New distribution and habitat data for the vulnerable pygopodid, Delma torquata (Kluge, 1974)

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by  Barney M Hines

NEW DI$TI0BimON AND HABl AT DATA FOR THE VULNBRaBLEfYtSO^dDTD,
l
QSLAM TORgU4T4. (KLUGE, 19741
BAR^rEVM. HINBS, DAVIDiH/a<n*«l,]VfieLi©n£VENZA^a!?t!ERBSA|fyB5
Htnes, B.M.. Ilaiinnh. n.. \tn/, M.& l.sic. 1 JOflOOft50:NewdistribittilBnpndhabiuiidata
forthe vulncralile n^gopodid, Dclmatorquaia (l-vlugc, 1974). Mumtt^iofthiQueensland
Mi«eb;»45(2):39U393,Brisbane, ISSN 0O79-S83$,
The vulncrabk*p\gopntiid, ndniunyrijUiUii(Klugt:, 1974), has been icgaitiLd ascontlnedto
scatlLTcd iDculilics instotuliituslernQuecnslaml Merc wc report oii iiic (ifU iwo instances for
thisspecies occurring in thesouthern soclion ofOLiLx-nsland n I'lllual-iw l^cti l-iion-gion. In
addition,thehabitataitwonew localities, Bujiyti MouniiiinO^Jnd WesternCreek^irediliiarenL
from others in which D- tonjmia has befflfi wiGordcd. iiyrquata, p^^g&p^iSd.
dldfrihutififi. /hi'''Ui/. Brn^ulow BeUBioregion
BofWyM*Wf^^t ^ox7,PmntLpokaui4lSJ-i Davidtiatmah, OutvnslandFurhand
M
Tmf^ SyrU^ FSKAr Dept of^Wot Jlifst^t^A, 80 Meiers IndQOfwpUty 4075,
jmtrd!f(f: September JQ99
Delnmforquafahasbeenregarded :is l(miI'lncd (.163 the other released aller tissues were
toscatteredlocalitiesinsoutheasternQueensland taken for genetic studies (University ofQuccns^
{e.g. Klugc, 1974; Davidson, 1993; Mel arhnKK land. Molecular Zool<>wgy Laboratory, vial
1999; Que^ttSlaj^dMuseumrecords), iu liie area number QR1A043). On S^Wntter 1997. a
between Ulam (23°35'S, ]5(r36T.) near Rock- single specimen of D. torqnahi was similarly
hamplon, the Bunya Mountains (26*'52'S, captiuedby D. Hannahin Yarraman Stale Forest
!51"I4'E) and Brisbane's western suburbs (26-52'5]^S, i5r'50M2"E). Tlie identification
(27^1'S, J52'^58'E). Recent systematic veriebraie of this species was continned by Qiieenslimd
i'auna surveys on public funds in southern Museum staff It was photographed (QM
NY
Qo«S6Q£0^ftll}|I(i^-S- ctal., 1999jbayeextended transparency 739-761) and released al the
the kncnVn range of this species rioffhwest to capturesite.AfbttrthZ?. lonfuataspecii*ien,'ha«a
Blackdown Tableland and inland to \\'estern captured by B. Hines and I. Gynther at Bunya
Creek. These arc the tirsl n\o records 1br this Mountains Stale Forest ^( 26'^4V'35"*S,
yr-^cics in the soulhcrn section ofQueensland's 15P35'46''R) on 30 April 1998. was released
Bi'igalowB^tBioregion^BBB),9nareaseriously followin^tifisuc sampling (University of
<;!i)0eyi^iBTid,-^v^^^ Ifimtm QRFA256). Lastly, a
.Specimen of /X torqitata was collected by
(23B°l4a8'c5k8d"So,wn149T°a1b0'l5e6l"Ja5n)d NmaitnioinmaliSPifitinrdf-e Queensland "National Parks and Wildlife slalY
durinu a fauna sunev of Btillvard Conservation
itone plateau some 20dk3rri west t»fwfadstonc
(23**5rS. 15ri4'E). Here, a specimen of* D ol»naik2o(':F4e'b\rS7u\a^r9y^ S1,99l75.2''T(h)i3s'0s(rpEe)c,inmeeanrwGaisn Gailnw,i
tMo.rcfSucahiual\/\.asGc.apFtourrdedainndaMpitt'aMllalthraipesbdyn1'.t»ln-,y2rcM, lod.ued v\ ith ihe Queensland Musciun (J67859).
November, I9S/7. ll was photographed and The idemillcation ofammals at four ofthe sit
released (QM slide H NW438 QM). Al Weslem localitieswasconfirmedwith\oucherspecimens
Creek Stale Forest (28^04^37*S, l50°53'5rE), registered at the Q^e^nsj^nd Museurn- Idom-^
an area ofrolling sandsttinehillsnearMillmerraMn, ificiition at the otheftWO localities, (Blackdown
UTi adull D tonjuafu was hand captured by Tableland and Bunya Mountains), was confirracd
Vcnz on J October 1998. This ^pecuuen was by muliiple ob^servers ai each site, with two
lodg^d'^^thetjueettslantfMixsetmi'(^66808^^ obscners m each case having prior, first-hand
MM
fhi^^dditioaal specimens ol D fon/uata were fatnxdpeMrSi;enBpeHainpdililGe)nt.ifIynienagcthhiesxastptoepctiee^sll(iIiiEB^latlCin
found during these surveys. On Ihc IV June. and scalaiion ofthe individuals were cGnsiiSWwl
1997,twoZ). torqiiutuwere haiid-capturcd by D. with that described inCogger(1996)-
]fines and A. Fletcher at Qrongab Stale Fut^^t
125°58'02"S, I52°05M7''E), Via Killch^mt.'Oiie *ni«'Vr%«lem and Ela^kiteiwn bicalitieet
was lodged with the Queensland Mu^^iitYi at^srgni^Gpti|««(b(iyoreoutside theSoutheast
392 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
Queensland Bioregion (SEQB), in the southern 1985; McDonald etal., 1991). In addition, ofthe
sectionoftheBBB.Tlieonlyotherrecord forthis six new locahties discussed here, three are in
species from outside the SEQB is ofa halchhng, communities considered either 'vulnerable'or
collected in 1943 at Ulam (Kluge, 1974), in the 'endangered" (Table 1) (Young, 1999; Young et
northern section ofthe BBB. al., 1999). These findings highlight the need for
fiirther research into the biology and consen'-
HABITAT
ation requirements ofthis species.
Habitat features ofthe localities described in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
this paper vary to that documented elsewhere.
Forexample,Wilson&Knowies{1988)reportD. We thank the field and office stalTinvolved in
torquata as an inhabitant of eucalypl/acacia the fauna component of the Comprehensive
woodlandusuallyassociatedwithrockyoutcrops Regional Assessment program in southern
on ridges. This description is comparable to the Queensland; Jeanette Covacevich and Patrick
Blackdown Tableland, Grongah and Yan'aman Couper of the Queensland Museum for assist-
localities, which support narrow-leafed ironbark ance with the preparation of this paper; the
{Eucalyptus crehra) open forest with grassy Queensland Dept ofEnvironment and Heritage,
understoreysonridges. Itisalsosimilartothesite the Queensland Dept ofNatural Resources and
where Porter(1998) conducted the only detailed EnvironmentAustraliawhich frmdedthesur\'eys
A
investigations intotheecology of torquata. In on which these specimens were recorded. In
contrast, the Bunya Mountains and Western addition, we thank Queensland National Parks
Creek sites are different from others in which D. and Wildlife Service staff Paul Horton, Adrian
torquata occurs. The former supports forest red Kampf and Steve Clark for the Bullyard CP
gum(E. tereticornis)woodland,whilethelatteris specimen and John Hodgon for information
an area of brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) and regarding this record.
belah (Casuarina crisfata) forest with a wilga
LITERATURE CITED
(Geijerapcwvijlora) dominated midstorey. Both
sites are in low lying areas. COGGER, H.G 1996. Reptiles and Amphibians of
Ditferences were also noted in soil type. At Australia. 5th Edition. (Reed Books: Sydney).
Porter's (1998) D. torquata study site soils are COGGER. H., CAMERON. E., S.^DLIER R. &
shallow, stony lithosols on ridges and texture EGGLER, P. 1993. The Action Plan for Aust-
contrast soils on slopes. In contrast, those at ralian Reptiles. (Australian Nature Conservation
Agency: Canbeira).
cWleasytesrednimCernetesk,wahrielefitnheo-sgeraaitntehde,rgermeya,incirnagcskiitnegs CZECkHnUoRwAn,rcGp.lVi.le&s iCnOQVuAeeCnEsVlaInCdH.,Pp.1.. 1497815-.47P6oo.rlIyn
aredark-browntoblackcrackingclaysofvarious Grigg, G, SHINE, R. & EHMANN, H. (eds)
depths. In addition, most of the specimens Biology of Australasian frogs and reptiles.
captured by Porter (1998) were sheltering under (Surrey Beatt\ & Sons: Chipping Norton).
stones. However, his results indicated that rock DAVIDSON, C. 1993. Recovery Plan forthe Collared
maynotbeanccessar>'componentofD. torquata Legless Lizard(D. lurquaia). ANCAEndangered
habitat, as some individuals were captured in Species Programme. LInpubl. report to
pitfalltrapssetaway fromrockcover.Neitherthe Queensland Department of Environment and
Western Creek nor the Yarraman sites contained Heritage.
