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Yuna Broad-blazed Slider (Lerista yuna)

The Yuna Broad-Blazed Slider is a small, fossorial skink recorded in Western Australia’s Midwest, with its type locality at East Yuna Reserve. Its habitat and sheltering behaviour make careful checks important before clearing. It is listed as Priority 3 on the WA priority fauna list, meaning it is poorly known and not considered under imminent threat.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 3.

Seasonal planning

Seasonal activity and breeding months are unknown. Plan surveys and works without assuming a seasonal period of low risk.

Activity: Seasonal activity months are unknown.

Breeding: Breeding months are unknown.

The month values indicate general planning coverage only and are not species-specific activity or breeding data.

  • Survey and works planning: Planning window only. Seasonal activity and detectability are unknown, so do not treat any month as a confirmed low-risk period.

Identification: Appearance and size

Use the available diagnostic features to distinguish this small slider from other skinks. Colour variation and field signs have not been documented.

It is described as a strongly patterned member of the Lerista nichollsi complex. Diagnostic features include a wide vertebral stripe, four supraciliaries, immovable eyelids and two toes.

Forelimbs are represented by a small groove or pit and may occasionally have a minute stump. The greatest recorded snout-to-vent length is 66 mm.

Identification: Similar species

It differs from Lerista petersoni by its larger second loreal and larger presuboculars, and by lacking yellow on the flanks and venter.

Compared with Lerista kendricki, it has a paler head and vertebral stripe and a wider upper lateral stripe.

Identification: Field signs

Species-specific tracks, burrow signs and other field signs have not been documented. Do not identify the species from an unverified surface sign alone.

As general skink survey practice, check suitable ground cover and leaf litter carefully and handle any captured animal only under the applicable fauna-handling procedures.

Distribution: Known range

The known records place the species in a restricted part of Western Australia’s Midwest. Record counts and mapped locations indicate known records, not confirmed absence elsewhere.

The Reptile Database gives the distribution as Western Australia. Atlas of Living Australia records show 28 WA records at 12 distinct 0.1 degree locations, between latitude -28.6 and -28 and longitude 115 and 115.5.

Records outside Western Australia were excluded from that summary as likely errors.

Distribution: WA region and locality

The WA priority fauna list flags the Midwest region. The named type locality is East Yuna Reserve, Western Australia.

Distribution: Interpreting records

The species is poorly known. Do not assume it is absent from a development site because no records are mapped, particularly where suitable shrubland and leaf-litter habitat occurs.

Habitat: Reported habitat

Shrubland and a terrestrial, fossorial way of life associated with leaf litter are reported. Detailed site-level habitat requirements are unknown.

Shrubland is reported as habitat. The species is also described as terrestrial and fossorial, with leaf litter listed as an association.

Habitat: Site assessment

During site inspections, note the extent and condition of shrubland, leaf litter and ground cover. These features are reported for the species, but their precise importance and preferred composition are unknown.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Small invertebrates are reported as food. Specific prey, hunting locations and foraging methods have not been documented.

The species is described as carnivorous and reported to eat small invertebrates. Particular prey groups and diet proportions are unknown.

Foraging habitat: Foraging context

Its terrestrial, fossorial and leaf-litter associations provide context for habitat checks, but where or when it forages is unknown. Do not assume the species is absent because no surface activity is visible.

Breeding habitat: Reproduction

The species is reported to lay eggs. Breeding season, egg-laying locations and other reproductive details are unknown.

The species is oviparous. Clutch size, egg dimensions, incubation period and breeding months are unknown.

Breeding habitat: Precaution

No particular nesting habitat or breeding window has been identified for this species. During works planning, treat suitable habitat as potentially relevant throughout the year.

Sheltering habitat: Known sheltering context

Fossorial behaviour and an association with leaf litter are reported, but specific shelter sites have not been described.

The species is described as fossorial and terrestrial and associated with leaf litter. Whether it uses particular burrows, soil types, logs or other shelter structures is unknown.

Sheltering habitat: Ground checks

As general practice when checking for fossorial skinks, inspect leaf litter and ground cover carefully and avoid unnecessary soil disturbance. Do not treat the absence of a visible burrow or animal as evidence that the species is absent.

