Endemic Animals of Western Australia

Gould's mouse (Pseudomys gouldii ), also known as the Shark Bay mouse and djoongari in the Pintupi and Luritja languages, is a species of rodent in the murid family. Once ranging throughout Australia from Western Australia to New South Wales, its range has since been reduced to five islands off the coast of Western Australia. Less

Dibbler is the common name for Parantechinus apicalis, an endangered species of marsupial. It is an inhabitant of the southwest mainland of Western Australia and some offshore islands. It is a member of the order Dasyuromorphia, and the only member of the genus Parantechinus. The dibbler is a small, nocturnal carnivore with speckled fur that is white around the eyes. Less

Gilbert's potoroo (Potorous gilbertii; formerly Hypsiprymnus gilbertii) is Australia's most endangered marsupial. It is the rarest marsupial in the world and one of the world's rarest critically endangered mammals. Gilbert’s potoroo was thought to be extinct for much of the 20th century, having not been spotted for around a century, until its rediscovery in 1994. The only naturally located population is found in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in W ...
estern Australia, where they co-exist with quokkas (Setonix brachyurus), but in 2015 a huge fire destroyed 90% of their habitat. Less

The quokka (Setonix brachyurus), is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook these animals for giant rats, and renamed the Wadjemup island 't Eylandt 't Rottenest, which means "the rat nest island" in Dutch. Less

The western quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii ) is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened. Less

Murrayglossus is a genus in the family Tachyglossidae. It contains a single species, Murrayglossus hacketti, the giant echidna, an extinct species of echidna from Western Australia that is dated to the Pleistocene. It is known only from a few bones. It was about 1 m (3.3 ft) long and probably weighed about 30 kg (66 lb). This makes it the largest monotreme known to have ever lived. Historically treated as a species of long-beaked echidnas, it was ...
separated into its own genus Murrayglossus in 2022. The generic name combines the last name of paleontologist Peter Murray and glossus, the Greek word for "tongue". Less

The pygmy python (Antaresia perthensis ), also known as the anthill python, is a species of snake found in Western Australia. Their common names refer to the fact that they are the smallest member of the family Pythonidae and are often found in termite mounds. The specific epithet is derived from the state capital, Perth, despite the fact that this place is not within the range of the species. No subspecies are currently recognized. Less

The western brush wallaby (Notamacropus irma ), also known as the black-gloved wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in the southwestern coastal region of Western Australia. The wallaby's main threat is predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes ). The IUCN lists the western brush wallaby as Least Concern, as it remains fairly widespread and the population is believed to be stable or increasing, as a result of red fox control ...
programs.The western brush wallaby has a grey colour with distinctive white colouring around the face, arms and legs (although it does have black gloves as its alternative common name implies). It is an unusually diurnal macropod that eats mainly grass. Less

The western rufous bristlebird (Dasyornis broadbenti litoralis ), also known as the rufous bristlebird (western), the south-western rufous bristlebird or the lesser rufous bristle bird, is an extinct and little-known subspecies of the rufous bristlebird that was endemic to Western Australia. Less

The western Lewin's rail (Lewinia pectoralis clelandi ), also known as Cleland's rail, Lewin's rail (western) or the Lewin water rail, is an extinct and little known subspecies of Lewin's rail that was endemic to Western Australia. There are only four specimens, one in the Australian Museum and three in the British Museum. The subspecific name honours Australian ornithologist John Burton Cleland. Less

The copperback quail-thrush (Cinclosoma clarum ) is a species of bird in the family Psophodidae. It was split from the chestnut quail-thrush in 2015. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Less

Muir's corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator ) is a stocky, medium-sized white cockatoo endemic to Western Australia. It was the threatened nominate subspecies of the western corella. It was removed from the WA's threatened species list in November 2012 as a result of successful conservation efforts. Less

The Heard Island shag (Leucocarbo nivalis ), or Heard Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to the Australian territory comprising the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, about 4100 km south-west of Perth, Western Australia. Less

Microcarbo serventyorum, also referred to as Serventys' cormorant, is an extinct species of small cormorant from the Holocene of Australia. It was described by Gerard Frederick van Tets from subfossil skeletal material (a pelvis with proximal parts of the femora and some caudal vertebrae) found in 1970 in a peat swamp at Bullsbrook, Western Australia. The pelvic features indicate that the bird was adept at foraging in confined wetlands such as ...
swamps with dense vegetation, small pools and narrow streams. The specific epithet honours the brothers Dominic and Vincent Serventy for their contributions to knowledge of Australian cormorants. Less

