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Stripe-sided Robust Slider (Lerista axillaris)

The Stripe-sided Robust Slider is a little-known Western Australian skink known from around its type locality south of Kalbarri. It is associated with shrubland and leaf litter and is described as fossorial and terrestrial. Its distribution and habitat use remain poorly documented, so works in the Midwest should account for this uncertainty.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 2.

Seasonal considerations

Months for activity, breeding or seasonal movement are not known. Use a year-round planning approach and confirm survey timing with the project ecologist.

Breeding season: Not known.

Activity season: Monthly activity pattern is not known.

Species-specific monthly season information is not known.

  • Survey and disturbance planning: General planning window only. These values do not represent recorded activity months or a species-specific seasonal pattern; plan checks and precautions throughout the works programme.

Identification: Appearance and size

Identification information is limited. Record the animal carefully and seek expert confirmation where necessary.

The species has reduced limbs, with two digits and three toes, and a distinctive forelimb groove. A detailed colour pattern or diagnostic description is not known.

The greatest recorded snout-to-vent length is 87 mm. Typical adult size and total length are not known.

  • Avoid identifying the species from a side stripe or other colour feature alone, as its appearance is not described in detail.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

Species likely to be confused with this taxon have not been identified.

Species-specific tracks, burrow form and other field signs are not known. As general skink survey practice, check any captured or observed animal against a current identification reference and take clear photographs where permitted.

Distribution: Known range

Records indicate a very restricted and poorly documented distribution in Western Australia.

The type locality is 21 km south of Kalbarri, Western Australia. The species is known from only a few specimens at and around that locality.

Atlas of Living Australia records show six records at two distinct 0.1-degree locations in Western Australia, at about latitude -27.9 and longitude 114.1 to 114.2. These records do not establish the full range.

Distribution: WA region and locality

The DBCA list identifies the Midwest region. The named locality is 21 km south of Kalbarri; no other named record localities are known.

Habitat: Reported setting

Habitat descriptions are broad and do not identify precise site or substrate requirements.

The species is associated with shrubland and a Mediterranean biome. It is described as terrestrial and fossorial, with leaf litter listed as part of its habitat.

Habitat: Information gaps

Vegetation structure, soil type, ground-cover thresholds and variation between occupied sites are not known. Treat potentially suitable shrubland and leaf-litter areas near proposed works with caution rather than assuming that unsurveyed areas are unoccupied.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Diet information is limited, and specific feeding microhabitat is not known.

The species is carnivorous and eats small invertebrates. Prey groups and hunting behaviour are not known.

Foraging habitat: Works-site considerations

Specific foraging sites are not known. Retain and inspect leaf litter and ground-level cover in potentially suitable habitat as part of general skink survey practice.

Breeding habitat: Reproduction

The species lays eggs, but breeding timing and nest-site details are not known.

The Stripe-sided Robust Slider is oviparous. Clutch size, egg-laying sites, incubation period and breeding months are not known.

Breeding habitat: Precaution

Do not assume that any particular season is free of breeding or eggs. Where ground disturbance is proposed, use the pre-clearance and staged-work precautions in this profile.

Sheltering habitat: Known shelter associations

Fossorial and leaf-litter associations are known, but specific shelter sites have not been described.

The species is described as fossorial and associated with leaf litter. Burrow dimensions, depth and preferred shelter objects are not known.

Sheltering habitat: Search implications

As general practice for terrestrial skinks, check leaf litter and loose ground cover carefully, and inspect soil disturbance or exposed ground for animals before work proceeds. Do not treat the absence of visible burrows as evidence that the species is absent.

Threats: Conservation status

Specific threats have not been identified. Its limited records make site-level uncertainty important.

The taxon is listed as DBCA Priority 2, described as poorly known and known from few locations, with some locations on conservation lands. DBCA Priority 2 is a priority category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. No national listing is recorded.

