In August 2020, midway through a 3,300 km drive around Iceland and about 65 km from Lake Myvatn, I was driving east on the ring-road when I came across a remote cafe – Fjalladýrð Kaffi. It was the only building at the intersection with a dirt road (#901) to the south. I stopped for a coffee and randomly picked up a brochure on “one of the most isolated farms” in Iceland; the brochure included a photo of an Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus). This was of interest as it appeared that they were locally protected, unlike many other parts where they are hunted. I had seen habituated Arctic Fox earlier at Heydular and when I mentioned that later to the owner of another farm-stay she replied that it was not right to encourage foxes; she also said she had been to a mink farm and “the mink seemed happy” **. So instead of continuing east on the ring-road I headed south on the track to Modrudalur/Fjalledyrd, about 7 km south of the ring-road. Modrudalur at 469 meters above sea level is the highest inhabited farm in Iceland and it includes turf houses, a church, restaurant, campground and an Arctic Fox den. The den is easily found on a grassy bank about 50 meters north of the restaurant and just off the wooden boardwalk that leads to some accommodation.
Dunedin Farm is an excellent place to look for Riverine Rabbit, although sightings are not guaranteed. Other species of interest include Large-eared Mouse, Spectacled Dormouse, Karoo Rock Sengi and Le Sueur’s Wing-gland Bat. This 2021 guide updates my 2016 report and includes data from 13 nights over 3 trips (19-22 March 2016; 6-11 March 2018 and 9-14 March 2021; the first two trips with Clide Carter). The Mammal Checklist (List 1) shows 51 native species recorded and is based on records by the Moolmans, myself and other mammal-watchers (as indicated). List 3 notes the 2 species introduced. List 2 describes 17 species that are possible and/or known in the region. The 13 species on the reptile list are my records only.
Paul Carter, 4 Mar 2021 Record Location: SOUTH AFRICA, Western Cape Province, Wilderness, Fairy Knowe Backpackers. Record Dates: (1) 18 Feb 2020 (2) 4 Mar 2021.
In Jan 2021 I drove up to Shelley Point in the St Helena Bay area (2 hours drive north of Cape Town) to look for Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus). On the morning of 29 Jan 2021 I saw about 200 Dusky Dolphins.
Paul Carter. PostedFeb 2021; revised 5 Mar 2021 (additional sightings)
MAMMAL LIST On visits to Wilderness (2019 to 2021) I photographed the following small mammals: 1. Brants’ Climbing Mouse (Dendromus mesomelas). @ Fairy Knowe Backpackers. 2. Woodland Thicket Rat (Grammomys dolichurus). @ Fairy Knowe Backpackers. These two sightings (6 weeks apart) are at the western extreme of its range in South Africa (field guides do not show it west of Port Elizabeth; but Monadjem et al (2015) show it as far west as the Knysna area). 3. Southern Africa Vlei Rat (Otomys irroratus). @ The Wallow Guesthouse. 4. African Mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus). @ The Wallow Guesthouse. 5. Cape Dune Mole-rat (Bathyergus suillus). @ Wilderness Ferry Waterside Jetty. Images and site information on these sightings are given by location below.
Strandfontein is a small coastal town about 300 km (four hours drive) north of Cape Town (and not to be confused with Strandfontein of False Bay). When visiting friends there (2018 Feb; 2020 Feb+Dec) I found it to be a good place to see Haviside’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) and Brants’ Whistling Rat (Parotomys brantsii); a total of 11 mammal species seen.
Original post dated 13 April 2019; updated Oct 2021. Last sighting added 20 Feb 2021. Contact: paulcarter @ pacapix.com
In April 2019 I posted a mammal-watching report on searching from land for Bryde’s Whale (Balaenoptera brydei) in False Bay; from along the 20 km long stretch of the R44 coastal road between Gordon’s Bay and Rooiels. That report was based on 2 sightings in Feb 2019. This update (Jan 2021) is is based on over 15 sightings from the R44. The section on the taxonomy of Bryde’s Whale in Southern Africa (Balaenoptera edeni vs Balaenoptera brydei) is also revised. Appendix 1 is a summary of my records. Appendix 2 is an account of the dead Bryde’s Whales found annually; at least in part related to the long-line octopus fishing industry. In Nov 2019 The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries lifted the suspension of exploratory octopus fishing in False Bay and stated that “Should there be at least one mortality of any of these whales, the fishery will be terminated”. The most recent record of dead Bryde’s Whale in False Bay is that in Sep 2020 at Pringle Bay; the reported cause of death was from entanglement. Continue reading →
In June 2020 I took three one-night trips to the Big Bear Lake area in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles; spending about 3 hours each night looking for Humboldt’s Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis), seen on the Castle Rock Trail. The trip list of 15+ mammals included a Black Bear with three cubs seen on Skyline Drive.
