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Eared Worm-lizard (Aprasia aurita)

The Eared Worm-lizard is a small, legless, fossorial pygopodid that lives in loose sandy soils, leaf litter and underground insect tunnels in southern Australia. It is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and in South Australia and Victoria, so clearing can remove both its surface cover and the subsurface refuges it uses.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Breeding season

Eared Worm-lizards are egg-laying and most likely mate in spring, with eggs laid in summer. Species timing is limited, so clearing should be planned around late October mating activity, summer eggs and young, and the risk of animals sheltering below ground during cooler months.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous, egg-laying.

Clutch size: Two eggs.

Incubation: 66 to 77 days for pygopodids generally, not confirmed for this species.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded for this species. Loose soil, leaf litter and ant or termite tunnels are relevant habitat features.

Breeding frequency: One clutch per year.

Confirm timing locally before works, because rainfall and temperature can change surface activity and detection rates, particularly in cooler or drier parts of the species' range.

  • Mating: Most specimens were trapped in late October, which was aligned with the mating period. The broader temperate pygopodid pattern is spring mating, generally September to November.
  • Gravid females: Gravid females have not been recorded for this species. The related Pink-tailed Worm-lizard was recorded gravid in late November and December, providing an indicative period only.
  • Egg laying: Egg-laying dates are not recorded for this species. Temperate pygopodids generally lay in summer, so December to February is the indicative period.
  • Incubation: Incubation length is not confirmed for this species. A period of 66 to 77 days is recorded for pygopodids generally, so eggs laid from December to February may remain in nests or soil from December to April.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching and juvenile emergence are not recorded for this species. January to April is an indicative period based on summer laying and the general pygopodid incubation period.
  • Active period: No species dataset defines the full active season. Most species records were from late October, while a general temperate reptile pattern suggests greatest surface activity in the warmer months, with some activity possible from September to April.
  • Winter inactivity: Winter inactivity is not confirmed for this species. As a fossorial temperate lizard, it may remain below ground, beneath leaf litter or in insect tunnels during cooler months, especially June to August.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from September to February because this period covers likely spring mating, summer egg laying and the likely presence of eggs or young. Clearing can also harm sheltering animals from March to August, particularly where loose soil, leaf litter or ant tunnels are disturbed.

Identification

The Eared Worm-lizard is a small, slender, legless lizard that is usually encountered in or close to loose soil and leaf litter. It is difficult to detect during routine searches because much of its activity occurs below the surface.

Adults are elongate and snake-like, with no external forelimbs and only reduced hind-limb flaps. Aprasia species have short tails, generally less than 92 percent of snout to vent length, and most have a short, blunt head.

The greatest recorded snout to vent length for Eared Worm-lizards is 123 mm. The greatest recorded mass is 6.7 g, but this value was calculated from length and was not obtained by weighing an animal.

Identification: Features useful in the field

The species has no external ear opening. This is a useful feature for separating it from most other pygopodids, but it should be assessed only by an experienced handler or suitably trained ecologist.

As a member of Aprasia, it is more likely to be found by careful searching of loose soil, leaf litter and insect tunnels than by observing an animal moving across open ground.

  • Check for a slender, legless body, a short tail and reduced hind-limb flaps.
  • Check the head and neck for the absence of an external auditory meatus.
  • Do not rely on colour alone. The supplied sources do not provide a sufficiently detailed species-specific colour description for confident identification.

Identification: Field signs and similar species

The available documents do not provide confirmed species-specific tracks, scats, calls, sloughs, eyeshine, nests or diagnostic feeding signs. Absence of these signs is not evidence that the species is absent.

Other Aprasia and small pygopodids can occur in similar southern Australian habitats. Identification should be confirmed from the animal rather than from a burrow, soil disturbance or fragment of shed skin alone.

If an animal is located during clearing, stop work around the find, retain the immediate soil and litter cover, and obtain confirmation from an appropriately experienced reptile ecologist or fauna spotter catcher.

