Rare Skink Found In North Queensland After More Than 40 Years

The Lyon’s Grassland Striped Skink had not been observed since 1981 and is known only from a single locality that is heavily grazed by cattle.

That is until the rare lizard was found last year for the first time in over 40 years living in north-east Queensland.

In early 2023, scientists from Queensland Museum and James Cook University were tasked with the challenge of finding the elusive Lyon’s Grassland Striped Skink.

The surveys were part of research by the Resilient Landscapes Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program that is looking for highly threatened reptiles across Queensland.

Dr Andrew Amey from Queensland Museum Network, who led the expedition, said the goal was to find three species of skink which have very small distributions confined to the Mount Surprise area, around 500 kilometres northeast of Ayr.

“These lizards are all hard to find and seldom seen,” Dr Amey said.

“Two are part of a large group of skinks in the genus Lerista, which are only found in Australia and have adapted to sandy soils by reducing their limbs to essentially swim through the soil.

“It shows that parts of Australia such as grasslands and open woodland that are grazed by cattle can still host important biodiversity.

“It was an exciting moment to find all three skinks, but to find the Lyon’s Grassland Striped Skink was an amazing discovery.”

The other two skinks were the Limbless Fine-lined Slider, which is found in the Undara Volcanic National Park, and the Mount Surprise Slider, which was only known from one paddock.

The purpose of the survey was to find if the species still existed and if scientists could find new populations elsewhere.

The small distribution of the skinks makes them vulnerable to damaging events such as bushfires, drought, invasive weeds and disease.

The Lyon’s Grassland Striped Skink was recently listed as Critically Endangered by the Queensland and Australian Governments in recognition of this.

Dr Amey said animals like these skinks have an important role to play in our ecosystems.

“We need to know if these skinks have healthy populations or if they are declining,” he said.

“We can’t take effective action to protect them if we don’t know where they occur and what threats are impacting them.

“The only way to get this information is to go and look for them.”

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Caption: Lyon's grassland skink. Photo credit: Conrad Hoskin

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