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Ringed Thin-tailed Gecko (Phyllurus caudiannulatus)

The ringed thin-tailed gecko is a small, nocturnal, tree and rock sheltering gecko restricted to south-east Queensland. It occurs in discrete patches of vine forest and adjacent wet sclerophyll forest, including habitat within Bulburin National Park and nearby forestry reserves. On development sites, retain rainforest patches, hollow-bearing trees, large logs, scree and connecting vegetation, and use targeted nocturnal searches where clearing or disturbance is proposed.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

Breeding season

Ringed thin-tailed geckos are nocturnal, egg-laying reptiles. Captive records place egg laying from September to January, usually peaking in October and November, so clearing during this period can affect females, eggs and young in shelters.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous. Females lay eggs.

Clutch size: Two eggs per clutch.

Incubation: 60 to 85 days at 23 to 27 °C.

Size at hatching: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: About 3 to 4 years, depending on environmental conditions.

Nest or egg sites: Crevices, including tree fissures and spaces under bark. Eggs may sometimes be laid communally.

Breeding frequency: Up to three clutches per season in captivity. Two clutches is considered a likely maximum in the wild.

Confirm timing locally before works, particularly after rainfall or temperature changes that may affect activity, egg laying and hatching, and use site-specific surveys and controls where suitable refuges are present.

  • Mating: No species-specific mating months are recorded. General information for Phyllurus geckos indicates mating can occur year round in suitable captive conditions, with breeding more pronounced in spring.
  • Gravid females: The duration of pregnancy is not recorded for this species. Females are most likely to carry developing eggs shortly before the documented September to January laying period, with the greatest likelihood in October and November.
  • Egg laying: Captive observations record egg laying from September to January. October and November are reported as typical laying months. Females lay two eggs per clutch.
  • Incubation: Eggs take 60 to 85 days to hatch at 23 to 27 °C. Eggs laid from September to January may therefore remain in crevices through November to April, depending on laying date and temperature.
  • Hatchlings: Hatchling emergence is not recorded directly. Based on the 60 to 85 day incubation period, young from the main September to January laying period may emerge from November to April.
  • Active period: The species is nocturnally active throughout the year, foraging at night and sheltering in tree hollows, buttress cavities, bark, logs and rock piles during the day.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from September to April because this period includes egg laying, incubation and likely hatchling emergence. Retained hollows, buttress cavities, bark, large logs and rock piles remain important refuges, so clearing can harm animals in every month.

Identification

The ringed thin-tailed gecko is a flattened, well-camouflaged gecko with a broad head and a long, slender to cylindrical tail. It is most readily identified at night when it is active on trunks, logs and other habitat features.

Adults are dark grey to brown, with fine dark mottling or blotches and pale spots that may be scattered or arranged in bands across the back. The skin has granular scales with raised tubercles arranged in regular rows, with larger tubercles along the sides. The body and head are flattened, and the limbs are relatively long and slender.

Total length: Approximately 15 cm

Maximum snout to vent length: 103 mm

Weight: Not reported in the supplied documents

  • The original tail has 5 to 6 prominent pale to white bands and is cylindrical or slightly leaf-shaped.
  • A regenerated tail generally lacks the white banding, so tail pattern alone is not sufficient for identification where the tail has been lost.
  • The species has small granular scales on the lower surfaces of the hindlimbs, with scattered raised tubercles.

Identification: Similar species

The ringed thin-tailed gecko can resemble other Phyllurus leaf-tailed geckos, especially when the tail is missing or regenerated. The long, narrow, cylindrical tail and the 5 to 6 pale bands on an original tail distinguish it from other leaf-tailed geckos.

  • Do not rely on the pale tail bands if the tail is regenerated, because regenerated tails generally lack the pattern.
  • Compared with Phyllurus platurus, tailless individuals are similar in size and shape, but the ringed thin-tailed gecko is slightly more spinose.
  • The lower hindlimbs have granular scales with scattered raised tubercles, which helps separate it from other Phyllurus species.
  • Saltuarius salebrosus is the only other leaf-tailed gecko reported to overlap its distribution.

Identification: Field signs and detection

Nocturnal spotlighting is the main field detection method. Surveyors may see eye-shine or the gecko itself on trunks, large fig trees, logs and other suitable structures. It is cryptic and difficult to detect using standard systematic survey methods.

