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Western Beaked Gecko (Rhynchoedura ornata)

The Western Beaked Gecko is a small, nocturnal, ground-dwelling gecko of arid and semi-arid Australian habitats. It is relevant to development sites because it shelters and feeds at ground level, where clearing, vehicle movements, soil disturbance and removal of surface cover may cause direct mortality or reduce habitat. The supplied documents record the species as Endangered in Victoria and not listed under the EPBC Act.

Conservation status

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

Breeding season

The Western Beaked Gecko lays 1 to 2 eggs and may produce 3 to 4 clutches each year. It has a long breeding season, but no breeding months or incubation timing are recorded, so clearing should be treated as a potential year-round risk until local surveys provide better timing.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous

Clutch size: 1 to 2 eggs, usually about 2

Incubation: Not recorded

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded

Age at maturity: 10 to 12 months

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded

Breeding frequency: About 3 to 4 clutches per year

Confirm timing locally using rainfall and temperature records, local fauna observations and project surveys, because these triggers may influence breeding and activity across the species' Australian range.

  • Mating: A long breeding season is recorded, but mating months are not. Treat all months as possible until local records or project surveys show otherwise.
  • Gravid females: Females produce multiple clutches each year, but the months when females carry eggs are not recorded. Treat gravid females as possible in any month during works.
  • Egg laying: Egg laying months and laying sites are not recorded. The species produces 1 to 2 eggs per clutch and may lay 3 to 4 clutches each year.
  • Incubation: Incubation length and the months when eggs remain in nests or soil are not recorded. Retain and inspect undisturbed ground wherever eggs or a suspected laying site are found.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching months and juvenile emergence are not recorded. Hatchlings may therefore be present in any month, particularly during the species' long breeding season.
  • Active period: The species is nocturnal, but no month-specific active season is recorded. Plan searches and staged clearing on the basis that adults may be active throughout the year when conditions allow.
  • Highest clearing risk: No higher-risk months are identified. Treat clearing as a year-round risk because eggs, hatchlings, gravid females and nocturnal animals may be present, and the species shelters in abandoned burrows of spiders and other lizards.

Identification

The Western Beaked Gecko is a very small, reddish-brown gecko with pale, dark-edged spots and darker markings or stripes on the back. Colour and pattern vary, so identification should use several features together.

Adults reach 65 mm snout to vent length, with females averaging 49.6 mm. The body is small and terrestrial. The species is nocturnal and has no toe pads.

Maximum snout to vent length: 65 mm

Mean adult female snout to vent length: 49.6 mm

Activity period: Nocturnal

  • Look for a reddish-brown ground colour with pale spots that have dark edges.
  • Check for dark markings or stripes along the back, noting that the pattern can vary between animals.
  • Confirm that the animal has four legs and no toe pads.

Identification: Similar species

In the Pirra Jungku and Pirra Warlu field guides, the Western Beaked Gecko is shown among other small terrestrial geckos and legless lizards. It can be confused with other brown or reddish, spotty geckos when seen briefly at night.

  • Separate it from the Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko by the absence of toe pads and the absence of long spines above the eyes and along the tail.
  • Separate it from the Robust Termitaria Gecko and Purple Dtella by the absence of toe pads.
  • Separate it from the Desert Fat-tailed Gecko by the absence of a distinctly fat tail.
  • Separate it from legless lizards by confirming four legs and the absence of a snake-like body.

Identification: Field signs and handling

The supplied documents do not describe diagnostic tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or eyeshine for this species. Direct observation or a clear photograph is therefore the preferred field confirmation.

  • Search at night when the species is active, particularly on undisturbed ground and around retained surface cover.
  • Photograph the dorsal pattern, head shape, toes and tail before release where practicable.
  • Do not use colour alone for identification because the guides state that colour and pattern can vary.

Distribution: Documented distribution information

The supplied documents do not provide a complete national distribution map, state-by-state range or named bioregions for the Western Beaked Gecko. They do show the species in field guides produced for the Pirra Jungku and Pirra Warlu project areas, and the supplied listing records Victoria as a state where it is Endangered.

The field guides include the Western Beaked Gecko in reptile identification material for project areas associated with the Karajarri Rangers, Environs Kimberley and the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. This confirms that the species is relevant to survey work in those northern Australian project areas.

The documents do not identify all occupied states, bioregions, strongholds or subpopulations. Project teams should check current state databases and regional records before relying on a local absence.

EPBC Act: Not listed, according to the supplied information.

