The Distributions of Six Cryptic Reptile Species in the Perth Region, Western Australia: Appraising Their Persistence in a Transforming Landscape

Significant and ongoing land clearing within the Perth region has resulted in severe declines in its rich herpetofauna diversity over the last several decades, with many species experiencing widespread extirpations. Several species have since become extremely rare and are confined to a handful of locations; whether or not some species even continue to persist in the region is ambiguous, due to a lack of recent records. The aims of this study are to examine contemporary occurrences of Brachyurophis fasciolatus fasciolatus , Ctenotus gemmula , Delma concinna concinna , Diplodactylus polyophthalmus , Lerista christinae and Lucasium alboguttatum in the Perth region. These records suggest that the distribution of the species have declined here in recent decades. Further survey-work is required to address knowledge gaps in their current distributions, in order to identify remaining populations and conserve locally significant species, which may continue to persist in localities bearing sufficient habitat. Targeted surveys are most suited for this task, with heavy focus on historical collection sites and under-surveyed expanses of habitat. [Editor’s note: Grey literature listed in the Appendix is denoted in the text by an asterisk]