 |
| Close-up of a Mountain dragon (Rankinia diemensis) |
 |
| Environmental shot of a Mountain dragon (Rankinia diemensis) |
I had a very pleasant trip down memory lane with my Dad recently, visiting some very important places in the New England area. We stopped off briefly in the Moonbi ranges, and I was delighted to watch the antics of the local Mountain dragons, Rankinia diemensis.
These beautiful, energetic little dragons are found in the higher and cooler elevations of south eastern Australia and are Tasmania's only dragon. They are extremely endearing because of the speed, alertness and intelligence that seems to burn behind their eyes. There is an awareness and intelligence in these little dragons that is rarely seen in other reptiles, though I am undoubtedly thoroughly biased. I have spent quite a while watching their delightful antics, head-bobbing, arm waving and suddenly squinting suspiciously at the sky for potential attack from birds. They are just so alert and so bloody fast ! Though the Moonbi ranges are not part of the Hunter Valley, Mountain dragons are found in the Hunter, so I decided to include this observation on the blog.
Mountain dragons are slightly similar in appearance to the far more common Jacky lizard, Amphibolurus muricatus which is found over much of eastern NSW at lower elevations. An experienced herpetologist will pick the two species apart readily from a distance in the field through noticeable differences in head shape, but the casual observer will definitely struggle. The easiest way to differentiate the species is the colour of the mouth - Mountain dragons have fleshy pink mouths while Jacky lizards have bright yellow mouths like a Bearded dragon.
 |
| Environmental portrait of a Mountain dragon (Rankinia diemensis) |
No comments:
Post a Comment