significant rock components. EYRE,HITN,ESK,RIEB.CJ&ERa,MGV,NVAEHN,Z,DM..,19H9A9.SESLysEtRe,maMt.i,c
CONSERVATION STATUS Vertebrate Fauna Survey Project. Stage I -
Vertebrate Fauna Survey in the South East
A review ofknown localities for D. torquata Queensland Bioregion. Lnpubl. report to the
indicates that its current status is justified. D. Queensland CRA/RFA Steering Committee by
torquata is listed as vulnerable in both The the Department of Environment and Heritage,
Action Plan for Australian Reptiles (Cogger et Brisbane.
al., 1993) and under the Queensland Nature KLUGE, A.G 1974. Taxonomic revision ofthe lizard
Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 1994. The family Pygopodidae. Miscellaneous Publication
of the Museum of Zoology, University of
discover^' of this species at additional sites
Michiiiitn No. 147.
indicatesthatitismorewidespreadthanhasbeen McDonald, k.r.. covacevich,j.a., Ingram,
sunnised. However, many ofthe localities in the G.I. & COUPER, P..I. 1991. The status offrogs
western suburbs of Brisbane are threatened by and reptiles. Pp. 338-345. In Ingram, GJ. &
urban development (Czechura Sc Covacevich, Raven, R.J. (eds) An atlasofQueensland'sfrogs,
NEWDATAPOfe£>£LMiWRQUATA 393
TABLE 1. Conservation status and description of Regional l-cosyslems ai D. torqitaia locations. Regional
Ecosystem numbersandediteddescriplionsarederived from Young(1999) and \'oung ct al. (1999).
Site RegionalEco^fstem rEexsteernvted reEmxatnenitng Conssetra\t'uatsi(Ml
Blackdovvn
TablelandNP notdescribed
Conmthiaciiyiodom~EucaiyptitsacmenoidesiCimermedia,E.fibrosa
Buiiyard subsp.fibmsct.C tracl^hloia,£.mo/uci^inajloweirslopes),^,cr^bra,E. Low 71%
exsi-vtaUillwoodlandoitcomplinofl7CfnnBtitxbitbiy'«ra
scdimenlar} rocks
GfongahSF Eucalvptuscrebragrassn/woodlandonMeEtosBoicb>ProterozDicigpeousrocks Low 26% Vulnerable
(12.117).
BSuFnyaMts Epluacianlsypintculsutdeirnegtollcdoerrmsfloopoednplfaoirnesctomtoplweoxoedsl.a(n1d2.03l,i3:)C!^QZCUCalluvial Ijpw ^ Vulnerable
VanGtmanSF notdescribed
WCfrtesetkerSoF tAcoocnaPtcrrioatasethrsoaozrioplioscpahcn>odn1s1caorlaAicdkCaiatnsegtdi,calrfaiiynnsae,gcorrfiatsielnnaetgadisslheg(rmHueibdBbe-^tftHto.pIi-e-9on\5\fKolraensdts.oDneCtraplnloezxoiiurcc Low Endangered
xeptUeSi, bird3 ^nd tnamnials. (Queensland WILSON, S.K. & KNOWLES, D.G 1988.Australia's
Reptiles: A Photographic Reference to the Ter-
McFAiaj\l^,Da559.ForestVertefeatB^ restrialR^til^ofAustralia,(Collins:Sydqey)^
ibr a C!Qtn;piehepsive Regional Assessment in YOUNG, RA.R. Chapter JZ. Southeast
SputiireastQueensland. S^eIlA: Analysis and Queensland; In Sattleii ?A & WlUams^ RJ).
Reserve OpBonExample. Attachment:- Species (eds) The conservation status -ofQteBeiiMand*s
Summaries.itepcsrttotheQueenslandCR.-V RFA bioregional ecosystems. Copserv^otiTechnical
Steering Committee by the Department of Report.(QueenslandDepartmentofHlvironment
Environment, Brisbane. and Heritage: Brisbane).
NATURE CONSERVATION (WILDLIFE) VOLiNG, P.A.R., WILSON, B.A.. McCOSICER, J.C.,
REGLTATION 1994. CJucenslaJid Subordinate FENSHAM, R..I., MORGAN. G. & TAYLOR,
Legislation 1991 No. 474, Nature Conservation RM. 1999. Chapter 11. Brigalovv Belt. In Saltier,
Act P.S. & Williams, R.D. (eds) The conservation
PORTER, R. 1998. Ohservalionson a large population status of Queensland's bioregional eco^\stems.
of the vulnerable [\\gopodid. torquuta. Conservation Technical Report. (Queensland
Memoirs of ihe Queensland Museum. 42(2): Department of Environment and Heritage:
565-572. BrisbaiR^.