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Mallee Worm-lizard (Aprasia inaurita)

The Mallee Worm-lizard is a small, fossorial, legless lizard of sandy mallee woodlands in south-eastern Australia. It shelters below ground and around ant and termite nests, so clearing, soil compaction, removal of woody debris and fragmentation can affect individuals and habitat even where surface signs are absent.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

Mallee Worm-lizards mate in spring and females lay two eggs, with egg laying reported in October. Incubation is estimated at 66 to 77 days, so clearing from spring through early summer may affect eggs, hatchlings and sheltering adults. Seasonal activity and winter inactivity are not well documented for this species.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous, egg laying.

Clutch size: Two eggs.

Incubation: 66 to 77 days.

Size at hatching: 47 mm snout to vent.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded. The species lays eggs in sandy, sheltered habitat, but the nest site has not been described.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing at each site, particularly after rainfall or during temperature changes that may trigger surface activity, because local seasonal conditions and the species' activity pattern are poorly documented.

  • Mating: Mating is reported in spring, September to November. No species-specific peak month is recorded.
  • Gravid females: The period that females carry eggs is not recorded. September and October are used as a planning window before the documented spring and October laying period, not as confirmed gravid-female timing.
  • Egg laying: Females lay two eggs in spring, with October specifically reported for egg laying. September to November represents the broader spring period.
  • Incubation: Incubation lasts 66 to 77 days. For eggs laid in October, this places the expected incubation period from October into December or early January, although nest duration in the field has not been documented.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching and juvenile emergence have not been recorded. A 66 to 77 day incubation from October laying indicates possible emergence in December or January, with no confirmed abundance peak.
  • Active period: A seasonal activity period is not recorded. The species is reported as diurnal, nocturnal and cathemeral, and may be encountered throughout the year, including below ground or beneath cover.
  • Winter inactivity: Brumation, hibernation and a defined winter inactivity period are not recorded. Treat all months as possible sheltering periods because individuals use soil, surface debris and ant or termite galleries and may not escape machinery.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from September to November during the documented spring mating and egg-laying period, when eggs or gravid females may be present. Clearing can also harm hatchlings in December and January and sheltering animals at any time, so local assessment is needed year round.

Identification

The Mallee Worm-lizard is a slender, snake-like lizard that is usually concealed below ground or under ground cover. Identification should be confirmed from several features because other legless lizards occur in mallee habitats.

The species is pale olive-brown to grey-brown above. The head and nape are often reddish-brown, and the terminal part of the tail is bright reddish-orange. It has no forelimbs and small, scaly hindlimb flaps near the cloacal vent.

Total length: Approximately 20 cm

Reported body length: About 135 mm

Hind limbs: Vestigial, appearing as small scaly flaps

Identification: Distinguishing features

The combination of a pale olive-brown or grey-brown body, reddish-brown head and nape, bright reddish-orange tail tip, absent forelimbs and tiny hindlimb flaps helps separate it from snakes and other legless lizards. The species is fossorial and is more likely to be found beneath cover or in association with ant and termite nests than moving openly on the surface.

  • Do not identify the animal from colour alone, as colour can vary between pale olive-brown and grey-brown.
  • Check the tail tip, head colour, absence of forelimbs and presence of small hindlimb flaps.
  • Handle suspected animals only as required for authorised identification and release procedures.

Identification: Field signs and similar species

No diagnostic tracks, scats, calls, sloughs or eyeshine are described in the supplied sources. Burrows or disturbed soil may be difficult to attribute to this species because individuals use existing ant and termite galleries and other underground spaces. Other small legless lizards can occur in mallee and chenopod habitats, so a suspected record should be photographed and supported by habitat, location and identification details.

  • Search carefully beneath suitable ground cover and around ant or termite nests rather than relying on open-ground sightings.
  • Record the exact microhabitat, including whether the animal was under debris, in sandy soil or associated with an ant or termite nest.
  • Treat an unconfirmed observation as a potential record until an experienced reptile ecologist has reviewed it.

Distribution: National range

The Mallee Worm-lizard has a discontinuous range across the southern arid and semi-arid parts of Australia. In NSW, records are concentrated in two separated areas and the known distribution is severely fragmented.

