Fauna Spotters logo

Pedra Branca Coolskink (Carinascincus palfreymani)

The Pedra Branca Coolskink is a critically endangered terrestrial skink known only from Pedra Branca Rock, a small islet off Tasmania's southern coast. Its entire known range is confined to the type locality, so clearing, construction, access works or other disturbance at the site could affect the species directly.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Tasmania, Threatened Species Protection Act 1995: Endangered.

Breeding season

The Pedra Branca Coolskink is live-bearing, but the documents provide no confirmed months for mating, pregnancy, births or winter inactivity. Adults are active above 15 °C, so clearing risk is greatest when animals are active on the surface and remains year-round because shelters and breeding timing are unresolved.

Reproductive mode: Live-bearing, described as viviparous; another source describes the species as ovoviviparous.

Litter size: 5 to 6 eggs reported, although this account is inconsistent with the species being described as live-bearing.

Gestation: Not recorded.

Size at birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: About 6 to 8 years.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally using air temperature, including the reported activity threshold above 15 °C, recent rainfall and site observations before clearing, and retain a year-round precaution where shelters cannot be assessed.

  • Mating: No mating months are recorded for this species. These months are a general temperate-skink planning window, not a documented seasonal peak.
  • Gravid females: Pregnancy has been reported, with pregnant females weighing up to 22 grams, but no months or gestation length are recorded. Treat late spring to summer as a general planning window only.
  • Births: Birth months are not recorded for this species. Live young are reported, so spring and summer are used as a general temperate-skink planning window rather than a documented peak.
  • Newborns: The timing and abundance of newborns are not recorded. Young should be expected during the general spring to summer breeding window until local surveys show otherwise.
  • Active period: The species is diurnal and described as a shuttling heliotherm. It is reported to be active when air temperatures exceed 15 °C, so activity is expected mainly during warmer months, with local variation by weather and exposure.
  • Winter inactivity: Brumation, hibernation and winter sheltering are not recorded. The winter months are marked as a general temperate-reptile precaution because cooler conditions may reduce surface activity and increase the chance of animals remaining in refuges.
  • Highest clearing risk: Treat clearing as a year-round risk because the species is known from one locality, breeding and birth timing are unresolved, and shelter features are not identified. Risk may be higher in warmer months when animals are surface active and during cooler periods when they may not escape machinery.

Identification

The available documents provide the accepted name, common names, distribution and reproductive mode, but not a diagnostic field description. Identification should therefore be confirmed by an experienced herpetologist where a skink is found in or near suitable habitat.

This is a small Australian skink in the family Scincidae. The species is also known as the Pedra Branca Skink and Red-throated Skink.

The source material does not provide body length, mass, colour pattern, scale counts, head shape, limb proportions or other field marks.

Identification: Similar species

No comparison with similar skinks is provided in the available documents. Do not identify a sighting from location alone if other skink species could occur at the project site.

Record clear photographs of the head, back, flanks, throat, limbs and tail where this can be done without handling the animal. Retain the original image files and precise location data for expert review.

Identification: Field signs

The documents do not describe tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs, burrows or eyeshine for this species. Absence of these signs should not be treated as evidence that the species is absent.

Use direct sightings and verified photographs as the primary confirmation method. Record the substrate, microhabitat, time, weather, observer effort and any response to disturbance.

Distribution: National range

The Pedra Branca Coolskink has an extremely restricted known distribution. The available records place it only on Pedra Branca Rock, off Tasmania's southern coast.

The species is known from Pedra Branca Rock, an islet off southern Tasmania, at approximately 43°52′S, 146°59′E.

Tasmania is the only state identified in the supplied records. No mainland Australian, island or additional Tasmanian localities are reported.

State: Tasmania

Known locality: Pedra Branca Rock

Approximate position: 43°52′S, 146°59′E

Distribution: Stronghold and population information

Pedra Branca Rock is both the type locality and the only locality reported in the available material. The species is therefore treated as having one known locality rather than a network of confirmed subpopulations.

No population size, density, trend, home range or generation length is provided. A 2017 review is cited as describing the species as having one of the smallest known ranges among lizards.

Known strongholds: One: Pedra Branca Rock

Known subpopulations: Not reported

Population size: Not reported

Population trend: Not reported

Distribution: Project application

For project assessment, treat any confirmed or suspected record from Pedra Branca Rock as significant. Map the observation, proposed disturbance footprint, access routes, work areas and any temporary facilities separately.

Do not assume that an unrecorded part of the rock is unoccupied. The available records do not define the species' occupied area, abundance or detection probability.

