Gran Canaria last-minute trip

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

For snakes should I looking for by flipping among rocky area?

I'd rather try near human habitation, where there's a lot of food (rats, lizards, ...). Nothing beats a good dumpsite .

[Mario Schweiger]

Try in not to rocky areas.
Best might be rocks in or at the edge of fields or close to creeks (even dry ones).
All the best

Mario

[Michal Szkudlarek]

Hi all!
Mario, did You want to write "Try in not too rocky areas" instead of "Try in not to rocky areas"? Chalcides sexlineatus has already been found and photographed But is there any possibility to recognize which sex specimen of C. sexlineatus is? If anyone knows how to distinguish both subspecies (sexlineatus and bistriatus) between themselves- tell me please.
http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/rept ... sexid.html
http://zfmk.de/BZB/1985/1985%20Lopez-Ju ... 20p315.pdf
http://molevol.cmima.csic.es/carranza/pdf/Chalcides.pdf
- This materials seems to be quite useful but they also seems not to present a key to distinguish both subspecies. The next issue, is the fact that I don't have enough time to read them. So far I have made more than five hundred pics. A lot of them will be shown on this forum Won't I have problems in the airport when I take with me part of Gallotia stehlini skeleton that I found on my own?
Greetings!
EDIT: Today It seemed for me not to find adults of G. stehlini due to windy weather but at last I managed to observe several specimens, including really big and beautiful male.

[Michal Szkudlarek]

Hi
The enormity of photos below I hope that it is not a problem that here are also a lot of pics not herp- related. Notice high appearance diversity among Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri.


habitat of T. b. boettgeri and G. stehlini- San Augustin


Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri- adult



Myriapoda under a stone


plant emerging from the rock


T. b. boettgeri- juvenile


Chalcides sexlineatus sexlineatus


ventral view


posterior view










blooming grass


tiny Gallotia stehlini



Argiope trifasciata


little crab moult


unidentified sea roundworms



San Augustin- sunset



Aplysia dactylomela with a shrimp



Gallotia steglini- youngster



comparison with a hand


ventral view


juvenile of G. stehlini together with adult T. b. boettgeri


T. b. boettgeri- adult




T. b. boettgeri- mouth gaping


habitat of T. b. boettgeri and juveniles of Gallotia stehlini



T. b. boettgeri- juvenile


one without tail


comparison with a finger


dunes of Maspalomas


hermit crabs eating seaweeds


adult T. b. boettgeri


habitat of Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri and Chalcides sexlineatus sexlineatus


Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri






some nice views



Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri- adults


juvenile


Acrida bicolor- female



Gymnothorax unicolor


Cnidaria sp.

To be continued

[Michal Szkudlarek]

lichens


Davallia canariensis






vegetation of botanical garden


Polydesmidae sp.


Pelophylax perezi




its habitat





volcanic crater



Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri- adults



Chalcides sexlineatus sexlineatus from east coast of Gran Canaria


Periplaneta australasiae


Gallotia stehlini- male from Maspalomas dunes


Gallotia stehlini- female from Maspalomas dunes


Actitis hypoleucos


another bird from same spot


lake and Maspalomas dunes



habitat of Gallotia stehlini (slope, wall) and Chalcides sexlineatus sexlineatus (wall) in Maspalomas



herps as popular souvenir


flovers of a palm


Oxythyrea funesta




G. stehlini- juvenile


in comparison with a foot




Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri- adult



eggs of Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri

To be continued

[Jimmy Lundqvist]

Great pics! Looks like you had a nice trip!

Guess we will have to be patient and wait and see if you found any cali kings?

[Michal Szkudlarek]

I'm sorry, no snakes. The thip was not successful.


Upupa epops






Cnidaria


Paguroidea sp.



Echinoidea sp.


Patella sp.


Brachyura sp.


Holothuria arguinensis


Aplysia dactylomela


Balanus sp.




Polychaeta spp.




shrimp female with larvae





other sea life




sea itself





Skull of a cat found near dried streambed - maybe has been hunted by rapacious bird? Among surrounding hills all streams were dried, only two ponds were found in deep and wide parts of streambed. There Pelophylax perezi were breeding. During night herping among wilderness I noticed two cats just after I found juvenile T.b. boettgeri on land surface, I suppose they wished to eat gecko. Near hotels cats were present too. Once I noticed Homo sapiens female feeding one with food gained from hotel restaurant. In my opinion, while on Gran Canaria there is probably a lot of hotels which guests/ restaurant crew feed cats, it is somewhat threat for local herpetofauna as cats proliferates.



Maspalomas dunes


Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri- juvenile








Gallotia stehlini- juvenile




with Tarentola b. boettgeri


habitat of Gallotia stehlini in San Augustin





Chalcides s. sexlineatus- south coast. Skinks were found under one stone together with gecko. Geckos also can be flipped together with G. stehlini.


ventral view



with T. b. boettgeri


Trachemys scripta scripta from urban park of Maspalomas. At same spot Melanoides tuberculata and probably Poecilia reticulata were common. Also P. perezi were vocalizing there.


T. b. boettgeri- adult


Heteroptera sp. -nymph




lichens from island highest mount


liverwort


snow




sights


habitat of Pelophylax perezi- shaggy part of a stream


Pelophylax perezi- juvenile


habitat of Gallotia stehlini



G. stehlini- female



G. stehlini- male


pseudomelanistic male of Trachemys sp. from zoological garden


Pygoplites diacanthus from zoo


Suricata suricatta from zoo


Rhinella schneideri from zoo




Gran Canaria is not only barren rocks- on photos above spot in immersion of terrain where stream flows



church in Arucas

[Michal Szkudlarek]

Is not its tail strange? What could cause it? Pregnancy?

[Mario Schweiger]

Seems to be a well fed specimen, with a big fat reservoir in its tail.
And it seems, the tail have been hurt before sometime, just where it gets thinner.

Mario

[Michal Szkudlarek]

I didn't know that they can regenerate tail. Thanks Mario!