The species occurs in a narrow band from south-eastern Western Australia through southern South Australia, north-western Victoria and south-western New South Wales. The supplied sources do not provide a more detailed state-by-state bioregional boundary.

  • Western Australia: south-eastern part of the state.
  • South Australia: southern part of the state.
  • Victoria: north-western part of the state, including the Victorian Mallee region.
  • New South Wales: south-western part of the state.

Distribution: NSW strongholds and subpopulations

In NSW, the species is known from nine locations in two disjunct areas. Seven locations are clustered between Balranald and Wentworth, and two records are from near Rankin Springs. Three locations are within Mallee Cliffs National Park, Gubbata Nature Reserve and Pulletop Nature Reserve.

Known NSW locations in the final determination: 9

NSW areas represented: 2 disjunct areas

Clustered records: 7 locations between Balranald and Wentworth

Other NSW records: 2 records near Rankin Springs

Records in listed reserves or national park: 3 locations

Distribution: Population size and trend

A total population estimate is not provided. The NSW Scientific Committee described the distribution as severely fragmented and considered local populations vulnerable to extinction from stochastic events. The presence of records in protected areas was not considered sufficient to ensure long-term survival in NSW.

Habitat: Vegetation and soils

The Mallee Worm-lizard is associated with sandy mallee woodland, including red sands, and with a developed ground layer of debris. It has been recorded where the understorey is chenopod shrubland or spinifex.

Known habitat includes sandy mallee, particularly mallee on red sands. Records include mallee with a chenopod understorey and mallee with spinifex, or Triodia, understorey.

  • Mallee woodland on sandy substrates.
  • Mallee with chenopod shrub understorey.
  • Mallee with spinifex understorey.
  • South-western NSW mallee woodland on red sands.

Habitat: Habitat structure

Mature habitat with a developed layer of surface debris appears to be important. Woody debris, leaf litter and spinifex provide cover and are associated with the underground shelter and foraging environment used by the species.

  • Retain mature mallee vegetation and connected native patches.
  • Retain fallen timber, surface debris, leaf litter and spinifex.
  • Avoid removing or stockpiling ground cover before a fauna search and clearance process is complete.
  • Inspect sandy ground around ant and termite nests where habitat is being cleared or excavated.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied documents do not state an elevation limit, temperature threshold or rainfall limit. The recorded range is in arid and semi-arid mallee country.

Foraging habitat: Food

The Mallee Worm-lizard is an underground or ground-cover associated ant specialist. It probably searches within sandy soil, ground cover and ant galleries rather than foraging widely in open vegetation.

Aprasia species are largely ant-eaters. Mallee Worm-lizards have been reported to feed on ant eggs, including eggs of ants in the genus Aphaenogaster. The NSW guide also describes the species as probably feeding on ants and their eggs.

Main prey: Ants and their eggs

Reported prey association: Aphaenogaster ant eggs

Foraging habitat: Foraging microhabitat

Individuals are generally found under ground cover and particularly in and around termite and ant nests. Suitable foraging habitat therefore includes mature mallee with surface debris, sandy soil, spinifex or chenopod understorey, and active or abandoned underground invertebrate galleries.

  • Retain surface debris and ground-layer vegetation around ant and termite nests.
  • Avoid soil compaction from machinery, stock and repeated vehicle movements.
  • Treat excavation spoil, cleared debris piles and stripped topsoil as potential changes to foraging habitat.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

The supplied sources do not provide home-range, movement-distance or foraging-density estimates. Avoid using the absence of surface sightings to infer that suitable habitat is unused.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Very little breeding information is available. The documented breeding record is that females lay two eggs in spring, with breeding expected to occur in the same sandy mallee habitat used for shelter and foraging.

Females lay two eggs in spring. The supplied sources do not provide information on mating behaviour, incubation period, age at maturity, lifespan or the location and construction of nests.

Breeding season: Spring

Clutch size: Two eggs

Incubation period: Not stated in the supplied sources

Age at maturity: Not stated in the supplied sources

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied sources

Gestation: Not applicable, the species lays eggs

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Breeding habitat is likely to be below ground or within sheltered sandy habitat, but a specific nest site is not described. Mature mallee, surface debris, sandy soil and ant or termite galleries should be retained because these features are associated with the species' habitat and shelter.