State listing supplied: Victoria, Endangered.

Red List status in: Least Concern, assessed in 2017.

Modelled or recorded range size in: 2,671,540 km². The supplied material does not define the corresponding states or bioregions.

Distribution: Population information

A density of 48 animals per hectare is reported in the supplied trait data, but no survey method, location or confidence limits are provided. Treat this as a compiled species value, not as a site-specific estimate.

Reported density: 48 per hectare

Population trend in: Stable

  • Do not use the reported density to estimate animals on a development site without local survey data.
  • Record each observation with coordinates, habitat description, date, time and survey method so that local occupancy can be assessed.

Habitat: Habitat types

The Western Beaked Gecko is a terrestrial species associated in the supplied data with desert, savanna and shrubland habitats. The documents do not identify particular plant associations or quantify the surface structure required at occupied sites.

The species is recorded as terrestrial and associated with desert, savanna and shrubland. Its listed biome is deserts and xeric shrublands.

Habitat categories: Desert, savanna and shrubland

Biome: Deserts and xeric shrublands

Lifestyle: Terrestrial

  • Prioritise intact ground habitat within desert, shrubland and savanna areas for nocturnal searches.
  • Retain areas of natural soil surface and ground cover where clearing boundaries can be adjusted.
  • Treat apparently open ground as potential habitat because the species is terrestrial and forages at ground level.

Habitat: Physical limits

The supplied records place the species at elevations from 320 to 570 m above sea level. No climatic thresholds, soil types or vegetation communities are given.

Recorded elevation: 320 to 570 m above sea level

  • Use the elevation range as a screening guide, not as an exclusion rule, because the supplied material does not establish the full elevational range.
  • Inspect retained habitat within and near the proposed clearing footprint where local records or suitable desert, savanna or shrubland habitat occur.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding

The Western Beaked Gecko is a nocturnal sit-and-wait predator that eats small invertebrates. Termites are repeatedly identified in the supplied material, with ants and other small arthropods also recorded.

The diet is carnivorous and includes termites, ants and other small arthropods. The species hunts by sitting and waiting rather than actively pursuing prey.

Main recorded prey: Termites, ants and other small arthropods

Hunting method: Sit and wait

Foraging period: Night

  • Survey likely foraging habitat at night because the species is nocturnal.
  • Record termite mounds, ant activity, leaf litter, low ground cover and other invertebrate-rich features during habitat assessments, while noting that the supplied documents do not establish which of these features are selected by the species.
  • Avoid applying pesticides or disturbing known invertebrate concentrations unnecessarily within retained habitat.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

No home range, nightly movement distance or foraging radius is reported. The species should therefore be assessed as using connected terrestrial habitat around detection points rather than being confined to the exact point of capture.

  • Include adjacent undisturbed habitat in impact assessment and mitigation planning.
  • Do not infer a site-specific foraging range from the reported density or from a single observation.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The Western Beaked Gecko lays eggs and can produce several clutches in a year. The supplied documents do not give a breeding month, egg dimensions, incubation period or description of the egg-laying site.

Breeding habitat requirements are not described in the supplied documents. Because the species is terrestrial, retain undisturbed ground habitat and avoid assuming that cleared areas are unsuitable for nesting.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous

Clutch size: 1 to 2 eggs, with a mean of about 1.97 to 2 eggs

Clutches per year: About 3 to 4

Age at first breeding: 10 to 12 months

Incubation period: Not reported in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Up to about 2.8 years in the field

  • Treat occupied habitat as potentially suitable for eggs and recently hatched young during clearing.
  • Use local observations, seasonal survey results and advice from the relevant state authority to refine breeding controls.
  • Do not excavate or remove surface material unnecessarily in retained habitat during works.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

No specific nest substrate, egg-laying chamber, soil depth, cover type or moisture requirement is provided. Site-specific breeding features should be recorded if found during surveys or fauna handling.

  • Photograph and map any eggs, hatchlings or suspected laying sites before disturbance.
  • Retain nearby undisturbed ground and surface cover around confirmed breeding observations where practicable.
  • Seek species-specific approval or advice before relocating eggs or dependent young.

Sheltering habitat: Known shelter information

The supplied documents confirm that the Western Beaked Gecko is terrestrial but do not identify its burrows, crevices, shelter dimensions or preferred refuges.

No measurements or descriptions of dens, burrows, hollows, roosts, soil cracks, rock refuges or sheltering vegetation are provided. The absence of this information should not be treated as evidence that shelter is absent from a cleared area.

