Of course we travel to see tarantulas in the wild. That’s basically the main reason we start our journey. But the longer you travel to foreign countries and experience their culture, the more you appreciate life in general and get your own lifestyle from a different perspective.
One of these special days was the experience we shared with a local desert expert in Marocco – a real Touareg. While you won’t find any Theraphosids on desert dunes it’s possible to find the infamous Cebrenneus rechenbergi – the Flic Flac spider. But that’s a story for another day.
Today it’s about the reptiles we encountered in this deserted part of Marocco. Reptiles we wouldn’t ever be found without the help of local experienced experts. He literally fished for it in the sand, with his bare hands buried deep into the dunes.
This is a sandfish. Yes – fish. Of course, it’s not a real fish – but we get to the point of how he earned his common name. Scincus albifasciatus is its scientific name for one.
Oh and this is a viper – Cerastes vipera to be more precise. The smaller brother or sister of the giant sand viper, Cerastes cerastes. Have a closer look at the head and its eyes. Pretty fascinating to see that they’ve adapted perfectly to be buried in sand and have their eyes glance just on top of it. They probably feed on dune mice and above sand fish skinks – but mice are probably more common for them.
That’s it for today’s story from the field. Until next time.
Keep exploring the little things around you and enjoy your weekend!
Martin – birdspidersCH
Related Images:
