Collaborative Conservation Genetics of Cryptic Reptile Taxa From Northern Australia

. We provide fine-scale species distribution data, including 243 new occurrence records across 93 newly sampled locations, including some range extensions. This new knowledge will aid future collaborative surveys. Although sampling remains sparse, available evidence suggests a potential pattern of genetic divergence in the Blue Mud Bay region, aligning with boundaries of ecogeographic regions and Indigenous management areas. Further sampling is needed to provide greater evidence of population structure in East Arnhem Land. The ethical communication of the genetics results to the community was a key priority for Indigenous research partners. We applied a locally relevant Indigenous research approach to resolve mutual incomprehension and reveal parallel but distinct understandings of the genetic results. Yolŋu social organisation emerged as the key source of metaphor for contextualising the results across knowledge systems, with 'gurrkurr' (venous system, and by extension: root system and 'blood line') pivotal in communicating the phylogenetic tree results. Our collaborative approach could be applied across other Indigenous-owned and managed lands of northern Australia and beyond to answer calls for collaborative conservation research practice.