Shelter dimensions: Not reported

Confirmed refuge type: Not reported

  • Inspect ground debris, soil cracks, rock edges and other retained surface features during pre-clearance searches, while recognising that their use by this species is not confirmed in the supplied documents.
  • Retain connected ground cover and avoid unnecessary stockpiling of soil or vegetation over undisturbed habitat.
  • Provide a fauna spotter catcher with a clear release area containing suitable undisturbed terrestrial habitat if an animal is captured.

Sheltering habitat: Site controls

Because the species is small, nocturnal and ground-dwelling, daytime clearing inspections alone may not detect all animals or occupied refuges.

  • Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher during clearing where required by the approval or management plan.
  • Stage clearing towards retained habitat so animals have an opportunity to move away from the work area.
  • Search material piles, displaced rocks and exposed ground promptly after clearing and before machinery re-enters the area.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The supplied documents do not provide a species-specific threat assessment. For a small terrestrial gecko, the main project risks are direct mortality and loss or fragmentation of ground habitat during clearing and construction.

Clearing can remove terrestrial habitat, feeding areas and shelter, and can kill animals that remain under surface cover or in soil refuges. Excavation, grading, trenching, stockpiling and vehicle movements can also damage habitat beyond the nominal clearing footprint.

  • Clearly mark the approved clearing boundary and prohibit machinery outside it.
  • Retain suitable desert, savanna and shrubland habitat wherever practicable.
  • Use staged clearing and a fauna spotter catcher where required.
  • Inspect felled material, displaced rocks, soil piles and trenches for small reptiles before removal or backfilling.
  • Limit night lighting and unnecessary night traffic in retained habitat because the species is nocturnal.

Threats: Fragmentation, roads and fire

Fragmentation can reduce the amount of connected terrestrial habitat and increase exposure to vehicles and edge disturbance. The supplied documents do not quantify road mortality or identify a species-specific fire response.

  • Keep retained habitat connected where practicable and avoid creating isolated patches surrounded by hardstand or roads.
  • Manage vehicle speeds and access on unsealed roads through suitable habitat, especially at night.
  • Prevent unplanned fire and avoid broad ground-cover removal that increases exposure after fire.
  • Use local ecological advice before applying planned fire because the species-specific response is not provided.

Threats: Predators, disease and hydrology

The supplied field guides list cats and foxes among mammals found in the relevant project areas, but they do not assess their impact on the Western Beaked Gecko. No disease threats or hydrology impacts are identified in the supplied documents.

  • Prevent construction waste and food scraps from attracting feral predators to work areas.
  • Use clean equipment and avoid transferring soil or organic material between sites where biosecurity risks apply.
  • Prevent uncontrolled changes to drainage, ponding or erosion across retained terrestrial habitat.
  • Record predator sightings, unusual mortality and disease symptoms and report them through the project environmental management system.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and daytime searches

Western Beaked Gecko is a small, terrestrial and nocturnal gecko recorded from desert, savanna and shrubland environments. Surveys should focus on nocturnal searches of suitable ground habitat, with detection improved by experienced identification of its variable reddish-brown pattern and lack of toe pads.

Map sandy or loose-ground habitat, shrubland, savanna and desert vegetation within and beside the proposed disturbance area before selecting survey locations.

Inspect the ground for cover and shelter features such as loose rocks, fallen timber, surface debris, cracks and burrows. The supplied species information does not identify a required shelter feature or a species-specific daytime survey technique.

Record habitat condition, recent disturbance, tracks, other reptiles and the boundaries of retained habitat.

Activity period: Nocturnal

Habitat type: Terrestrial desert, savanna and shrubland

Recorded elevation: 320 to 570 metres above sea level

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal spotlighting

Conduct walking spotlight searches after dark when the gecko is active.

Search slowly through suitable terrestrial habitat, including the proposed clearing footprint, retained habitat edges and connected areas that may receive relocated animals.

Use a consistent transect route and record the transect length, start and finish times, weather, wind, cloud, ground conditions, habitat type and observer effort.

Use experienced observers who can distinguish the species from other small geckos. The species has reddish-brown colouration, pale spots with dark edges, variable dark markings or stripes on the back, and no toe pads.

Do not treat failure to detect the gecko as evidence that it is absent. The supplied documents provide no species-specific transect length, number of nights, search hours or weather threshold.

