Corfu in summer 2020

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Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Michal Szkudlarek » Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:40 pm

Hi
I'm back from Corfu where I tried to find Tritirus macedonicus (unsuccesfully) and score some lifers. It was very hot but fortunately not very crowdy because of the pandemic. This was also the reason why I couldn't meet Bosse Stille (coauthor of a fieldguide to herptiles of the island) to herp together.
At night I arrived to Dassia, where my hotel was located, and I explored neighbourhood but I found only Hemidactylus turcicus on a wall surrounding an olive tree.
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habitat
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The following morning, when going for a breakfast I spotted
Algyroides nigropunctatus nigropunctatus that soon turned out to be the most common reptile in there.

adult males have red bellies and blue heads
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habitat of Algyroides nigropunctatus nigropunctatus
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That day I found a man-made ornamental pond with a fish and few Pelophylax epeiroticus.
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vocal sacs are black- typical to P. epeiroticus
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vertebral line of that individual is not symetrical as you see
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The next day we went to a beach where I found Podarcis tauricus ionicus, Algyroides nigropunctatus nigropunctatus and a juvenile of Lacerta trilineata major.

Lacerta trilineata major- juvenile, uniformly coloured
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its habitat
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That day I snorkeled a bit and then went to Kerkyra but suprisingly I didn't find any Starred Agamas in the Old Fortress, maybe because it was a midday. I also visited Museum of Asian Art and it was great. In evening I went for a walk and found DOR frog or toad, I dont know because the body was in bad condition.

The next day we went to Agios Georgios Beach and there was a river flowing into sea that had Emys orbicularis hellenica, Mauremys rivulata and also Pelophylax ridibundus kurtmulleri- freshly metamorphosed froglets.
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Pelophylax sp. tadpole
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Then we went to Palaiokastritsa where I visited a beautiful monastery.

The next day we went for a cruise to Parga in Epirus. In that city on my way to Vlacherna Monastery I found a beautiful adult male Lacerta trilineata major in an olive orchard. I saw it eating ants from a tree.
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His habitat
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After returning to Corfu, I went for a walk in Dassia and encountered DOR Malpolon insignitus.
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The next day we went by cars to Pantokrator mountain, beach and Kerkyra. In Kerkyra I saw and heard a beautiful Divine Liturgy.

The following day, on our way do Sidari, we stoped at a petrol station and there was a pond that used to be a river and there were 3 species of sweetwater turtles- Trachemys scripta elegans, Emys orbicularis hellenica and Mauremys rivulata.
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In Sidari I found some Algyroides nigropunctatus nigropunctatus. Here is a male.
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The next day didn’t bring new species. Again A. n. nigropunctatus and Hemidactylus turcicus. Here is a female of A.n. nigropunctatus and a juvenile of H. Turcicus.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jt6HtD]Image

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The following day we drove north to Lagoon Antinioti that is allegedly inhabited by otters. I didnt see any though. Near that place there is an abandoned monastery that I visited. During the trip there I encountered Lacerta trilineata major.
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Next day morning I took a bus to Kerkyra to find Starred Agamas and I found a juvenile on a wall near the Old Fortress.
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I went south and found several adults some of which were doing press-ups , probably to communicate that they are ready to defend their territory.
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Their habitat.
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In afternoon we drove to Erimiti private wildlife reserve. Albanian coast was clearly seen from that place. I found there an adult Testudo hermanni boettgeri in shrubs.
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The habitat
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The following day we went to Gouvia beach and water there was stagnant, warm and non-transparent. The beach was almost empty though. Nearby I found juveniles of Podarcis tauricus ionicus.
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The habitat
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From Gouvia I took a public bus to Paleokastritsa and I visited their Aquarium which had also amphibians and reptiles. It was nice. I learned that an octopus is as intelligent as a cat but I dont know if it is really true. After returning to hotel I found a snake molt near my hotel apartment but I dont know what species of Colubridae it belonged to.
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The next day day we went south of Kerkyra to see Saint Jason and Sosipater church, Vlacherna Monastery and Achillleion palace. The latter had a garden in which I found Starred Agamas and a Platyceps najadum dahlii that was climbing elegantly on a wall.
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The habitat
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Then we went further south to Korission laguna. Instead of lizards I found their sand traces.
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After returning to hotel a juvenile A.n. nigropunctatus ran into my apartment. I had to catch it and release it outdoors.
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The following day we went to Porto Timoni beach on the other side of the island. I did some snorkeling but not long because water was relatively cold.

The next morning I went south, to Ropa Valley to take photos of frogs and indeed there were many of them in a river. There were also Mauremys rivulata and E. o. hellenica.
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These frogs are Pelophylax epeiroticus.
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Their habitat
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Then I took a bus to Kerkyra and I visited an archeological museum. It had a Testudo hermanni shell that was once probably a part of a musical instrument.
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The next day I went to a New Fortress and a Byzantine Musseum of Antivouniotissa. The museum was cool. When I returned to Dassia I also had an occasion to take a nice photo of a male of A. n. nigropunctatus.
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The end.
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Re: Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Andre Schmid » Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:39 am

I miss the snakes :twisted:

Anoyhow nice report and you are one of the lucky & happy guys who made a trip in 2020 :mrgreen:
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Re: Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Tomas Klacek » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:43 pm

Nice whip snake!
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Re: Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Michal Szkudlarek » Tue Sep 01, 2020 9:29 pm

Tomas Klacek wrote:Nice whip snake!

I saw that species in winter in SW Turkey but it escaped quickly and I have no photo of it. This, Greek, specimen on the other hand was moving slowly so I took many photos of it.
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Re: Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Gerald Ochsenhofer » Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:46 pm

Cool! I especially like the trilineata pictures :)
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Re: Corfu in summer 2020

Postby Michal Szkudlarek » Fri Sep 11, 2020 11:12 am

Gerald Ochsenhofer wrote:Cool! I especially like the trilineata pictures :)

Oh yes, I love these pictures. I set one of them to my desktop background. The lizard allowed me to approach it in very close distance since I wasn't doing any rapid movements.
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