsi)
Painted Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla pulchra)
Inornate Froglet (Micryletta inornata)
Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra)
Round-tongued Floating Frog (Occidozyga martensii)
Asian Grass Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis)
Three-striped Grass Frog (Hylarana macrodactyla)
Sapgreen Stream Frog (Hylarana nigrovittata)
Green Paddy Frog (Hylarana erythraea)
Chinese Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus)
Indian Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)
Limnonectes gyldenstolpei
Common Indian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Unknown frog species in Kolkata, India
Unknown toad species in Delhi, India
Potential second unknown toad species in Delhi, India

Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)

Asian Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)
Malayan Snail-eating Turtle (Malayemys subtrijuga)
Southeast Asian Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis)
Black Mud Turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis)
Asian Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys dentata)
Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (Hieremys annandalii)
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta)
Mississippi Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni)

Short-limbed Supple Skink (Lygosoma quadrupes)
Bowring’s Supple Skink (Lygosoma bowringii)
Dussemier's Litter Skink (Sphenomorphus dussumieri)
Streamside Skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus)
Speckled Forest Skink (Eutropis macularia)
Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)
Long-tailed Sun Skink (Eutropis longicaudata)
Siamese Leaf-toed Gecko (Dixonius siamensis)
Cardamon Slender-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus intermedius)
Flattail House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus)
Yellow-Green House Gecko (Hemidactylus flaviviridis)
Spinytail House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)
Sri Lankan House Gecko (Hemidactylus parvimaculatus)
Brook's House Gecko (Hemidactylus brookii)
Bark Gecko (Hemidactulus leschenaulti)
Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata)
Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon lionotum)
Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)
Long-tailed grass lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor)
Blue Crested Lizard (Calotes mystaceus)
Indochinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus)
Rough-bellied Mountain Dragon (Acanthosaura lepidogaster)
Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)

Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus)
White-headed Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops albiceps)
Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)
Red-tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis ruffus)
Sunbeam Snake (Xenopeltis unicolor)
Yellow-bellied Water Snake (Enhydris plumbea)
Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris) - DOR only
Puff-faced Water Snake (Homalopsis buccata) - released individual only
Yellow-spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus)
Checkered Keelback (Xenochrophis piscator)
Big-eyed Mountain Keelback (Pseudoxenodon macrops)
Collared Reed Snake (Calamaria pavimentata)
Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus)
Long-nosed Whip Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)
Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata)
Painted Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus)
Banded Kukri Snake (Oligodon fasciolatus)
Striped Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniatus)
Copperhead Racer (Coelognathus radiata)
Indo-Chinese Rat Snake (Ptyas korros)
Vogel's Pit Viper (Viridovipera vogeli)



If you really want to catch up, here were the rest of my trip reports:

Khao Yai: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7823
Rainy Season in Bangkok: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8263
Late Dry Season in Bangkok: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6028
Early Dry Season in Bangkok: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4900
Laos: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4609
Quick Trip through western/northern Thailand: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4280
More Bangkok City Herping: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3236
Cambodia: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3237
Initial Bangkok City Herping: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2453



Thanks much for reading this far! It was a great year. :D

http://bangkokherps.wordpress.com - a field guide to the herps of Bangkok
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Serpentes
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by Serpentes »

Cool stuff mate! Surprised not to see some Lycodon pics in the fray, but you've seen a lot of great herps!! Thanks for sharing the pics.
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MaartenSFS
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by MaartenSFS »

That's quite a list there. Either you are more dedicated than I or Thailand is great for herps (probably both). I haven't found as much up here in South China. Did you find most of these during the day? Are you always out there alone?

You mentioned before that you are using an FZ series Panasonic camera. I am considering upgrading to a Panasonic FZ150 (when I have money). If you were getting a replacement would you go with that or would you upgrade to DSLR?

Are you leaving Thailand now or is this the first of many years?
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jonathan
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by jonathan »

Serpentes wrote:Cool stuff mate! Surprised not to see some Lycodon pics in the fray, but you've seen a lot of great herps!! Thanks for sharing the pics.
Thanks! You did miss a lone Lycodon capucinus in there, though it's true that I didn't see any in Thailand (had to wait until my brief time in Kolkata to find one). I was surprised not to see one in Thailand too - perhaps it's because I didn't spend any time in the villages, and those village/hut areas are their main haunts?


