Fauna Spotters logo

Southwestern Rock Skink (Liopholis pulchra)

The Southwestern Rock Skink is a Western Australian rock-dwelling skink associated with limestone outcrops, rock crevices and, in some island populations, petrel burrows. It is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act and in Western Australia, so clearing, rock removal, access tracks and disturbance near shelter sites require species-specific survey and protection measures.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Species-specific breeding months are not recorded for the Southwestern Rock Skink. For clearing, treat September to November as the highest seasonal risk because animals are most active around rock refuges, while also protecting rock crevices and other shelters during the cooler inactive period.

Reproductive mode: Not recorded for this species.

Clutch or litter size: Not recorded for this species.

Incubation or gestation: Not recorded for this species. In the related Great Desert Skink, gestation is 10 to 11 weeks.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded. Breeding habitat is likely to be associated with rock outcrops, crevices, slabs and nearby leaf litter used for shelter.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded for this species.

Confirm timing at the project site with local survey results and fauna authority advice, particularly where rainfall or temperature changes may alter activity and shelter use.

  • Mating: Mating months are not recorded for this species. Based on the related Great Desert Skink, mating occurs in September and October.
  • Gravid females: Pregnancy timing is not recorded for this species. In the related Great Desert Skink, the 10 to 11 week gestation follows September to October mating and extends into November to January.
  • Births: Live birth has not been recorded for the Southwestern Rock Skink. The related Great Desert Skink gives birth from November to January, but this timing cannot be confirmed for this species.
  • Hatchlings: Newborn timing and abundance are not recorded for this species. November to January is shown only because births occur then in the related Great Desert Skink.
  • Active period: The species is most likely active from mid-spring, around September or October, to late autumn. Activity records include May, August, October and November, with September to November the best-supported peak period.
  • Winter inactivity: The species is probably partly or completely inactive during winter and may remain in rock crevices, rock piles or other shelters. The exact winter months and the degree of inactivity are not recorded, so June to August is a practical southern Australian working period rather than a confirmed species-specific boundary.
  • Highest clearing risk: September to November is the highest seasonal risk because animals are most likely to be active in and around rock refuges. Rock removal, earthworks over crevices and disturbance of occupied shelters can harm animals in any month, including during winter inactivity.

Identification

This is a medium-sized, rock-associated Liopholis skink. Identification can be difficult where it occurs with other rock and sand skinks, so potential records should be supported by a good quality colour photograph and confirmed through the relevant fauna authority or Western Australian Museum.

The species has weakly tricarinate keels on the dorsal scales. Where dorsal patterning is present, dark longitudinal stripes contain single pale spots, although some individuals are unpatterned dorsally. The ventral surface is bright orange in the Jurien Bay island form.

Identification: Distinguishing similar skinks

On the Jurien Bay islands, the main confusion species is the Southern Sand Skink, Liopholis multiscutata, formerly referred to in some sources as Egernia bos. The Southwestern Rock Skink has weakly tricarinate dorsal keels, single pale spots in the dark dorsal stripes and a shallower head. The Southern Sand Skink lacks dorsal keeling and has paired pale spots in the dark stripes.

The Jurien Bay form differs from the mainland form, Liopholis pulchra pulchra, by its proportionally longer original tail, nasal scales usually in contact and usually bright orange rather than whitish underparts. Original, unregenerated tails are 196 to 226 per cent of snout to vent length in the island form, compared with 160 to 193 per cent in the mainland form.

The species can also occur with King's Skink, Egernia kingii, and with another crevice skink. The latter has much stronger scale keeling and multiple nuchal scales, whereas the Southwestern Rock Skink has a single pair of nuchals.

Island-form tail length: Original, unregenerated tail 196 to 226 per cent of snout to vent length

Mainland-form tail length: Original, unregenerated tail 160 to 193 per cent of snout to vent length

Identification: Field signs and survey confirmation

The supplied documents do not describe diagnostic tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or eyeshine for this species. The most useful field evidence is a live animal in a rock crevice, a clear observation on or around a rock outcrop, or a high quality colour photograph showing the dorsal scales, pattern, head profile, tail and ventral colour.

