Herps of Jordan, Part 3 (The Hills Have Eyes...Snake Eyes)

The hills in the Amman area remind me of the hills in southern California, particularly around Riverside county. The boulder-strewn, rocky hillsides cover the landscape, and coupled with short shrubs and bushes, the hills provide good cover for anything living in them. The weather also seems very comparable to that area of the states. As I walk through the hills, looking under bushes, overturning rocks, and peering under ledges, it's inevitable that I'll run across a snake or two.
I overturned one rock and saw (but only for a split second) a slender snake curled up. Before I could react, the quick serpent sped off through the low, prickly bushes and disappeared among some boulders. I was so disappointed with my herping skills for letting him get away, and I re-dedicated myself to practice quicker reflexes and smarter herping. I couple stones later I discovered his shed left behind, a depressing reminder of what just evaded me. The still-soft piece of skin was kind enough to hold still for a photo, revealing to me that my little friend was probably some specie of racer or whipsnake.
I walked down a small valley next to an agricultural area to look for more reptiles. A large dog on a nearby porch kept up his rhythmic barking like a metronome, while a couple bewildered faces gazed at me from their windows, wondering what this fully grown foreigner was doing walking slowly next to their farm turning over stones. I decided it was best not to make eye contact, but to just keep going as if I knew exactly what I was doing....which I did, I guess. Finally, another snake! Upon first glance, it would seem odd that an earthworm would be under a rock in a sandy desert area without any water. This, however, was no earthworm, but a very small snake.
A Eurasian blind snake (Typhlops vermicularis)
The vestigial eyes, appearance of scales around the head and body, and miniature pink tongue flicking in and out are all indicators of his reptilian origins.
Another slightly larger one was found further down the valley. Their internal organs, including their beating heart, can be seen through this specie's transparent underbelly.

I thought I had repeated my dreadful experience of letting a snake escape when I caught a glimpse of a pretty large snake slipping into a hole. Again, my heart sank until I looked into the hole and realized it was quite shallow, and the snake was comfortably curled up at the end.
Knowing that it couldn't go anywhere now, I took some time to assess the situation and my surroundings (should it try to dash back out), and I verifiend that it was not venomous. Actually, my identification went something like this: "Hmm...I really don't know the specie, but I know it isn't a viper, so who cares if I get bit." With an attitude of stubborn persistence, I reached my hand into the hole and pulled out the large, unhappy snake.
Needless to say, the irrate snake didn't hesitate to bite my hand. After researching, I discovered the specie is known as the Montpellier Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus), and it is mildly venomous. Effects of the venom include swelling and fever like symptoms. Lucky for me the fangs are located in the back of the mouth, and it was only able to latch on with his front teeth.
The Montpellier snake was a good 3 feet or more.
Here it is slipping down the nearest hole after being photographed.
Ouch! I don't blame it for being upset, and of course if I see another snake coiled in a hole, I'd do it all over again. More than a few snakes inhabit these hillsides, and my job is to herp them from the holes and crevices that they call home.

Herps of Jordan, Part 2 (The Vicinity)

I was now in Amman, and life quickly became busy with classes, homework, learning how to get around, making local friends (and trying to explain to them in Arabic why I like catching reptiles), and when time allows...herping! Many times, though, the herps can be found in and around town without going too far.
Once, I was in downtown Amman eating falafals with friends. We walked over to an area of old Roman ruins to sit down and finish our meal. Not long afterward the workers who maintain the area came over and we practiced our Arabic with them, while sitting under a fig tree and sipping some of their local lemon mint "tea". The conversation didn't get far before they were informed of my reptile fascination. One guy smiled and ran off to bring something back that he had found that morning. I was surprised and excited to see him return with a good-sized Greek tortoise that had made the ruins its home.
Adult Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca).

Then, later, I saw a curious skink popping its head in and out of a crack in an old Roman pillar. I'd put my face up to it and look in, and the skink would come right up to my nose. When I pulled my face away and tried to grab it with my hand, it would retreat back into the crevice. This was the best picture I could get of him. Again, you can click on the picture to enlarge it. I've tried to find out its specie name, but with no luck. It seems I can get information all day about the huge, or cool, or special species of the area, but a lot of the less impressive or smaller species get overlooked by websites and such...too bad.
The yellow fan-fingered gecko found in Aqaba turns out to be only one of three species of fan-fingered geckos that live in Jordan. Both of the other two make the Amman area its home, or at least their ranges seem to overlap here, and I've found both species sitting on the same boulder in late afternoon.
The Levantine fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus puiseuxi) is black with white polka dots covering its body. I remember the first time I saw this specie was when I was sixteen in the Golan Heights when I was on vacation with my family.
The Sinai fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus guttatus) is lighter in color and has grey-ish spots intermixed with orange-ish spots. I have also since seen this specie in areas further south of Amman, where I haven't seen the Levantine specie.