Recommended timing: After dark, during the species' nocturnal activity period

Detection notes: Colour and pattern vary, and the species has no toe pads

Survey methodology: 3. Targeted searches and trapping decisions

Use targeted daytime searches around ground cover and shelter features where the project risk assessment indicates that spotlighting alone may not provide enough confidence.

Consider fauna-friendly pitfall or funnel trapping only where it is approved in the project survey design, led by appropriately authorised personnel, and supported by suitable checking, shade, shelter and release procedures.

Do not state a trap-night effort for this species from the supplied documents. No species-specific trapping effort, trapping season or survey guideline is provided.

Avoid trapping where heat, dehydration, flooding, fire risk or other site conditions could harm a small terrestrial reptile.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a documented, risk-based survey design that covers all suitable habitat in the disturbance footprint and nearby retained habitat.
  • Repeat nocturnal searches when the first survey is affected by unsuitable conditions or when the project risk assessment identifies a reasonable chance of a missed animal.
  • Record every observation with date, time, precise location, observer, method, habitat, weather, photographs and identification confidence.
  • Have an experienced herpetologist check uncertain records, especially where colour and pattern do not match a typical individual.
  • Submit confirmed records and negative survey results, where required by the project approval, to the relevant state wildlife database.
  • Retain raw field sheets, photographs, GPS files, effort data and relocation records with the project environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan the works around the species' use of terrestrial desert, savanna and shrubland habitat. The species is listed as Endangered in Victoria in the supplied project information, although it is not listed under the EPBC Act, so state requirements must be checked before disturbance.

Species habitat: Terrestrial desert, savanna and shrubland

Maximum recorded snout to vent length: 65 millimetres

  • Redesign the disturbance footprint to retain occupied habitat, connected ground cover and suitable shelter features wherever practicable.
  • Retain patches of native desert, savanna and shrubland vegetation around and between work areas rather than isolating small remnants.
  • Retain natural ground structure, including suitable loose rocks, fallen timber, leaf litter, soil cracks and other cover identified during the site assessment.
  • Keep machinery, laydown areas, access tracks, spoil and compounds out of retained habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Confirm the Victorian listing and any applicable state wildlife, animal welfare, collection, handling, trapping and relocation permits before work starts.
  • Confirm that an EPBC Act referral is not required for this species based on the current approval and listing information, and reassess if the species or approval status changes.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey areas, exclusion zones, authorised personnel, machinery controls, handling procedures, release areas, stop-work triggers and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that pre-clearance searches, fauna management and habitat retention can be completed before machinery enters each work area.
  • Schedule the highest-risk clearing activities with regard to the species' nocturnal activity and avoid starting unsearched clearing after dark.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance survey of the entire work area and a suitable retained-habitat buffer before clearing.
  • Mark retained habitat, no-go areas, access routes and any shelter features identified during the survey.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can safely prevent entry into the active work area without blocking movement between retained habitat patches.
  • Brief all operators and supervisors on the species' appearance, the no-go markings, the fauna spotter catcher's authority and the stop-work procedure.
  • Inspect the work area each day before disturbance for animals that have moved into the footprint or become trapped behind fencing.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a fauna spotter catcher with authority to stop work and direct machinery. Small nocturnal reptiles can be difficult to see, so clearing must proceed slowly and only within the inspected and released work area.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the approved work area, exclusion zones, weather, recent fauna observations and the spotter catcher's contact details.
  • Inspect exclusion fencing, gates, stockpiles, trenches, pits and other potential traps before machinery starts.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher within safe viewing distance of the active clearing front and stop machinery when the spotter requests it.
  • Clear progressively in small sections, keeping an escape route towards retained habitat where this is safe and consistent with the approved method.
  • Do not allow night works in uncleared habitat unless the fauna management plan specifically provides for nocturnal fauna controls and authorised supervision.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna encounters and handling

Handling authority: Authorised fauna personnel only

Animal activity: Nocturnal

  • Stop work immediately if a Western Beaked Gecko is seen, approached by machinery or found in a stockpile, trench, pit or other work area.
  • Allow the authorised fauna spotter catcher to identify and handle the animal, and do not permit workers to capture, chase or keep it.
  • Photograph the animal where this can be done without delay or harm, and record its location, condition, habitat and direction of movement.
  • Release an uninjured animal into nearby suitable retained terrestrial habitat identified in the fauna management plan, using the shortest safe movement distance practicable.
  • Place an injured animal in a secure, ventilated container and arrange assessment by a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer as soon as possible.
  • Do not relocate the gecko into unsuitable habitat, across barriers, or to an unapproved release site.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features, stop work and records