  • Search large Ficus trees, dead stags, hollow logs, rocky scree and tree hollows during nocturnal surveys.
  • Look for geckos on unburnt portions of habitat features within burnt forest, especially intact fig trees with little scorching.
  • Do not expect reliable tracks, scats, calls or sloughs to confirm presence. The supplied documents do not report species-specific signs of these types.
  • A practical survey method used in Bulburin National Park combined 1 hectare nocturnal area searches, generally 1 person-hour, with 500 m nocturnal transects, generally 1 person-hour.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to Queensland and has a highly restricted distribution in the South Eastern Queensland Bioregion. Records are concentrated around Bulburin National Park, the Dawes Range and the Many Peaks Range.

The ringed thin-tailed gecko is known only from Queensland. Its range occurs entirely within the South Eastern Queensland Bioregion, primarily in the Dawes Range, Many Peaks Range and surrounding forestry reserves.

  • The species occurs in Bulburin National Park and adjacent State Forests.
  • Records also include a protected area adjacent to Bulburin National Park and a recently recorded subpopulation in the Many Peaks Range and Bulburin region.
  • Most of the known distribution lies within a 200 km radius of Bulburin National Park.

Distribution: Subpopulations and trend

Three known subpopulations are separated by up to approximately 15 km. The largest is in Bulburin National Park and is geographically isolated from the other two known subpopulations. Connectivity between them is unknown or unlikely because of unsuitable intervening habitat and limited dispersal.

Known subpopulations: 3

Maximum separation: Approximately 15 km

Estimated area of occupancy: May be as low as 20 km²

Population size: No reliable national estimate of mature individuals is available

Trend: Current decline is inferred

  • All three known subpopulations are considered important for the species' survival and recovery.
  • The population is considered to be in decline, with decline inferred from fire impacts, habitat loss, fragmentation, weed invasion and drying conditions.
  • The 2019 to 2020 bushfires reduced detections in burnt habitat and destroyed or damaged habitat structures used by the geckos.

Distribution: Survey context

In a Bulburin National Park post-fire survey, 25 geckos were detected across 32 sites. Nineteen were recorded at 9 of 17 unburnt sites and six at 5 of 15 burnt sites. Detection rates were higher in unburnt habitat, averaging 2.1 geckos per unburnt site compared with 1.2 per burnt site.

  • The survey results are site detections, not a population estimate.
  • Additional small subpopulations may remain undetected because the species is cryptic and difficult to survey.
  • Development surveys should not treat a failure to detect the species as evidence that suitable habitat is unoccupied.

Habitat: Vegetation and setting

The ringed thin-tailed gecko occupies discrete patches of closed subtropical vine forest and adjacent wet sclerophyll forest. It also uses some adjacent hoop pine plantations, particularly where these retain suitable trees, hollows and forest structure.

Important habitat is concentrated in closed subtropical vine forest, including notophyll vine forest, in the Dawes Range and Many Peaks Range within Bulburin National Park and nearby forestry reserves. Adjacent wet sclerophyll forest and Araucaria cunninghamii, or hoop pine, plantations may also be used.

  • The species occurs on predominantly quartz-syenite and granite geology.
  • It has been recorded from low altitude areas near Pine Creek to higher altitude areas in the eastern Bobby and western Dawes Ranges.
  • The known elevational range is approximately 180 to 600 m above sea level.

Habitat: Structural habitat

Habitat quality depends on mature and fallen woody structures as well as intact rainforest cover. Large Ficus trees, dead standing trees, large fallen logs, tree hollows, bark and rocky scree are repeatedly associated with records.

  • Retain large fig trees, including strangler figs, and avoid damaging their buttresses, cavities and hollows.
  • Retain dead stags, large fallen logs, bark and rocky scree within and beside vine forest.
  • Maintain intact rainforest around habitat features and avoid creating hot, dry edges beside occupied forest.
  • Protect habitat features when installing firebreaks, access tracks, services or construction exclusion fencing.

Habitat: Climate and fire context

The species is associated with moist, closed forest patches but its habitat can dry during drought and hotter conditions. Rainforest habitat is fire-sensitive, and repeated or severe fire can open the forest, remove shelter structures and reduce connectivity.

