Herpetological trip to Oman: 4. to 17. Februar 2009 |
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trip report by Thomas Bader, Gerald Ochsenhofer and Christoph Riegler |
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Day 11 (14-Feb-2009): Along the East Coast 
After our breakfast we started to explore the north – eastern coastal sector. While the gravelly areas weren’t profitable, we concentrated on sandy patches which increased farther in the south, accumulated by sand erosion of the Wahiba Sands. Though Pristurus rupestris is still present in this area, it lost its dominant position in the local herpetofauna. Two other Pristurus species are much more common in this area, namely Pristurus minimus and the photogenic Pristurus carteri. Pristurus minimus is a sand dwelling little diurnal gecko with its typical brown pattern on its back and little orange stripes on its flanks.
Pristurus carteri
Pristurus carteri is bigger than its relative and can be distinguished by its typical bird – like head. The males with their big heads and contrasty pattern are more striking than the females. If these geckos lose their tails, only a reduced symmetric cudgel grows, which is unique in reptiles. Pristurus carteri inhabits hard structures in sandy deserts like boulders, rocks or wooden relicts. It is also diurnal and reaches high densities in suitable habitats. Like other Pristurus it has the characterized orange stripes on its flanks and is able to wave with its tail.
In terms of lacertids, Acanthodatylus schmidti occupies the sandy habitats in the eastern coastal part in quite high densities. We became quite acquainted with this large lizard and its habits. After watching the reptile for a longer time, it becomes less shy and it was possible to take good pictures. On some places, Phrynocephalus arabicus occurs syntopic with A. schmidti. The male agamas defend a territory against other competitors and we could sometimes witness turf wars between males. It is quite interesting, that the agamas were most active during the hottest hours of the day, which is shortly before lunch, later always some wind arose and the temperature sank a bit in the afternoon. Also other agamids like Trapelus, Pseudotrapelus or even Uromastyx are known to be active during the hottest parts of the day.
On this day we also found two snakes in a distance of few meters under wooden plates, left in the desert. First Gerald found a Lytorhynchus diadema, which we already known from our first location in similar surroundings. Surprisingly this individual was the only one found during the day. Normally they seem to rest during the day, buried in the sand. In the same agglomeration Thomas found a further Psammophis schokari. Also one of the only found Scolopendra was found here, compared to the Mediterranean this centipede seems to be a rarity in the Oman. Last but not least we also found single individuals of Pristurus rupestris, which looked a bit different to the one’s we knew up to now, because of their bright orange dots on their back.
Also some carapaces of Chelonia mydas were lying around, most probably transported through the sea during a storm. Gerald came back from his tour, escorted by two young local boys, who wanted to slay all kind of animals we wanted to watch. The monitoring of two interesting scorpions was disturbed by them as we could hardly rescue them sheltering under a stone. Who can help to identify these two scorpions?
We again met the German biker, who was now on the way along the east coast. Just before dusk we drove to the beach, where we enjoyed the last shafts of sunlight. Surprisingly we found a Hemidactylus turcicus under a wooden plate in the middle of a sandy area. The only prey around are some termites, which feed on the wood. For us this habitat seems to be very unusual for Turkish geckos.
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 Day 12 (15-Feb-2009): A Late Night Show and a Resting Day
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