Soutpansberg Centre for Biodiversity February Trip Report (Entabeni, Punda Maria and Waterpoort)

Muller's Velvet Gecko (Homopholis mulleri) a highly restricted and rarely seen gecko from the Soutpansberg.

As part of our long term greater Soutpansberg Reptile Survey, the Soutpansberg Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation travelled to the eastern Soutpansberg to sample the Entabeni area near Thohoyandou. The trip was very successful; we logged over 400 individual reptiles (284 at Entabeni) with a total species count of 44, including a new species for our list. Big thanks to Eric Jolin for all the hard work in the in the field and maintaining a positive attitude throughout our visit. Also a big thank you to Lorraine Egan from SAFCOL for arranging our accommodation and for permissions. 

Transvaal Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion transvaalense), Entabeni.

Reticulated Centipede Eater (Aparallactus lunulattus) Punda Maria.

Painted Reed Frog ( Hyperolius marmoratus taeniatus) Entabeni.

Entabeni (11-15 February)

Wet Grassland with forested bush clumps at Entabeni.

During our stay at Entabeni we aimed to sample as much high altitude grassland as possible. Finding suitable sites was quite challenging, as it is not an area we have sampled too many times before. The fragmentation in the area is quite high, yet there were quite a few pockets of undisturbed forest and grassland.

We found the grasslands to be quite high in reptile abundance, most common reptiles being Whalberg’s Snake-eyed Skink (Panaspis whalbergii). We concentrated our efforts in three main areas. One section of very rocky grassland that had been quite heavily grazed, another grassland with very few rocks that was moderately grazed and another patch of grassland which had both very rocky and less rocky areas which had also been partly grazed and was partly pristine.

Flat Dragon Lizard (Smaug depressus) high altitude eastern form. Entabeni.

Common Girdled Lizard (Cordylus vittifer). Entabeni.

The most frequently seen reptile Wahlberg's Snake-Eyed Skink (Panaspis wahlbergii). Entabeni.

Speckled Rock Skink (Trachylepis punctatissima). Entabeni.

Variable Skink (Trachylepis varia) a species complex recently split into three. Entabeni.

Male Rainbow Skink (Trachylepis margaritifer). Entabeni.

Cregoi's Legless Skink (Acontias cregoi). Entabeni.

Vanson's Gecko (Pachydactylus vansoni) Entabeni.

Soutpansberg Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus soutpansbergensis). Entabeni.

Hatchling Yellow-throated Plated Lizard (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis) found in nursery site with many eggs. Entabeni.

We made 284 individual reptile observations during our limited time. Significant records were high altitude records of Short-snouted Sand Snake (Psammophis brevirostrus), a predation record for a Natal Green Snake (Philothamnus natalensis natalensis) which had eaten two Forest Rain Frogs, Breviceps sylvestris), a new species for our list a hatchling Rhombic Night Adder (Causus rhombetus), some Transvaal Dwarf Chameleons (Bradypodion transvaalense) and the twelve species of frogs we recorded.

Short-snouted Grass Snake (Psammophis brevirostris) Entabeni.

Hatchling Red-lipped Snake (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia) Entabeni.

Hatchling Rhombic Night Adder (Causus rhombeatus), Entabeni.

Bicoloured adult Bibron's Blind Snake (Afrotyphlops bibronii). Entabeni.

Another interesting observation we made was that the pine forests contained a surprising amount of biodiversity. Traveling through the forestry roads we often saw Montane Speckled Skinks (Trachylepis punctatissima), heard Rain Frogs and saw quite a few mammals. The Natal Green Snake we found was also in highly transformed area with pine and alien pioneers (Solanum mauritianum). More research into recolonisation and biodiversity of these disturbed habitats should be prioritised.

Natal Sand Frog (Tomopterna natalensis). Entabeni

Flat-Backed Toad (Sclerophrys pusilla). Entabeni

Gutteral Toad ( Sclerophrys gutteralis) Entabeni.

Common River Frog (Ameita delandii). Entabeni.

Soutpansberg Forest Rain Frog (Breviceps sylvestris taeniatus) Entabeni.

Bushveld Rain Frog (Breviceps adspersus) Entabeni.

Punda Maria and Pafuri Sections: Kruger National Park (15-17 February)

Flat Dragon Lizard (Smaug depressus) Eastern Lowland Form. Punda Maria.

