Striped Legless Lizard

Despite its name, Delma impar is not a snake but a legless lizard, distinguished from true snakes by external ear openings, a fleshy tongue, and a long tail capable of autotomy, which can account for over half its total body length. Adults typically reach 30 cm in length and are grey to olive-brown in color, feeding on small invertebrates such as spiders and insects. As a burrowing, cryptic species, it spends much of its time sheltering under surface rocks, tussock grasses, and soil cracks, contributing to invertebrate population regulation within its ecosystem.

The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia, occurring across native temperate lowland grasslands and grassy woodlands in Victoria, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Tasmania. It depends heavily on undisturbed native grassland structure, particularly tussock-forming grasses, for shelter and thermoregulation.

Its decline is driven by the conversion and fragmentation of native grasslands for housing and urban development, conversion to cropland, and livestock grazing, which alters vegetation structure and reduces shelter availability. Inappropriate fire regimes, whether excessive burning or fire suppression, degrade grassland quality, while predation by invasive species such as foxes and cats adds further pressure on populations already confined to small, isolated remnants.

Conservation efforts include statutory protection under Australian national and state legislation, habitat offset requirements tied to development approvals, management of grassland reserves, and targeted surveys to monitor population status across its fragmented range.

Population trends remain in decline, and continued habitat loss and fragmentation suggest that, absent expanded grassland protection and management, the species' conservation status is unlikely to improve in the near term.