The Abrolhos painted buttonquail (Turnix varius scintillans ) is a subspecies of the painted buttonquail endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos. It is common on North Island, and also occurs on other islands of the Wallabi Group, namely East Wallabi, West Wallabi, Seagull and Pigeon Islands. Less

The rufous grasswren (Amytornis whitei ) is an insectivorous bird in the family Maluridae.It is found in Australia. Less

King's skink (Egernia kingii ) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Less

The rough-scaled python (Morelia carinata ) is a large-scaled python species endemic to Australia. No subspecies are currently recognized. Less

The mulga dragon (Diporiphora amphiboluroides ) is a species of agamid lizard found in Western Australia. The species is up to 250 mm long, the length from snout to vent is 95 mm, with a long, slender tail that ends abruptly. The patterning over the legs and body is grey and brownish streaks. This provides an excellent camouflage on mulga trees, its usual habitat, it is also found beneath mulga leaf litter. Diporiphora amphiboluroides generally r ...
emains motionless and unobserved, this allows it to operate as an ambush predator and elude animals that would prey on it.It resembles another Western Australian species, the western bearded dragon (Pogona minor ). Less

The Kimberley death adder (Acanthophis cryptamydros ) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae native to northwestern Australia.Richard Wells and Ross Wellington gave the Kimberley death adder its scientific name Acanthophis lancasteri —in honour of Burt Lancaster—in a 1985 monograph, citing as the type specimen an adult collected 45 kilometres (28 mi) north-northeast of Halls Creek in Western Australia. They cited a 1981 paper by Glen ...
Milton Storr, who had written about death adders of Western Australia. Storr considered both Kimberley and Cape York populations as northern death adder (A. praelongus ), and Wells and Wellington noted the description was restricted to the Kimberley population and renamed it as a new species. The monograph was criticised for new species having no or minimal descriptions. Ken P. Aplin and Steve C. Donnellan called the name a nomen nudum as neither Wells and Wellington's nor Storr's notes distinguished the new taxon from the northern death adder.Simon Maddock and colleagues analysed the Kimberley death adder genetically and found that it was a distinct lineage, more closely related to the desert death adder (A. pyrrhus ), and named it Acanthophis cryptamydros in 2015, as they proposed that A. lancasteri was a nomen nudum. Wellington countered that their 1985 name was in fact valid.Australian official sources recognise lancasteri, whereas Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) recognises cryptamydros as the valid name.The Kimberley death adder is a stocky snake with a pear-shaped head that reaches 64.5 cm (25.5 in) in length. It is a light orange-brown on its back and sides, with darker brown cross-bands, each of which has darker margins. It has distinctive creamy white underparts. It can be distinguished from other Australian death adders by the numbers of scales: 22 or 23 rows of midbody scales, 125–139 ventrals, undivided prefrontal scales, and the rear edge of its frontal scale not extending beyond rear edge of supraoculars, supraoculars flared laterally, area of lower secondary temporal scale equal to or smaller than sixth supralabial, anterior dorsal scales with prominent keels.It is found from Wotjulum to Kununurra in northwestern Australia. Less

Pogona minor minima, the Abrolhos bearded dragon or Abrolhos dwarf bearded dragon, is an agamid lizard found only on islands at Houtman Abrolhos, and commonly named for this location. It is closely related to other bearded dragons found in Western Australia.The size of the dragon is smaller than related subspecies, no more than 360 mm long (115 mm snout-vent length). It occurs in sandy habitats or outcrops of limestone. The range is restricted t ...
o three islands of the Wallabi Group: North Island, East Wallabi Island, and West Wallabi Island. The distribution range of this subspecies is around 80 km from the mainland and its near relations. Less

Liasis olivaceus barroni is a python found in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia. They are recognised as a subspecies of Liasis olivaceus, separating the population from the olive python found to the east. It is a large snake, most often around 2.5 metres in length, although individuals may attain a larger size. The python is an ambush predator, using a sit and wait method at a path or beneath the water to capture a variety of animals ...
that inhabit the arid surroundings. The range of prey includes amphibians, birds and other reptiles, and mammals as large as a rock wallaby. Less

The Pilbara monitor (Varanus bushi), also known commonly as Bush's monitor, Bush's pygmy monitor, and the Pilbara mulga goanna, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Less

The Dampier Peninsula monitor or Dampier Peninsula goanna (Varanus sparnus ), described in 2014, is the smallest known species of monitor lizard, growing up to 16.3 grams with a length of almost 23 cm and a SVL (snout to vent length) of 116 mm. It is believed to live only on the Dampier Peninsula of the Kimberley region north of Broome and Derby in Western Australia. It is highly active, making it difficult to photograph in the wild. It has s ...
hort legs, an elongate body, a reddish-brown back with widely scattered black spots and "a ridged, circular and short prehensile tail." Less

