Victor Valley College Tropical Research Initiative
Herpetofauna of Timor-Leste
Phase VII
Tasi Talu, Dili District
Andrew found time to go snorkelling with Paulo at a location just west of Dili called Tasi Talu. Despite not finding the seasnakes or sea kraits he had hoped to find he did capture some lizards on the rocks along the shoreline. The Snake-eyed skinks (Cryptoblepharus sp.) bore a strong resemblance to the skinks of the same genus we had found at Com at the far eastern end of the island (although one specimen from Andrew's batch was melanistic), in contrast to Leschenault's snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus leschenault) from trees in the coastal lowlands, Schlegel's snake-eyed skink (C.schlegelianus) from West Timor, and our new species from the highlands on the Meleotegi River. He also caught a Common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) in close proximity to the ocean, something we have previously seen on Ataúro Island.
