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Airlie Island Ctenotus (Ctenotus angusticeps)

The Airlie Island Ctenotus is a small, slender skink recorded from coastal habitats in Western Australia, including Airlie Island and mainland sites between Onslow and Broome. It is a DBCA Priority 3 taxon, a DBCA priority category rather than a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Careful habitat checks and low-disturbance work practices are appropriate where it may occur.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 3.

Seasonal activity and planning

Seasonal activity and breeding months have not been established. Plan survey and clearing precautions without relying on a calendar window.

Breeding months: Not recorded.

Activity months: Not recorded; daytime and twilight activity are reported, without a seasonal calendar.

A species-specific seasonal calendar has not been established.

  • Field activity planning: Planning window only: no species-specific months are documented. Schedule searches when site conditions allow safe, effective visual surveys and maintain precautions throughout the year.

Identification: Appearance and size

Use the combination of body shape and head features for identification. The species is small and faintly patterned, so careful close inspection may be needed.

The species is a small, slender, narrow-headed member of the Ctenotus pantherinus group, with faint patterning, separated prefrontals, callose subdigital lamellae and spiny soles.

The greatest recorded snout-to-vent length is 74 mm. Total length including the tail has not been recorded.

  • Five digits on each foot are reported.

Identification: Similar species

Field differences from similar species are not documented. Do not identify an individual from faint patterning or location alone. Record diagnostic features and obtain expert confirmation when needed.

Identification: Field signs

Species-specific tracks, scats, shed skins, burrows and other field signs are not documented. A direct observation is the clearest basis for a record.

Distribution: Known range

The species is known from Airlie Island and mainland coastal locations in the Kimberley and Pilbara. Records indicate a broader distribution than the original island-only understanding.

The reported range includes the Airlie Islands and coastal parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara. Known sites extend along the coast between Onslow and Broome, including mainland records at Roebuck Bay.

Atlas of Living Australia records show 20 Western Australian records at seven distinct 0.1-degree locations, spanning latitude -21.3 to -18 and longitude 115.1 to 122.4. These record summaries do not define the complete range.

Distribution: WA regions and status

The DBCA list flags the Kimberley and Pilbara regions. Priority 3 means the species is poorly known, known from several locations and not under imminent threat. No national listing is given.

Distribution: Records and limits

Airlie Island is the type locality. Mainland sites and coastal areas are known, but a complete, verified site-by-site distribution is not documented. Confirm current records and survey coverage before works.

Habitat: Reported habitats

Reported habitat is coastal and includes samphire flats, Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland. These descriptions do not establish that every listed type is occupied at every site.

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland. Vegetation condition, substrate and microhabitat requirements are not documented.

Habitat: Site assessment

Assess the whole coastal habitat mosaic within and beside the proposed disturbance area, rather than limiting checks to one vegetation type. Note vegetation patches and transitions that match the reported habitat descriptions.

Foraging habitat: Foraging information

Active foraging and movement between vegetation clumps are reported, but prey and preferred foraging microhabitat have not been documented.

The species is carnivorous and an active forager. Its prey and whether it forages mainly in open ground, within vegetation or along vegetation edges are not documented.

Foraging habitat: Movement and activity

The species is reported active during the day and at twilight. One account describes it remaining active throughout the day in high ground temperatures and moving rapidly from one vegetation clump to another. This does not guarantee detectability at a particular site.

Breeding habitat: Breeding information

The species lays eggs, but nesting habitat, breeding season and clutch size have not been documented.

Reproduction is oviparous. Breeding months, egg-laying locations, clutch size and development time are not recorded.

Breeding habitat: Precaution at works

Do not assume that a site is outside a breeding period based on calendar dates. Where suitable habitat will be disturbed, seek project-specific ecological advice and use the same cautious inspection and staged-clearing approach throughout the year.

Sheltering habitat: Known information

Species-specific shelter sites have not been documented. Use a cautious search approach across vegetation and ground features in the reported habitats.

Particular shelter sites, such as burrows, soil cracks, litter or spaces beneath objects, have not been identified for this species. No one shelter type is confirmed.

Sheltering habitat: Search focus

As general practice when searching for small terrestrial skinks, inspect accessible ground-level cover and vegetation carefully, using methods that do not cause unnecessary damage. Treat any shelter feature as a potential search location, not as a species-specific habitat record.

Threats: Threat information

No specific current threats to this taxon are documented. Its Priority 3 status reflects poor knowledge and records from several locations, not a stated threatened category.

A species-specific threat assessment or confirmed threat list has not been documented.

Threats: Works risk

Clearing or disturbing reported coastal habitat may harm animals present at a work site. This is a precautionary works risk, not a confirmed population-level threat. Avoid unnecessary habitat removal and ensure fauna observations are reported to the project ecologist.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Taxon-specific survey protocols and detectability estimates have not been established. Adapt these general field approaches for small terrestrial skinks to site conditions.

