Spontaneous fieldtrip! In the beginning of September three of us went to Hungary to see some of the (sub)species which occur there but not in Austria: Dolichophis caspius (Caspian whipsnake / Kaspische Springnatter), Ablepharus kitaibelii (European snake-eyed skink / Johannisechse), Podarcis tauricus (Balkan wall lizard / Taurische Eidechse) and Vipera berus bosniensis (a southern subspecies of the common adder / eine südliche Unterart der Kreuzotter). And - to sum it up - it was most likely the least successful trip abroad until now. Of our target species we only found the European snake-eyed skink, and thereof only one specimen. The only commonly found species of this trip was Lacerta viridis (green lizard / Smaragdeidechse) in Budapest. Apart from that, only some (very) sporadic juvenile Lacerta agilis (sand lizard / Zauneidechse) in the southwesternmost part of Hungary. One of the highlights of the trips definitely has been a medium sized Lycosa singoriensis ("wolf spider" / Südrussische Tarantel), one of the biggest European spider species, and definitely the biggest one in central Europe. All in all a really nice trip, lots of nice steppe habitats, but unfortunately with a very low species count -- and not a single snake in three days!! Not even a stinky grass snake...
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And for the size comparison - the smallest skink of Europe and the biggest spider of central Europe (this spider specimen is by far not as big as they can get)
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Today's random music link: 5K HD 10/15