  • Inspect and carefully manage loose rocks, logs, surface debris, soil cracks and burrows before they are removed or buried, because the supplied documents do not identify which feature the species uses most often.
  • Treat any live animal, repeated detection, injured animal, unexpected concentration of reptiles or failure of exclusion controls as a stop-work trigger until the fauna spotter catcher and environmental officer agree on controls.
  • Stop work if clearing moves outside the surveyed and released area or if an animal cannot be safely located and managed.
  • Do not assume that hollow-bearing trees, nest boxes or wetlands are relevant habitat features for this ground-dwelling gecko, but manage them if they are also used by other protected fauna covered by the project approval.
  • Record all encounters, searches, captures, releases, injuries, deaths, stop-work events, habitat features affected and corrective actions.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Check the cleared area and retained habitat after machinery leaves, then maintain the controls that prevent re-entry, injury and further habitat loss. Use the project approval and state requirements to set the formal reporting pathway.

  • Complete a final inspection of the cleared footprint, edges, trenches, pits, spoil piles and exclusion fencing after each clearing stage.
  • Search retained habitat beside the clearing for displaced or injured animals and record the search method and effort.
  • Remove or cover artificial pits, trenches and other fauna traps as soon as practicable, and inspect them until they are made safe.
  • Confirm that no machinery, materials or spoil have entered retained habitat or blocked movement between retained patches.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat and any approved release areas using the same location and observation standards used during pre-clearance surveys.
  • Compare detection records, habitat condition and incidental observations between pre-clearance, construction and post-construction checks.
  • Report confirmed records, handling outcomes, injuries, deaths, stop-work events, control failures and corrective actions to the project environmental officer and the relevant regulator where required.
  • Submit verified occurrence data to the relevant state wildlife database and retain the full project record.
  • Review the fauna management plan when monitoring identifies continued use of the site, unexpected mortality or ineffective exclusion controls.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and ongoing controls

  • Apply any offset, habitat protection or restoration requirement specified by the project approval or state decision.
  • Maintain no-go areas, fencing, access controls and weed or pest controls for the period required by the approval.
  • Do not describe retained or restored habitat as successful until the agreed monitoring period and performance measures have been met.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Re-establish habitat structure

Rehabilitation should recreate connected terrestrial ground habitat suitable for a small nocturnal gecko in desert, savanna or shrubland settings. The supplied documents do not identify particular plant species, soil types, shelter dimensions or rehabilitation targets, so the project should set these from local reference sites and approval conditions.

Habitat to restore: Terrestrial desert, savanna and shrubland

Activity period: Nocturnal

  • Use locally native plant species and local reference vegetation communities appropriate to the cleared desert, savanna or shrubland habitat.
  • Reinstate natural ground cover and microhabitat, including retained or salvaged rocks, logs, leaf litter and coarse woody debris where these are consistent with the approved rehabilitation design.
  • Avoid excessive grading, soil compaction and removal of surface cover, because the species is terrestrial and uses ground habitat.
  • Reconnect retained habitat patches with vegetated or otherwise suitable ground corridors wherever the project footprint allows.
  • Do not introduce artificial shelter features unless they are justified by the site design and approved by the project ecologist.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Manage threats during establishment

  • Control weeds and prevent vehicles, stockpiles and repeated pedestrian movement from damaging recovering ground habitat.
  • Reduce access by domestic cats, foxes and other introduced predators through the controls required by the project approval and local management plan.
  • Use fire management that protects recovering native ground cover and follows the applicable local ecological burning requirements.
  • Keep drainage, erosion and sediment controls from washing over or burying retained shelter features.
  • Remove temporary fencing only when the environmental officer confirms that it will not expose animals to new traps or block movement.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Monitoring and success measures

Species identification features: Reddish brown body, pale dark-edged spots, variable dark back markings or stripes, and no toe pads

Maximum recorded snout to vent length: 65 millimetres

  • Monitor plant establishment, ground cover, shelter features, weed cover, erosion, predator activity and connectivity between retained patches.
  • Include nocturnal searches in suitable weather and record the same effort, location and identification information used during the project surveys.
  • Use confirmed Western Beaked Gecko detections, stable or improving habitat condition and absence of construction-related fauna traps as project performance measures where these measures are accepted in the approval.
  • Set monitoring dates, thresholds, remedial actions and a completion standard before rehabilitation starts.
  • Repair failed areas, replace displaced shelter features and repeat weed, erosion or predator controls when monitoring shows that the rehabilitation target has not been met.

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