Threats: Threat information

Species-specific threats and population trends have not been reported. On development sites, habitat removal and ground disturbance are practical risks to manage as precautionary works risks, not as documented species-specific threats.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Survey effort should reflect the species' limited records and reported association with shrubland, leaf litter and fossorial habitats.

Check current DBCA records, available fauna databases, previous survey reports and the proposed footprint against the Kalbarri-area records. The species' full distribution is not known.

Survey methodology: 2. Field inspection

As general skink survey practice, search suitable shrubland and leaf-litter areas using careful visual inspection and targeted examination of ground cover. If trapping is proposed, use only an appropriately approved design, with suitable checking and animal-welfare procedures.

Record survey conditions, effort, habitat, search locations and any non-detections. No taxon-specific survey protocol or detection rate is known.

Vegetation associations: Shrubland

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

The species is associated with shrubland and a Mediterranean biome.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Ecosystem associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific ecosystem association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Soil and substrate associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific soil association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Water and wetland associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific water association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Fauna records and mapped habitat: Not yet analysed

Record locations can be overlaid with mapping, but record frequency alone does not measure habitat preference. No species is excluded from desktop assessments by this analysis.

No quality-controlled record-to-map analysis has been completed for this species. The existing generalised distribution dots and indicative range polygons have not been treated as precise occurrence coordinates.

A defensible run needs dated, independently attributable records, coordinate uncertainty, duplicate and captive-record checks, layer versions and regional scope. Preference and absence require additional survey-effort and detection evidence.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: No supported exclusion recorded

Not recorded is not the same as cannot occur. Low suitability, resident habitat, breeding habitat and occasional movement are different conclusions.

This library has not established a vegetation, ecosystem or soil-type exclusion for this species. This does not mean all habitat is suitable; the evidence needed to justify an exclusion has not been assembled.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: Before using a negative association

  • Confirm the taxon, geographic region, life stage and habitat function covered by the evidence.
  • Check survey methods, season, repeated effort and detectability before interpreting non-detection.
  • Investigate credible contradictory records and microhabitats absent from broad mapping.
  • Do not convert a missing map class, low record count or failed data request into species absence.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Confirm approvals and records

Plan works with the species' uncertain distribution and limited habitat information in mind.

Confirm current DBCA advice and applicable approvals before clearing. Review known records and previous surveys, and include the proposed footprint and any access routes in the assessment.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Mark and brief

Have a suitably experienced fauna spotter catcher or ecologist inspect potentially suitable shrubland and leaf-litter habitat before disturbance. Mark approved clearing limits, brief crews on stop-work and reporting procedures, and identify a safe area for temporary animal handling if required.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Clear progressively

Use staged, supervised disturbance and respond promptly to any skink encountered.

Keep clearing within marked limits and proceed in manageable stages under the agreed fauna management plan. Inspect leaf litter and exposed ground as work advances, and avoid unnecessary disturbance outside the approved footprint.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Respond to encounters

If a suspected Stripe-sided Robust Slider is found, pause work in the immediate area, keep people and machinery clear, and contact the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist. Handle or relocate wildlife only where authorised and by an appropriately qualified person, following applicable procedures.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Record outcomes

Close out records and check that disturbance has stayed within approved limits.

Document sightings, captures, photographs, handling or relocation, survey effort and relevant habitat observations. Submit records through the applicable project and DBCA reporting processes.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Review the work area

Check that cleared areas and retained habitat match the approved footprint and that any required exclusion measures remain in place. Report unexpected impacts or repeated fauna encounters to the project environmental lead.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore site structure

Rehabilitation should aim to restore suitable ground-level habitat where required, without assuming unreported species-specific preferences.

Where rehabilitation is required, use the approved local restoration plan and aim to re-establish appropriate shrubland structure and ground cover. Retain or reinstate leaf litter only where this is consistent with the site plan and biosecurity requirements.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Monitor and adapt

Record rehabilitation actions and inspect outcomes against project requirements. Species-specific rehabilitation targets and a monitoring period are not known, so set these with the relevant environmental authority and project ecologist.

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