Searches should be planned around the species' activity period. Where animals are restricted to rock piles, daytime searches using binoculars from a distance can reduce disturbance. If vegetation prevents observation, direct examination of rock crevices may be required.

  • Record the exact rock outcrop or shelter feature, not only the broader vegetation polygon.
  • Photograph the animal in colour and retain the original image with location, date and observer details.
  • Forward potential records to the state fauna authority and the Western Australian Museum for identification and databasing.

Distribution: State and regional distribution

The species is recorded from Western Australia. The supplied material separates the mainland nominate form from the Jurien Bay island form and does not provide a mapped national bioregional range or population estimate.

Liopholis pulchra is recorded in Western Australia. Mainland records of the nominate form include Nanga Brook and Julimar Forest in the Darling Ranges. The Jurien Bay form is known from the Jurien Bay island group, specifically Favourite, Boullanger, Whitlock and Escape islands.

The supplied documents do not identify the applicable IBRA bioregions, an elevation range or any records from another Australian state.

Australian state: Western Australia

Mainland localities cited: Nanga Brook and Julimar Forest in the Darling Ranges

Jurien Bay island localities: Favourite, Boullanger, Whitlock and Escape islands

Nearest cited mainland population to Jurien Bay island populations: Approximately 290 kilometres south, in the Darling Ranges

Distribution: Known strongholds and subpopulations

The four large Jurien Bay islands are the documented strongholds for the island form. Surveys of other nearby islands between Dongara and Lancelin and of adjacent mainland areas did not locate the Jurien Bay form. The mainland form is documented from the Darling Ranges, but the supplied material does not provide its full range or the number of occupied sites.

Jurien Bay island group occupancy cited: Four islands: Favourite, Boullanger, Whitlock and Escape

Nearby islands and adjacent mainland surveyed for the island form: Not located in the cited surveys

Population size: Not stated in the supplied documents

Population trend: Not stated in the supplied documents

Habitat: Overall habitat

The Southwestern Rock Skink is associated primarily with rocky shelter, especially limestone outcrops and crevices. Habitat use changes with the presence of related skinks that compete for or occupy available refuges.

The species generally inhabits rock outcrops and shelters in crevices between rocks. It has not been observed constructing its own burrows, unlike the Southern Sand Skink, Liopholis multiscutata.

On Escape Island, animals are restricted to rock crevices in the centre of the island where King's Skink occupies petrel burrows. They forage in dense leaf litter beneath low scrub.

Habitat: Structural features

Important features include limestone rocks with connected or usable crevices, rock piles, slabs and nearby ground cover. Petrel burrows can also provide shelter where the Southern Sand Skink is absent, as recorded on Whitlock Island.

The supplied documents do not give elevation limits, vegetation community names, canopy measurements or a quantified minimum crevice size.

  • Treat rock outcrops, limestone slabs, rock piles and adjacent leaf litter as potential habitat during site assessment.
  • Map shelter rocks separately from surrounding vegetation because the species may be concentrated in small rocky patches.
  • Assess the presence of King's Skink and Southern Sand Skink because they can alter which refuges remain available.

Foraging habitat: Foraging locations

The supplied documents provide limited information on diet and foraging range. They show that foraging occurs around rock shelters, in dense leaf litter and under low scrub, particularly where related species restrict access to other refuges.

On Escape Island, the species forages in dense leaf litter under low scrub around central rock crevices. Where related skinks are absent or scarce, it may forage away from rock outcrops, which is the situation in which pitfall trapping is more likely to work.

Foraging habitat: Diet and foraging range

The supplied documents do not state the diet, named prey, food plants or typical foraging distance. Do not infer a species-specific diet from the presence of leaf litter or low scrub alone.

For field planning, retain the immediate ground layer and connected cover around occupied or potential rock refuges rather than treating the rock shelter as an isolated point. The documents do not provide a quantified foraging radius.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The supplied documents do not provide species-specific breeding observations for Liopholis pulchra. Breeding assessments should therefore focus on retaining secure rock refuges and nearby ground cover until current Western Australian guidance or project survey evidence establishes breeding use.

