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    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee
    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee
    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee
    Ebook231 pages1 hour

    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee

    By Michael M. Swan and Simon S. Watharow

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    About this ebook

    The Victorian Mallee region encompasses the Little Desert, the Big Desert, the Sunset Country and the Hattah-Kulkyne. Each area is unique and with different topography, vegetation and fauna. The region experiences consistently higher temperatures, lower rainfall and contains a greater diversity of reptiles than any other part of the state.

    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee represents the first comprehensive publication on the herpetofauna of the region. It covers 56 species that inhabit the area as well as a further 24 species occurring in fringe riverine and woodland systems. The reader is able to identify species by means of a photograph supported by a distribution map, a diagnostic features key and descriptive species accounts.

    The book includes a discussion of venomous snakes, information on first aid for snakebites, and hints for snake prevention around the house.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCSIRO PUBLISHING
    Release dateAug 10, 2005
    ISBN9780643099579
    Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee

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      Book preview

      Snakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee - Michael M. Swan

      SNAKES, LIZARDS

      AND FROGS

      of the

      VICTORIAN MALLEE

      SNAKES, LIZARDS AND FROGS

      of the

      VICTORIAN MALLEE

      Michael Swan and Simon Watharow

      Illustrations by Rachael Hammond

      © Michael Swan and Simon Watharow 2005

      All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests.

      National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

      Swan, Michael, 1956– .

      Snakes, lizards and frogs of the Victorian mallee.

      Bibliography.

      ISBN 0 643 09134 3.

      1. Mallee lands – Victoria. 2. Reptiles – Victoria –

      Identification. 3. Snakes – Victoria – Identification. 4.

      Frogs - Victoria – Identification. 5. Lizards - Victoria –

      Identification. I. Watharow, Simon, 1967– . II. Title.

      597.909945

      Available from

      CSIRO PUBLISHING

      150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139)

      Collingwood VIC 3066

      Australia

      Front cover

      Coral Snake, P. Robertson; Mallee habitat, P. Robertson;

      Common Spadefoot Toad, M.G. Swan; and Sand Goanna, P. Robertson.

      Back cover

      Mitchell’s Short-tailed Snake, N. Clemann; Painted Dragon, M.G. Swan;

      Mallee Spadefoot Toad, N. Clemann.

      Set in Minion 9.5/11

      Cover and text design by James Kelly

      Typeset by James Kelly

      Printed in Australia by Impact Printing

      Foreword

      The Victorian Mallee is situated between the cooler, damper south-eastern areas of Australia – known as the Bassian zoogeographic region – and warmer, drier inland areas – known as the Eyrean zoogeographic region. Intruding into this area is the Murray-Darling river system, and this tends to introduce subtropical or Torresian species.

      Because the Mallee lies in such a transitional zone between zoogeographic regions, it contains by far the most diverse herpetological fauna of any area within our state, with some 60 per cent of the known Victorian reptile species being found within the Mallee. On the other hand, because of its relatively arid climate, only about 33 per cent of the amphibian species recorded from Victoria occur within the confines of the Mallee. In fact only 11 per cent, or three species, of these are recorded away from the river and lake systems.

      This confluence of zoogeographic regions not only contributes to the faunal richness of the region, but also defines the limits of many species’ distributions. Many reach the extreme south-eastern limits of their distributions within the Mallee, some not even extending south of the Sunset Country. Others reach the north-western limits of their distribution in the Little Desert. All of these factors make the Mallee an exciting place for those interested in reptiles.

      Both authors of this book demonstrate considerable passion for their subject, and the book benefits from their many self-funded excursions to the Mallee to document, photograph and research the herpetofauna and habitats of the area.

      As a young man, Mike Swan was a member of the Hawthorn Junior Field Naturalists Club, and it was during this time that he cultivated an interest in the Victorian Mallee. He has been a keen student of the herpetology of this area since, and is to be congratulated on being the senior author in the production of this book. He is currently employed in the herpetology department of the Melbourne Zoo.

      Simon Watharow is a registered snake catcher, who is also involved in herpetological education. He is an ardent student of the parasites and diseases of reptiles. He is currently the president of the Victorian Herpetological Society and a keen helper of young reptile keepers.

      I am sure that this book will be of great assistance to those amateur herpetologists interested in the reptiles of the region, as well as to the staff of the National Parks and other government and semi-government agencies that work within the Mallee.

      John Coventry

      Curator of Herpetology, Emeritus, Museum Victoria.

      Western Blue-tongued Lizard, a typical mallee species, from Frederick McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, 1878–1890.

      Preface

      This guide to the unique herpetofauna of the Victorian Mallee has been produced to allow readers to identify the snakes, lizards and frogs of the region with the help of photographs and maps, supported by a diagnostic features key and descriptive species accounts.

      The book encompasses the main Victorian Mallee blocks: Little Desert, Big Desert, Sunset Country and Hattah-Kulkyne National Parks. Each area is unique and varies in topography, vegetation, and fauna.

      North-western Victoria experiences consistently higher temperatures, lower rainfall and contains a greater diversity of reptiles than any other part of the state. Fifty-six species are considered true ‘mallee’ inhabitants. This is defined as, ‘inhabiting mallee plant communities’, although they may not be restricted to these communities. Peripheral species that do not truly inhabit mallee vegetation are included with separate, limited information at the back of this guide.

      The species accounts provide descriptions of morphological features of each animal and include notes on their habitat, habits, diet, reproduction, and Victorian conservation status. Each species account is accompanied by a photograph and distribution map.

      Dichotomous keys are not provided and comprehensive keys to Australian reptiles and frogs can be found in Hal Cogger’s Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia (2000).

      The taxonomic names of reptiles used in the guide follow Steve Wilson and Gerry Swan’s A Complete Guide To Reptiles of Australia (2003), and for frogs follow Hal Cogger’s Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia (2000). Common names (except for tortoise, where we have used turtle) follow those used by the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment.

      Sand Goanna

      About the authors

      Mike Swan cannot remember a time when he has not been interested in reptiles and amphibians. He joined the Hawthorn Junior Field Naturalists Club at the age of 14 and formed many friendships with fellow naturalists. It was with this group of young enthusiasts that he travelled by train from Melbourne on the first field trips to the Victorian Mallee. These expeditions sparked a life long interest in the diverse herpetofauna of this unique environment.

      Mike has also travelled throughout Australia and other parts of the world studying and photographing reptiles and frogs. He has authored numerous articles on herpetology and currently works in the Herpetofauna Department of the Melbourne Zoo.

      Simon Watharow has enjoyed a lifelong interest in herpetology, and is actively involved in raising community awareness of reptiles. He teaches courses on captive husbandry, snake-handling, removing problem snakes and also manages a home for displaced reptiles. His main passion is field research, with a particular interest in reptile parasites.

      Simon has conducted numerous herpetological surveys in the Victorian Mallee and authored many articles on herpetology.

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