I don’t usually take photos in portrait orientation, but here one of a swamplands lashtail (Gowidon [Lophognathus] temporalis). These dragons are incredibly abundant at Middle Point, but they are very skittish, usually not letting me get even three meters away before bolting. After walking around a lonely tree stump, I was able to get just a meter away before it scurried inside. Every time I moved towards the lizard, it shifted along the bark horizontally out of view. I’ve seen this sort of behavior in casque-headed lizards (Corytophanes cristatus)in the neotropics, and I anticipate this from the frillies! Shortly after there was a brief rain with some lightning – a momentary relief from the hot sun. Tomorrow I plan to head out into Fogg Dam Reserve to begin my fieldwork. There is so much to see!
Photographed after slight disturbance [2] unless otherwise stated
Surely I will take so many more photographs of this agamid, so I will write a natural history post about them at some point!