Summary In Southwest Mongolia there is a form of Meriones gerbil that does not fit field guide descriptions of those in range. It has a bicoloured tail with a clean white under-tail sharply demarcated from the orange-brown dorsal half; as well as longer dark hairs on a tail tuft, and darker hairs dorsally on the tail (photos of two specimens shown below). It seems that field guide accounts and other references do not fully describe all colour variations. Field guides, for example, indicate that the only gerbil in the region with a white under-tail would be Tamarisk Gerbil (nearest records are 150 km to the west); however Meriones psammophilus can also have white under-tails (Olga Nanova, pers. comm. 2020 May 29). I have summarised below the taxonomy of the Meriones gerbils in Mongolia, with reference to local field guides as well as later papers by Nanova (2014) and Nanova et al (2020); and included notable tail descriptions where available.
Brief taxonomic overview of Meriones in Mongolia
Batsaikhan et al (2014) described three Meriones gerbils in Mongolia:
(a) Meriones tamariscinus (Tamarisk Gerbil).
(b) Meriones unguiculatus (Mongolian Gerbil)
(c) Meriones meridianus (Midday Gerbil); including M. m. psammophilus.
Nanova et al (2020) note that “Midday jird Meriones meridianus sensu lato is a widely distributed and highly variable species complex, whose taxonomy is still controversial despite several genetic and morphological studies”. Nanova (2014) and Nanova et al (2020) concluded (on morphometric and genetic data) that there are three clades of M. meridianus with interspecific level of differentiation that should be treated as distinct species:
c1) M. psammophilus (Milne-Edwards, 1871).
c2) M. meridianus (Pallas, 1773).
c3) M. penicilliger (Heptner, 1933).
M. psammophilus inhabits the Mongolian-Chinese part of the superspecies range; but excluding the Mongolian Dzungaria region which is inhabited by M. meridianus (Nanova, 2014). Nanova et al (2020) note that the distribution ranges of all three species (psammophilus, meridianus and penicilliger) overlap in Dzungaria. The Mongolian Dzungaria includes the Great Gobi B SPA in the southwestern corner of Mongolia. M. penicilliger does not occur in Mongolia. Nanova et al (2020) noted that Meriones chengi (Wang, 1964; Cheng’s Gerbil) from Northwest China is likely a junior synonym of M. psammophilus (Ito et al, 2010; Nanova, 2014).
Following Nanova et al (2020) there are four forms of Meriones gerbils in Mongolia; as listed below with some range and field identification comments:
1 – Meriones tamariscinus (Tamarisk Gerbil): In Mongolia it is restricted to Mongolia Dzungaria (see location map at end of this post). Smith and Xie (2013, p141) show that its range continues to the southeast, within China but close to the Mongolia border. With respect to the Tamarisk Gerbil records shown in Smith and Xie (2013) it would not be unexpected (?), considering topography and habitat, for Tamarisk Gerbil to be found in parts of the Trans Gobi Altai area east of the Santamu Basin as marked on the map; this area being a low-lying area connected to the China range of Tamarisk Gerbil, with no apparent physical barriers. 2 – Meriones unguiculatus (Mongolian Gerbil): Parts of Mongolia excluding Dzungaria. The range map for Mongolian Gerbil in Batsaikhan et al (2014) excludes the Great Gobi A SPA region but Smith and Xie (2013) show records just south of the border. Mongolian Gerbil has a sharply bicoloured tail that is dark-greyish brown above, pale brown below; with black tuft at the end; and has greyish-black claws (Smith and Xie, 2013). Batsaikhan et al (2014) note that Mongolian Gerbil has dark claws; and the tail tip forms a dark brown or black tail tassle. 3a – Meriones meridianus / Meriones meridianus meridianus: referring to the form restricted to Mongolia Dzungaria. Descriptions in Batsaikhan et al (2014 p178) would refer primarily to M. psammophilus. Nanova (2014 p8) notes that “black tail brush is … present in some individuals of M. meridianus” but does not mention this for M. psammophilus. 3b – Meriones psammophilus / Meriones meridianus psammophilus: its Mongolia range excludes Dzungaria. Batsaikhan et al (2014 p178) describes this taxon as having light yellow claws, a uniformly coloured tail and not having a well-developed tail tuft. Nanova (2014 p8) notes that “M. psammophilus is the most brightly coloured morph within the superspecies, with the presence of a rufous tint”. Nanova et al (2014 p8) stated that “no distinct geographical variation was found for M. psammophilus” (with reference to cranial measurements). Meriones psammophilus is, however, quite variable in fur coloration and can have white under-tails (Olga Nanova, pers. comm. 2020 May 29).