Check current fauna records, previous surveys and mapped vegetation for the project area and nearby coastal sites. Consider the reported range and habitat types, while recognising that database records do not define the full distribution.

Survey methodology: 2. Habitat inspection

Walk the proposed disturbance footprint and adjoining habitat. Record the presence and extent of samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland, and note ground or vegetation features that could provide cover.

Survey methodology: 3. Active search

As general skink survey practice, conduct careful visual searches through suitable habitat and inspect accessible ground-level cover without destructive handling. Daylight and twilight activity are reported, but an optimal survey time and detection rate have not been established.

Survey methodology: 4. Records and identification

Photograph observed animals where safe and permitted, record precise location, date, time, habitat and behaviour, and retain diagnostic images for expert verification. Do not rely on unconfirmed tracks or other signs as evidence of this species.

Vegetation associations: Acacia, mulga or brigalow

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Vegetation associations: Shrubland

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Vegetation associations: Tussock grassland

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Vegetation associations: Hummock grassland or spinifex

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Vegetation associations: Chenopod or saltbush shrubland

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Ecosystem associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific ecosystem association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Soil and substrate associations: Saline flats and salt pans

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

The species is reported from coastal samphire flats, coastal Spinifex, tussock grassland and acacia shrubland.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Water and wetland associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific water association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Fauna records and mapped habitat: Not yet analysed

Record locations can be overlaid with mapping, but record frequency alone does not measure habitat preference. No species is excluded from desktop assessments by this analysis.

No quality-controlled record-to-map analysis has been completed for this species. The existing generalised distribution dots and indicative range polygons have not been treated as precise occurrence coordinates.

A defensible run needs dated, independently attributable records, coordinate uncertainty, duplicate and captive-record checks, layer versions and regional scope. Preference and absence require additional survey-effort and detection evidence.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: No supported exclusion recorded

Not recorded is not the same as cannot occur. Low suitability, resident habitat, breeding habitat and occasional movement are different conclusions.

This library has not established a vegetation, ecosystem or soil-type exclusion for this species. This does not mean all habitat is suitable; the evidence needed to justify an exclusion has not been assembled.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: Before using a negative association

  • Confirm the taxon, geographic region, life stage and habitat function covered by the evidence.
  • Check survey methods, season, repeated effort and detectability before interpreting non-detection.
  • Investigate credible contradictory records and microhabitats absent from broad mapping.
  • Do not convert a missing map class, low record count or failed data request into species absence.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Review records and habitat

Plan works on the assumption that suitable habitat may contain an animal even when no recent record is available. Confirm responsibilities and response procedures before clearing begins.

Review available fauna records and survey reports, and map the proposed disturbance against the coastal habitats reported for the species. Ask a qualified ecologist to assess whether further survey or avoidance measures are appropriate.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Set work limits

Clearly mark the approved disturbance boundary and any habitat to be retained. Brief crews on the species description, the possibility of rapid movement between vegetation clumps, and the requirement to stop and report fauna encountered.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Prepare response arrangements

Confirm who is authorised to handle or relocate fauna, how observations will be recorded, and how work will be paused if an animal is found. Use a suitably qualified fauna handler where handling is necessary and authorised.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Work progressively

Use slow, controlled work practices in suitable habitat and maintain a clear stop-work response for fauna encounters. Do not assume an animal will remain in place as vegetation is disturbed.

Where practicable, clear in a staged and controlled manner so the fauna spotter can inspect the active work area and crews can respond to animals moving between vegetation patches. Avoid unnecessary disturbance beyond the marked footprint.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Stop and report

If a suspected Airlie Island Ctenotus is seen, pause work in the immediate area, keep people and machinery clear, and notify the fauna spotter or project ecologist. Record the location and observation details without delaying urgent animal welfare action.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Handle only when required

Avoid unnecessary capture or handling. If capture or relocation is required, it should be undertaken only by an appropriately qualified and authorised person using project procedures, with the animal kept clear of machinery and further disturbance.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Record outcomes

Close out fauna observations and check that disturbed areas and work boundaries match the approved plan. Record uncertainty as well as confirmed identifications.

Document sightings, identification confidence, location, habitat, actions taken and any injury or mortality. Submit records through the project process and to relevant biodiversity data systems where appropriate.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Review the site

Check that no fauna remain within the active work area and that retained habitat has not been unnecessarily disturbed. Escalate any unexpected encounter or incident to the project ecologist and follow applicable approvals and procedures.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore habitat structure

Species-specific rehabilitation requirements have not been documented. Rehabilitation should aim to retain or restore the coastal vegetation types reported as habitat without relying on unsupported design assumptions.

Where rehabilitation is required, use project-approved methods suited to the local coastal site and the vegetation communities present, including samphire, Spinifex, tussock grassland or acacia shrubland where relevant. No particular planting mix is proven for this species.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Monitor and adapt

Record rehabilitation works and monitor vegetation establishment and any fauna observations under the project plan. Species-specific success criteria and monitoring periods have not been established, so the project ecologist and relevant approval conditions should guide these.

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