No breeding season, clutch or litter size, gestation or incubation period, age at maturity or lifespan is stated in the supplied documents. These fields should be confirmed from current species-specific literature or the relevant fauna authority before being used in an impact assessment.

Breeding season: Not stated in the supplied documents

Clutch or litter size: Not stated in the supplied documents

Gestation or incubation: Not stated in the supplied documents

Age at maturity: Not stated in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat protection

The available evidence indicates that breeding habitat is likely to be associated with the same rock outcrops, crevices, slabs and nearby leaf litter used for shelter and activity. This is a habitat-based precaution, not a documented description of a nest or breeding chamber for this species.

  • Avoid removing or splitting rock outcrops and rock piles where animals are recorded or where crevices provide suitable shelter.
  • Retain connected low scrub and leaf litter around rocky refuges until breeding use has been assessed.
  • Do not rely on the absence of visible animals as evidence that a rock shelter is unused, particularly outside the main activity period.

Sheltering habitat: Primary refuges

Shelter is centred on natural rock features. The species does not appear to construct its own burrows, but it may use existing petrel burrows or objects on the ground where suitable rock shelter is limited or unavailable.

The usual refuge is a crevice between limestone rocks or within a rock outcrop. Rock piles, slabs and other stable ground-level rocks may provide shelter. The species has never been observed creating its own burrows in the cited material.

Sheltering habitat: Alternative refuges

On Whitlock Island, the species also uses petrel burrows where the Southern Sand Skink is absent. On Escape Island, it has been found under objects on the ground, including cardboard sheets. These records show that shelter use can change with the availability of other species and refuges.

Named alternative refuge: Petrel burrows on Whitlock Island

Other ground-level shelter recorded: Objects including cardboard sheets on Escape Island

Quantified refuge dimensions: Not stated in the supplied documents

Sheltering habitat: Site protection

Rock removal, earthworks over crevices, stockpiling materials on rocky ground and clearing dense leaf litter can remove or obstruct shelter. Where direct inspection is needed, use an appropriately authorised fauna spotter catcher and follow the approved project method, because animals may be inside crevices even when they are not visible.

  • Mark and protect occupied and potential rock refuges before clearing starts.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, laydown areas and access tracks away from rock outcrops and connected ground cover where practicable.
  • Inspect rock crevices systematically during the species' active period if disturbance cannot be avoided.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The species has a Vulnerable conservation listing. The supplied documents do not provide a formal threat ranking for this species, but the documented dependence on small rock refuges identifies several direct project risks.

Removal, burial or fragmentation of limestone outcrops, rock piles, slabs and crevices can destroy shelter directly. Clearing dense leaf litter and low scrub around rock refuges can also reduce foraging cover, particularly where animals are restricted to rocky habitat by related species.

Roads, construction pads, utility trenches, laydown areas and spoil placement can isolate or cover small rocky habitat patches. The supplied documents do not quantify a buffer distance, so project buffers should be set through site-specific survey and impact assessment.

  • Survey rocky habitat before finalising clearing limits.
  • Fence exclusion areas around rock refuges and keep them outside access, storage and spoil zones.
  • Use pre-clearance searches during the likely activity period, from September or October to late autumn.

Threats: Fragmentation and related species

The species' use of shelter changes when King's Skink or Southern Sand Skink occupies nearby burrows or rocks. Fragmentation that removes alternative refuges may increase local pressure on the remaining crevices. The documents do not establish a quantified competition effect or a project-specific population response.

Threats: Fire, predators and hydrology

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific fire regime, predator list, disease threat or hydrology impact for the Southwestern Rock Skink. Avoid assuming that these pressures are absent. Assess altered fire, introduced predators, disease transmission and drainage changes where they could modify rock shelter, leaf litter, low scrub or island habitat.

No species-specific disease protocol, predator control threshold or hydrological buffer is provided in the supplied material.

