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Netted Dragon's Ctenophorus family |
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Netted Dragon's Ctenophorus family |
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We are unsure if this is a Central Netted dragon or a Western Netted dragon. This dragon was seen on the side of the road south of Nullagine on Marble Bar Road in the east Pilbara. This dragon is in the same genus as the Bicycle dragons. They like to live in semi to arid areas where it is stony or sandy soils. |
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This dragon left the road and sheltered under the nearest bush after I approached it disappeared down a burrow. |
Central netted dragons can tolerate the extreme heat being active in the day sheltering where ever possible. They may also full their burrow in to stop heat and predators from entering. It likes to perch up high and is abundant. The Western netted dragon is found from the Fortescue River south near the coast to the central wheatbelt, Eastern Goldfields and Nullarbor Plain. |
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Western netted dragons have a dark banded tail. This dragon can also swim when its burrow is flooded with the heavy summer rains. It has 3-8 eggs per clutch. Breeding males have different colourings. They are 105mm long from snout to vent. Western different to Central by the colour of the claws but we didn't see this as we didn't catch the dragon. Western has dark claws Central has pale claws. It is thought that they are short lived not living for more than a year. |
This is the habitat that this dragon lives in |
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This photograph was taken at the Armadale Reptile Centre in Perth. It could be a Central netted dragon. Here they have seen this dragon head bobbing to a cockroach. And they have observed its throat changing colour when upset. Both these dragons are a member of the C.reticulatus group. |
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This Central Netted dragon Ctenophorus nuchalis was photographed at the Alice Springs Desert Park in Alice Springs. |
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What do they eat? They run fast to catch their food feeding on a broad range of arthropods such as bugs, beetles etc and possibly small quantities of plant matter. This grasshopper was seen at Selby Hills on the Tanami Track in WA.
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These are Central Netted dragon tracks. Go Here to see our video of a Central Netted dragon that was filmed on the Tanami Track from Halls Creek in the Interior, in August. |
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This Central Netted dragon was on the Tanami Track in the interior before the WA/NT boarder. |
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This is what the habitat looks like, where we saw this Central Netted dragon on the Tanami Track. |
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