Some (non frog) Taiwanese pics

[numpty]

No frogs here I'm afraid, but a few Taiwanese beasties I've been able to waggle my camera at over the past few months. Let me preface this by saying that, while I'm passable at identifying local amphibians, I'm bad at IDing just about everything else.


Probably the Indian forest skink, Sphenomorphus indicus. Maybe something completely different.

The five-lined blue-tailed skink, Plestiodon (formerly Eumeces) elegans, looking a lot like its five-stripe Plestiodon cousins from around the world.



Geckos, obviously, but I don't know specifically which. Probably either the common house gecko (the first was indeed hanging around my house), or Bowring's gecko. Anyone know?



I'm bad on lizards too. These most likely are Swinhoe's japalura, Japalura swinhonis, though one or both might be the yellow-throated japalura. Definitely japaluras though.


Okay, this one I do know. The Chinese stripe-necked turtle, Mauremys sinensis. I used to see this particular one basking in the river every day just a stone's throw from my apartment. Since a big typhoon about six weeks ago, however, I haven't seen it again.


I'm rubbish on snakes, but snake spotting is definitely something I'd like to get into more. Pretty sure this is a big-eyed rat snake, Ptyas dhumnades, one of the common ones around these parts, with a reputation for speed.


A Mandarin rat snake, Euprepiophis mandarina, up in the Central Mountains.

Now a few that aren't even vaguely herp-related. Hope someone might find them interesting anyway.


A Chinese pangolin, a rather cute old-world relative of the armadillo, becoming rare in Asia on account of its use in traditional "medicine". I didn't particularly want to take hold of this guy, but the owner of the campsite was walking with me and made a grab for the pangolin when we stumbled across it. It didn't seem too fussed, but I'd still rather have left it alone. Hypocrite that I am, here's a pic of us.


These guys are all over the hills just up the road from me. Formosan macaques.


A fuzzy shot of a mudskipper, Periophthalmus cantonensis, and fiddler crab. A species of goby, mudskippers are well-known for their rudimentary air-breathing abilities (via skin and enlarged gill chambers) and for skipping around on land using their fins to propel them.


A hammerhead worm, Bipalium something or other. Sinister-looking carnivores/cannibals that I was surprised to see have become widely distributed around the world as invasive species.


Allomyrina dichotoma, commonly known in English as the Japanese rhinoceros beetle. I'm quite sure the Taiwanese, not to mention Koreans and Chinese, aren't too enamoured of the "Japanese" part of the name.

Thanks for looking!

[NatureLady]

Awesome photo's!!!! It is really great to be able to see others field trips. The rat snake is beautiful compared to what we have in my area, our are just black when adults.

[numpty]

Awesome photo's!!!! It is really great to be able to see others field trips. The rat snake is beautiful compared to what we have in my area, our are just black when adults.

Thanks, glad to you liked them! Snakes apart, do you have any interesting fauna in your area?

[NatureLady]

They feel pretty basic to me. Of course, I have lived in this area my entire life! I have young ones and my field photo's are limited at the moment. But we have a pretty diverse fauna.

[Namio]

I'm glad you had found my long lost cousin! Lol. Great photos as always, thank you for sharing!

[numpty]

I'm glad you had found my long lost cousin! Lol. Great photos as always, thank you for sharing!

Ah, with cousins like those, you must be looking forward to your upcoming trip back to the homeland!

[Namio]

Ah, with cousins like those, you must be looking forward to your upcoming trip back to the homeland!

You bet I do! I think I have a new niece on the way, too! I would love to meet her!

[IrishRonin]

You have such awesome diversity there, great pics! thanks for sharing