Survey methodology: 1. Plan the survey window

Survey this skink by targeting rocky shelter sites and by searching during its active season. The available guideline is written for the Jurien Bay form, Liopholis pulchra longicauda, so apply its methods directly in comparable rocky habitat and document any taxonomic uncertainty for expert confirmation.

Preferred activity season: September or October to late autumn

Likely daily activity: Late morning to afternoon in temperate months, shifting towards early morning and late afternoon in hotter months

  • Survey from mid spring, September or October, to late autumn, with late spring and early summer preferred for trapping and active searches.
  • Schedule daytime searches from late morning to afternoon in the cooler months, and in the early morning or late afternoon during hotter weather.
  • Avoid relying on winter surveys because the skink is probably partly or completely inactive then.

Survey methodology: 2. Search rock shelters by day

Recommended search method where rock outcrops restrict movement: Daytime targeted searches using binoculars or direct examination of crevices

Detection limitation: Pitfall trapping may be ineffective where skinks remain close to rock outcrop shelters

  • Inspect rock outcrops, rock piles and limestone crevices during the active part of the day.
  • Use binoculars to observe rock piles from a distance where the rocks are visible and related skinks are present.
  • Directly examine rock crevices where dense vegetation prevents observation from a distance.
  • Search beneath suitable ground objects, such as slabs or sheets, only where this can be done safely and without damaging shelter features.
  • Check dense leaf litter beneath low scrub around rocky shelter sites, particularly where the skink may forage away from its crevices.
  • Record the search date, start and finish time, weather, habitat searched, rock features inspected and detection outcome.

Survey methodology: 3. Use pitfall traps only where suitable

Indicative trap line: Five 10 litre buckets, approximately 5 metres apart

Drift fence: Recommended with the trap line to improve capture success

Best trapping period: Late spring to early summer

  • Use pitfall traps where the skink is likely to forage away from rock shelters, including sites where bull skinks and King's skinks are absent or present in low numbers.
  • Set traps in late spring or early summer when the species is most likely to be active.
  • Use a line of five 10 litre buckets with approximately 5 metres between buckets.
  • Install a drift fence with the buckets to improve capture success.
  • Do not force pitfall installation into rocky outcrops where excavation or trap placement would damage habitat or where the skink is likely to remain in crevices.
  • Check traps at a frequency that prevents exposure, overheating, dehydration or predation, in accordance with the approved animal ethics, permit and project fauna management requirements.

Survey methodology: 4. Confirm and document records

Key island comparison: Bull skinks lack the weakly tricarinate dorsal keels and generally have paired pale spots in dark dorsal stripes

Photo requirement: Good quality colour photograph for potential records

  • Photograph every potential record in good colour, including the whole animal and diagnostic dorsal and ventral features where safe and lawful.
  • Distinguish the skink from the bull skink by checking for weakly tricarinate dorsal keels, single pale spots in dark dorsal stripes when patterning is present, and a shallower head.
  • Consider the longer tail, usually contacting nasal scales and bright orange ventral surface of the Jurien Bay form when distinguishing it from mainland Liopholis pulchra pulchra.
  • Do not rely on an unverified field identification where the animal could be a related Liopholis species.
  • Send photo vouchers to the relevant state fauna authority and the Western Australian Museum when the record is from Western Australia.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use the five bucket, 10 litre, approximately 5 metre spacing arrangement as the guideline's indicative trapping effort where pitfall trapping is appropriate.
  • Combine trapping with targeted daytime rock searches rather than treating a failed trap line as evidence of absence.
  • Report the survey dates, methods, trap effort, search effort, weather, habitat features, related skink observations, photographs and all detections or non-detections.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable photo vouchers to the relevant Western Australian or other state wildlife database and fauna authority.
  • Retain spatial data for each search area, trap line, habitat feature and animal record in the project file.
  • Check current permit, animal ethics and database submission requirements before fieldwork begins.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat rocky shelter features as the primary habitat to retain and inspect before clearing. The Jurien Bay guideline records use of rock crevices, petrel burrows, leaf litter and ground objects, with habitat use changing when related skinks are present.