Leaving Entabeni, the short drive to Punda Maria produced a few dead on road specimens, including a young  Olive Whip Snake (Psammophis mossambicus). After driving around looking at megafauna we went back to camp and walked around in the hot humid weather to see what we could find. It was rush hour and we photographed many species of frog including a Northern Pygmy Toad (Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti), Dwarf Puddle Frog (Phrynobatrachus mababiensis) and Broad Banded Grass Frog (Ptychadena mossambica). The night also delivered the highlight for our Punda effort, a beautiful sub-adult Reticulated Centipede Eater (Aparallactus lunulatus lunulatus), in addition to this we also found two Stilleto Snakes (Atractaspis bibronii). This has added another two snake species to our Punda Maria lists.

Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). Pafuri. Photo Eric Jolin.

Bibron's Stiletto Snake (Atractaspis bibronii) Punda Maria.

Turner's Gecko (Chondrodactylus turneri). Punda Maria.

Speckled Skink (Pachydactylus punctatus). Punda Maria.

Striped Skink (Trachylepis striata) Punda Maria.

Giant Plated Lizard (Matobosaurus validus). Punda Maria area.

Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus) Pafuri region.

During the the drive through Kruger National Park from Punda Maria to Pafuri we located a few more species for our trip lists. These included Zimbabwe Flat Lizard (Platysaurus intermedius rhodesianus), Giant Plated Lizard (Matobosaurus validus) and a Northern Boomslang (Dispholidus typus viridis) crossing the road.

Dwarf Puddle Frog (Phrynobatrachus mababiensis) Punda Maria.

Plain Grass Frog (Ptychadena anchieta) Punda Maria.

Northern Pygmy Toad (Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti) Punda Maria.

Pafuri to Lajuma via Waterpoort (17 February)

Female Muller's Velvet Gecko (Homopholis mulleri) a rarely seen and highly restricted animal.

To maximise our diversity and areas covered we exited at Pafuri gate and drove via Waterpoort to to do some night sampling in the area on our way back home. The trip back produced the highlight of our trip: a male and female Muller’s Velvet Gecko (Homopholis mulleri) found at Waterpoort. We also found two juvenile pythons moving about in moist weather and a very large Rhombic Egg Eater (Dasypeltis scabra).

Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis) Pafuri.

Southern African Rock Python (Python natalensis). Waterpoort.

African Bull Frog ( Pyxicephalus edulis)

Melissa Petford with massive Rhombic Egg Eater (Dasypeltis scabra) to show the scale.

All in all a very succesful trip. Watch this space for more trip reports and contact us if you would like to join us on one of our intensive reptile sampling trips at very resonable prices.

Reptiles (44 Species)