Meriones psammophilus in the Sharga soum area; showing uniformly coloured tail
Meriones psammophilus in the Great Gobi A SPA; showing a uniformly coloured tail.
Photos of gerbils with white under-tails The two gerbils below were photographed in 2016 on a Mongolian Gobi trip with Jon Hall and Phil Telpher. I photographed three specimens at the two locations and Jon Hall had a photograph of one at the first location. These gerbils have distinctly bicoloured tails that are white below and not pale brown and do not have dark claws; which should distinguish them from Meriones unguiculatus (Mongolian Gerbil). The photographed forms appear to represent a colour variation of Meriones psammophilus / Meriones meridianus psammophilus described by Nanova above.
Gerbil #1 was photographed at Mother Mountain (Eej Khairkhan Uul). Key features are (a) a clearly bicoloured tail that is distinctly white below; and orange-brown above with a darker brown dorsal section; the border between the white and orange is sharp; (b) tail tuft is orange-brown with longer black hairs dorsally and off the tip and more similar to that of Mongolian Gerbil (?) (c) hind claws whitish; (d) forefoot claws greyish.
Gerbil #1: side view showing distinct bicoloured tail.
Gerbil #1: forefoot; claws appear to be fleshy pink-grey in colour
Gerbil #2 was photographed in the Great Gobi A SPA; it has a tail very similar to that of Gerbil #1; both hindfoot claws appear whitish; fore-foot claws appear to be pinkish-grey to whitish. It was photographed at 8.50 am under a “gooseberry type/looking bush”.
Location Map The locations of Gerbil #1 and #2 are marked as Boxes 1 and 2; they are 220 km apart. The Red Line shows the northern range limit in China and Mongolia of Tamarisk Gerbil (TG); data based on Batsaikhan et al (2014), Smith and Xie (2013 p141) and Tsytsulina et al (2016, IUCN Red List). It seems possible that the range of TG might extend eastwards from the Santamu Basin (as marked). The basemap data is from OpenStreetMap at https://en-gb.topographic-map.com/maps/lp6g/China/; cartography is licensed as CC BY-SA (this copyright page)
Location points of Midday Gerbil photographs and range of Tamarisk Gerbil
References
Batsaikhan N, Samiya R, Shar S, Lkhagvasuren D, King SRB (2014). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Mongolia (Second Edition). Zoological Society of London.
Nanova O (2014). Geographical variation in the cranial measurements of the midday jird Meriones meridianus (Rodentia: Muridae) and its taxonomic implications. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 52(1):75–85. doi:10.1111/jzs.12032.
Nanova OG, Lebedev VS, Matrosova VA, Adiya A, Undrakhbayar E, Surov AV, Shenbrot GI (2020). Phylogeography, phylogeny, and taxonomical revision of the Midday jird (Meriones meridianus) species complex from Dzungaria.
Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 2020:00:1–24. https ://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12372.
Smith AT, Yan Xie (eds) (2013). Mammals of China. Princeton University Press.
Tsytsulina K, Formozov N, Sheftel B (2016). Meriones tamariscinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T13169A115110536. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T13169A22432783.en, Downloaded 2019 Oct 1.
Trip with Kevin Bryan, Ian Thompson, Sjef Ollers and Anja Palmans
Version 1: 30 Nov 2019
Pdf version of this report here; updates to this report will be done in the website post only.
pcarter66 @ outlook.com
Table of Contents
1. SUMMARY
2. LOGISTICS AND REFERENCES
3. ITINERARY
4. LIST OF MAMMALS SEEN
5. LIST OF MAMMALS RECORDED AND SITES
6. PHOTOS
7. SITE NOTES
1. Summary
This four-week road-trip covered 5,300 km across Central and Western Mongolia (excluding the southern Gobi). Key sites visited were Hustai NP, Boon Tsagaan Nuur, Sharga, Gobi B SPA, Jargalant Uul, Tavan Bogd NP, Khurgas Nuur area and the Khangai Mountains. The focus was on mammals and we identified 44 species, with another two heard (Lynx and Wolf). Some of the bats seen and recorded have yet to be identified. Rodents were surprisingly scarce on some nights and we only had two mustelids. Small-mammal highlights included Steppe Zokor, Zaisan Mole Vole, Grey Marmot, Five-toed Pygmy Jerboa and Thick-tailed Pygmy Jerboa.
