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Bungle Bungle Robust Slider (Lerista bunglebungle)

The Bungle Bungle Robust Slider is a small skink known from the Bungle Bungle area of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Its habitat and ecology are poorly documented, so work in the known area warrants careful checks and precautionary handling.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 2.

Seasonal planning

Activity and breeding months are unknown. Use the full work period as a planning window and apply the same fauna precautions year-round.

Species-specific timing: Activity, breeding and movement months have not been documented.

Planning approach: Do not schedule work on the assumption that the species is seasonally inactive.

The month values indicate a general planning window only, not measured seasonal activity.

  • Fauna checks and precautionary work planning: Planning window only. These entries do not represent known activity months; species-specific seasonal timing is unknown.

Identification: Appearance and size

The species has a few useful diagnostic features, but no measured dimensions or field signs are documented.

This is a small skink. Reported features include two fingers, three toes, dark dorsal spots and an upper lateral stripe. No body-length or other size measurements are available.

Identification: Similar species

It belongs to the Lerista macropisthopus group and is most like the Central Deserts robust slider, Lerista desertorum. Distinguishing features include contiguous nasals, four supraciliaries and six rows of dorsal spots.

Identification: Field signs

Tracks, scats, burrows, shelter sites and other field signs have not been documented. Do not identify the species from an unverified sign alone.

Distribution: Known range

The known range is very restricted and poorly documented in the Kimberley.

The stated type locality is Bungle Bungle National Park in Western Australia. A park visitor guide identifies the species as an endemic lizard of Purnululu National Park and describes it as very rare. Atlas of Living Australia records show one WA record at one distinct 0.1-degree location.

Distribution: WA region and records

The DBCA priority list flags the Kimberley region. The known information does not establish a broader range. Do not assume the species is absent because no records are mapped.

Habitat: Documented setting

Species-specific habitat information has not been documented.

The species is recorded at Bungle Bungle National Park, but its vegetation, landform, substrate and microhabitat are unknown. Park-level landscape descriptions are not enough to infer the skink’s habitat.

Habitat: Site assessment

At works sites in or near the known area, assess and map habitat features on the ground rather than assuming that a particular vegetation type or substrate is suitable or unsuitable.

Foraging habitat: Known information

Foraging habitat and diet have not been documented.

Prey, feeding behaviour and foraging microhabitat are unknown. Do not infer a diet from the species’ family or genus.

Foraging habitat: Precaution on site

During site inspection, record any observed feeding behaviour and the immediate setting without disturbing the animal. Treat observations as site-specific evidence, not as established species-wide habitat information.

Breeding habitat: Breeding information

The species is reported to lay eggs, but nesting habitat and breeding timing are unknown.

The Bungle Bungle Robust Slider is oviparous. Breeding months, clutch size, egg-laying sites and development have not been documented.

Breeding habitat: Works precautions

Do not assume that any month or ground feature is free of breeding risk. If eggs or a suspected nest are found, stop disturbance in the immediate area and seek advice from the relevant fauna specialist or authority.

Sheltering habitat: Known information

Shelter sites and refuge use have not been documented.

Shelter types, burrows, cover objects and refuge depth are unknown. No taxon-specific shelter feature can be used to rule out the species’ presence.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge checks

As general skink survey practice, check suitable cover and ground features carefully where disturbance is planned. Lift or move cover slowly, inspect the exposed area, and replace it as found where this can be done safely.

Threats: Known pressures

Specific threats to the species have not been identified.

The species is poorly known and recorded from few locations. Some priority fauna occur on conservation lands.

Threats: Risk on works sites

Habitat loss, injury or mortality during clearing are practical risks to consider for a small ground-dwelling skink, although their population-level effects on this species are unknown. Apply precautionary avoidance and fauna-management measures.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

The species is poorly known and its habitat is not defined, so surveys should be cautious and site-specific.

Check current DBCA information, records and the proposed disturbance footprint, with particular attention to the Kimberley and the Bungle Bungle area. Treat the limited record base as uncertainty, not as evidence of absence.

Survey methodology: 2. Ground inspection

As general skink survey practice, search systematically and slowly through accessible ground features and cover in the proposed work area. Use visual searches and careful refuge checks; avoid destructive digging or leaving displaced cover exposed.

Survey methodology: 3. Recording and escalation

Record survey effort, conditions, locations and any suspected observations. Photograph diagnostic features where safe and permitted, and have uncertain identifications checked by a suitably experienced herpetologist. No species-specific survey-detection method is documented.

Vegetation associations

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

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

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

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

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

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. Confirm constraints

Plan for uncertainty before clearing, especially for work in the known locality or wider Kimberley region.

Check current DBCA requirements, approvals and fauna-management conditions. Brief the crew on the species’ limited known range, identification features and the need to report potential sightings.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Inspect and mark

Have a suitably experienced ecologist or fauna spotter catcher inspect the footprint before disturbance. Mark areas to avoid and establish a clear stop-work and escalation process for fauna or suspected eggs.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Prepare the work area

Where practicable, stage clearing so inspection can proceed ahead of machinery. Confirm suitable equipment and an authorised, safe procedure for temporary containment or relocation if an animal is found.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Work under observation

Use a controlled, fauna-aware approach throughout clearing and ground disturbance.

Maintain the agreed fauna spotter catcher or ecologist coverage and clear communication with operators. Proceed in manageable stages so newly exposed ground can be checked.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Pause for fauna

Stop work in the immediate area if a suspected Bungle Bungle Robust Slider, eggs or an uncertain skink is found. Keep people and equipment clear, avoid handling unless necessary for safety, and follow the approved fauna procedure.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Record and report

Record the location, circumstances and action taken, and obtain photographs if this can be done without added risk or disturbance. Resume only when the responsible fauna specialist confirms the area can be released under the applicable conditions.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Complete records

Close out fauna observations and check that disturbed areas have been managed as planned.

Document search effort, encounters, any handling or relocation, and areas left undisturbed. Report records through the project’s required channels and retain identification evidence for review.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Review the work

Check that exclusion measures, staged clearing and stop-work procedures were followed. Escalate any injury, mortality or unexpected discovery in accordance with approvals and project protocols.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore with care

Species-specific rehabilitation requirements have not been documented.

Use the approved site rehabilitation plan. Do not claim that a particular planting, substrate or refuge feature benefits this species unless supported by site evidence or specialist advice.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor outcomes

Keep rehabilitation records and note any fauna observations during follow-up inspections. Use monitoring results to inform future site management, while recognising that the species’ habitat needs remain poorly documented.

Sources