  • Treat small tunnels, cracks and disturbed loose soil as potential habitat rather than as diagnostic species signs.
  • Keep photographs of the dorsal and ventral surfaces, head, tail and any visible hind-limb flaps when handling is authorised.
  • Avoid tail handling because pygopodid tails can autotomise.

Distribution: National range

The Eared Worm-lizard is a southern Australian species. The supplied conservation information identifies South Australia and Victoria as states of occurrence and lists the species as Endangered in both states.

The available documents support occurrence in South Australia and Victoria. The broader family account describes Aprasia as predominantly southern Australian, with the genus extending north along the west coast, but it does not provide a complete state by state range for Aprasia aurita.

No Australian bioregion names, mapped extent, site occupancy data or confirmed range boundary for this species are provided in the supplied documents.

States identified in the supplied information: South Australia and Victoria

Elevation records: 118 to 487 m above sea level

Estimated range size: 72,035 km²

Distribution: Strongholds and populations

The supplied documents do not identify current strongholds, named subpopulations, population density or total population size. A Victorian conservation biology report is cited for the species, indicating that mainland Victorian populations have been investigated, but the report results are not included here.

One general dataset records the population trend as stable and assesses the species as Near Threatened, whereas the supplied legal information lists it as Endangered. Project decisions should use the applicable legal listing and current government advice rather than the dataset assessment alone.

Population size: Not provided in the supplied documents.

Population trend: Stable in the dataset; this does not replace the supplied Endangered legal listings.

Known subpopulations: Not provided in the supplied documents.

Habitat: Habitat types

The Eared Worm-lizard uses terrestrial habitat with loose, diggable soil and a layer of leaf litter or other ground cover. Its underground lifestyle means that apparently undisturbed surface vegetation can still contain occupied habitat.

The species account records forest and shrubland habitat in a Mediterranean biome. It is fossorial or largely fossorial and is associated with leaf litter on loose sand and soil.

The broader pygopodid account describes Aprasia as fossorial in sandy soils and ant tunnels. These conditions are more useful for site assessment than vegetation type alone.

  • Retain areas with loose sand or friable soil that can be excavated or occupied by ants.
  • Treat continuous leaf litter, low shrub cover and patches of undisturbed ground as potential habitat.
  • Assess habitat beneath and between vegetation, not only open ground visible from above.

Habitat: Structural features and limits

Important structural features are loose soil, leaf litter, small soil cracks and access to ant or other invertebrate tunnels. The supplied sources do not provide a required litter depth, soil depth, patch size or vegetation height.

Recorded elevations are 118 to 487 m above sea level. No species-specific temperature, rainfall or hydrological limits are provided.

Elevation: 118 to 487 m above sea level

Soil requirement: Loose sand or soil suitable for burrowing and use of insect tunnels

Ground cover: Leaf litter is associated with fossorial habitat

Foraging habitat: Diet

The Eared Worm-lizard forages below or close to the ground surface, where it can access social insects and their brood. The available information does not provide a measured foraging distance or home range.

Recorded food items include carnivorous insects, mostly termites, and ant brood. The broader family account also records that Aprasia may be myrmecophagous, meaning it may specialise on ants or their brood.

No plant food or vertebrate prey is recorded for this species in the supplied documents.

  • Retain termite and ant habitat within and beside the development footprint where practicable.
  • Avoid assuming that an area is unsuitable because no surface prey or animal is visible during a daytime inspection.

Foraging habitat: Foraging method and area

The animal is fossorial and uses ant tunnels and loose soil. The documents do not describe a confirmed hunting technique, daily foraging distance, home range or density.

Foraging habitat is therefore best assessed as the connected combination of loose soil, leaf litter and active or former insect tunnel systems, rather than as isolated surface vegetation.

Recorded prey: Termites, other carnivorous insects and ant brood

Foraging range: Not recorded in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The species is an egg-laying lizard. Species-specific information on nest placement and incubation is limited, so breeding habitat should be protected wherever loose soil, leaf litter and insect tunnels remain connected.

