Busterboy 15 Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Went for a fish down the Onkaparinga and saw somw rippling water, thought it was a River rat but this came up and sat next to me.Never seen one in the river before. Take a look and let me know if it's a local or what.Sorry for the footage but it was the best I could do at the time.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR3Ky8LNvI4&edit=ev&feature=uenh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Bream Reaper 103 Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hard to tell, but looks like an Eastern Water Dragon. Not local. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Del 245 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 yup, looks like a water dragon to me. top lil critters Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Yup, my money is on it too Scientists might be interested, could you PM me approx location and I'll forward the vision with a credit to you BB?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_water_dragon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
afishyfish 4 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hard to tell' date=' but looks like an Eastern Water Dragon. Not local.[/quote']Yep agreed. Footage was hard to interpret, but from working with native animals, that's what it looks like. Native / Local in Sydney and it's surrounds Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Bream Reaper 103 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Very commonly kept here in sa. Either an escapee or release. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Poor li'i bugga was probably lost and looking for a feed from Busterboy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
snake 1 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 there is a well known colony of eastern water dragons established around the brownhill creek area,all due to irresponsible reptile owners Ranger 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
samrota 1 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 There are a few known colonies that have established in SA. One is up the Torrens. Commonly kept as pets and released into the wild by irresponsible owners. They can grow quite large too, up to 80-90cm. I wonder what sort of impact they have on the native animals.Cheers.Sam. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 wonder what sort of impact they have on the native animals.Eastern Water Dragons Physignathus lesueurii are semi-aquatic (hence being found near water) and arborial (sit in tree branches).They feed on insects, aquatic organisms, small terrestrial vertebrates, fruits and berries.Being a displaced native animal I cant see they'd pose too much of an impact given their suitability to the environment and the range of available feed stocks. There are skinks aplenty (which are not threatened or endangered) along with berries, vegetation and insects to keep them well fed. They would not have an adverse effect on the habitat itself, as they are well adapted to similar habitat types.The largest danger I could envisage would be to the resident frog population, as we know frogs are already under stressors from habitat degradation, competition, pollution and predatory species (both native and feral) and many frog species are now threatened and/or disappearing.Water dragons are not endemic to the area, colonies have however established, and this is due solely to irresponsibility on behalf of amateur reptile keepers.I cant say any herpetological group would be too interested, as it's already common knowledge that they are now around the area. Fauna surveys and getting accurate figures on "numbers" would be a far more interesting proposition for herp and environmental groups. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Busterboy 15 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Nah ha ha...you're not getting my fishing spots that easily Tony... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clark 57 Posted December 25, 2011 Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 definately eastern water dragon they are becoming more common around the place now there is a couple of spots i go to up the gorge where it is thick with them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.