Hey Fieldherping.EU!
I’m home from Southeast Asia!
Originally we planned to travel to California, later we decided to go to Vietnam, but due to the fact of good publicity in Malaysia, we selected to go there.
Unfortunately it turned out that there were riots in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, from where we had planned to fly to the island of Langkawi.
Instead of flying there, we decided to go by boat from the island Phuket in southern Thailand.
The first couple of days were spent in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, from where we flew to Phuket, to stay there for a couple of days, and then sail south.
We cancelled he trip to Malaysia because we were told that the sailing down there was rather unpleasant.
So instead, we just stayed in Phuket, where we travelled around from hotel to hotel, and then go north to Kanchanaburi west from Bangkok for a couple of days, and then stay in Bangkok for another couple of days.
Here goes!:
First, pictures from Bangkok.
Kalouola pulchra:
Limnonectes limnocharis:
Ramphotyphlops albiceps_
Lygosoma quadrupes:
Hemidactylus parvimaculatus [LIFER]:
I did also see Malayemys macrocephala, Melanochelys trijuga, Notochelys platynota, Trachemys scripta elegans, Varanus salvator]. I didn’t photograph those, because I knew that I would come back to Bangkok again on our way back, and would photograph them then. Unfortunately, I got really sick, which made the trip impossible..
Now, for Phuket!
The first hotel was amazing, but the hotel was actively hunting, trapping and killing snakes.
[i]Hylarana erythraea:
Rana hosii [LIFER]!:
Polypedates leucomystax:
Hermit crabs were everywhere:
I totally forgot to show pictures of the really common house geckoes!:
I observed these eggs from green paddy frog being laid the first evening:
To days later, they looked like this:
-Fast!
At the same spot as most of the amphibian activity, i found thi sone Xenochrophis trianguligerus, [LIFER]:
I took some pictures of the snakes, and then captured it and released it near a forest, that due to the fact of the information I had gotten earlier same day.
Bufo melanostictus were extremely common:
When we talk about common, more house geckoes!:
This large spider didn’t move in 2 days:
I found one Ansonia malayana [LIFER]:
I found this mouse looking creature too, it had really big ears, too bad it can’t be seen on the picture..:
Large mantis:
I found lots of strange invertebrates, here’s one more:
I found quite a bit during the day too.
I was searching for snakes in traps in the area of the hotel near a large wall which separated the hotel from a palm plantation. I found one. A Ptyas korros about 130 cm. in length, almost death from the trap. Poor snake. [LIFER]
Just after I found one more, same species. About 2 meters in length, it was more healthy. I took a few snapshots, and then released them at the forest.:
The nearly dead snake!
The pretty healthy one:
I walked into the palm plantation now, to search for more snakes.
Habitat:
I flipped a large board of tree, and saw a large brownish snake (about 170 cm) I looked pretty much like the two Ptyas korros’s I’d found earlier same day, that made me believe it was just one more of those, so I grabbed it by it's tail,! I didn't realize which snake it was before it hooded and tried to strike! I quickly released it afterwards, it was a monocle cobra! Naja kaouthia!. I really learned a lesson that day!
I’m never going to catch a snake without security without being certain sure of the species again.
I actually freehandlet a cobra without even knowing it..
I can’t show you the snake, cause I didn’t get to photograph it, but here’s the board:
Golden treefrog during the day:
Young Calotes versicolor:
Same morning as we were leaving that hotel, at the pool I observed a Lycodon subcinctus, about 50 centimeters in length. Don’t you think that one got away without letting me photograph it first too?! -.-
Habitat
We were living in the city of Patong now, boring for fieldherpers, but I managed to found Ramphotyphlops braminus:
And Hoplobatrachus rugulosus, this one was the biggest frog I’ve ever seen!! [LIFER]:
Then we travelled more south, to a rather regular looking place for tourists, not that interesting, but I did found something!:
Limnonectes limnocharis:
Kaloula pulchra:
Malayemys macrocephala:
Bufo melanostictus was extremely common here to, and I took some .. interesting pictures of them..
I did find something very interesting! A Occidozyga laevis! [LIFER]
Oh, I forgot to mention, Mabuya multifasciata were everywhere too:
As well as Calotes versicolor:
During a long walk, I found a nice spot, I saw a Varanus bengalensis, NO PICTURES &%#=!! [LIFER]
We were now going to the city of Kanchanaburi, the ultimate place for fieldherpers!
But unfortunately, I ate some seafood salad, the day before for dinner, it tasted rather strange this time, and not that good, but I was hungry, and I just swallowed!
Big mistake, I’ve been ill since that day. Not too much anymore, but I had too much pain in my stomach to fieldherp most of the period..
I stayed at the hotel all time, only a few times I left the hotel to do a little bit fieldherping…
Varanus salvator, poor picture, but the only one from the whole trip!:
I observed a Eutropis longicaudata too, it escaped too fast to be photographed … [LIFER]
I saw one tokay Gekko gecko:
I found some Microhyla fissipes too, really small frog, only about 2-3 centimeters while croaking and mating!:
At the end some more invertebrates from the last hotel:
Largest spider I’d ever seen in my life:
Strange larvae:
Species list from the trip:
Lizards - 13 species:
Calotes versicolor – 30+
Dixonius siamensis – 3
Eutropis multifasciata – 50+
Eutropis longicaudata - 1
Gekko gecko - 1
Cosymbotus platyurus - XXX
Hemidactylus frenatus - XXX
Lygosoma quadrupes - 11
Sphenomorphus maculates - 2
Varanus salvator – 100+
Varanus bengalensis - 1
Hemidactylus parvimaculatus - 1
Gehyra mutilate - 10
Snakes – 6 species:
Ramphotyphlops braminus - 2
Ramphotyphlops albiceps - 1
Lycodon subcinctus - 1
Ptyas korros - 2
Xenochrophis trianguligerus - 1
Naja kaouthia - 1
Turtles – 4 species:
Malayemys macrocephala – 10+
Melanochelys trijuga – 20+
Notochelys platynota – 10+
Trachemys scripta elegans – 50+
Frogs – 10 species:
Hoplobatrachus rugulosus - 1
Hylarana erythraea - XXX
Kaloula pulchra – 20+
Limnonectes limnocharis – 50+
Polypedates leucomystax – 100+
Bufo melanostictus - XXX
Ansonia malayana - 1
Microhyla fissipes – 15+
Occidozyga laevis - 1
Rana hosii – 10+
All in all, 33 species of herps!
Despite my illness, it was a really nice trip!!!!