Surprise discovery of snake-like lizard feared extinct leaves scientists amazed

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Researchers found three species of skink in Australia they feared could be extinct, including the Lyon's grassland striped skink.

Lyon's grassland skink on dried mud.
The rediscovered Lyon's grassland striped skink. (Image credit: Conrad Hoskin)

Researchers in Australia have rediscovered a secretive lizard with tiny legs that they thought may be extinct after it evaded detection for more than 40 years.

A team from the Queensland Museum and James Cook University spotted Lyon's grassland striped skinks (Austroablepharus barrylyoni) — which haven't been seen since 1981 — at several sites near Mount Surprise in northeastern Australia, according to a statement.

"It was an exciting moment to find all three skinks, but to find the Lyon's grassland striped skink was an amazing discovery," expedition leader Andrew Amey, the collection manager of amphibians and reptiles, herpetology at Queensland Museum, said in the statement.

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Lyon's grassland striped skinks are very small, measuring just 2 inches (5 centimeters) long from the tips of their snouts to the base of their bright-orange tails, according to a report by the Australian government. Little is known about the highly elusive species, but they probably hunt insects in long grass and seek shelter from the sun and predators in soil cracks.

Mount Surprise sliders have small stumps as their back legs, while limbless fine-lined sliders don't have any legs at all. The sliders' reduced limbs enable them to "essentially swim through the soil," Amey said.

All three lizards have tiny distributions in the Mount Surprise area, which means they are particularly vulnerable to disturbances such as bushfires, droughts and disease. Having found these creatures still exist, the researchers want to learn more about the skink populations to help protect them, according to the statement.

"We need to know if these skinks have healthy populations or if they are declining," Amey said.  "We can't take effective action to protect them if we don’t know where they occur and what threats are impacting them," he added.

"The only way to get this information is go and look for them."

Patrick Pester
Patrick Pester
Trending News Writer

Patrick Pester is the trending news writer at Live Science. His work has appeared on other science websites, such as BBC Science Focus and Scientific American. Patrick retrained as a journalist after spending his early career working in zoos and wildlife conservation. He was awarded the Master's Excellence Scholarship to study at Cardiff University where he completed a master's degree in international journalism. He also has a second master's degree in biodiversity, evolution and conservation in action from Middlesex University London. When he isn't writing news, Patrick investigates the sale of human remains.