Habitat: Known setting

The available documents identify Pedra Branca Rock as the only known locality but do not describe the species' vegetation community, substrate preferences, elevation range or climate limits.

The species is known only from Pedra Branca Rock, an islet off Tasmania's southern coast. No further habitat description is provided.

The records do not state whether the species uses exposed rock, crevices, soil pockets, vegetation, shoreline margins or particular plant communities.

Known habitat locality: Pedra Branca Rock, off southern Tasmania

Elevation range: Not reported

Vegetation community: Not reported

Climate limits: Not reported

Habitat: Assessment and survey approach

Before clearing, construction or infrastructure work, inspect all accessible microhabitats within and around the proposed disturbance area, including rock fissures, crevices, loose cover and vegetated pockets if present.

Do not remove cover or manipulate rocks unless this is authorised under the relevant approval and undertaken by appropriately qualified personnel. Record the habitat structure at each search location so that occupied and apparently unoccupied areas can be compared.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding

The documents do not report the Pedra Branca Coolskink's diet, prey, feeding method, daily activity period or foraging range.

Dietary items and feeding behaviour are not provided. No food plants, invertebrate prey, carrion use or scavenging behaviour can be confirmed from the supplied sources.

Do not infer diet from stomach contents, incidental prey remains or observations of other skink species without species-level identification.

Diet: Not reported

Foraging range: Not reported

Feeding period: Not reported

Foraging habitat: Practical survey considerations

Retain potential feeding surfaces and ground cover within any approved work area until fauna searches have been completed. Avoid unnecessary disturbance of crevices and loose cover where a skink could be encountered.

Record prey or feeding observations only when the skink has been reliably identified and the observation does not require prolonged pursuit or handling.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The species is recorded as ovoviviparous, meaning embryos develop inside the female and young are born live. The supplied documents do not describe the breeding season, litter size or breeding shelters.

No information is provided on mating behaviour, birth months, litter size, gestation, age at maturity or lifespan.

Because the species is known from only one locality, any observation of mating, a gravid female, birth or neonates should be documented carefully and reported through the relevant Tasmanian and Australian threatened species channels.

Reproductive mode: Ovoviviparous

Breeding season: Not reported

Clutch or litter size: Not reported

Gestation: Not reported

Age at maturity: Not reported

Lifespan: Not reported

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

Specific breeding sites and shelter features are not reported. Avoid disturbing potential refuges throughout the year because the available sources do not identify a lower-risk season.

If a female or young animal is found, stop work in the immediate area where practicable, establish a temporary exclusion area under the project fauna protocol and obtain species advice before relocating or handling animals.

Sheltering habitat: Known shelter features

No species-specific information is available on refuges, burrows, rock crevices, ground cover or other shelter sites.

The supplied documents do not identify the types, dimensions or distribution of shelters used by the Pedra Branca Coolskink.

The species' occurrence on Pedra Branca Rock indicates that any suitable terrestrial microhabitats on the islet should be treated as potentially relevant until surveyed, but the documents do not establish which features are occupied.

Burrows: Not reported

Rock crevices: Use not confirmed

Ground cover: Use not reported

Shelter dimensions: Not reported

Sheltering habitat: Protection during works

Keep machinery, stockpiles, spoil, materials and temporary access routes away from potential shelter features unless the work area has been assessed and cleared under the approved fauna management procedure.

Do not seal, fill, collapse or relocate rocks and other potential refuges without species-specific approval and supervision.

Threats: Direct disturbance

The species is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act and Endangered in Tasmania. Its only reported locality is Pedra Branca Rock, so direct disturbance at that locality is the main project risk identified from the available information.

Clearing, excavation, rock movement, construction access and storage of materials could remove or damage occupied microhabitat at the only known locality.

Fragmentation cannot be assessed in the usual mainland sense because no wider distribution or habitat network is documented. Any reduction in usable habitat on the known islet may be significant.

Threats: Other threats requiring assessment

The supplied documents do not report species-specific effects from roads, fire, introduced predators, disease, hydrology change, weeds, pollution or climate change.

These pressures should still be screened in project risk assessments because they can affect threatened skinks generally, but their presence and effect at Pedra Branca Rock must be established from site information rather than assumed.

Threats: Controls for project teams

Confirm the legal status and approval requirements before entering or disturbing the known locality.

Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher or reptile ecologist for any authorised search, handling or relocation work.

Keep a defined exclusion area around confirmed animals and potential shelter features, and record all sightings and search effort.

Avoid relying on a single negative search because the documents provide no detection probability or survey method for this species.

