most wanted?

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Let's have another winter pass time thingy...? I'm not sure if we already had one like this =>

1) What is the European herp species you are most anxious to add to your lifelist and why?
2) For less list-driven herpers, maybe this alternative - can you describe a "perfect picture" you still hope to take some day? (See, Micha, I'm trying )

People who don't care about either lists, nor pictures are idiots or they can just tell us about their specific "most wanted". Nothing wrong with looking forward to sit next to your own garden pond, watching amphibians doing their thing. Herping pleasure can be that simple

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

3) If you could go anywhere in the world, what species (or maybe a couple) would be your first "most wanted"?

[Martti Niskanen]

I'll start it, then.

1) Salamandra salamandra ssp. simply because I've never seen one and it's obviously a major european herp.

2) Not really species-dependent. A good photo is a good photo.

3) Ophiophagus, Zhaoermia and Bothrops insularis. Luckily I've got connections to go see the Bothrops.

[Jürgen Gebhart]

North-America: Crotalus willaridi
Africa: Bitis caudalis, Atheris desaixi
Asia: Ophiophagus hannah
Australia: Wombat, Varanus giganteus
Europe: Vipera aspis
Most wanted in the world: Daboia palaestinae

Best shot:
Definitely a “in Situ shot” with two or more different species in one pic, like aspis and berus basking in the sun together or what we saw before Lacerta agilis and Natrix natrix, or Lacerta bilineata eating a Podacris muralis, mating pics Bufo with Rana, Bufo with salamandra or some thing like that.

[Vlad Cioflec]

For me it's a tie between the common but gorgeous Rana arvalis and the shy and elusive Eryx jaculus.
The first will finish my official Romania list. The latter will be a nice addition to `another` Romania list i have in the back of my head, one with extinct species, introductions and accidentals (e. g. Caretta caretta).

Cheers!

PS: Check out this new herping toy :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VllMM2IHKxw

[Peter Oefinger]

Ok - I'm bored by the winter too
1) Podarcis gaigae, Chamaeleo africanus - my missing "Greeks". Hope I can go there in future.
2) Different specimen/ species doing something (loving or eating each other...)
3) Corucia zebrata, Sphenodon

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Great !!!

@ Jürgen: You made me curious if anyone's ever seen an in situ shot of 2 European viper species basking together. The only true syntopic species I've witnessed, was ursinii + bosniensis in Montenegro, and I've heard about xanthina + ammodytes, but to capture it in a not-staged picture would be really sweet!

@ Peter: Your international targets are cute monsters.

@ Vlad: That toy looks like something I would break within the year

My own answers ...
1) Hyla molleri, the "new last species" on the list
2) Too many to mention, but I'd also like to witness (and MAYBE photograph) some special stuff. I've never seen male snakes fight
3) All the herps that intrigued me since I was a kid - anaconda, gila monster, leatherback, komodo dragon, flying dragon, goliath frog, Andrias davidianus, Chlamydosaurus kingii, marine iguana, any member of the Hydrophiinae, Crocodylus porosus, gharial, Chelydra sp., Trionyx, Ophiophagus, Bitis, Necturus, Corallus caninus, ...

[Jürgen Gebhart]

Great !!!

@ Jürgen: You made me curious if anyone's ever seen an in situ shot of 2 European viper species basking together. The only true syntopic species I've witnessed, was ursinii + bosniensis in Montenegro, and I've heard about xanthina + ammodytes, but to capture it in a not-staged picture would be really sweet!

I saw a pic about that in this book

http://www.libri.de/shop/action/product ... 62456.html

[Paul Lambourne]

Chaps,

My two penneth worth:

1) Macrovipera schweizeri, or vipera seoanei, both beautiful aniamals, and needed to complete my vipers of Europe list...

2) A picture of blue arvalis, I know its common for you lot, but us to Brits its an amazing sight.

3) Two things I have wanted to see in the wild since I was a kid, Andrias davidianus and Ophiophagus hannah, and a few things I dream of seeing currently, Salamandrina, pleurodeles poireti, bitis Peringueyi, vipera orlovi,magnifica,kaznakovi, dinniki,Bournmuelleri, palestinae and monticola, ..God thats a big list... I need more time, more money and a more understanding girlfriend

Cheers all

Paul

[Mario Schweiger]

At my age, its better to think in only one year

So, for 2012:
Vipera aspis hugyi,
Puglia Zamenis situla (striped and blotched), which seems to be the most colorfull in the world.
And a really yellow (less than 5% dark/black) Salamandra salamandra giglioli.

Combats, matings, giving birth, feeding in Vipera berus in my investigation area.

Mario