  • The 2019 to 2020 fires burnt an estimated 28 percent of modelled potential habitat within Bulburin National Park.
  • Recovery of large trees, stags and logs after fire is expected to be slow.
  • Retain unburnt rainforest refuges and avoid disturbance that increases fuel loads or weed invasion around their edges.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The species is nocturnal and forages through vine forest and associated tree habitat. It is usually observed on trunks and around large trees, although it can move across the forest floor.

Beetles are the only prey item specifically recorded for the ringed thin-tailed gecko. It is likely to take a wider range of invertebrates, but the supplied documents do not identify other confirmed prey.

Confirmed prey: Beetles

Likely prey: A range of invertebrates

Foraging period: Night

  • Retain leaf litter, bark, logs and tree cavities that support nocturnal invertebrate prey.
  • Avoid broad-spectrum pesticide use near occupied vine forest and retained habitat features unless a species-specific risk assessment supports it.
  • Do not remove large fig trees or fallen logs solely because they appear to be dead, as they may support both prey and sheltering geckos.

Foraging habitat: Foraging locations and movement

Geckos forage on tree trunks and around forest structures at night. They may also move across the forest floor, including away from rocky substrates, which increases exposure during clearing, fire and disturbance.

  • Inspect trunks, fig trees, dead stags, logs and the ground around these features during nocturnal searches.
  • Retain connected patches of suitable vine forest because movement between subpopulations is limited and unsuitable intervening habitat can act as a barrier.
  • Treat fire-affected forest edges, roads and firelines as potential movement and foraging areas rather than assuming the species remains only in trees.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding information comes mainly from captivity and from closely related geckos. Females lay eggs in protected cavities or crevices, and breeding habitat is likely to overlap with the tree hollows, bark and rock shelters used by adults.

Breeding or laying season: Captive observations indicate September to January, with October to November also reported as typical

Clutch size: 2 eggs per clutch

Clutches per season: Up to 3 in captivity; two clutches is considered a likely maximum in the wild

Egg incubation: 60 to 85 days at 23 to 27 °C

Age at maturity: About 3 to 4 years, depending on environmental conditions

Longevity: Estimated at about 10 years; no confirmed wild longevity record

Generation length: Estimated at 6 years in the later assessment; an earlier assessment used 7 years as a conservative estimate

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

The species' breeding habitat has not been described in detail in the wild. The available evidence supports retaining the same protected microhabitats used for shelter, including tree hollows, buttress cavities, bark, large logs and rock piles.

  • Avoid clearing or burning mature Ficus trees, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags and large fallen logs during the breeding and incubation period.
  • Retain shaded, stable cavities and crevices that can protect eggs from heat, drying and disturbance.
  • Use nocturnal searches and targeted inspection of habitat features before disturbing suitable vine forest, while avoiding handling or opening cavities unless authorised.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

Daytime shelter is provided mainly by trees and woody structures, with additional use of rocks and bark. Several geckos may occupy one suitable refuge.

The species shelters in buttress cavities, especially in Ficus trees, under bark, in tree hollows, inside large hollow logs and beneath rock piles or scree. Strangler figs can provide large hollows and have supported several geckos in one tree.

Documented cohabitation: Many individuals may use a single suitable tree hollow; five geckos were observed on one strangler fig

Refuge dimensions: No standard refuge size was reported

  • Retain hollow-bearing and buttressed trees, including large fig trees and strangler figs.
  • Retain dead standing trees, large fallen logs, bark and rocky scree.
  • Protect the ground around refuge trees because geckos may move between shelters across the forest floor.
  • Do not assume a single hollow holds one animal. Multiple geckos have been observed using one tree hollow.

Sheltering habitat: Fire refuges

After the 2019 to 2020 fires, geckos were found in burnt areas only where key habitat structures remained unburnt or had minimal scorching. Large fig trees, intact hollows and other unburnt structures therefore function as important post-fire refuges.

  • Map and retain unburnt fig trees, dead stags, large logs and scree within fire-affected or development areas.
  • Keep machinery, slash, firebreak construction and soil disturbance away from retained refuge structures.
  • Control weeds around refuges without smothering cavities, logs or ground cover used by geckos and their prey.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The species has a small, fragmented range and depends on fire-sensitive vine forest with slow-growing habitat structures. Clearing, fire and changes to forest condition can affect the species directly by removing geckos and indirectly by removing shelter, prey and movement routes.

