# Reptiles and Amphibians.



## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

A lot of reptiles and amphibians used to get posted in the 'Bug' thread, so now that all the old pics have been deleted by PB, I thought a new dedicated thread was called for. Please add your own shots to the thread.

From the Uk, the common frog and toad.




























It was only after I'd taken these shots, that I noticed that frogs and toads have distinct 'finger tips', most noticable in the pic below.










Great Crested newt and Smooth newt. The Great Crested newt is still in the pond dipping net, as you need a licence to handle them.



















Now some from abroad...European tree frogs from Menorca...these appear all over the place after a rain storm.




























From Portugal, a Marsh frog...










Geckos from Menorca and Portugal...



















This gecko has lost its tail at some point and you can see that the replacement is rather shorter, stumpier and less coloured than the one above in the first pic.










Close up of a Gecko's eye...in bright light, the iris contracts to form 4 pupils....










Detail of a gecko's foot, showing the unique venetian blind like pads that enable it to cling to walls. The pads are covered with minute hook like structures a little like velcro.










Various lizards, mainly from Menorca...

Italian Wall lizards, (_Podarcis sicul_us). Sadly, most of these shots lack clarity as they were taken at almost full zoom. The problem taking pics of these is that they won't let you get to within a few metres of them before they run for cover.




























This is a juvenille specimen of the Moroccan Rock lizard (Teira perspicillata), normally found in Morocco and Algiers. In Europe, the only place it is found is Menorca, where it was introduced, and is now widespread on the island. The blue, or sometimes green colour of the tail fades with maturity.










And finally, a Chameleon that I found in Portugal...


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## Cyclops930 (Oct 20, 2017)

Go on I will play. 













































Sent from my LG-H440n using Tapatalk


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

Cyclops930 said:


> Go on I will play.


 The Adder shot is great, and I'm guessing the others are our native Viviparous, or common lizard. The one in the top pic had lost its tail at some point and has started to grow another (this is called 'autonomy' and is a defence mechanism...if caught by the tail, the lizard is able to detach it by severing a vertibra and casting the tail aside, where it continues to writhe, confusing the attacker while the lizard escapes). Unfortunately, although the creature will regrow its tail, it's never as long or as sleek as the original. Slow worms, also lizards but legless, do this too...usually when caught by cats. It only happens if the lizard is caught by the tail...if you catch it without touching the tail, it won't shed it. We had a colony of these that inhabited the car park area when I worked at the famous compressor firm Compair Broomwade in High Wycome, Bucks...I had some in a vivarium at home and even managed to get them to breed. Sadly, that was in the days of 35mm SLR cameras, and none of the old paper prints that I took survived.


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## Cassie-O (Apr 25, 2017)

Those are incredible pictures. :yes:


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

good show. UG


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

A slow worm, found under a plank on wasteground. Although it looks similar, the slow worm isn't a snake, it's actually a legless lizard, the most obvious distinction being its ability to shed its tail if caught by it. Knowns as 'Autonomy' this is a defence mechanism and the piece of tail left behind continues to writhe and twist, thus occupying the predator while the lizard makes good its escape. The tail does grow back, sometimes in as little as 30 days, but it's usually short and stumpy and not as perfect as the original. It appears to be a reflex action when caught specifically by the tail... if caught by the body it does not seem to happen. The slow worm pictured below is an entire one and has not lost its tail.


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

This Grass snake was basking on the rocks surrounding our waterfall in the garden... it had probably come from the woodland area behind our house. One of 3 species in the Uk (the other two are the Adder and the very rare Smooth Snake), the Grass snake is totally harmless except to small amphibians such as frogs, on which it primarily feeds. It's distuinguishing features are the olive green colour, the black bars on its flanks and underside, and the prominent yellow or whitish collar behind the head. Although harmless, when disturbed it can put on quite a show to defend itself. It's first tactic is to hiss loudly and it will sometimes make false strikes, though it does this with its mouth closed as it has no fangs or venom. If handled, it will emit a foul smelling white fluid from its vent, said to smell like a skunk. It is pretty rank! The third ploy is to play dead. It will roll onto its back with its mouth open and tongue lolling. No matter how many times you straighten it up, it will turn back over as if determined to make you believe it's dead. The Grass snake used to classified as Natrix natrix, the European Grass snake, but in 2017, the UK population was reclassified as a seperate sub species, Natrix helvetica, and renamed the Barred Grass snake. Like all British herp species it is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981, and it is illegal to intentionally harm or kill them, or capture them for sale. It is, however, permissable to capture them for photographic purposes ot even to keep in captivity, though why you would want to do that to such a magnificent creature is beyond me. This one was released unharmed after the 10 minute photo session.














































https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WLxF83I6DGg?feature=oembed


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

Yesterday, just as I was about to turn in for the night, a quick movement in my peripheral vision made me look out onto the balcony where a small Moorish gecko was creeping towards the wall light and some attracted insects on which it was presumably going to have a feast. Unlike some places like Menorca, where the gecko is the national symbol, in Portugal, they are generally regarded by the population with horror, loathing and suspicion, and many 'wive's tales' surround them, such as they can cause rashes and blisters if one falls on you, or that they can poison you if they get into your water container... all totally untrue as they are completely harmless... in fact they have protected status here. There are two species of gecko here, the larger Moorish gecko, Tarentola mauritanica and the Mediterranean House gecko, Hemidactylus tercicus. The Portuguese word for gecko is 'osga', and some expats refer to theirs as 'Oscars', but I'm not sure about the guy who told me he called his 'Gordon'... when I asked why, he said it was someting to to with Wall Street. 

Anyhow, these are last night's pics. They always look as though they've got a huge smile on their face!


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