Pelusios sinuatus –  Serrated Hinged Terrapin

Stigmochelys pardalis – Leopard Tortoise

Crocodylus niloticus – Nile Crocodile

Chondrodactylus turneri – Turner’s Tubercled Gecko

Hemidactylus mabouia – Tropical House Gecko

Homopholis mulleri – Muller’s Velvet Gecko  

Homopholis wahlbergii – Wahlberg’s Velvet Gecko

Lygodactylus ocellatus soutpansbergensis – Soutpansberg Dwarf Gecko  

Pachydactylus punctatus – Speckled Gecko

Pachydactylus vansoni – Vanson’s Gecko  

Heliolobus lugubris – Bushveld Lizard

Cordylus vittifer – Transvaal Girdled Lizard

Smaug warreni depressus – Flat Girdled Lizard

Platysaurus intermedius rhodesianus – Zimbabwe Flat Lizard

Broadleysaurus major – Rough-scaled Plated Lizard

Gerrhosaurus flavigularis – Yellow Throated Plated Lizard

Matobosaurus validus – Giant Plated Lizard

Acontias cregoi – Cregoi’s Legless Skink

Panaspis maculicollis – Spotted-necked Snake-eyed Skink

Panaspis wahlbergii – Wahlberg’s Snake-eyed Skink

Mochlus sundevallii sundevallii – Sundevall’s Writhing Skink

Trachylepis margaritifer – Rainbow Skink

Trachylepis punctatissima – Speckled Rock Skink

Trachylepis striata – Striped Skink

Trachylepis varia – Variable Skink

Varanus albigularis albigularis – Rock Monitor

Varanus niloticus – Water Monitor

Chamaeleo dilepis dilepis – Flap-necked Chameleon

Bradypodion transvaalense – Wolkberg Dwarf Chameleon

Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis – Southern Tree Agama

Afrotyphlops bibronii – Bibron’s Blind Snake

Leptotyphlops sp. – Unidentified Worm Snake

Python natalensis – Southern African Python

Bitis arietans arietans – Puff Adder

Causus rhombeatus – Rhombic Night Adder

Aparallactus lunulatus lunulatus – Reticulated Centipede Eater

Atractaspis bibronii – Bibron’s Stiletto Snake

Psammophis brevirostris – Short-snouted Grass Snake

Psammophis mossambicus – Olive Grass Snake

Elapsoidea sundevallii longicauda – Long-tailed Garter Snake

Dasypeltis scabra – Rhombic Egg Eater

Dispholidus typus – Northern Boomslang

Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia – Red-lipped Snake

Philothamnus natalensis natalensis – Eastern Natal Green Snake

Amphibians (20 species)

Breviceps adspersus adspersus – Bushveld Rain Frog

Breviceps sylvestris taeniatus – Soutpansberg Forest Rain Frog

Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti – Northern Pygmy Toad

Schismaderma carens – Red Toad

Sclerophrys capensis – Raucous Toad

Sclerophrys garmani – Eastern Olive Toad

Sclerophrys gutteralis – Guttural Toad

Sclerophrys pusilla – Flat-Backed Toad

Hyperolius marmoratus taeniatus – Painted Reed Frog

Kassina senegalensis – Bubbling Kassina

Phrynomantis bifasciatus – Banded Rubber Frog

Phrynobatrachus mababiensis – Dwarf Puddle Frog

Ptychadena anchieta – Plain Grass Frog

Ptychadena mossambica – Broad Banded Grass Frog

Xenopus laevis – Common Platanna

Ametia delandii – Common River Frog

Cacosternum boettgeri – Boettger's Caco

Pyxicephalus edulis – African Bullfrog

Strongylopus grayii – Clicking Stream Frog

Tomopterna natalensis – Natal Sand Frog

Chiromantis xerampelina – Southern Foam Nest Frog

Southern Ground Hornbill. Also interested in herps.

Broadening Horizons – September 2015

 

Arnold’s Velvet Gecko (Homopholis arnoldi), Blouberg Nature Reserve

The SCBC has been working on biodiversity data collection in the Soutpansberg for over a year now. Our activities have been centred on the Medike property on the banks of the Sand River. Due to the vastness of the mountain range and peripheral areas; to broaden the habitats in this biodiversity rich area, the SCBC has now begun to work in different areas. The purpose of this is to increase the SCBC project’s scope and create more accurate data representations of biodiversity assemblage for the region.

Delande’s Beaked Blind Snake (Rhinotyphlops lalandei)

September was set aside as a month for travelling and we began the tour at Blouberg Nature Reserve to the west of the Soutpansberg range. Generally Blouberg is treated as a separate entity, but the mountain is geologically related to the Soutpansberg and under sampled. For the purposes of the SCBCs mandate (to spend time walking searching of biodiversity) Blouberg Nature Reserve was not well suited to the task. Because of the presence of buffalo in the area walking is discouraged. However the little time spent there did turn up some interesting new reptiles for our lists not yet found on the Soutpansberg; Delande’s Beaked Blind Snake (Rhinotyphlops lalandei) and the newly described Arnold’s Velvet Gecko (Homopholis arnoldi). There are a few protected areas around the mountain that are buffalo free and this is an area that has been identified as having a lot of future potential for SCBC work.

Sunduvall's Writhing Skink (Mochlus sundevalli), Mashovella, Soutpansberg.

After Blouberg it was our intention to explore the Northern slopes of the Western Soutpansberg, unfortunately the few sites that offer accommodation were fully booked. We spent a night at Mashovella, which is situated in a beautiful valley. Unfortunately Mashovella is not conducive to research, the accommodation is expensive and there are many rules governing activity on the property. So we moved on to a small farm called Zvakanaka. The property is small but gives access to quite a large chunk of the moister and higher Southern slopes of the Soutpansberg. The property is wedged between agricultural land and is very conducive to research. Unfortunately the weather was cold and we could not work, so decided to head east for warmer and dryer weather.

Mopane Veld, Nwanedi Nature Reserve, Limpopo.

Leopard Tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis), Nwanedi Nature Reserve, Limpopo.

