26/08/2026
Australia’s lizards and snakes are disappearing faster than previously thought.
A major new review led by Monash University estimates that 127 species, 13.1% of Australia’s terrestrial lizards and snakes, are likely to be threatened with extinction, almost double previous estimates.
Australia is home to around 10% of the world’s lizard and snake diversity, yet many species remain poorly understood or have never been adequately assessed.
“Without coordinated conservation, sustained monitoring and better investment in research, we risk losing species before we fully understand them,” says first author Professor David Chapple from the Monash University School of Biological Sciences and head of the Australian Lizard and Snake Conservation Group (formerly the Chapple Lab).
The review identifies mounting threats including climate change, increasingly severe bushfires, habitat destruction, cats and foxes, invasive grasses and disease.
Senior author Jules Farquhar says the findings also point towards what needs to happen next:
“The threats facing Australia’s reptiles are becoming more complex and more intense. This review provides an evidence-based roadmap for where governments, researchers and conservation managers need to focus their efforts if we want to prevent further declines.”
Published in Pacific Conservation Biology, the review makes 11 recommendations to strengthen reptile conservation across Australia.
Read more: https://www.monash.edu/science/news-events/news/2026/australias-lizards-and-snakes-disappearing-faster-than-previously-thought