Clearing vine forest, mature trees, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags, large logs or rocky scree can remove occupied shelter and breeding habitat. Hoop pine harvesting and replanting can also remove habitat and reduce connectivity between subpopulations.

  • Avoid clearing closed vine forest and retain buffers around large fig trees, hollow-bearing trees, logs and scree.
  • Before clearing, inspect suitable habitat features during nocturnal conditions and have a qualified fauna ecologist assess any geckos found.
  • Retain connected vegetation between occupied patches where practicable, because the species has limited dispersal and unsuitable habitat can isolate subpopulations.
  • Plan access tracks, compounds, utilities and drainage so they do not cut through rainforest patches or narrow the links between them.

Threats: Fire and altered fuel loads

Hotter conditions, drought and longer fire seasons are expected to increase the susceptibility of vine forest to fire. Severe or repeated fire can kill geckos in tree refuges, remove large habitat structures and open the rainforest.

2019 to 2020 fire impact: An estimated 28 percent of modelled potential habitat in Bulburin National Park was burnt

Post-fire detection: 25 geckos were detected across 32 survey sites, with lower detections in burnt than unburnt sites

  • Protect notophyll vine forest and retained refuge trees from unplanned fire.
  • Avoid placing firebreaks or mechanical works through large figs, stags, logs and scree.
  • Control high-biomass invasive grasses and other weeds around rainforest edges because they increase fuel loads.
  • Retain unburnt refuges and use fire planning that allows adequate time for slow regeneration of rainforest structures.

Threats: Weeds and pest animals

Invasive grasses and other weeds can encroach on rainforest edges, increase fuel loads and fill canopy gaps after fire. Cat's claw creeper is a specific concern around roads and firelines because it can smother ground habitat features. Feral cats and foxes may prey on geckos, particularly where fire or clearing exposes them on the ground. Feral pigs can disturb shelter and prey habitat and may increase exposure in burnt areas.

  • Control invasive grasses, cat's claw creeper and other weeds before they invade retained rainforest and habitat features.
  • Use weed control methods that avoid damaging tree hollows, logs, scree and leaf litter.
  • Manage feral cats and foxes where monitoring identifies predation risk, especially after fire or clearing.
  • Limit feral pig access and ground disturbance around rocky scree, logs and rainforest edges.

Threats: Collection and other risks

The species is sought by reptile collectors because of its rarity and distinctive tail. Illegal collection has been reported and is more likely where sites are accessible by roads. Public access restrictions may be needed around known populations.

International trade records: At least 27 specimens were reported in international trade from 2008 to 2018

Reported specimen value: About 50 to 500 Euros per specimen in the cited trade records

  • Do not publish precise locations of occupied trees, hollows or subpopulations in public project documents.
  • Secure access points and report suspected collection, handling or transport to the relevant Queensland authorities.
  • Manage construction lighting and night works near occupied habitat to reduce disturbance during the species' active period.
  • The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease threat. Apply standard hygiene and equipment cleaning procedures when moving between rainforest sites.

Threats: Hydrology and climate

No direct hydrological threat is described in the supplied documents. Drought, reduced cool-season rainfall and higher temperatures are expected to dry rainforest microhabitats and reduce the suitability of shelter and prey habitat.

  • Avoid changes to drainage, runoff or moisture conditions that could dry retained vine forest, tree hollows or ground refuges.
  • Protect rainforest patches from sediment, dust and construction runoff where these could degrade cavities, scree or leaf litter.
  • Treat drying, weed invasion and fire as interacting pressures rather than separate risks.

Survey methodology: 1. Nocturnal spotlighting

The ringed thin-tailed gecko is a cryptic, nocturnal gecko of subtropical vine forest, wet sclerophyll forest and adjacent hoop pine plantations. Surveys should focus on retained rainforest patches and the habitat features the species uses for shelter, particularly large fig trees, tree hollows, dead stags, hollow logs and rocky scree.

Conduct nocturnal spotlighting in suitable habitat when the species is active and visible on tree trunks, around hollows, on logs and on the forest floor.

The Bulburin post-fire survey used five nights of spotlighting from 2 to 7 November 2020. It combined 1 hectare area searches at 1 person-hour and 500 metre road transects at 1 person-hour, generally with two people working for 30 minutes.

Searchers should use head torches to detect eye shine and visually locate geckos. Move slowly and inspect tree trunks, buttress cavities, bark, fig trees, large logs, dead stags, rock piles and scree.