Survey methodology: 1. Confirm the species and project risk

Carinascincus palfreymani is known only from Pedra Branca, an islet off southern Tasmania. The supplied documents do not provide a species-specific survey guideline, detection probability, survey season, survey effort or habitat description, so field methods and effort must be set by a suitably qualified reptile ecologist and confirmed with the relevant regulator before works proceed.

Confirm whether the project could affect Pedra Branca or another location supported by current, authoritative records.

Treat any suspected record as significant because the species is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act and is known from only its type locality.

Use the current accepted name, Carinascincus palfreymani, and check historical records under Pseudemoia palfreymani, Niveoscincus palfreymani and other listed synonyms.

Known distribution: Pedra Branca Rock, an islet off the southern coast of Tasmania.

EPBC Act status: Critically Endangered

State status supplied: Tasmania, Endangered

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted reptile searches

Use a combination of methods suitable for a small, ground-active skink, with the final method, season and effort documented in the project survey plan.

Search systematically across all proposed disturbance areas and nearby retained habitat, including exposed surfaces, crevices, rock cover and other potential reptile shelter sites identified during the habitat assessment.

Undertake searches in weather and times selected to maximise skink activity, and record temperature, cloud cover, wind, rainfall and substrate conditions for every survey period.

Do not claim that absence has been demonstrated unless the survey design, effort and conditions have been reviewed by a qualified herpetologist.

Species-specific effort in supplied documents: No nights, hours, trap nights, transect lengths, survey area or seasonal timing are provided.

Species-specific detection notes in supplied documents: No detection method or habitat description is provided.

Survey methodology: 3. Record verification and response

Photograph any suspected individual without delaying protection measures, and record the location, date, time, observer, conditions and behaviour.

Have a qualified herpetologist verify identification because the species has several historical scientific names and may be confused with other cool-skinks.

Check current government records and advice before finalising the survey design, particularly for work in Tasmania or work affecting the known locality.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a written survey plan that states the target habitat, survey area, methods, timing, weather conditions, personnel qualifications and stopping rules.
  • Use additional survey effort where conditions are unsuitable, access is incomplete, or the species cannot be reliably distinguished from other skinks.
  • Submit confirmed records, including negative survey results where required, to the relevant state wildlife database and the project approval authority.
  • Report the observation under the current name, Carinascincus palfreymani, and include the historical names checked during record searches.
  • Retain photographs, field sheets, spatial data, specimen or swab details where authorised, and chain-of-custody information for all records.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoid and minimise

The known range is exceptionally restricted, and the species has the highest EPBC Act threat category. Avoidance and early regulatory advice should therefore be the first controls for any proposal that could affect the species or its known locality.

  • Avoid disturbance at Pedra Branca and avoid any works that could alter the islet or its surrounding habitat unless the relevant authorities have approved the action.
  • Retain all suitable reptile shelter and basking features identified by the project ecologist, including natural rock, crevices, surface cover and undisturbed ground.
  • Retain connected areas of suitable habitat around the work footprint where practicable, and prevent machinery, storage, access tracks and spoil placement from fragmenting retained areas.
  • Use clearly marked no-go areas and keep all workers, vehicles and materials outside them.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Approvals and planning

  • Check whether the action requires referral or approval under the EPBC Act because Carinascincus palfreymani is listed as Critically Endangered.
  • Obtain all required Tasmanian permits and approvals before survey, capture, handling, relocation or disturbance of fauna.
  • Seek written advice from the relevant wildlife and threatened-species authorities where the proposal could affect Pedra Branca or a confirmed population.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey results, exclusion areas, authorised personnel, work sequencing, stop-work triggers, incident reporting and post-work monitoring.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance using the approved species-specific method and record the result spatially.
  • Mark retained habitat, exclusion zones, access routes, stockpile areas and machinery limits before clearing starts.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not trap skinks inside the work area, and inspect fencing for gaps, undercuts and trapped fauna before each work shift.
  • Brief all workers on the species' current and historical names, the identification trigger, the stop-work procedure and the authorised fauna handler.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Daily work controls

Because the documents identify only a very restricted distribution and provide no species-specific handling protocol, work must be controlled by the approved fauna management plan and by appropriately authorised personnel.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, retained habitat and the work area at the start of every shift and after events that could damage controls.
  • Keep machinery, vehicles, spoil, chemicals and waste out of marked retained habitat and exclusion areas.
  • Use staged clearing so the fauna spotter catcher can inspect each work area before machinery enters it.
  • Keep a daily register of personnel, machinery, weather, cleared areas, fauna observations, incidents and corrective actions.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Fauna spotter catcher and machinery

  • The fauna spotter catcher must remain able to see the active clearing face and must have authority to stop machinery immediately.
  • Clear slowly and progressively under direct spotter catcher supervision, with the work area checked between stages.
  • Do not allow machinery to crush, roll, drag or bury rocks, crevices, logs or other potential reptile shelter before they have been inspected.
  • Only an appropriately authorised person may capture, handle or relocate a suspected Pedra Branca Coolskink.

