Tympanocryptis cephalus

Posted 25 August 2009 by

Photograph by Paul Blake. Photography contest: "Animal" category.
Tympanocryptis cephalus -- blotch-tailed earless dragon. Northwest Queensland (Australia) between Mount Isa and Camooweal.

8 Comments

gruebait · 25 August 2009

huh. From the neck down, it looks like a toad with a long tail.

wright · 25 August 2009

Amazing camo scheme, even from a close, angled POV. I'd say he looks more like a pebble with a long tail :)

KP · 25 August 2009

So, is the ear underneath the skin?

Paul Burnett · 25 August 2009

wright said: Amazing camo scheme, even from a close, angled POV. I'd say he looks more like a pebble with a long tail :)
That's the plan - here's another shot: http://www.pbase.com/northqueenslandphotos/image/43544958

Frank B · 25 August 2009

So,,,let me see... The ancestor of this critter and it's mate, rode on a mat of logs (luckily in the right direction) from the Middle East to Australia and found a desert of the right color.

Paul Blake · 25 August 2009

Their camoflage is amazing. You would think the tail makes them easy to see, but even that blends in well. I got lucky spotting this one. I had stopped to pull spinifex out of my sock protectors and happened to see it. After I packed my camera away I looked back where it had been and couldn't see it. It took me a while to spot it again even though I knew where it was.

Kevin B · 26 August 2009

Frank B said: So,,,let me see... The ancestor of this critter and it's mate, rode on a mat of logs (luckily in the right direction) from the Middle East to Australia and found a desert of the right color.
No. Since the species hasn't changed, obviously the landscape has evolved. :)

wright · 26 August 2009

I had a similar experience watching a small octopus in a tidepool. After it settled on a rock and changed its skin color and texture, I deliberately looked away for a few seconds. Took me nearly three minutes to find it again, even knowing exactly where the critter was.
Paul Blake said: Their camoflage is amazing. You would think the tail makes them easy to see, but even that blends in well. I got lucky spotting this one. I had stopped to pull spinifex out of my sock protectors and happened to see it. After I packed my camera away I looked back where it had been and couldn't see it. It took me a while to spot it again even though I knew where it was.