  • Retain rock outcrops, limestone slabs, rock piles, crevices and connected areas of low scrub and leaf litter within the work area wherever practicable.
  • Avoid breaking, burying, relocating or stockpiling rocks that provide shelter.
  • Retain nearby undisturbed shelter habitat so animals can move from disturbed areas into suitable retained habitat.
  • Keep retained rocky patches connected rather than isolating small features with access tracks, compounds or fencing.
  • Treat petrel burrows and other existing ground shelters as habitat features where they occur.

Before habitat disturbance: Confirm approvals and plan the works

National listing information in the provided material: SPRAT identifies Liopholis pulchra longicauda, the Jurien Bay Skink, as Vulnerable

State listing supplied for the profile: Western Australia, Vulnerable

  • Confirm the current EPBC Act status and whether the proposed action requires referral or approval before disturbance.
  • Confirm Western Australian or other applicable state threatened fauna permits, survey licences, handling authorities and database requirements.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies rocky habitat, survey timing, fauna spotter catcher responsibilities, stop-work triggers and release or veterinary arrangements.
  • Stage clearing so the pre-clearance survey, fauna management and progressive rehabilitation can occur before the next work area is opened.
  • Schedule habitat disturbance outside the likely September or October to late autumn activity period where the project program allows.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

  • Complete a targeted pre-clearance survey of rocky shelters during the species' likely active period before machinery enters the habitat.
  • Mark rock outcrops, crevices, slabs, petrel burrows, dense leaf litter patches and low scrub that are to be retained.
  • Install exclusion fencing around retained habitat where it can prevent machinery, vehicles and workers from entering the feature.
  • Brief the fauna spotter catcher, supervisors and operators on the marked exclusion areas and the procedure for an animal detection.
  • Check that trap lines, if used, are removed before clearing and that no animal remains in a trap or beneath a moved ground object.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a stop, inspect and release approach whenever clearing approaches rocky habitat. The fauna spotter catcher must control the fauna response within their authorisation and the approved fauna management plan.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering marked habitat, active work fronts, trap status, fauna observations and stop-work procedures.
  • Keep machinery outside exclusion zones unless the fauna spotter catcher and site supervisor have confirmed that entry is allowed.
  • Use staged clearing so the fauna spotter catcher can inspect each work area before and during removal of rocks, slabs, debris or vegetation.
  • Direct operators to stop immediately when the fauna spotter catcher calls a stop or when an animal, burrow or previously unrecorded rock shelter is found.
  • Keep cleared materials and spoil away from retained rock piles, crevices, leaf litter and low scrub.

During habitat disturbance: Handle habitat features carefully

  • Do not lift or move rocks, slabs, sheets or other ground objects until the fauna spotter catcher has inspected them for sheltering animals.
  • Where a feature must be moved, expose it slowly from a safe side and check the ground, crevices and adjacent leaf litter before and after movement.
  • Protect petrel burrows and other existing burrows from collapse, vehicle traffic and infilling.
  • Do not use rock breaking, ripping or grading within a marked shelter feature unless the approved management plan specifically authorises the action.
  • Retain suitable rocks and natural leaf litter for approved rehabilitation rather than mixing them with general spoil.

During habitat disturbance: Respond to an animal or injury

  • Stop work in the immediate area and keep people, vehicles and machinery away from the animal.
  • Allow only an appropriately authorised fauna spotter catcher or other authorised person to capture or handle the skink.
  • Use the least handling necessary, prevent escape into the active work area and follow the approved fauna handling and release procedure.
  • Release a healthy animal into nearby retained habitat that matches its shelter requirements, only where this is authorised by the fauna management plan and relevant permit.
  • Place an injured or compromised animal in a secure, suitable container and arrange prompt assessment by an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • Do not resume work until the animal has been secured, released or transferred and the fauna spotter catcher has cleared the area.
  • Record the location, time, habitat feature, action taken, photograph, condition and release or treatment outcome.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work if a suspected southwestern rock skink is found, if an unrecorded shelter feature is exposed, or if exclusion fencing is damaged or bypassed.
  • Stop work if a trap is found occupied, damaged or unable to protect an animal from heat, dehydration or predation.
  • Record daily search effort, active work areas, habitat features removed or retained, fauna observations, incidents, handling and any non-compliance.
  • Escalate uncertain identifications to the project ecologist and relevant state fauna authority, supported by a good quality colour photograph.