MaartenSFS wrote:That's quite a list there. Either you are more dedicated than I or Thailand is great for herps (probably both). I haven't found as much up here in South China. Did you find most of these during the day? Are you always out there alone?
I think Thailand is indeed great for herps, but I also worked hard (and Bangkok's not as great for snakes as Thailand in general, I think). Because of my access and time issues I mostly could only herp during the day, so most of the lizards, snakes, and turtles were found during the day, and the frogs and geckos were found about equally during the day and night. The only species that seemed impossible to find in daytime were the caecilians, black mud turtles, sunbeam snake, and the water snakes. I flip like a madman though, so it probably would be easier for most people to find a lot of the frogs, geckos, and snakes during the night than during the day. In fact, if I could have had access to the city parks at night or if I had lived in a part of the city with more water, I think I could have seen far more snakes at night.


MaartenSFS wrote:You mentioned before that you are using an FZ series Panasonic camera. I am considering upgrading to a Panasonic FZ150 (when I have money). If you were getting a replacement would you go with that or would you upgrade to DSLR?
You might be confusing me with someone else - I had a Canon Powershot SX120 the whole time. I like the photo quality compared to the Kodaks I had owned, and I can't justify the cost of a DSLR (have never owned one anyway), so when I did have to replace my Canon in October I just replaced it with the same thing. I would have gotten an SX130 if I could have gotten a new one for $169 in Canada like I did for the SX120.


MaartenSFS wrote:Are you leaving Thailand now or is this the first of many years?
I'm out for now, and will probably only go back for brief vacations in Thailand while I spend many years in India instead.
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MaartenSFS
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by MaartenSFS »

I'm really surprised that you found that much during the day by flipping. I flip like mad too and have only found one snake under a rock centuries ago. Is there a particular season that they hang out under things? The most I've seen here are DORs, which means that I need to road cruise a lot more. I hope that you found a good spot in India. Should be very interesting!
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monklet
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by monklet »

Geez Jonathan, when you first moved there you said something like, "no time to herp" ...well, given that caveat, I do believe you did ok ....a herpers life come true in like what, one year? :shock: :shock: :shock:
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jonathan
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by jonathan »

MaartenSFS wrote:I'm really surprised that you found that much during the day by flipping. I flip like mad too and have only found one snake under a rock centuries ago. Is there a particular season that they hang out under things?
Everything I heard was that I wouldn't find anything under cover too. But I'm persistent, and I love finding frogs and lizards too (heck, in my first two weeks I found a lizard species that had never been recorded in Thailand, just by flipping concrete in the middle of the city). All year long you could find frogs and lizards under cover, though snakes and supple skinks seemed to disappear in the dry season. June to September was by far the best for flipping snakes, but I found snakes under cover pretty much from March through the end of the rains.

Here are species that I found under cover at some point:

Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) - AC, logs, rocks, anything
White-headed Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops albiceps) - rock, logs
Red-tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis ruffus) - AC, logs
Sunbeam Snake (Xenopeltis unicolor) - board
Yellow-bellied Water Snake (Enhydris plumbea) - rocks (in and out of water)
Yellow-spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus) - AC
Checkered Keelback (Xenochrophis piscator) - AC
Big-eyed Mountain Keelback (Pseudoxenodon macrops) - concrete
Collared Reed Snake (Calamaria pavimentata) - logs
Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) - rock
Banded Kukri Snake (Oligodon fasciolatus) - logs
Striped Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniatus) - log
Copperhead Racer (Coelognathus radiata) - concrete

Short-limbed Supple Skink (Lygosoma quadrupes)
Bowring’s Supple Skink (Lygosoma bowringii)
Dussemier's Litter Skink (Sphenomorphus dussumieri)
Speckled Forest Skink (Eutropis macularia)
Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)
Long-tailed Sun Skink (Eutropis longicaudata)
Siamese Leaf-toed Gecko (Dixonius siamensis)
Cardamon Slender-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus intermedius)
Flattail House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus)
Spinytail House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)
Sri Lankan House Gecko (Hemidactylus parvimaculatus)
Brook's House Gecko (Hemidactylus brookii)
Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata)
Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)
Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)

