Lerista munuwajarlu at Pungalina-Seven Emu.

© Eric Vanderduys

Scientists have discovered a new species of slider skink in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria, a find which highlights how much remains to be discovered about the region’s rich biodiversity. The new species has been named Lerista munuwajarlu which comes from Garrwa language with munuwa meaning ‘no’ and jarlu meaning ‘arm’. The common name is the Gulf Coastal Slider.

In targeted surveys, researchers caught two individuals of the new skink 10 years apart at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) Pungalina-Seven Emu Wildlife Sanctuary located in the Gulf of Carpentaria on Yanyuwa and Waanyi-Garawa country. The Gulf is a historically under-surveyed region, which has received much less scientific attention compared to other areas such as Cape York, the Top End, and the Kimberley.

“As one of the least biologically surveyed areas in Australia, we still have lots to learn about biodiversity in the Gulf,” said Dr Eridani Mulder, AWC Senior Wildlife Ecologist who has worked extensively across northern Australia. “Every record, even of something as inconspicuous as a tiny sand-dwelling skink, helps us build a more complete picture of these ecosystems.”

“So far, this new species of little lizard has only been recorded at Pungalina-Seven Emu, so it’s vitally important that we continue to look after this place.”

AWC has managed Pungalina-Seven Emu as a wildlife sanctuary since 2008, with programs to reduce feral animal populations and to improve fire patterns. In partnership with the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland and CSIRO, an extensive fauna survey of the sanctuary was conducted in 2012, during which the first specimen of the skink was captured by the CSIRO team. They noted its unique combination of two toes on each hindlimb and a stripe along its upper sides, and suspected it represented an undescribed species. Eager to find more, the group followed up with targeted searches, only to come up empty handed.

A decade later, four researchers from Australian National University headed back out to Pungalina and were fortunate enough to come across a second individual. Genetic analysis found that the new species is distinct but related to other skinks in the genus Lerista from various parts of northern and eastern Australia. 

Lerista is the second most species-rich reptile genus in Australia, with 98 known species. Many Lerista species have very small, localised ranges, and some are only known from one or two specimens.

For more information on AWC’s work at Pungalina-Seven Emu, click here, and for the description of the Gulf Coastal Slider, click here.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a pragmatic, on-ground global conservation leader, conserving landscapes and providing hope for Australian wildlife. Informed by science, we deliver measurable conservation impact at scale to secure the future of our most endangered species and their habitats, including restoring degraded landscapes where necessary.

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