  • Avoid clearing mature mallee and stripping sandy ground during the spring breeding period where practicable.
  • Retain ground cover and woody debris around known or potential records.
  • Use staged clearing and fauna spotter-catcher supervision where suitable habitat cannot be retained.

Sheltering habitat: Underground refuges

The species is a burrowing lizard that spends much of its time below ground or beneath surface cover. Shelter features can be damaged without producing obvious surface evidence.

Individuals are generally found under ground cover and particularly in and around termite and ant nests. The species is fossorial and uses underground spaces in sandy habitat.

  • Ant and termite nests and associated galleries.
  • Loose sandy soil suitable for burrowing.
  • Spaces beneath surface debris and ground cover.

Sheltering habitat: Surface cover

A developed layer of surface debris is considered important habitat. Fallen timber, leaf litter and spinifex can provide cover and help maintain the conditions around underground refuges.

  • Retain fallen branches, logs, leaf litter and other natural debris.
  • Do not remove dead wood from potential habitat unless required for an approved safety or construction reason.
  • Keep machinery and vehicles on existing tracks where possible to reduce soil compaction and disturbance.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge dimensions and seasonal use

The supplied sources do not give burrow dimensions, nest dimensions, refuge depth or a defined period of winter dormancy. There are no documented hollows, dens or roosts for this species.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented risks are habitat clearing, fragmentation, altered fire regimes, removal of dead wood and soil disturbance. These risks are relevant to road, utility, mining, agricultural and building projects in sandy mallee habitat.

Clearing of native vegetation is a documented threat. The NSW Scientific Committee reported that the distribution is severely fragmented and that local populations are vulnerable to extinction from stochastic events. In the southern Lower Murray-Darling Catchment, almost 23 percent of mallee with a chenopod understorey had been cleared.

Reported clearing of mallee with chenopod understorey: Almost 23 percent in the southern part of the Lower Murray-Darling Catchment

  • Avoid clearing mature mallee and retain connected habitat patches.
  • Map and protect sandy mallee, chenopod and spinifex habitat before finalising the construction footprint.
  • Do not assume that narrow retained strips provide equivalent habitat to intact mallee.

Threats: Soil disturbance and machinery

Soil compaction from stock and machinery is identified as a threat in the NSW species guide. Trampling, excavation, grading, trenching and repeated vehicle movements can damage underground refuges, ant and termite galleries and the sandy soil used by the species.

  • Fence exclusion areas before earthworks begin.
  • Keep heavy vehicles and plant out of retained habitat and use existing access tracks.
  • Minimise stripping, grading, trenching and spoil placement in suitable sandy mallee.
  • Have a fauna spotter-catcher inspect habitat during staged clearing where avoidance is not possible.

Threats: Fire and dead wood removal

Altered fire regimes may reduce surface debris and remove refuges. Frequent fires and burns that are not patchy can reduce shelter and foraging opportunities. Removal of dead wood is also identified as a key threatening process for the species' habitat.

  • Retain dead wood, leaf litter and other surface debris.
  • Avoid unnecessary broad-area burns in known or potential habitat.
  • Plan fire management to retain unburnt refuges and a range of post-fire vegetation structures where practicable.

Threats: Grazing, predators and other pressures

The NSW guide identifies reduced habitat condition from stock, goats, rabbits and other grazing pressure as a general threat to threatened species in the region. Feral cats and foxes are also identified as predators of threatened reptiles and other fauna. The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease threat or hydrology change threat for the Mallee Worm-lizard.

  • Manage stock, goat and rabbit access to retain understorey and ground cover.
  • Do not introduce additional grazing pressure to retained habitat during works.
  • Consider feral cat and fox control where it forms part of an approved conservation or project management programme.
  • Do not infer that disease or hydrology impacts are absent solely because they are not documented.

Threats: Roads and construction activity

Road mortality is not specifically documented in the supplied sources. Roads and construction can nevertheless cause direct soil disturbance, habitat loss and fragmentation in the species' sandy mallee habitat.