Threats: Conservation status

The species is listed as WA Priority 3, a DBCA priority category for poorly known fauna, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Specific threats have not been documented.

The DBCA Threatened and Priority Fauna List dated 1 July 2025 assigns Priority 3: poorly known, known from several locations, and not under imminent threat. It has no national listing.

Threats: Development risks

No species-specific threats have been identified. Clearing or disturbing reported shrubland, leaf litter and ground habitat may affect fauna using those areas, so apply precautionary survey and clearing controls without presenting these as documented species-specific threats.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Species-specific survey detectability and survey methods are unknown. Use a cautious approach suited to a small, fossorial skink and the reported shrubland and leaf-litter setting.

Check the project footprint against known records and the Midwest region flagged on the WA priority fauna list. Consider the type locality and known WA record extent when reviewing nearby records.

Map shrubland and areas with leaf litter or ground cover for targeted field inspection. Existing records are limited and do not establish the full distribution.

Survey methodology: 2. Habitat inspection

Walk suitable areas systematically and record habitat condition, ground cover and any fauna encountered. As general skink survey practice, inspect leaf litter and ground-level cover carefully while minimising disturbance.

A preferred survey season, time of day, weather condition and detection probability have not been established for this species.

Survey methodology: 3. Handling and records

If an animal is encountered, have identification confirmed by a suitably qualified fauna ecologist and follow permit and animal-welfare requirements for any capture or handling.

Record the location, date, identification basis, habitat and survey effort. Report any non-detection alongside survey limitations, rather than treating it as proof of absence.

Vegetation associations: Shrubland

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

Shrubland is reported as habitat.

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. Review records and habitat

Plan checks around the reported habitat and uncertainty in the species’ distribution and detectability. The following measures are precautionary worksite guidance, not species-specific requirements.

Review available fauna records and inspect the footprint for shrubland, leaf litter and ground cover. Include adjacent suitable areas in the assessment where they may be affected by access or associated works.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Set out work areas

Clearly mark approved clearing limits and areas to be retained. Brief clearing crews on the possibility of small fossorial skinks and the need to avoid unnecessary disturbance outside the approved footprint.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Prepare response arrangements

Before works begin, confirm who will respond to fauna encounters, how work will pause where needed, and how identification, location and outcomes will be recorded. Ensure any handling or relocation is undertaken only by appropriately authorised personnel.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Check the active work area

Use controlled, staged work practices and respond promptly to fauna encounters. These are general precautions for ground-dwelling fauna, not documented species-specific methods.

Keep to marked work limits and inspect the immediate area before clearing or moving ground material. Avoid unnecessary trampling, raking or soil disturbance in retained habitat.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Respond to an encounter

If a suspected Yuna Broad-Blazed Slider is found, pause work in the immediate area where safe to do so. Contact the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist for identification and direction, and follow applicable approvals and handling requirements.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Record and report

Record the encounter location, circumstances, identification and action taken. Notify the site environmental lead and follow the project’s approval and incident-reporting requirements.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Review outcomes

After works, document outcomes and retain information that can improve future decisions. No species-specific post-disturbance response has been documented.

Compile survey results, fauna encounters, habitat observations and any work interruptions. Distinguish confirmed identifications from unconfirmed observations and describe survey limitations.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Check retained areas

Confirm that marked exclusion areas and retained habitat remain undisturbed. Record any unplanned disturbance and manage it under the project’s environmental procedures.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Share records

Provide relevant records to the project ecologist and environmental lead, and submit them through appropriate reporting channels where required. Include precise locations and supporting identification information.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore habitat structure

Species-specific rehabilitation requirements are unknown. Where rehabilitation is required, aim to restore reported habitat features without assuming this will guarantee recolonisation.

Where consistent with project approvals, aim to re-establish shrubland and ground-level cover, including leaf litter where appropriate to the site. Use locally suitable methods defined by the project’s ecological rehabilitation plan.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Limit further disturbance

Protect rehabilitation areas from unnecessary vehicle access, material storage and repeat clearing. Keep rehabilitation actions within authorised boundaries.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Monitor and report

Monitor vegetation and ground-cover establishment using the project’s agreed measures. A monitoring period, target condition and species-specific success criterion for the Yuna Broad-Blazed Slider have not been specified.

Sources