Morocco 2010

[Mario Schweiger]

Hello,

here are my first few lines and pics from Morocco.

We arrived at Ceuta/Spain on Sunday, late afternoon and crossed the border to Morocco. Weather was terrible. Cool wind and heavy rains.
On Monday morning it was a nearly cloudless sky and we drove south to Meknes.
At the ancient city of Volubilis I found Agama bibroni, Teira perspicillata chabanaudi, Testudo gr. graeca and saw 2 large Timon tangitanus, running into the dense bushes. Around 4 p.m. it was completely cloudy again.
Tuesday we went more south along the western ridges of the Moyen Atlas to Beni Mellal. In the hills a Psammodromus algirus and at a creek we found Mauremys leprosa and on the rocks nearby Agama bibroni,Chalcides polylepis and Tarentola mauritanica.
Wednesday we drove into the Moyen Atlas, and have been very successful..............
Today we went from Beni Mellal to Marrakech. On the way a Saurodactylus brosseti under a rock and skins of very large Malpolon monspessulanus and Psammophis schokari.

Ancient city Volubilis, cathedral

Teira perspicillata chabanaudi

Testudo graeca graeca

Agama bibroni, female

Psammodromus algirus

Mauremys leprosa, sun bathing

habitat of Mauremys leprosa

Saurodactylus brosseti

.........will be continued

Mario

[Pedro Janssen]

Hé Mario,

Morocco is a great country to visit. Not only for herps.
For me it's to long ago that i have been there.
I am anxious to see more pictures of Morocco, especially of the Atlas and snakes.

Pedro

[Peter Oefinger]

Great, Mario! Let's see what comes next.
Good luck for you (and the herpetofauna team).

[Mario Schweiger]

Hello again,

1. sorry for not replying to all your postings, but the internet connnections here are mostly very slow here!

and now a few lines and pictures more frommy trip.

On Fryday evening our compagnions from Vienna arrived at Marrakech.
Saturday morning we visited some small hills about 20 kms north of the town.
We found Acanthodactylus erythrurus atlanticus, Eumeces algeriensis, Chalcides polylepis and a few Testudo gr. graeca. No snakes, but sheddings of Hemorrhois hippocrepis and Psammophis schokari.

Acanthodactylus erythrurus atlanticus

Acanthodactylus erythrurus atlanticus

Eumeces algeriensis

Tarentola mauritanica

Chalcides polylepis

Sunday we drove up into the High Atlas ridge to the village Ouikamaiden.
Along the road Podarcis vaucheri, Timon tangitanus and Agama bibroni.
At an altitude of about 2.100 meters the Atlas day gecko, Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus.

Timon tangitanus, juvenile

Podarcis vaucheri

Chalcides montanus

On monday we started to the south and crossed the High Atlas at the Tizi-n-Tichka gap (2.260 m) on the way to Ouarzazate.
At a river on the northern lopes of the mountain ridge we found Bufo mauritanicus and many Mauremys leprosa. Close to the gap Podarcis vaucheri again, Discoglossus pictus, but unfortunately no Atlantolacerta andreansky.

Bufo mauritanicus, male

Bufo mauritanicus, female

Mauremys leprosa "marokkensis", juv. male

Podarcis vaucheri

Tuesday to thursday we spent around Ouarzazate in the Hammada (rock desert). Here are a few pics from the first day.

Acanthodactylus boskianus

a small oasis in the Hammada

Natrix maura, large female

Chalcides ocellatus

.......more the next days!

Mario

[Daniel Kane]

Nice photos Mario! I especially like the Timon and the last one of P. vaucheri, great detail.

I hope you have luck finding Cerastes, they look like such cool snakes.

[Ilian Velikov]

Great pictures...and interesting new (for me ) species!

[Jürgen Gebhart]

I love the Bufo pics!!!
The second vaucheri looks very close to tiliguerta.
and the maura is also pretty nice!!!

[Wolfram Schurig]

Hi Mario,

great finds! I most like the bufo pics!


Regards

wolfram

[Tony Palmer]

Cool pics Mario! most species I’m not familiar with but I’m certainly getting a taste for North Africa looks like your having a great time.
looking forward to more pics

[Mario Schweiger]

3rd entry from Morocco.
Tuesday, May, 4th.
This morning our compagnions from the herpetofauna.at team left to Casablanca to get their flight back. Werner Mayer and I will stay in the sand desert (Erg Chebbi) until tomorrow. Then we will leave westwards, driving along the southern slopes of the Anti- or Sahara Atlas mountain ridge to Agdz in the Draa valley.
Here now some more pics from the Ouarzazate area and the way to the east to Merzouga at the edge of the sand desert.

Ptyodactylus oudrii

the rock desert a few miles north of Ouarzazate

a yellow Uromastix acanthinurus a few minutes after capturing. they loose their bright color a few seconds after capturing them

Mauremys leprosa saharica. watch the blue eyes

Agama bibroni male in mating color

a yellow Uromastix acanthinurus how it looks like from distance

Acanthodactylus boskianus

the Oued Fint south of Ouarzazate

Chamaeleo chamaeleon (or Ch. saharicus, if you will accept this species)

a very young Natrix maura playing a viper

.... end of teasing!

Cerastes cerastes.The only specimen we found. Maybe due to the cold and windy nights. But I will be 3 days again within its distribution area from tomorrow morning

... a red colored Uromastix

.... and a hatchling

the false Cobra, Scutophis (formerly Malpolon) moilensis

Scutophis playing Cobra

the very small Gecko species Tropiocolotes tripolitanus

next entry (I hope in 3 or 4 days) will show you the species of the sand desert.

Mario