The available species information records oviparity, a typical clutch of two eggs and one clutch per year. The broader pygopodid account states that temperate species generally mate in spring and lay in summer.

A species-specific age at maturity, incubation period and lifespan are not provided. The family account records incubation periods of 66 to 77 days for pygopodids generally, but this should not be treated as a confirmed value for Aprasia aurita.

Breeding season: Mating generally occurs in spring and laying in summer for temperate pygopodids; species-specific dates are not confirmed.

Clutch size: Two eggs

Clutches per year: One

Incubation: 66 to 77 days for pygopodids generally; not confirmed as species-specific.

Age at maturity: Not provided.

Lifespan: Not provided for this species.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

The documents do not describe a confirmed nest chamber, egg-laying substrate or nest depth for this species. The most defensible habitat indicators are loose, well-drained soil, leaf litter and access to ant or other invertebrate tunnels.

Retain connected ground cover and avoid stripping soil from suitable habitat during the spring to summer breeding period.

  • Keep soil disturbance to the smallest practicable area.
  • Do not remove leaf litter, loose surface soil or termite and ant habitat before a targeted fauna inspection.
  • If an egg-laying site is found, establish an exclusion area based on advice from the project ecologist and the relevant authority.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The species shelters below ground and is associated with loose soil, leaf litter and insect tunnels. No confirmed shelter dimensions are available.

Aprasia species use ant tunnels and burrow in sandy soils. The species account also records fossorial habitat associated with leaf litter on loose sand and soil.

The available documents do not provide measurements for burrow diameter, tunnel depth, refuge area or the distance an animal travels from cover.

Burrow or tunnel size: Not recorded.

Known shelter type: Ant tunnels, loose sandy soil and leaf litter.

  • Protect loose sandy soil, small cracks, litter mats and active or abandoned ant tunnels.
  • Inspect beneath retained litter and around soil cracks before removing ground cover.
  • Keep spoil, vehicles and stored materials off potential fossorial habitat wherever practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Handling and relocation

Fossorial pygopodids may be encountered during soil stripping, trenching, hand searches beneath cover or excavation. They can autotomise the tail, so the tail must not be used to lift or restrain an animal.

The supplied documents do not provide a species-specific relocation distance, release protocol or post-release survival rate. Follow the approved project fauna management plan and relevant state requirements.

  • Stop machinery and isolate the immediate work area when an animal is found.
  • Use a suitably trained fauna handler and minimise handling time.
  • Keep excavated soil and leaf litter available for inspection before disposal or reuse.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented concern is habitat loss for small-range pygopodids, including Aprasia aurita. On a development site, the highest direct risk is removal or compaction of the loose soil, leaf litter and insect tunnel systems used below ground.

The family account identifies habitat loss as a threat to Aprasia aurita and other pygopodids with small distributions near human populations. Clearing can remove both the surface cover and the underground habitat that supports shelter and feeding.

Fragmentation is a practical concern because it can separate suitable soil and litter patches, although the supplied documents do not provide a measured minimum patch size or dispersal distance.

  • Avoid clearing suitable sandy soil and litter habitat where the design allows.
  • Fence and clearly mark retained habitat before clearing starts.
  • Keep access tracks, laydown areas and stockpiles out of retained loose-soil habitat.
  • Prevent soil compaction because it can reduce access to tunnels and burrowing space.

Threats: Fire, roads and hydrology

The supplied documents do not give species-specific evidence on fire frequency, road mortality or hydrology change. These pathways should still be assessed where a project changes litter cover, soil structure, drainage or vehicle access.

A project risk assessment should examine whether altered drainage could waterlog, erode or compact loose soil, and whether fire treatment could remove the litter and shrub structure associated with habitat.

  • Avoid unnecessary removal of litter and low vegetation during firebreak or construction preparation.
  • Manage drainage so that retained habitat is not eroded, inundated or dried through concentrated runoff.
  • Use speed controls and fauna procedures on roads through potential habitat, especially during warm conditions when pygopodids may move.

