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Dotty-tailed Robust Slider (Great Victoria Desert) (Lerista puncticauda)

The dotty-tailed robust slider is a poorly known skink recorded from Western Australia’s Great Victoria Desert. Its restricted known range makes careful pre-clearing assessment and conservative handling important on works sites.

Conservation status

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

Seasonal planning

Species-specific activity and breeding months are not documented. Use year-round precautions and plan survey timing with a qualified ecologist.

Breeding: Oviparous, but breeding months are not documented.

Activity: Seasonal activity information is not documented.

Months are not specified for this species. The row is a general year-round planning reminder, not a prediction of seasonal activity.

  • Survey and disturbance planning: General planning window only. No species-specific seasonal timing is available, so apply fauna precautions throughout the year.

Identification: Appearance and size

Identification information is limited. Confirm any suspected record with a suitably experienced reptile ecologist.

No physical description or body measurements are documented. The Reptile Database places the species in the skink family, Scincidae.

  • Do not use an assumed size, colour pattern or tail marking as a definitive identification.

Identification: Similar species

Diagnostic characters and similar species have not been described for separating this skink from other Lerista.

  • Photograph the animal, including its head, body, limbs and tail, where this can be done safely and without delaying work controls.
  • Seek expert confirmation rather than relying on the common name or a single field character.

Identification: Field signs

Tracks, burrows, scats, shed skin and other field signs have not been described for this species.

Distribution: Known range

The species has a very restricted and poorly documented known distribution in Western Australia.

The Reptile Database reports the species from Western Australia and gives its type locality as 25 km NNE of Queen Victoria Spring. A 2002 biodiversity audit describes it as endemic to the Great Victoria Desert 1 subregion.

Atlas of Living Australia records show six WA records at four distinct 0.1-degree locations, between latitude -30.3 and -30.1 and longitude 123.2 and 123.7. Records outside WA were excluded as likely errors.

Distribution: WA regions and status

The DBCA list flags the Goldfields region. The species is listed as Priority 2 on the WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List dated 1 July 2025. Priority 2 is a DBCA priority category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The category applies to species that are poorly known and known from few locations, with some on conservation lands. No national listing is identified.

Habitat: Regional setting

The species is associated with the Great Victoria Desert, but its occupied habitat and microhabitat are not documented.

The biodiversity audit places the species in the Great Victoria Desert 1 subregion. The subregion includes sandplains, active sand ridges, salt lakes, valley floors and breakaways.

Habitat: Vegetation context

The audit describes spinifex and mallee over hummock grassland on aeolian sandplains, with other plant communities on deeper sands and on colluvial or residual soils. These are regional descriptions, not confirmed habitat for this species.

  • Record the substrate, landform, vegetation and ground cover at any detection without assuming that one feature is preferred.

Foraging habitat: Diet and foraging

Foraging habitat and diet have not been documented.

Prey and feeding behaviour are not documented for this species.

Foraging habitat: Site observations

During surveys, note where an animal is found and the nearby substrate, vegetation and cover. Treat these observations as site records, not evidence of a species-wide foraging preference.

Breeding habitat: Reproduction

The species is egg-laying, but its breeding habitat and timing are not known.

The Reptile Database records the species as oviparous. Breeding months, clutch size, egg-laying sites and information on young are not documented.

Breeding habitat: Precaution at works sites

Do not assume that a site is outside the breeding period. If eggs, a suspected nest or young are encountered, pause nearby ground disturbance and obtain advice from the project ecologist.

Sheltering habitat: Known information

Shelter sites and refuge behaviour have not been described for this species.

Use of burrows, soil depth, ground cover and other shelter has not been documented.

Sheltering habitat: Precautionary search

As general practice for small terrestrial reptiles, check suitable ground cover and loose surface material carefully during a supervised search. Do not infer that an unoccupied-looking refuge is unused, and avoid damaging potential refuges.

Threats: Recorded threats

Introduced predators are identified as potential threats, but detailed species-specific threat information is limited.

The 2002 biodiversity audit lists cats and foxes as threatening processes for Lerista puncticauda in its species-at-risk table.

