GSBiogroup's Journal

the following is a nice story from Nick Lambert, about his recent trip to Western Australia with Thomas and Pete. Sound like they had a blast.
A term coined on our recent W.A. trip (@thebeachcomber, @possumpete and myself, @nicklambert ) for a method which proved highly successful in finding some of the more rare frogs in the area.
All you need is a bit of road, preferably through an area with native vegetation; some rain, which we had a fair bit of; and a vehicle with some people keen on driving at low speed using their eagle-like vision to scan for tiny frogs.
I'll be adding a few of the different species we encountered during the week, but I'll start with one of the highlights: The Turtle Frog!!
Myobatrachus gouldii, commonly called the Turtle Frog and looking akin to a saggy piece of chicken, was one of our favourite finds of the trip.

Turtle Frog Myobatrachus gouldii ©Nick Lambert, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA) @nicklambert
Found only along a small part of W.A's south-eastern coastline, this frog is one of the weirdest and most obscure frogs in Australia. As it inhabits the semi-arid zone (desert), it has adapted to survive by burrowing beneath the sand. What makes it unique among the other burrowing frogs is the fact that it digs headfirst with it's muscular front legs (like a turtle)!
They eat termites and burrow as deep as 1.3 m, coming to the surface at night only to absorb moisture during or after rain.
We were lucky enough to find 3 of these guys during our time there and they were a crowd favourite.
Here is another Turtle Frog recorded by Pete

Turtle Frog Myobatrachus gouldii © Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) @possumpete

Recently I had a short trip to Tasmania for work, I managed to make a few observations in my free time, I have made a short post on the various species, those new to me or rare and endangered species.
I noticed this beautiful little bush pea while waiting for Phil from the Devonport City Council (AKA @phildevoid) to show me his secret spot where he promised we had a good chance to spot a Critically Endangered, Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor (below). I was not disappointed with 10 individuals spotted, but they were high in the trees and difficult to get a good image.


I also noticed some flowering plants that were new to me including a new Pultenaea species and an Australian Indigo Indigofera australis which while this occurs in my own region i have not actually managed to seen it before.

A Prickly Beauty Pultenaea juniperina (above left), Australian Indigo Indigofera australis (above right)

Tasmanian Native-Hen Tribonyx mortierii
In all I managed only 33 observations but a respectable 21 species, you can see them all here.

Devonport City Council will be participating in the Great Southern Bioblitz for the first time in 2022 it will be interesting to see how they go. You can check out or join the project below.
Great Southern Bioblitz 2022 - Devonport

You can also see all the observations within the reserves within the council in the project below

Flora and Fauna of Devonport reserves created by @spinner, it would be great to see all members of this project joining in the GSB2022

@ramitsingal @huonpine @normamillington @sophierong @waratah1 @gumnut @wiz66 @bass_strait_mc