  • Keep new access routes out of mapped habitat where practicable.
  • Inspect proposed road, trench and compound footprints for suitable sandy mallee and surface debris before disturbance.
  • Maintain habitat connections across linear infrastructure where feasible.

Survey methodology: 1. Review habitat and records

Survey the Mallee Worm-lizard, Aprasia inaurita, as a fossorial, legless lizard of sandy mallee woodland. Focus on mature mallee with spinifex or chenopod understorey, surface debris and ant or termite nests, and use targeted searches because the available documents do not specify a standard survey effort.

Map sandy mallee woodland, red sand areas, spinifex or chenopod understorey, mature surface debris and known ant or termite nest areas before fieldwork.

Check state wildlife databases and previous project records, particularly for the nine NSW locations identified between Balranald and Wentworth and near Rankin Springs.

Treat suitable habitat as potentially occupied even where no previous record exists, because the species is fossorial and may be difficult to detect.

Approximate size: Around 135 mm in length in the NSW pocket guide, and approximately 20 cm total length in the NSW listing determination.

Known NSW distribution: Nine locations in two disjunct areas, seven between Balranald and Wentworth and two near Rankin Springs.

Survey methodology: 2. Daytime targeted searches

Search during the day in suitable sandy mallee habitat, as the field guide records the species as active during the day.

Inspect beneath loose surface debris, fallen timber, logs, rocks and other ground cover, and inspect around ant and termite nests without destroying occupied shelter.

Search areas with mature habitat and a developed surface debris layer, including mallee with spinifex or chenopod understorey.

  • Turn over cover carefully and replace every item in its original position after inspection.
  • Do not excavate ant nests, termite nests, burrows or soil unless a specific approval and fauna management procedure authorise that action.
  • Record the search area, habitat type, cover objects inspected, ant or termite nest observations, weather and search time.

Survey methodology: 3. Targeted habitat and cover assessment

Where direct detection is unlikely, inspect and map the habitat features that support shelter and foraging, including mature mallee, surface debris, leaf litter, spinifex, chenopod understorey and ant or termite nests.

Walk all proposed clearing areas and access routes systematically, with transect spacing and search duration set by the project ecologist to cover all suitable habitat and recorded in the survey report.

Repeat searches where initial conditions have limited detection, such as after cover has been disturbed or where the project area contains extensive suitable red sand mallee.

  • Use experienced personnel familiar with small legless lizards and distinguish the species from other legless lizards by its pale olive-brown or grey-brown body, reddish-brown head or nape, bright reddish-orange tail tip and small hindlimb flaps.
  • Do not rely on spotlighting or pitfall trapping as demonstrated methods for this species because the supplied documents provide no species-specific effort, detection rate or trapping protocol.

Survey methodology: 4. Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey every area proposed for clearing, trenching, vehicle access, spoil placement or machinery storage that contains sandy mallee or associated ground cover.
  • Use a documented, systematic daytime search and record the area searched, searchers, start and finish times, weather, habitat features, search limitations and results.
  • Obtain project-specific advice from the relevant state wildlife agency before using pitfall traps, funnel traps, excavation or other invasive survey methods.
  • Submit confirmed records, including photographs, coordinates, date, observer and habitat details, to the relevant state wildlife database, such as the NSW BioNet Atlas where the record is from NSW.
  • Report the species to the project approval authority and include negative survey results, habitat mapping and any detection limitations in the ecological assessment.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Avoid clearing suitable Mallee Worm-lizard habitat wherever practicable. The main planning risks are loss of sandy mallee, removal of surface debris, soil compaction, fragmentation and fire regimes that remove shelter and foraging habitat.

  • Retain mature mallee woodland on sandy soils, including spinifex or chenopod understorey and a continuous layer of leaf litter, woody debris and fallen branches.
  • Retain ant and termite nest areas and avoid disturbing the surrounding soil and ground cover.
  • Keep retained habitat connected to other suitable mallee patches, because the NSW population is severely fragmented and local populations may be vulnerable to stochastic events.
  • Use existing roads and tracks for access and keep machinery, stockpiles and temporary compounds out of retained habitat.
  • Prevent soil compaction, erosion and removal of dead wood in and around retained habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Check approvals and plan the works

Confirm the current conservation status in each project jurisdiction before works begin. The supplied records identify the species as Endangered in NSW and do not identify an EPBC Act listing.