Threats: Development pressures

The audit identifies mining, extensive summer wildfires and feral predators as threats to distinctive Great Victoria Desert sandplain communities. These are regional pressures and are not all individually established as direct threats to this skink.

  • Limit unnecessary disturbance to native ground cover and avoid creating unmanaged access or refuse that could attract predators.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Species-specific detectability and survey methods are not documented. Use a suitably qualified reptile ecologist and treat non-detection cautiously.

Review the proposed footprint against available records, the type locality and the Great Victoria Desert setting. Confirm whether the site is within or near the Goldfields region and consult DBCA guidance as appropriate.

Survey methodology: 2. Habitat inspection

Map landforms, substrate, vegetation and ground cover across the footprint and adjacent undisturbed areas. These observations help describe site conditions but do not establish species presence or absence.

Survey methodology: 3. Field search

As general practice for skink surveys, an experienced ecologist may use careful visual searches and supervised examination of suitable surface cover. Any handling or trapping should be undertaken only by appropriately authorised personnel using methods suited to the site and applicable approvals.

Survey methodology: 4. Record and report

Record date, location, search effort, conditions, habitat observations and identification confidence. Photograph a suspected animal where safe, and report confirmed detections through the project’s fauna procedures.

Vegetation associations: Mallee

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

The audit describes spinifex and mallee over hummock grassland on aeolian sandplains, with other plant communities on deeper sands and on colluvial or residual soils.

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 audit describes spinifex and mallee over hummock grassland on aeolian sandplains, with other plant communities on deeper sands and on colluvial or residual soils.

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 audit describes spinifex and mallee over hummock grassland on aeolian sandplains, with other plant communities on deeper sands and on colluvial or residual soils.

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: Sandy soils or sand

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

The subregion includes sandplains, active sand ridges, salt lakes, valley floors and breakaways.

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.

Soil and substrate associations: Rocky, stony or shallow ground

The subregion includes sandplains, active sand ridges, salt lakes, valley floors and breakaways.

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.

Soil and substrate associations: Saline flats and salt pans

The subregion includes sandplains, active sand ridges, salt lakes, valley floors and breakaways.

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. Confirm requirements

Plan works on the basis that this poorly known species may be overlooked by surveys.

Check current DBCA status, approvals, permit conditions and project fauna procedures before clearing. Priority 2 is a DBCA priority category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Survey and mark

Arrange a targeted assessment by a qualified ecologist where the site is within the known regional setting or otherwise presents a reasonable concern. Mark confirmed detections and any agreed exclusion areas clearly for the crew.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Brief the crew

Explain the species’ limited identification information, the stop-work process and how to report a suspected reptile. Ensure fauna spotter catchers and operators know who can authorise work to resume.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Work to controls

Use staged, supervised works and respond promptly to any suspected animal or egg discovery.

Keep clearing within the approved footprint and follow marked exclusion areas and the project fauna management plan. Avoid unnecessary disturbance of adjacent native ground cover.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Pause and assess

If a suspected dotty-tailed robust slider, egg or young is found, stop work in the immediate area, protect the location from traffic and notify the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Handle only if authorised

Do not attempt unauthorised capture or relocation. Any permitted capture, handling or release should be directed by appropriately qualified and authorised personnel, with the location and actions recorded.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Check the work area

Close out fauna actions with clear records and follow-up of any detection or incident.

After each work stage, have the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist check the disturbed area and its margins for animals or other relevant observations before the next stage proceeds.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Record outcomes

Document searches, detections, non-detections, incidents, handling or release actions, and any changes to work controls. Submit records through the project’s agreed reporting pathway.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore the site

Rehabilitation should restore the local native setting while recognising that species-specific habitat requirements are not known.

Where rehabilitation is required, use locally appropriate native species and substrate consistent with the surrounding site. The regional audit describes sandplain communities that include spinifex and mallee, but does not confirm specific requirements for this skink.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Avoid new pressures

Minimise further soil and ground-cover disturbance, manage access and waste, and avoid actions that could encourage introduced predators. Follow the project rehabilitation plan and any ecologist recommendations.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Monitor and adapt

Record rehabilitation condition and any fauna observations. Do not treat a lack of detections as evidence that the species is absent or that habitat has been restored for it.

Sources