Herping close to home also allowed me to find my own little Greek tortoise, which I assume is a fairly common specie in this area (not like the rarity of the Desert tortoise in the states).
I love these little guys! I've since caught two more (one, however was a large adult), but I never tire of seeing a tortoise sheltering next to a rock or under a bush. Such a cool specie!
I love the look on this guy's face. It just looks so defeated and dejected...almost ashamed...ha! I put him back down and he waddled as fast as he could to the nearest bush. Herping is such an enjoyment--hiking around, enjoying nature, and sampling the native fauna. It's nice to know that sometimes you don't even have to be far from home to satisfy your needs.

Herps of Jordan, Part 1 (The Arrival)

As our large boat from Nuweiba finally docked in Aqaba, I stepped off onto the pier into the warm, salty air and embrace of sunshine. For the next 3 months, Jordan would be my country of residence for studying Arabic; but as a herper, of course, I have the urge to search out local reptiles and amphibians whenever possible. With two hours of free time dangling in front of me like a rare, arboreal serpent, I seized it with the vigor that only a herper in a new land possesses.
It's not like herpers are catered to and conveniently dropped off in the most ideal habitat. Rather, like much of the time, I seek out the best I can find and make do with the most ideal habitats I can get to. A rocky, desert wash with a few acacias and palms sat near the beach and hotel, so I decided to comb the area for anything I could find. Here began my herping adventures of Jordan!

I've already documented my first herp specie in the Egyptian geckos section, but actually, it was my first herp in Jordan. The keeled rock gecko (Cryptopodion scaber, pictured in previous post) sat under a rock in the wash and motivated me to continue in search of other interesting finds. Not long afterward, I flipped over a board and caught my first fan-fingered gecko.
The yellow fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus hasselquistii) may also have been the gecko I photographed from afar in Egypt.
His wide toepads enabled him to travel quickly on horizontal and vertical surfaces, alike.
I found another of the same specie (with a full tail) seeking shelter under tree bark. Happy with two new gecko species, I found an area next to a chain-link fence, in hopes of finding a herp under the boards and rocks next to the fence. I flipped over a board and saw a flash of movement wriggle to hide under a new board. I pressed the middle of the board firmly to the ground, pinning whatever sat beneath it. Then, I lifted up the front to see the back end of a lovely, decent-sized skink that now could not get away. I used my free hand to lift it up into the light for a couple quick photos.
An ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) wondering how it was discovered and why it's still alive.
The skink gets its name from the spots that look like eyes covering its body. Although its legs are short, it's a strong lizard and can move quickly across the ground.

The time sped by quickly, and before I knew it, our study abroad group was back on the bus heading north for Amman. The landscape changed from hot, rocky desert to cool, high-altitude desert to a green Mediterranean-style habitat. I found my first herps in Amman before even leaving the bus, since the agamas enjoyed basking conspicuously on rocks near the road.
A basking starred agama (Laudakia stellio).
The starred agama is the most commonly seen lizard in the Amman area. This one was only a juvenile.

I sat on the bus wondering what other species of herps lived out there in the rocky hills. There was about an hour of daylight left after I arrived and got settled in my new apartment. I wanted to take a quick walk around the neighborhood before it got dark, so a friend and I walked along until I found a large orchard with a pile of rocks in one corner. I couldn't resist seeing what might live under those rocks, so my friend kindly sat there while I utilized the last moments of daylight for herping.
It turned out that a snake-eyed lizard (Ophisops elegans) had made them his home. Another new specie for me. My travels through Jordan to my destination of Amman had revealed five Jordanian herp species that day, and I would come across many more in the coming weeks and months.

Identification Revisions

The lack of proper identifications for the Egyptian herps has been weighing on my mind, so I did a little bit of research and wanted to update the blog with the new information and make it more thorough and professional.