During habitat disturbance: 3. If a skink is found

  • Stop work in the immediate area and establish a temporary exclusion zone around the animal and its shelter.
  • Do not handle the animal unless the person is authorised, trained and acting under the approved fauna management plan and permit conditions.
  • Have the identification checked by a qualified herpetologist and photograph the animal without unnecessary disturbance.
  • If relocation is authorised, move the animal only to nearby retained habitat that has been assessed as suitable by the project ecologist, and record the exact release location.
  • If the animal is injured, contain it only under the approved wildlife procedure and transfer it promptly to an authorised veterinarian or wildlife carer.
  • Resume work only after the fauna handler and project ecologist have documented the decision and released the area for work.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work if a suspected individual is found, exclusion fencing fails, uninspected shelter is exposed, an unauthorised person handles fauna, or the approved control measures cannot be maintained.
  • Record the date, time, location, identity evidence, condition, action taken, handler, release or treatment destination and approval reference for every encounter.
  • Notify the project environmental officer and the relevant regulator of a confirmed record, injury, death, unauthorised handling event or breach of an approval condition.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Post-clearance checks

Post-work actions should verify that no fauna has been trapped or injured, that retained areas remain protected and that all approval and threatened-species reporting duties have been completed.

  • Inspect the cleared area, exclusion fencing, retained habitat and access edges after each clearing stage and at the completion of works.
  • Search for trapped, injured or displaced reptiles using the approved fauna management plan and record the methods and conditions used.
  • Remove temporary controls only after the project ecologist confirms that no fauna remains at risk and that the approval conditions allow their removal.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

  • Undertake post-work monitoring at the frequency and duration specified in the approval, fauna management plan or regulator advice.
  • Compare monitoring results with the approved impact predictions and report any confirmed individual, injury, mortality or habitat loss immediately through the required channels.
  • Submit confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide spatial data, photographs, survey effort and incident records to the approval authority.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Ongoing controls and offsets

  • Maintain exclusion fencing, retained habitat protection, weed control, predator controls and access restrictions for the period specified in the approval or management plan.
  • Review whether rehabilitation has restored the shelter and ground conditions identified in the pre-clearance assessment.
  • Where residual impacts cannot be avoided or mitigated, meet any EPBC Act, Tasmanian or project-specific offset requirement before the relevant work proceeds.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore site features

The supplied documents confirm the species' restricted occurrence but do not describe its habitat, food plants, shelter preferences, fire response or rehabilitation requirements. Rehabilitation must therefore be based on site-specific habitat assessment and advice from a Tasmanian reptile ecologist and the relevant regulator.

  • Reinstate natural rock, crevices, surface cover and undisturbed ground features recorded during the pre-clearance survey, where this can be done without burying or trapping fauna.
  • Use locally appropriate native species and habitat materials selected from the reference site or by the project ecologist; do not introduce unverified plants, rocks or soil from other locations.
  • Do not install hollows, nest boxes or wetland structures as a substitute for reptile habitat unless the approved rehabilitation design identifies a clear need for them.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Manage threats

  • Control weeds and prevent new weed establishment in rehabilitated and retained areas using methods approved for the site.
  • Control introduced predators where required by the approved management plan and ensure control measures do not harm non-target reptiles.
  • Prevent unauthorised access, vehicle entry, stockpiling and repeated disturbance in rehabilitation areas.
  • Apply fire management only under a site-specific plan that considers the species, its shelter features and advice from the relevant Tasmanian authorities.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Monitor success

  • Set measurable rehabilitation targets before works begin, including survival of plantings where used, persistence of shelter features, weed cover, predator activity, erosion and evidence of reptile use.
  • Monitor rehabilitation using the same mapped reference areas and field methods where practicable, and record dates, conditions, effort and observer qualifications.
  • Continue monitoring until the project ecologist and regulator agree that habitat features are stable and management targets have been met.
  • Report failures, mortality, new threats or suspected observations of Carinascincus palfreymani through the project approval process and to the relevant state wildlife database.

Sources