Record the search area, transect length, person-hours, date, start and finish times, weather, fire history, habitat condition and every gecko detection.

Activity period: Nocturnal

Recorded survey effort: 1 hectare area searches at 1 person-hour, and 500 metre transects at 1 person-hour

Recorded survey period: Five nights, 2 to 7 November 2020

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted habitat-feature searches

Search known and potential shelter features repeatedly, because geckos may be concentrated in individual trees or other structures.

Target large Ficus trees, especially trees with buttress cavities or large hollows, dead stags, hollow logs, bark, rock piles and rocky scree. Several geckos may occupy one suitable tree hollow.

During the Bulburin survey, habitat-feature searches included a large fig tree and its immediate surrounds. One search recorded three geckos in 20 person-minutes, followed by additional searches of the same feature.

Inspect the feature without damaging bark, hollows, logs or rocks. Record whether the feature is occupied, fire-scorched, intact or likely to be removed.

Example feature-search effort: 20 to 30 person-minutes at a large fig tree

Important shelter features: Tree hollows, buttress cavities, bark, hollow logs, large fig trees, dead stags, rock piles and scree

Survey methodology: 3. Burnt and unburnt habitat comparison

Where fire has affected the site, survey both burnt and unburnt habitat and record fire severity and the condition of shelter features.

The Bulburin survey covered 32 sites and detected 25 geckos. It surveyed approximately 12 hectares of burnt habitat and 19 hectares of unburnt habitat, with approximately 2 kilometres of nocturnal transects in burnt habitat and 4.9 kilometres in unburnt habitat.

The species was detected in burnt areas only where suitable habitat features remained unburnt, including lightly scorched fig trees. Detection was higher in unburnt sites, at 2.1 geckos per site compared with 1.2 geckos per site in burnt sites.

Do not treat a failed search as evidence that the species is absent. Its small size, camouflage and cryptic behaviour make detection difficult.

Bulburin survey coverage: 32 sites and 25 geckos detected

Detection rate: 2.1 geckos per unburnt site and 1.2 geckos per burnt site

Burnt and unburnt transect effort: Approximately 2 kilometres burnt and 4.9 kilometres unburnt

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a suitably qualified herpetologist or ecologist to set the survey design for the proposed disturbance area, retained habitat and any access tracks or temporary work areas.
  • Survey all suitable vine forest, wet sclerophyll forest and adjacent hoop pine habitat that could be disturbed, including habitat features within the proposed clearing footprint.
  • Use nocturnal spotlighting and targeted searches of large fig trees, hollows, logs, dead stags, bark, rock piles and scree, rather than relying on a general daytime fauna inspection.
  • Repeat searches where the first survey is affected by rain, strong wind, poor visibility, unsafe access or other conditions likely to reduce detection.
  • Record negative results as survey effort, not as proof of absence, and retain photographs and locations for all important habitat features.
  • Submit confirmed records, survey effort and associated photographs to the relevant state wildlife database, including Queensland records to the applicable Queensland government biodiversity database.
  • Report the survey date, timing, weather, observers, methods, effort, habitat condition, fire history, locations and detection results in the project fauna report.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan the work around the species' very restricted distribution and dependence on fire-sensitive rainforest habitat. Avoid removing the small number of known or potential subpopulations and retain the shelter features that support high local densities.

Known subpopulations: Three, separated by up to approximately 15 kilometres

Recorded habitat elevation: 180 to 600 metres above sea level

  • Avoid clearing closed subtropical vine forest, wet sclerophyll forest and intact rainforest edges wherever practicable.
  • Retain large Ficus trees, trees with buttress cavities, large hollows, dead stags, hollow logs, rocky scree and rock piles within and beside the work area.
  • Retain connected rainforest habitat between occupied or potential habitat patches, because the species has limited dispersal capacity and unsuitable intervening habitat can isolate subpopulations.
  • Do not place access tracks, compounds, firebreaks or spoil stockpiles across retained rainforest or beside occupied habitat features where they could increase fire, weed, erosion or predator impacts.
  • Treat all three known subpopulations as important for recovery, because they occur within a restricted area and may have little or no connectivity.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