Threats: Predators and other pressures

Predators recorded for pygopodids include raptors, elapid snakes, goannas, feral cats and foxes. The documents describe pygopodids as a minor dietary component, but predation can add pressure to small or isolated populations.

No species-specific disease threat is identified in the supplied documents. Parasites are recorded from pygopodids generally, but no disease management measure specific to Aprasia aurita is provided.

  • Do not attract cats, foxes or other predators to work areas through food waste or unsecured materials.
  • Keep construction compounds clean and manage waste in accordance with the project fauna management plan.
  • Record any injured or dead individuals and report repeated observations to the project ecologist.

Survey methodology: 1. Targeted searches beneath ground debris

Aprasia aurita is a small, fossorial pygopodid associated with loose soil, sandy substrates, leaf litter and ant tunnels. Surveys should focus on subsurface habitat and ground debris, and should be designed by a suitably experienced reptile ecologist because the supplied documents do not specify a species-specific minimum survey effort.

Search retained and proposed disturbance areas by carefully lifting ground debris, including logs, boards, rocks and thick litter, where the substrate is loose enough for burrowing.

Search during suitable weather when reptiles are likely to be active, and replace every item in its original position to retain shelter and soil moisture.

Use hand searches as a targeted method for this fossorial group, particularly where ant tunnels, insect tunnels, sandy soil or loose leaf litter are present.

Adult length: Up to 123 mm snout to vent

Typical microhabitat: Loose sand or soil, leaf litter and subterranean ant or insect tunnels

  • Search systematically across mapped habitat rather than inspecting only obvious shelter sites.
  • Use a fine-scale search pattern that allows the observer to inspect the surface, the underside of debris and visible cracks or tunnels without collapsing them.
  • Do not dig through occupied ant nests or tunnels unless the approved survey method specifically permits it and an experienced herpetologist is present.

Survey methodology: 2. Pitfall trapping with drift fencing

Use pitfall traps with drift fencing only where the project risk assessment shows that trapping is suitable and has been approved under the relevant animal ethics, wildlife and project conditions.

Place trap lines across likely movement routes and through suitable loose-soil, sandy and littered habitat, rather than in compacted ground or where flooding is likely.

Inspect traps at the frequency required by the permit and animal welfare plan, and provide protection from heat, rain and predation.

  • Use escape ramps or other approved welfare measures in every trap.
  • Record trap type, trap spacing, fence length, trap nights, weather, checking times and all captures, including non-target animals.
  • Close traps immediately when weather or site conditions could cause unacceptable welfare risks.

Survey methodology: 3. Searches of fossorial habitat and tunnels

Map patches of loose sandy soil, deep leaf litter, visible earth cracks, ant nests and insect tunnels before clearing starts.

Inspect the edges of proposed access tracks, trench lines, stockpiles and work areas because these activities can expose or collapse subterranean habitat.

Treat an occupied tunnel, recently opened tunnel or animal sign as a potential fauna management issue even when the animal is not visible.

  • Use a qualified ecologist to decide whether a suspected tunnel can be inspected without causing unacceptable disturbance.
  • Record the location of each search area with a GPS point or mapped polygon and photograph representative habitat.
  • Do not rely on surface spotlighting alone, because the species is largely fossorial.

Survey methodology: 4. Timing and survey design

Use local weather, soil condition and recent rainfall to select survey periods when the substrate can be searched safely and the species is likely to be detectable.

The supplied documents do not provide a validated number of survey nights, hours, transect length or trap nights for Aprasia aurita, so the ecologist should set effort from the area of suitable habitat, disturbance footprint, survey objectives and detection risk.

Consider more than one survey period where the project could affect a large or connected area of suitable habitat, or where initial searches are limited by dry, cold, flooded or otherwise unsuitable conditions.