Obtain any required state threatened species, wildlife handling, clearing and relocation approvals before survey, clearing or animal handling.

Consider whether the project affects another nationally listed matter or protected species even though this species is recorded here as not listed under the EPBC Act.

Prepare a fauna management plan that defines the survey area, habitat exclusion zones, fauna spotter catcher authority, encounter response, relocation site, injury response, stop-work triggers and reporting requirements.

  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains connected and disturbance is limited to the approved footprint.
  • Schedule clearing outside periods of high fire risk and avoid activities that remove surface debris or expose soil unnecessarily.
  • Use the project ecologist to set any species-specific exclusion distances where approvals or additional survey information support them, rather than applying an unsupported fixed buffer.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare and mark the site

  • Complete a pre-clearance daytime search of the final disturbance footprint and all access, trenching, storage and disposal areas.
  • Mark no-go areas, retained mallee, surface debris, ant or termite nest areas and access routes before machinery arrives.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent machinery, vehicles and people entering retained sandy mallee habitat without creating a barrier or entrapment risk for fauna.
  • Brief machinery operators and all contractors on the species' appearance, fossorial habits, habitat features and stop-work procedure.
  • Check that the fauna spotter catcher is appropriately authorised for the jurisdiction and has suitable containers, shade, first aid materials and access to a wildlife carer or veterinarian.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Keep a fauna spotter catcher present and maintain direct communication with machinery operators during ground disturbance. Treat any animal, occupied cover or suspected burrow encounter as a potential Mallee Worm-lizard risk until assessed.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and retained habitat at the start of each workday and after heavy weather or site changes.
  • Use a staged clearing sequence that allows the fauna spotter catcher to inspect the next work area before machinery enters it.
  • Keep machinery stopped while the spotter catcher checks ground cover, logs, rocks, ant or termite nest areas and soil disturbance points.
  • Maintain a clear communication method between the spotter catcher, supervisor and operator, with an immediate stop command understood by all machinery crews.
  • Prevent vehicles and machinery from driving over retained surface debris, sandy soil, ant or termite nests and habitat outside the approved footprint.

During habitat disturbance: Handle habitat features carefully

  • Do not remove fallen timber, logs, rocks, leaf litter or other surface debris from retained habitat.
  • Where approved clearing requires removal of ground cover, lift logs, rocks and debris slowly under the direction of the fauna spotter catcher and inspect the underside and surrounding soil before moving them.
  • Do not excavate or break open ant nests, termite nests or suspected refuges during routine clearing.
  • Stop work and reassess the method if clearing exposes a burrow, concentrated surface debris, an ant or termite nest, or a previously unmapped suitable habitat patch.
  • Keep soil disturbance and compaction to the approved footprint and prevent spoil from being placed on retained mallee habitat.

During habitat disturbance: If a Mallee Worm-lizard is found

  • Stop the machine and all work within the immediate encounter area, keep people and vehicles back, and allow the fauna spotter catcher to assess the animal.
  • Do not allow untrained workers to handle, chase, excavate around or release the animal.
  • Have the authorised fauna handler place the animal in a secure, ventilated, shaded container only when handling is necessary to prevent harm or complete the approved work.
  • Relocate the animal only under the relevant approval and fauna management plan, to nearby retained sandy mallee habitat with suitable surface debris and ant or termite resources.
  • Do not move the animal across roads, into isolated habitat or outside the approved relocation area.
  • Take an animal that is injured, heat stressed or otherwise compromised to an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable, following the jurisdiction's reporting requirements.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work if a Mallee Worm-lizard is found, if the spotter catcher loses visibility of the work area, if exclusion controls fail, or if clearing extends beyond the approved footprint.
  • Stop work if an injured animal, occupied refuge or significant concentration of suitable habitat is encountered and the approved response does not cover the situation.
  • Record each encounter, including coordinates, date, time, activity, habitat, photographs, animal condition, handler, containment time, release location and outcome.
  • Record all relocations, injuries, deaths, escapes, breaches of exclusion controls and corrective actions, and notify the project ecologist and approval authority where required.
  • Resume work only after the fauna spotter catcher and project supervisor confirm that the trigger has been resolved and the approved procedure can continue.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work must confirm that no animal has been left in the disturbance footprint and that retained habitat and exclusion controls remain intact. Report all incidents and compare the final disturbance area with the approved footprint.