Current listed status: Endangered under the EPBC Act and Queensland legislation

EPBC listing effective: 16 July 2024

  • Check whether the action may have a significant impact on this EPBC Act listed Endangered species and refer the action under the EPBC Act where required.
  • Check Queensland requirements before disturbing habitat or handling, moving or taking a native reptile, including any permit requirements under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and associated regulations.
  • Obtain advice from the relevant land manager where the site is in Bulburin National Park, State Forest or another protected area.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies known records, potential habitat, retained features, exclusion areas, survey methods, stop-work triggers, handling arrangements, incident contacts and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat and escape routes remain available until the fauna spotter catcher confirms that each work area is clear.
  • Avoid planned burns, hot works and high-risk fire activities near rainforest habitat during hot, dry or elevated fire-danger conditions.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection using the species-specific nocturnal methods before works begin in suitable habitat.
  • Mark every retained fig tree, hollow-bearing tree, dead stag, large log, rock pile and scree area on project plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing around retained habitat features where machinery, workers, vehicles or spoil could damage them.
  • Keep fencing and machinery clear of tree hollows, buttress cavities, logs and rocks, and do not use these features as access points, turning areas or storage locations.
  • Inspect burnt areas carefully because the species may remain in unburnt portions of otherwise fire-affected trees and other habitat features.
  • Control or remove weed infestations in work areas before disturbance where this can be done without damaging occupied habitat, with particular attention to guinea grass, molasses grass, lantana and cat's claw creeper.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a slow, supervised clearing sequence. The fauna spotter catcher must be able to inspect habitat features before machinery approaches and must have authority to pause work when an animal or important shelter feature is found.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the species, mapped habitat features, exclusion zones, escape routes, weather, fire danger and stop-work contacts.
  • Inspect the work area each day before machinery enters it, with particular attention to tree hollows, buttresses, logs, rocks, fig trees and areas where geckos may move across the ground.
  • Clear in short, supervised sections, working from the area to be disturbed towards retained habitat where safe and appropriate.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher within clear view of the work front and stop machinery immediately when the spotter gives a stop signal.
  • Do not allow machinery to push, roll, burn, chip or bury habitat features until they have been inspected and the fauna spotter catcher has cleared the feature or directed its controlled treatment.
  • Prevent workers, vehicles and machinery from entering fenced habitat, retained rainforest or marked shelter features.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Retain large fig trees, dead stags and hollow-bearing trees wherever the approved design allows.
  • Do not fell a hollow-bearing tree, dead stag or large fig tree without a specific fauna procedure, inspection and approval under the fauna management plan.
  • Inspect logs, bark, rock piles and scree before moving them, and retain them in place where practicable.
  • If a feature must be moved, use the fauna spotter catcher to inspect it first, move it slowly, keep the feature intact where possible and place it in nearby retained habitat with similar shelter conditions.
  • Do not burn habitat features or use mechanical firebreak construction that removes fig trees, logs, dead stags or rocky shelter areas.
  • Manage weeds, soil disturbance and sediment so that rainforest edges and retained shelter features are not degraded.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop-work triggers

  • Stop work when a ringed thin-tailed gecko is found in the clearing area, in a tree or log being handled, or within the immediate machinery exclusion area.
  • Keep workers and machinery back and allow the gecko to move into nearby retained habitat where it can do so safely.
  • Only a person authorised under the project fauna management plan and applicable Queensland requirements should capture, handle or relocate the gecko.
  • Relocate a gecko only when necessary to prevent harm, and place it in nearby retained habitat with suitable cover, such as an intact tree hollow, fig tree, log, bark, rock pile or scree area.
  • Do not place the gecko in open ground, exposed burnt habitat, a vehicle, a worker's possession or an unsuitable isolated patch.
  • Place an injured gecko in a secure, ventilated container and obtain advice from a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer as soon as practicable.
  • Stop work and obtain ecological advice if a previously unrecorded occupied habitat feature, concentration of geckos, fire-affected refuge or connected habitat patch is identified.
  • Stop work if fire, smoke, extreme heat, unsafe access, machinery failure or weed or erosion controls create a new risk to retained habitat or relocated fauna.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Record each detection, capture, relocation, injury, mortality and refused or aborted relocation with a precise location and photograph where this can be done without disturbing the animal.
  • Record the habitat feature used, fire condition, time, weather, observer, action taken, release location and final outcome.
  • Notify the project ecologist and relevant regulator or land manager of any injury, mortality, unauthorised take, habitat feature loss or material departure from the fauna management plan.
  • Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and include all incident records in the project completion report.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that no geckos remain in the disturbed area, that retained habitat features are intact and that fire, weeds and predators are not increasing risks around the site.