Reported elevation range: 118 to 487 m above sea level

Activity information: Sources report cathemeral, nocturnal and diurnal observations, so timing should be site-specific rather than based on one assumed activity period

  • Record the dates, start and finish times, weather, recent rainfall, soil condition, observer names and area searched for every survey.
  • State clearly when a survey was restricted by access, safety, poor weather, dry conditions, dense litter or other factors.
  • Do not describe an area as free of the species solely because no animal was seen during a brief surface inspection.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Obtain a written survey design and fauna management plan from a suitably experienced reptile ecologist before clearing suitable habitat.
  • Set and justify the search area, transect coverage, trapping effort or repeat visits in relation to the disturbance footprint and the mapped extent of suitable habitat.
  • Submit confirmed records, negative survey information where required, photographs and spatial data to the relevant state wildlife database and any project approval reporting system.
  • Report all captures, injuries, deaths, relocations, habitat features disturbed and changes to the approved method.
  • Check the current state and Commonwealth requirements before fieldwork, because the supplied material does not provide a current species-specific survey protocol.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Aprasia aurita is listed in the project information as endangered nationally and in South Australia and Victoria. Avoiding loss of its loose-soil, littered and subterranean habitat is preferable to attempting rescue after soil disturbance.

  • Retain mapped patches of loose sand or soil, deep leaf litter, ant tunnels and connected ground cover wherever practicable.
  • Keep disturbance footprints, access tracks, trenching, laydown areas and spoil stockpiles out of suitable fossorial habitat.
  • Maintain connections between retained habitat patches so animals can continue to move through leaf litter and loose soil.
  • Set site-specific no-go areas and buffers around retained habitat, tunnels and occupied locations with the project ecologist and approval authority; do not apply an unverified generic buffer.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

  • Confirm whether the proposed action requires Commonwealth assessment or referral under the EPBC Act because the species is identified in the project information as nationally listed.
  • Confirm state wildlife approvals, collection or handling authorities, animal ethics requirements and any permit conditions before surveys, trapping, capture or relocation.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies suitable habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, authorised personnel, stop-work triggers, release sites, incident contacts and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that the smallest practicable area is opened at one time and retained habitat remains available while works proceed.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before works in suitable habitat, using targeted searches and any approved trapping method.
  • Mark no-go areas, retained litter, logs, rocks, tunnels, ant-associated habitat and release areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent machinery and people entering retained habitat without blocking necessary animal movement or creating a trapping hazard.
  • Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the species' small size, fossorial habit and risk from soil movement.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Ground disturbance can collapse tunnels, bury animals and remove the loose soil and litter on which this species depends. The fauna spotter catcher should have authority to pause work whenever an animal or suitable occupied habitat is found.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and work areas before machinery starts each day.
  • Keep machinery within approved limits and prevent driving, parking, soil storage or refuelling on retained fossorial habitat.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher during clearing and ground disturbance where required by the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Work progressively and keep the active disturbance area as small as practicable.

During habitat disturbance: Spotter catcher and machinery

  • Place the fauna spotter catcher where they can see the soil disturbance, debris removal and machinery attachment without entering an unsafe operating zone.
  • Direct operators to stop before disturbing a suspected tunnel, dense litter patch, log, rock pile or other mapped habitat feature.
  • Remove debris progressively under spotter catcher direction, allowing the underside and surrounding soil to be checked before the item is moved.
  • Do not allow untrained workers to search for, pick up or relocate the animal.