  • Inspect the completed clearing area, soil disturbance areas, access routes and habitat edges for live or injured Mallee Worm-lizards, exposed refuges and unapproved ground disturbance.
  • Repeat a careful daytime search of disturbed sandy mallee and any areas where logs, rocks, litter or nests were moved during clearing.
  • Check retained habitat for damage to surface debris, ant or termite nests, spinifex, chenopod understorey and soil structure.
  • Keep temporary exclusion fencing and no-go markers in place until machinery, spoil and construction traffic no longer threaten retained habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor any approved relocation area and retained habitat using the methods and frequency set in the fauna management plan and approval conditions.
  • Use consistent locations, search areas and recording methods so that repeat observations can be compared over time.
  • Report all detections, injuries, deaths, relocations, control failures and corrective actions to the project ecologist and relevant authority within the required timeframe.
  • Submit verified occurrence records to the relevant state wildlife database with coordinates, date, photographs and habitat information.
  • Review the completed works against the approved footprint and document any additional clearing, soil compaction, dead wood removal or fire impacts.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain controls and offsets

  • Maintain weed, grazing, vehicle and pest animal controls in retained and rehabilitated habitat where required by the approval or management plan.
  • Prevent later removal of fallen timber, leaf litter, logs, rocks and other surface debris from retained habitat.
  • Apply an approved offset or biodiversity conservation measure where residual impacts remain and the relevant jurisdiction requires one.
  • Link any offset or conservation action to protection and management of sandy mallee woodland, surface debris and habitat connectivity rather than relying only on area planted.

Rehabilitation actions: Reinstate habitat structure

Rehabilitation should recreate the ground structure used by the Mallee Worm-lizard, not only replace canopy cover. The target is sandy mallee habitat with functioning understorey, surface debris, ant and termite resources and connections to retained habitat.

  • Retain and protect existing mature mallee wherever possible, because replacement planting will not quickly recreate mature habitat and developed surface debris.
  • Reinstate suitable locally sourced mallee, spinifex and chenopod understorey species appropriate to the site's soil and vegetation community.
  • Return salvaged logs, branches, rocks and leaf litter to rehabilitated areas in a stable, natural arrangement after earthworks are complete.
  • Do not import soil, mulch or woody material that could introduce weeds, pathogens or unsuitable disturbance to ant and termite communities.
  • Connect rehabilitation areas with retained sandy mallee and avoid narrow isolated strips where a wider, continuous connection can be achieved.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

  • Control weeds so that native mallee understorey, spinifex, chenopods and ground cover can establish.
  • Manage rabbits, feral cats, foxes, goats and other grazing or predatory pressures in accordance with the site management plan.
  • Prevent stock and machinery from compacting rehabilitated sand or disturbing surface debris and developing ant or termite habitat.
  • Develop a fire management approach that avoids frequent or non-patchy burns across all suitable habitat and retains unburnt refuges where fire is required.
  • Do not remove dead wood or fallen branches from rehabilitated or retained Mallee Worm-lizard habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor rehabilitation success

  • Set monitoring points across rehabilitated habitat, retained habitat and habitat edges before works finish.
  • Measure native plant establishment, understorey cover, weed cover, soil disturbance, surface debris retention, ant or termite nest presence and connectivity with retained mallee.
  • Use daytime targeted searches for the Mallee Worm-lizard and record search effort, weather, habitat condition and all detections, including negative results.
  • Investigate and correct failures such as persistent bare soil, erosion, weed invasion, grazing, loss of surface debris, fire damage or isolation from retained habitat.
  • Continue monitoring for the period required by the approval or management plan and submit results to the relevant project authority and state wildlife database where records are obtained.

Sources