One of the habitats that we needed to sample was the Mopane Veld which grows on the northern edges of the Soutpansberg.  We decided to spend a few days at Nwanedi Nature Reserve. Nwanedi is a large reserve, comprised of riverine vegetation patches, Mopane veld and arid mountain savannah. The region is extremely hot and dry. Nwanedi proved to be very productive and conducive to research. Permission to walk anywhere was easily granted and there is also a good road network. We spent six nights at Nwanedi and made a list of 16 reptiles (four of which were new for the SCBC lists) and we also found six species of scorpion. The SCBC will certainly do more forays to Nwanedi in the coming months.

Pachydactylus punctatus, Nwanedi Nature Reserve.

Limpopo girdled lizard (Cordylus jonesii), Nwanedi Nature Reserve.

Holub's Sandveld Lizard (Nucras holubi), Nwanedi

Being in Venda we decided to spend a few nights in a rural site near the village of Segole at the Big Tree Lodge. The lodge is next to a property where there is a massive Baobab tree. The is claimed to be the biggest in the world and is estimated to be over 3000 years old. The tree is one of the most remarkable organisms that I have ever seen. Segole was good for reptiles – in the few days there we created a list of 15 species, including three new species for our lists. We used the big tree lodge as our base and I can recommend the place to anyone travelling in the area.

The Big Tree, Adansonia digitata at Segole.

East African Shovel-Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni), Segole.

Common Barking Gecko (Ptenopus garrulus garrulus), Segole.

Parabuthus mossambicensis, Segole.

Still very much in the Venda area we travelled to the forested slopes of the far eastern Soutpansberg and stayed at Golwe-Vhurivhuri campsite. The community runs the campsite and the facilities are excellent. They have ample space for camping and two safari tents for those who want a bit of luxury. The campsite is situated on a river in a forest and is an excellent area for birding, otherwise difficult to see species like African Broadbill, Eastern Nicator, Narina Trogon and even Pink-throated Twinspot are very easily observed in and around the campsite. Our time at Golwe-Vhurivhuri turned up two new lizards for our lists as well as a new scorpion.

Zygaspis quadrifrons, Golwe-Vhurvhuri, Eastern Soutpansberg.

Spotted Sandveld Lizard (Nucras intertexta), Golwe-Vhurvhuri, Eastern Soutpansberg.

Forest at Golwe-Vhurvhuri, Eastern Soutpansberg.

The forest that Golwe-Vhurivhuri connects to is full of secrets and recently turned up the second record of a Forest Cobra, Naja melanoleuca. Looking at the habitat in the forest as Golwe-Vhurivhuri and comparing it to suitable habitat in the KZN coastal forests, future work in the area is bound to reveal the presence of this shy snake. During 2016 the SCBC will make regular forays into the area.

Still following our west east trajectory we decided to end the Limpopo part of the tour at Pafuri on the eastern limits of our catchment area. We stayed at Pafuri River Camp on the banks of the Mutale River just south of the Limpopo. The property boasts some nice riverine bush with Mopane veld scattered with Baobabs. The Mopane veld in the area was crawling with Pachydactylus punctisima and in some patches the density of this species was remarkable. For scorpions the area is very good and a reliable place to find Uroplectes chubbi, Lychas burdoi and many Hottentota trilineata.

Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), Pafuri, Kruger National Park.

Spotted Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), Makuleke, Kruger National Park.

The final destination on the tour was to the coastal forests of Kwazulu-Natal to study the habits and habitat of the Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca). We camped at Mtunzini and walked for cobras every day. Finding the cobras was easy enough, one day we saw four individuals. Getting a picture was a bit tricky as the snake is very shy. But from what we saw at Mtunzini, the forest cobra likes thick areas in closed canopy forest and also seemed more abundant in areas close to the river there. The way to find them is to walk slowly and silently looking deep into piles of rotting wood and tangles of vegetation. All the ones we saw were on the ground (some moved off into the bushes) and most were basking. At Mtunzini we only saw the Forest Cobras in the day. Looking for cobras we also encountered a few other reptiles in the forest, including the Common Purple-glossed Snake (Amblyodipsas polylepis polylepis), A big Vine Snake (Thelotornis capensis capensis) and the bizarre Giant Legless Skink (Acontias plumbeus).

Common Purple-glossed Snake (Amblyodipsas polylepis polylepis), Mtunzini, KwaZulu Natal.

Giant Legless Skink (Acontias plumbeus), Mtunzini, KwaZulu Natal.