During habitat disturbance: If an animal is found

  • Stop work in the immediate area and establish a no-entry zone until the authorised fauna handler has assessed the animal and habitat.
  • Keep handling to the minimum required for identification, protection and approved relocation, because the species has a fragile tail that can be autotomised.
  • Use an appropriately ventilated container with suitable substrate and protection from heat while an authorised person determines the next action.
  • Relocate a healthy animal only to nearby retained habitat that has been identified in the fauna management plan and is suitable for a fossorial species.
  • Take an injured animal to an appropriately experienced reptile veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer as soon as practicable.
  • Record the location, time, condition, photographs, identification, handler, action taken and release location.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and habitat features

  • Stop work when Aprasia aurita is found, when a suspected occupied tunnel is exposed, or when clearing is occurring outside the approved footprint.
  • Stop work if exclusion fencing fails, a release area becomes unsuitable, an animal is injured, or the approved fauna handling arrangements are unavailable.
  • Treat logs, rocks, dense leaf litter, ant-associated soil, cracks and burrows as potential habitat features requiring inspection before removal.
  • Do not use hollow-tree, wetland or nest-box procedures as a substitute for the species-specific ground-habitat controls required for this fossorial lizard.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance actions should confirm that no animals or suitable habitat features were missed and that retained habitat remains protected from construction impacts.

  • Inspect the completed disturbance footprint, spoil margins, access routes and retained habitat edges for exposed animals, collapsed tunnels and displaced logs, rocks or litter.
  • Complete the check before the next stage of works where soil has been stripped, excavated or stockpiled.
  • Maintain fauna exclusion fencing and no-go markers until the ecologist confirms that the area is no longer a fauna risk.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat and any approved release areas using the same search method and recording standards used during pre-clearance surveys.
  • Record post-clearance observations, mortalities, injuries, relocations, habitat damage, fencing breaches and corrective actions.
  • Provide records and spatial data to the relevant state wildlife database and report incidents to the approval authority in accordance with permit and approval conditions.
  • Review the fauna management plan if animals are found outside predicted areas or if construction changes the approved disturbance footprint.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

  • Assess unavoidable habitat loss and fragmentation against Commonwealth and state approval requirements before works proceed.
  • Apply any approved offset, conservation contribution or restoration measure required for residual impacts.
  • Do not treat relocation alone as an offset for permanent loss of suitable loose-soil and litter habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore the ground layer

Rehabilitation should recreate the ground conditions used by this fossorial species rather than relying only on canopy planting. The available information supports restoring loose soil, leaf litter, shelter and insect-associated habitat, but it does not identify particular plant species for Aprasia aurita.

Key habitat condition: Fossorial habitat associated with loose sand or soil and leaf litter

Known food information: Reports include termites, other insects and ant brood

  • Replace clean, suitable topsoil and leaf litter over disturbed areas where this is consistent with the approved rehabilitation design.
  • Avoid compacting restored soil and retain areas of loose sand or soil that can support burrowing and ant or insect tunnels.
  • Reinstate locally sourced logs, flat rocks and other natural ground debris where they were present before disturbance and where doing so will not create a safety or weed risk.
  • Do not bury waste, contaminated material or unsuitable fill within restored habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Re-establish vegetation and connectivity

  • Use locally appropriate native plant species selected by the restoration ecologist for the original site community, because the supplied documents do not name species-specific planting targets.
  • Restore continuous ground cover between retained habitat patches where construction has created breaks.
  • Keep leaf litter and low ground cover in restored areas instead of maintaining bare, intensively managed soil.
  • Control weeds that smother leaf litter, alter soil condition or reduce access to subterranean habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator, fire and site management

  • Manage feral cats and foxes in accordance with the approved site or reserve management programme, as these are recorded predators of pygopodids.
  • Apply fire planning that protects restored leaf litter and soil habitat from inappropriate loss while meeting the area's legal and ecological fire requirements.
  • Prevent vehicles, repeated foot traffic, stockpiling and erosion from compacting or removing restored fossorial habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Inspect restored areas after establishment and after major rainfall or construction events for erosion, compaction, weed invasion, litter loss and animal access.
  • Use repeat targeted searches beneath ground debris and in loose soil, together with any approved trapping method, to assess whether restored habitat is being used.
  • Measure success against approved site-specific criteria such as stable loose soil, retained leaf litter, functioning habitat connections, low weed cover and confirmed fauna records.
  • Continue monitoring for the period required by the approval and adapt weed, predator, erosion or fire management when success criteria are not met.

Sources