After habitat disturbance: Complete post-clearance checks

Check disturbed and retained rocky habitat after clearing, then maintain the controls that protect animals moving through the site. Compare the final habitat condition with the approved fauna management plan and project records.

  • Inspect the cleared edge, retained rock features, leaf litter and adjacent low scrub after each staged clearing operation.
  • Check that no animal has been isolated in a spoil pile, trench, compound, trap, fence line or disturbed crevice.
  • Remove temporary pitfalls, drift fences and exclusion controls when they are no longer required, after confirming that no animal is trapped or sheltering in them.
  • Photograph retained habitat and any changed rock or burrow features for the completion record.

After habitat disturbance: Monitor retained habitat

  • Monitor retained rocky habitat during the species' likely active period, using the same daytime rock searches and observation approach used before clearing.
  • Repeat searches at the same marked features where a baseline survey was completed so changes in occupancy or habitat condition can be compared.
  • Record signs of disturbance, weed invasion, altered leaf litter, rock movement, vehicle access and predation pressure.
  • Investigate any unexpected decline in detections or damage to shelter features through the project ecologist and fauna authority.

After habitat disturbance: Close out and report

  • Provide the regulator, land manager and project records with survey effort, fauna interactions, photographs, habitat cleared, habitat retained, incidents and rehabilitation actions.
  • Submit confirmed records and photo vouchers to the relevant state wildlife database and fauna authority.
  • Maintain exclusion fencing, access controls and machinery restrictions until the site supervisor and project ecologist confirm that they can be removed.
  • Apply approved offsets or other conservation measures where residual impacts remain after avoidance and minimisation.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild shelter and foraging structure

Rehabilitation should restore rocky shelter and foraging structure rather than creating open, simplified ground. The available species guidance supports rock crevices, leaf litter, low scrub, petrel burrows and other ground shelters as relevant habitat features.

  • Replace retained natural rocks and slabs in stable arrangements that recreate crevices, while avoiding burial or compaction of the surrounding ground.
  • Spread salvaged leaf litter beneath and around retained or reconstructed rock features where it is free of weeds and suitable for reuse.
  • Replant locally appropriate low scrub and groundcover around rocky habitat to restore shade, cover and leaf litter.
  • Do not construct artificial burrows unless they are specified and approved in the rehabilitation design, because the guideline records that the skink generally uses existing crevices rather than creating its own burrows.
  • Keep rehabilitated rocky patches connected to retained habitat and separate them from vehicle access.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats during recovery

  • Control weeds around rock piles, crevices and low scrub without damaging shelter features or contaminating release habitat.
  • Prevent domestic animals, machinery and unauthorised people from entering rehabilitated rocky patches.
  • Include predator control where monitoring identifies predation risk and where control is authorised under the project and land management plans.
  • Manage fire in accordance with the approved local fire plan, protecting rocky shelter, low scrub and leaf litter from unnecessary loss.
  • Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for this skink's documented rocky shelter habitat unless a separate ecological assessment supports their use.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor rehabilitation success

  • Photograph and map each rehabilitated rocky patch before works, after installation and during follow-up inspections.
  • Inspect rocks, crevices, leaf litter, low scrub, weeds, erosion and signs of animal use during the species' likely September or October to late autumn activity period.
  • Use daytime targeted searches and the same search locations and methods as the pre-clearance survey.
  • Measure success by stable or increasing suitable rock shelter, connected low scrub and leaf litter, no ongoing machinery access, controlled weeds and confirmed skink use where the species is present.
  • Record failures, repair damaged features and update the fauna management plan when monitoring shows that shelter or connectivity is not being maintained.

Sources