The stripe-tailed goanna (Varanus caudolineatus ), also known as the line-tailed pygmy monitor is a semi-arboreal species of monitor lizard native to Western Australia. Less

Rhinoplocephalus is a genus of seasnake in the family Elapidae. The genus is monotypic, containing the sole species Rhinoplocephalus bicolor, known commonly as Müller's snake, Muller's snake, and the square-nosed snake. The species is endemic to Australia. Less

Chelodina steindachneri, commonly known as the dinner-plate turtle, Steindachner's turtle and or Steindachner's flat-shell turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is the least known of the Australian turtles and also one of the smallest members of the long-necked turtles of the genus Chelodina. It is a member of the subgenus Chelodina making it closely related to the Chelodina longicollis group of species. Less

The spotted mulga snake (Pseudechis butleri), also known commonly as Butler's black snake and Butler's snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Western Australia. It is a member of the genus Pseudechis, dangerously venomous snakes that can intimidate an opponent by raising the head and presenting a hood. This cobra-like threat display is supported by the ability to produce a very large amount of ...
venom. Less

Ctenophorus ornatus, the ornate crevice-dragon or ornate dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is found on granite outcrops of Western Australia.The species is a member of a diverse genus, Ctenophorus, that contains a group known as rock dragons. It can be distinguished from the others by its greatly flattened body, around 290 mm, with a snout-to-vent length of 95 mm, and a distinctly banded tail.Ctenophorus ornatus is common o ...
n granite outcrops, where it shelters under slabs and boulders, especially in undisturbed areas. When out in the open, often basking on warm rocks, it displays a head-bobbing characteristic seen in many related species.The distribution range of this species extends from the Goldfields to the Darling Range, and to the southern coastline. It is recorded at the Archipelago of the Recherche, offshore granite islands, and a reddish form is noted in the Murchison district. Less

The Pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi), also known commonly as Wells' death adder, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is one of the four members of the genus Acanthophis, a genus which is found throughout northwestern and southwestern Australia and some parts of southern Papua New Guinea. The species Acanthophis wellsi is endemic to Western Australia. Less

The south-western spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus spinigerus ), also known commonly as the soft spiny-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognized. Less

Fraser's delma (Delma fraseri ) is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Western Australia. Less

Crenadactylus ocellatus, also known as the southwestern clawless gecko or western clawless gecko, is the smallest species of nocturnal Gekkonidae (gecko) found in Australia.Endemic to Australia, it is distributed in the southwest of the country, and found on stony ground or in Triodia -dominated deserts. It a ground-dwelling gecko; its habitat is leaf litter, rubbish piles, and beneath rocks. It is sometimes found in the lower parts of hummock ...
grass.It is sometimes called the western clawless gecko, but that name is also reserved for Crenadactylus occidentalis. Less

The Lancelin Island skink (Ctenotus lancelini ), also known commonly as the Lancelin south-west ctenotus, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Less

The javelin lizard (Delma concinna ) is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. Less

Crenadactylus pilbarensis is a species of gecko found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They resemble other species of the genus Crenadactylus, tiny clawless Australian geckos found across a large area of the continent, but has persisted as an ancient lineage in a region of the northwest. Less

Delma grayii, also known as side-barred delma or Gray's legless lizard, is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. Less

Ctenophorus adelaidensis, commonly known as the western heath dragon is a species of agamid lizard occurring in sandplains with heath and banksia along the lower coast of Western Australia, between Kalbarri and Perth. Adults are grey in colour, with dark blotches. They are relatively slow compared to other Ctenophorus species, preferring to scuttle rather than sprint. Less

The short-nosed snake (Elapognathus minor ) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Short nosed snakes are endemic to swamplands and coastlands in the southwest of Western Australia, where they shelter in nests of stick ants (Iridomyrmex conifer), as well as dense rushes and reed tussocks. Short-nosed snakes are known to prey on small skinks mainly from the skink genus hemiergis, and small ...
species of frogs. Less

The slender slider (Pletholax gracilis ) is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. Less

Ctenophorus infans, the Laverton ring-tailed dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring around Laverton and the Mount Margaret Goldfield of Western Australia.It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of Ctenophorus caudicinctus. Less

The western worm lerista or blunt-tailed west-coast slider (Lerista praepedita ) is a species of skink native to coastal areas of southwest and midwest Western Australia. It is found amongst heath and woodlands on coastal dunes.It is very thin, with no front legs and extremely small, stumpy back legs. It is a pale grey or brown, with a prominent, broad, dark brown stripe along each side, and a series of small brown dashes along its back. Less