Starting at the bottom of my first Egyptian herps post and moving up through the more recent post:

The gecko found under a stone in a ditch in Aqaba is indeed a different specie--
Cryptopodion scaber (Keeled rock gecko or rough-skinned gecko)

The geckos found on the dunes in Nuweiba are as previously described--Stenodactylus petrii (Anderson's short-fingered gecko, a.ka. dwarf sand gecko)

The faster lizard that got away in Nuweiba and wasn't photographed-- Acanthodactylus scutellatus (Fringe-toed sand lizard)

The gecko photgraphed from a distance on a wall in Saqqara is still unknown-- Possibly a specie of fan-fingered geckos.

The geckos seen on the ceiling by fluorescent lights in Luxor are still unknown--Perhaps an introduced specie or maybe even a couple fan-fingered's as well.

The guy trapped in the cup that was caught by my hotel in Nuweiba--
Hemidactylus turcicus (Turkish gecko, a.k.a Mediterranean gecko)

The little, terrestrial gecko found in Giza by the pyramids--
Tropiocolotes steudneri (Steudner's Gecko)

The lizard found near Mount Sinai--
Mesalina brevirostris (Small-spotted lizard)

The skinks running around the bushes in Luxor--
Mabuya quinquetaeniata (Bean Skink)

Ahh, it's good to get that off my mind. It would make things much easier if I just had a field guide (for both Egypt and Jordan), but those seem hard to come by here. Good thing for Internet. Anyway, hope this is interesting. Devin, you need to post your new finds. After that, I'll post some Jordanian species. Happy herping!

More of Egypt's Herps (Non-geckos)

I would have loved to explore the many great habitats and ecosystems of Egypt, but a lack of time and an abundance of rules restricted me mostly to desert areas close to the city where geckos run wild. I did see a few non-gecko herps in Egypt, however, and this is a record of those.
These skinks loved basking on the sidwalks and perched under bushes around my hotel in Luxor, Egypt. They were even good at climbing trees to escape capture. Not sure on the specie.
Some of them had amazing greens and yellows along their sides, probably as a result of mating season. All the sunburned European tourists sitting by the pool in their speedos and gross bikinis didn't know what to make of the American boy crawling on his hands and knees through the bushes...acting like they've never seen a herper before.
The area around Mount Sinai is a sparsely vegetated, rocky landscape that doesn't seem able to support much life. The weather was somewhat cool the day I was there, and I only happened upon one small lizard, in spite of my watchful eye and busy-ness flipping rocks.
Again, I am unsure of the specie name, but it looked like it filled the kind of niche that side-blotched lizards fill in the US. It kind of looked similar but had a longer snout and different patterning.
While snorkeling the Red Sea, I saw this guy swimming for shelter 15 feet below me. I was ecstatic to see a sea snake! (Sorry for the small picture). Then, while trying to look up what specie it was I learned that sea snakes can't live in the Red Sea due to the high salinity content of the water, and this "sea snake" that I was so excited to see was actually called a spotted snake eel...why?! You know, whether it's an S-shaped piece of rubber laying on the shoulder of a desert road or spotted snake eel, Mother Nature always finds ways to fool even the most seasoned herper.

In addition to these herps, there was also the lizard found on the dunes in Nuweiba that escaped beneath the bush, which I believe was the long-footed lizard, Acanthodactylus longipes. (Google it and look under images for a picture.) Also, I found a pool full of small, black tadpoles in the Al-Azhar Gardens in Cairo probably from the green toad (Bufo viridis). The gardeners there wouldn't let me do a detailed investigation to find an adult. ...And I think that basically sums things up for Egypt. I've already caught some cool Jordanian herps, and a post on those will be forthcoming.

Some Egyptian Herps (Geckos)

It's about time that I contributed to the herping blog, but let me start with a bit of a disclaimer. I'm in the Middle East studying Arabic for the summer, and although the herps out here are varied and many, I really don't get a lot of chances to get out away from city and suburbs to do intense herping. Whenever I'm not studying Arabic (which is most of my time) I am convincing someone to come with me out into the heat and sun to watch me catch lizards (not an easy task). I have to always leave with a buddy and that limits what I'm able to do. Now...with that being said, I LOVE herping and take the opportunities whenever I can, so let me show you a few things I've found along the way of my travels. On a side note, identifying the herps is tricky. There aren't many resources available, and I don't have the time I want to research all these species, so I apologize for the amateur identifications. This entry is only herps in Egypt, and later I'll do another of the herps I've found in Jordan.