Route Map (numbers 4 to 29 show overnight dates and sites; names in red show places camped at whilst at names in purple we used hotels or gers; route in red is the out-leg; that in purple the return leg):
From 2002 to 2007 my work in Mongolia, as an exploration geologist, included various helicopter-based trips (using Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopters). One of these trips involved 4 days around western Mongolia and I had always wanted to return to the region and its spectacular scenery, especially the Tavan Bogd area. Due to the remote travel it was best done with at least two vehicles and Ian Thompson, Kevin Bryan, Sjef Ollers and Anja Palmans were keen; none of them had yet visited Mongolia.
I organised three land-cruisers through Erka (my work driver for over 3 years); I had last used him in 2016. He drove one vehicle whilst his son Kuchee and Erka’s friend Mugi drove the other two. They were all safe drivers and excellent bush mechanics and spent many hours servicing the cars, often late into the night. Erka’s niece Bella came along as our translator.
A limited selection of mammal photos is shown in section 6 of this report. A more extensive selection of trip and mammal photos is also available (80 pages, 70 MB). Continue reading →
This post is in reply to a request for setup and user tips for using a XQ30V unit.
BRIGHTNESS and CONTRAST
Press the front “controller” knob lightly to cycle between the Brightness and Contrast settings. Rotate the controller to desired level for each. I keep my unit on low brightness (less harsh on the eye) and high contrast. It is easy to bump this knob and change the settings so keep an eye on them during use.
MAIN MENU OPTIONS
To access the main menu press the controller knob for about 2 seconds. Rotate the controller to move to the menu item you want. Press the controller to enter the menu item. Rotate the controller to your choice then press the controller to fix your choice. Rotate the controller to move to the next item or press the controller to close the menu list. I use the following settings for general use:
1 – Colour Mode: my preference is #2 (grey-scale with red for hot).
2 – Operating Mode: Forest (the other 2 settings are City and Identification).
3 – Calibration: A (Automatic) – I find that the occasional automatic calibrations do not interfere with use. Your choices for settings (2) and (3) will show on the left side of the status bar during usage.
4 – Video Output: OFF
5 – Clock
6 – Defective Pixel Repair: 2 choices are CROSS for defective pixel repair or RETURN for default defective pixel pattern. I have not used these.
7 – Menu icon brightness: 4 seems fine.
8 – Measurement Units:
NECK STRAP MODIFICATION
To have instant access to each of my 4 main pieces of gear (camera, binoculars, spotlight and thermal scope) I have found that it is essential to have a neck strap on the thermal scope (as opposed to having it in a belt pouch and/or using the wrist strap). The unit is not designed with neck strap mounts and I have tried the 2 options described below. When using the neck strap I find it easiest to hang the scope on top of my bins; the scope eyepiece will be on the right side and controls on top. At night I spend more time with the scope than my bins which is why I prefer it on top and once I have scoped something it is easy to let go of the scope and switch to my bins. To save battery power I turn off the display as I lower the scope and turn it back on as I raise the scope.
OPTION A: The easiest way to set up a simple neck strap is to screw the unit’s wrist strap into the tripod mount on the LEFT side of the unit (the side with the Weaver Rail); then thread a lightweight strap through the wrist strap’s small loop. WARNING. The neck strap can unscrew if not regularly tightened; I have had that happen once and the unit dropped to the ground (fortunately not damaged).
OPTION B: After losing the wrist strap I ended up with a more secure system, as in the image below. Setup: Place a zip-tie midway around the unit with the zip-tie lying along one of the weaver rail grooves (to keep it from slipping). Run the neck strap under the zip tie before tightening the tie or through a ring set on the zip tie (white zip-tie in the image below). I then have a second zip-tie as added safety. I prefer Option B as it is more secure (assuming the ties are tight enough); but if using Option A you could also add a zip-tie.
Neck-strap ties – functional not pretty.
OTHER POINTS
I sometimes find the battery cartridge
“malfunctions” in that I have to remove and replace batteries in order for the
unit to start. Try this if you are not getting power in the unit.
The unit when packed can easily be
turned on if the power button is bumped, and the batteries drained; so I keep
the battery pack out of the unit until using it.
