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Alexander Dudley | all galleries >> Aussie reptiles >> Aussie Lizards >> Skinks, Superfamily Scincidae >> Eugongylid Skinks >> Carlia:Scincidae > Carlia amax with stolen spider
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03-JUL-2003 İAlexander Dudley 2003

Carlia amax with stolen spider

Ubirr, Kakadu National Park

I was working as a surveillance officer at Ubirr, and as always had my camera with me. I saw a hunting wasp dragging
a paralysed spider through the leaf litter near the Narrmarrkarn Sisters gallery. Suddenly this skink raced out, rushed
at the wasp, (which took off in surprise), grabbed the spider and dove with it into the leaf litter. The wasp imediately
began looking for the spider, and when it found it the lizard immediately ran off. The wasp, having retrieved the spider,
began dragging it towards its burrow. The lizard carefully eyed the wasp and repeated the same tactic. There were several
altercations, and it was obvious that the lizard regarded the wasp as dangerous, and the wasp seemed to get mad at the
lizard. But the lizard won. How it actually got the spider down is the next mystery, i was unable to observe the conclusion.

This was not the first time that I had observed Carlia amax practicing kleptophagy involving wasps.

Nikon Coolpix 5700
1/125s f/8.0 at 48.5mm iso100 with Flash full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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