Lizard feared to be extinct is rediscovered in Australia 42 years after last sighting

A lizard that was feared to be extinct has been discovered after 42 years.

Striped skinks were last seen in the Lyon grasslands in 1981 – until now.

Researchers from the Queensland Museum and experts from James Cook University set out to find the rare skink in April.

They set traps on 5 square kilometers of farmland near Surprise Mountain, about 300 kilometers south of Cairns, to see if they could find any of the elusive creatures, as well as two other rare lizards.

“These lizards are hard to find and rarely seen.” “Two of them are part of a large group of lizards in the genus Lyrista, which are only found in Australia and have adapted to sandy soil by reducing their limbs to essentially swim through the soil,” said Dr Andrew Amey from the Queensland Museum Network.

“It shows that parts of Australia such as grasslands and open forests where livestock graze can still host important biodiversity.

“It was an exciting moment to find the three skinks, but finding the striped skink in the Lyon grasslands was an amazing discovery.”

The small distribution of skinks makes them vulnerable to adverse events such as forest fires, drought, weeds, and diseases.

The Lyon grassland striped skink was recently listed as critically endangered by the Queensland and Australian governments.

Dr Amy said animals like these lizards have an important role to play in our ecosystems.

“We need to know whether these lizards have healthy populations or are declining. We cannot take effective action to protect them if we do not know where they occur and what threats affect them,” said Dr. Emme.

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