  • Complete a final fauna inspection of the cleared area, retained trees, logs, rocks, spoil edges, drainage lines and temporary work areas.
  • Reinspect retained fig trees, hollow-bearing trees, dead stags and large logs for damage, scorching, soil compaction or changed shelter conditions.
  • Check that exclusion fencing, no-go markers and fauna escape routes remain in place until the site is stable and the ecologist confirms that they are no longer needed.
  • Remove temporary materials, waste, spoil and access controls that could trap or injure geckos or block movement between retained habitat patches.
  • Record any remaining geckos or other fauna and manage them under the approved fauna procedure.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and corrective action

  • Use repeatable nocturnal spotlighting and targeted habitat-feature searches to monitor retained habitat and any restoration areas after construction.
  • Focus repeat searches on large fig trees, dead stags, hollow logs, rocky scree and other features that supported geckos before or during the works.
  • Compare results between disturbed, retained and reference areas, while recognising that low detection does not demonstrate absence.
  • Inspect the site after fire, major storm, weed treatment or other disturbance that could affect retained rainforest or shelter features.
  • Repair damaged fencing, erosion controls, habitat features and weed controls promptly.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

  • Provide the regulator, land manager and project approval holder with a completion report covering cleared area, retained habitat, habitat features removed or damaged, fauna encounters, relocations, injuries, mortalities, monitoring and corrective actions.
  • Submit verified species records and locations to the relevant state wildlife database.
  • Implement any approved offset, environmental outcome or rehabilitation commitment required by the EPBC Act, Queensland legislation or the project approval.
  • Keep records of weed, fire and predator management so that the project can demonstrate whether risks to retained habitat are being reduced.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should rebuild shaded, connected rainforest habitat and retain the structures used for shelter. Recovery is likely to be slow where fire has removed large trees, logs or hollows.

  • Protect and regenerate closed subtropical vine forest and adjacent wet sclerophyll forest around retained habitat.
  • Plant locally appropriate native rainforest and vine-forest species, with priority given to restoring canopy cover, shaded forest edges and the conditions around Ficus trees.
  • Retain existing large fig trees, dead stags, hollow logs, bark, rock piles and scree, because replacement trees and hollows will not provide equivalent shelter in the short term.
  • Where approved and safe, reinstate suitable logs and rocks in retained habitat, placing them so that they provide cover without blocking drainage or creating a work hazard.
  • Do not use artificial hollows or nest boxes as a substitute for retaining natural trees and hollows unless an ecologist has determined that they are suitable and included them in the monitoring design.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, weeds and predators

  • Protect rehabilitated rainforest from fire and avoid fire management works that remove large fig trees, dead stags, logs, rocky scree or other gecko shelter features.
  • Maintain fire safeguards around retained habitat where required, while designing them so that machinery and mechanical works do not damage rainforest or its shelter features.
  • Control guinea grass, molasses grass, lantana and cat's claw creeper before they increase fuel loads, smother ground cover or spread into rainforest edges.
  • Monitor for feral cats, foxes and pigs, particularly after fire when geckos may be more exposed while moving across the ground.
  • Coordinate fire, weed and pest management with the relevant Queensland land manager, Traditional Custodians and neighbouring landholders where habitat crosses tenure boundaries.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Known post-fire recovery constraint: Large habitat features such as fig trees, dead stags and large fallen logs regenerate very slowly

  • Monitor rehabilitation using repeatable nocturnal searches and targeted searches of habitat features, with effort and conditions recorded for every visit.
  • Measure survival and condition of planted Ficus and other rainforest plants, canopy recovery, weed cover, fire damage, erosion and the persistence of logs, dead stags, rocks and hollows.
  • Use gecko detections, occupancy of retained or restored habitat features and stable or increasing detections over repeated surveys as indicators of recovery, while allowing for the species' difficult detection.
  • Compare restored areas with retained reference habitat and continue monitoring long enough to identify fire, weed and predator impacts.
  • Submit monitoring records to the relevant state wildlife database and revise the rehabilitation plan if habitat features are lost, weeds spread, fire enters the site or gecko detections decline.

Sources