Ornate crevice Dragon

The colours and patterns vary between locations due to their preferred habitat in living on granite outcrops which are like isolated islands for them.

This is at the top of Mt Cooke where many Ornate crevice dragons live.

These are extremely swift runners. To get a photograph of these dragons you have to lie down on the granite with equipment ready and wait for them to come out and bask in the sun or run past. The trouble is the granite gets very hot. If they think they are hidden from your view they may stay still until you get within a few metres and then they are off again.

These dragons camouflage well against the lichen covered rocks. This is a juvenile.

Females and juveniles are brownish to grey with markings, males are black with marking in the south-west region. The Wheatbelt and northern dragons are different colours.

Mt Cooke in November

Adults can be approx 95mm in length not including the tail.

Courting is in November and egg laying in December. Clutches of 2-3 eggs are probably deposited in deep burrows around the edge of an outcrop area. Juveniles hatch between January and late March.

In August I found a young Ornate Crevice dragon dead at the top of Mt Cooke which gives you the opportunity to photograph it.

Belly scales magnified 60x of juvenile when you run your cursor over the picture you are seeing the scales around the eyes.

This is the juvenile dragons ear opening magnified 60x

This is the juveniles hind foot. Its flexible toes allow it to grip around the rock surfaces.

Male Ornate Crevice dragon photographed at the picnic area at Mt Dale in November where I have seen many of these dragons at one time.

Males defend their territory and juveniles have to tread carefully to be allowed near the males territory. Many juveniles congregate together as they are to young to be allowed in the males area to compete for the females.

What do they eat?

Ants and other arthropods and possibly flowers from a plant that grows around the granite boulders in spring. It may chase and catch falling rain drops from a summer thunderstorm.

This grasshopper was seen at the same place as these dragons at the top of Mt Cooke.

Photograph by Mary Heslen taken at Boyagin Rock in the Wheatbelt in November where we saw several Ornate Crevice dragons.

Wonder why they are called crevice dragons? Look at the way this male dragon squeezed into the smallest of spaces between the granite rocks. Here there were many dragons all running in all directions as we approached.

Photograph taken at South Ledge on Mundaring Weir Rd from either Kalamunda Rd or Great Eastern Hwy Mundaring.

Go Here to see our video of this dragon at Boyagin Rock bobbing its head.

Text
"Reptiles and Frogs of the Perth Region" by Brian Bush, Brad Maryan, Robert Browne-Cooper and David Robinson.
"Australian Reptiles A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Reptiles of Australia" by Stephen K Wilson, David G Knowles.
CD Rom "Australian Reptiles and Frogs" by Herald Ehnann and Micheal Tyler

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