I found a quick chance to turn over some rocks in Giza around the pyramids. The tourist traffic is heavy here, and it's not exactly the best habitat, but I was finished pyramid gazing and thought I'd give it a quick go before having to board the bus again.
After only seeing a few beetles and lots of wrappers and soda cans, I was pleased to find this little desert dweller. With only claws at the end of her fingers, it's evident this species is a ground dwelling gecko, probably patrolling the area at night looking for bugs under stones and trash. Not sure on the specie and only found the one.
This was an alert little guy that was found at my hotel in Nuweiba, Egypt, on the Sinai Peninsula. I caught several of them, but they were always scurrying across the sidewalk under the walkway lights, sticking their heads out of gaps in rock walls, or climbing the lower areas of palm trees. They weren't on flat, vertical surfaces, such as around porch lights. I think this specie is called the Turkish gecko. (Although, I thought Turkish geckos climbed walls and hung out around porch lights...so I'm confused.) Compared to the previous specie, this one had a larger head, more developed toe pads, and larger tuburcles on the back. They must be different species.
As you can tell, geckos dominated my reptile finds in Egypt. Egypt has many reptile species, but lizards are the dominant group here, and within that group, geckos are the most numerous and conspicuous. As for this specie, my guess is perhaps the tropical house gecko. They'd frequent developed areas in Luxor, Egypt, especially around bright lights and signs of hotels and stores.
I could only get a distant photo of this gecko before it took off. This was at the location of an old temple in Saqqara, Egypt. I was surprised to see it out in the open during mid-day. Not sure of the specie.This was my favorite gecko specie of Egypt. I found this guy after taking off one morning during free time to walk around some sand dunes across the street from our hotel in Nuweiba, Egypt. I just really enjoyed its mild-mannered personality, slow gait, plump appearance, and how it holds itself up off the desert sand. It also chirped when I picked it up. I think I've identified it as the Anderson's short-fingered gecko (Stenodactylus petrii).
It only wanted to be left alone but was still nice to me. I think it may have been gravid, too. Unfortunately, I didn't have tons of time to keep herping that morning. Close to this gecko, I found another lizard that was white-ish, with maybe orange-ish spots, and a look that half resembled a fringe-toed lizard and half resembled a whiptail. It would not stand still and I could not get a photo off. It disappeared beneath a thorny bush.
I flipped over a board and found three more little short-fingered geckos beneath it. These guys had a bit more patterning. I put the board back over them left for the bus just as a big sand storm blew in.
I found this gecko in Aqaba, which is technically Jordan, not Egypt, but I grouped it in here because it looked similar to the Turkish geckos I found in Nuweiba. Also, I would imagine this specie ranges into Egypt, which was only a few miles away. I found this one under a rock in a dry ravine, and I haven't decided if it also was a Turkish gecko or not. It seemed different to me. The scales on its back looked less like the tubercles on the Turkish geckos I had caught previously and more like scutes, resembling something like a crocodile. Its coloring was also different.

This more or less concludes the geckos of Egypt section. I have more pictures of geckos from Jordan that I will post soon, but also I will make another post (since this is getting lengthy) of the non-gecko herps I found in Egypt.

Derek, Brittany, Diana, and I went to the Sonoran Desert Museum last week. I love that place it is a fun place to go, and it is more a zoo than a museum. It is basically a zoo of animals native to the Sonoran desert. Here is a picture of Diana and I at the museum, pretty view.

Derek, Brittany, Me, Diana

Spiny tailed Iguanas were released on the grounds awhile back, and now there is a steady population of these lizards roaming the area. This was a BIG adult.

This was a juvenile Spiny tailed Iguana that I caught.

This was a larger Spiny tail, that Derek and I caught.

Same individual, (Jeff, notice it lost and re-grew the end of its tail. Could this be the one that you tried to catch the year before but only walked away with part of the tail???? LOL Well sorry you werent there but I was successful this time around. HAHAHA)

Another close up of the same one. We saw about four different Iguanas and we caught two.

Now Jeff you are going to be really jealous with these next pictures. Last week I talked Derek and Diana into going herping with me for a few hours. We went and walked down a wash (the same one where I saw the Gila Monster, and the Black tail Rattlesnake the week before) and after walking for awhile and not see much I came to a shaded area with a large tree growing out of the side of the wash against a bank. I looked over a dead tree and just on the other side I spotted this dinner plate sized Desert Tortoise. I was way excited. I had seen a juvenile Desert Tortoise before but this was the first adult. His shell was about 12 inches long, He was massive. Awesome find. I wish I had a better camera so I could get better pictures.

I took plenty of pictures, here are a few.