Ornate Narrowmouth Frog (Microhyla fissipes)
Inornate Froglet (Micryletta inornata)
Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra)
Round-tongued Floating Frog (Occidozyga martensii)
Asian Grass Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis)
Sapgreen Stream Frog (Hylarana nigrovittata)
Common Indian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Unknown toad species in Delhi, India


MaartenSFS wrote:The most I've seen here are DORs, which means that I need to road cruise a lot more. I hope that you found a good spot in India. Should be very interesting!
Yeah, I never got to road cruise in a car but I bet it would be great. In two very short nights of bicycle cruising (only 1-1.5 hours of herpable temps) I found 5 live snakes and a number of DORs, and in 3 nights of walking roads I found 4 snakes and a DOR.
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Kent VanSooy
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by Kent VanSooy »

Thanks Jonathan! I'm not much of a fan of retics, but your shot is gorgeous. And I would swear I saw a Gilbert's skink in there somewhere... ;)
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Mike Pingleton
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by Mike Pingleton »

very cool. The microhylids are interesting, as is Malayemys subtrijuga (!). And the Siebenrockiella, holy cow.
-Mike
hellihooks
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by hellihooks »

I'm kinda sad you're moving to India... but... gotta do what you gotta do... Godspeed! :D We'll certainly miss you in the Ca Chap... hope you can come back to visit fairly regularilly... ;)
Love them Skinks... specially the Supple... :thumb: jim
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MaartenSFS
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by MaartenSFS »

Wouw, that's very impressive for daytime flipping. I would say that my flipping was futile because there aren't as many snakes, but I have seen so many DORs that this simply isn't the case. There isn't much left in the city itself, though, after all the recent urbanisation. I'm also in the subtropics, not the full tropics like you, though there are still many, many species around. I think one factor is that most of the terrain here is karst peaks and there are a lot of cracks to hide in and these may be preferable to rocks. In that case it is impossible to get at them. I road cruise by motorcycle (my only vehicle). It got too cold for that in early November. I'll be posting my end of year list and photos soon.

I think going to India is great. If you ever got tired of herping in Thailand you have a whole range of new species to look forward to. :thumb:
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Rags
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by Rags »

Hi Jonathan, you certainly found some interesting stuff during your year.

Great to see the Microhylids. I see the Micryletta inornata shown is quite, well..inornate. Further south they seem to have brighter limbs. I'm not sure if the frogs around Bangkok 'colour up'in the breeding season or remain inornate? (Presuming this specimen was from Bangkok area).

Also the Siamese Leaf-toed Gecko (Dixonius siamensis) pictured is virtually spotless. Is this an unusual individual or did you find the species variable in their markings?

Thanks for taking the time to post this and the other threads, I've enjoyed reading them all. Good luck in India.
Cheers, Rags.
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jonathan
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by jonathan »

Rags wrote:Great to see the Microhylids. I see the Micryletta inornata shown is quite, well..inornate. Further south they seem to have brighter limbs. I'm not sure if the frogs around Bangkok 'colour up'in the breeding season or remain inornate? (Presuming this specimen was from Bangkok area).
Well, that was a little north of the Bangkok area, but the ones I saw in Bangkok were even more inornate. It didn't seem to change during the breeding season - I think it is indeed a regional color difference. But I only saw about half-a-dozen, so I'm not an expert. They were the hardest frog for me to find in Bangkok by a long shot.

Here are some more pictures that give you an idea of the different ones I saw:

http://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2011/ ... e-froglet/


Rags wrote:Also the Siamese Leaf-toed Gecko (Dixonius siamensis) pictured is virtually spotless. Is this an unusual individual or did you find the species variable in their markings?
Extremely variable. The ones that I saw that were spotless were at night - in my experience some geckos can appear far more spotless at night than they do during the day.

Here is a little of their diversity too:

http://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2011/ ... oed-gecko/
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jonathan
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Re: Asia year in review

Post by jonathan »

Thanks so much Kent, Jim, Mike, Maarten, and Rags!

Yeah Kent, those sun skinks do look like gilberts. However, true to their name, they're much more likely to be out in the sun.

Mike - the Siebenrockiella were my favorite turtle all year. I found three patrolling a canal at night while I was waiting at a bus stop. Taking advantage of every opportunity is a big part of urban herping - if I hadn't thought "hmmm, I'm near a canal, might as well herp it while I wait", then I never would have found that species.

Maarten - you ever try walking the outcroppings with a flashlight at night?
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