Day 82, one individual.
Relacionado con // Related to:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667158
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667199
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2667420
rooivlerkspreeu/red-winged starling/onychognathus morio on Klipspringer [Oreotragus oreotragus]
Bitis atropos about 5 m high on a cliff face in the tsitsikamma mountains
with @jamesmorton
A regional rarity.
Hydrophis platurus
Yellow-belled Sea Snake. From Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.
http://www.tyroneping.co.za/snakes-southern-africa/hydrophis-platurus-yellowbelly-sea-snake/
Any idea what happened to its front feet?
Hatchlings still in the nest
Chameleons are thirsty, sometimes hold them closer to small puddles of water and they drink as much as they can
form broadleyi
Quite far inland.
In suburban garden. Licking the flowers of the Fennel plant
Rusty tail; found in rocky outcrop; eating fynbos leaves and flowers.
(Chamaesaura aenea)
Transvaal Grass lizard, Transvaal-Schlangenechse
This lizard is almost legless, but if you look closely you can see the degenerated legs, which are barely used.
Male (he had black under his chin). A local named the species which I've used as a placeholder.
Hatchling serrated hinged terrapin found swimming in the pool!
Lizard in regurgitation/vomit containing a second lizard, bones and hair.
For regurgitation obs, see
A bunch of small snakes, some dragonfly nymphs and two mice (off picture) regurgitaed on a dam wall, presumably by a heron.
Body length a tad short of 600mm! Emerged from a sparassid. Found curled up into a Gordian tangle, suggesting a Horsehair Worm or Gordian Worm (due to their knottiness)belonging to the Nematomorpha, usually seen emerging from crickets and grasshoppers. It appears, however, that such worms that come from spiders are more likely mermithid Nematodes. All references I could find quote Poinar 1985. The brief text in ADS2014:(p.19)that deals with nematode parasites of spiders is also copied from that article.
Little seems to be knowm about life cycles or identification of long, tough helminths that live in large spiders. Poinar (1985) mentions mermithids up to 150mm and Nematomorphs that parasitise insects are said to be as long as a meter. By size and general appearance this worm resembles Nematomorphs I've seen emerging from Cockroaches.
I dipped the worm in hot water to kill it so I could satisfy my curiosity about its length. It is now preserved in cane spirits if anyone is interested?
Found on stoep in late afternoon sun - both parties rather dead and dry.
Thanks to Luke Kemp for fingering the lizard into position
Photos kind courtesy of Charles Botha
Body length 4.6mm
Seen hopping across hot, barren, coarse sand to a vantage point where it appeared to be scanning the surrounds for prey.
Roman Passion
Length approx. 25mm
Started filming a few seconds in, so whole encounter took approx 90seconds. Full video here: https://youtu.be/UOZ53L8qk0A
I saw the male circling the female, then suddenly dart in behind her. He held her in his jaws, her abdomen bend up and over her head. They continued back and forth for 90seconds, at times it became frenetic and he whacked her up and down on the sand a number of times (as in GIF), which made me think perhaps they weren't mating but that one solifuge was killing the other. But in the end they separated unharmed.
From Wikipedia:
" Life cycle
..Reproduction can involve direct or indirect sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore. To do this, he flings the female on her back.
The female then digs a burrow, into which she lays 50 to 200 eggs – some species then guard them until they hatch. Because the female does not feed during this time, she will try to fatten herself beforehand, and a species of 5 cm has been observed to eat more than 100 flies during that time in the laboratory. Solifugae undergo a number of stages including, egg, postembryo, 9–10 nymphal instars, and adults."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solifugae#Life_cycle
Links to more mating vids here: https://www.inaturalist.org/comments/2330202
Some kind of nest build in grass right at the bottom of the ground, there are several holes in that nest. I did wait quite some time to see what will come out or go in but saw nothing
Fell onto my coffee cup saucer
BINCO npo survey. Permission to post these pictures. For more info see https://binco.eu/projects/malawi/
thX Chris. ; )
A small group of these (never more than 10 adults, usually about 5, I reckon) has been living in this well in an ephemeral rocky riverbed for at least 6 years. Well about 2 m diameter and 3 m deep, fed by a slow natural spring.
2 individuals hiding in dense cover alongside drainage area/ valley
Cape Peninsula Fynbos
not sure why it was easy to catch, the day wasn't cold.
Scales quite sharp/scabrid to the touch, which was a surprise.
Observed by Josh van Blerk