Meet kungaka – ‘the hidden one’. This ancient lizard could be the rarest reptile in Australia
- Written by The Conversation
Hidden among the red sandstone escarpments of Mutawintji National Park in western New South Wales lives a rare lizard, long isolated in this arid landscape.
Known to Wiimpatja Aboriginal Owners as kungaka – “the hidden one” – we have now scientifically described it as a new species: Liopholis mutawintji.
For decades, this little lizard was thought to be an isolated population of a widespread skink. However, through a research collaboration between Wiimpatja and scientists we have confirmed it as a distinct species found nowhere else on Earth.
We have been monitoring them for 25 years. We believe there may be only be up to 20 individual kungaka remaining. It may be one of Australia’s rarest reptiles.
How we identified this new species
The kungaka was previously thought to be a highly isolated population of White’s skink (Liopholis whitii), a widespread species that lives in rocky habitats across south-eastern Australia.
But through analysing its genetics, and variations in body shape, we confirmed this skink is actually three distinct species. Two of these, the southern White’s skink (Liopholis whitii) and northern White’s skink (Liopholis compressicauda) occur across large areas of south-east Australia. The third – the kungaka – is restricted to Mutawintji National Park, about 500km from its closest relatives.
The kungaka represents an ancient lineage that likely originated during earlier, wetter periods in Australia’s history. As the continent dried, this skink persisted in humid rocky refuges. Today, it survives in a tiny, isolated pocket of sheltered gorge in Mutawintji, surrounded by a hot and dry expanse of saltbush and stony plains.
Wiimpatja have worked alongside ecologists and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to monitor the kungaka population since 2000, with surveys intensifying since 2019. Over that time, the outlook has become increasingly concerning. Fewer than 20 individuals have been counted since surveys in 2024, using pattern recognition methods from photographs. And there has been a decline in its range, the number of skinks observed and the habitat where it lives.
Goats, cats and foxes
One of the most significant threats to the kungaka is feral goats. These occur in large numbers in the region and damage the environment by overgrazing vegetation and trampling fragile rocky areas.
This damages the rocks kungaka rely on for shelter, and exposes them to predators and extreme temperatures. Goats are also a significant threat to Mutawintji’s endangered Wangarru, or yellow-footed rock-wallaby, as they compete for the same food and shelter. However, conservation work for Wangarru has been a major success story, with the population growing over the past decade.
Other threats are compounding the problem for the kungaka. Introduced predators such as cats and foxes may prey on them, while climate change is intensifying heat and drought across the region. The 2017–19 drought was the hottest and driest on record for far western NSW. For a species with such a small population, these pressures may be overwhelming.
Kungaka as family
From Warlpa Thompson: For Wiimpatja, the kungaka is inseparable from people, country and culture. Every animal and every plant have people attached to them. There would have been people whose meat, their blood, their family is the kungaka. And these people are now gone. But the lizards aren’t.
In some places the animal is gone out of the landscape, but the people are still there. Like the bilby mob that live in Wilcannia, or the dingo mob from Mutawintji. With the kungaka, we’ve got the reverse. The people are gone but the lizards are still here.
Our old people had to fight for the right to get their country back. Now we’ve got it, we’re looking at how do we bring things back. How do we bring culture back? How do we bring our animals back?
The numbers of Wangurru have boomed in the last ten years. Hopefully we can do the same with the kungaka. A big part of that is making sure that our young people are involved so they know what it means to look after country, and the plants and animals from our country.
It’s important our kids don’t just get the cultural knowledge from us, but they get the scientific knowledge and understanding, so they know everything that it is to talk for that animal, not just balanced with one side or the other.
A group on the lookout for kungaka. Front: Keanu Garni Bates (left) and Ray Hunte-Mckeller. Back: Gerry Swan (left) and Lyndy Marshall.
Tom Parkin, CC BY-ND
The future of the kungaka
There is a shared responsibility to protect and conserve the kungaka. We need to control goats, cats and foxes, search for additional populations and monitor them long-term. Given the kungaka’s extremely small population size, actions such as captive breeding may be required.
Scientific description of the kungaka is just the first step. If fewer than 20 individuals remain, it stands on the brink of extinction. The survival of this unique lizard will depend on sustained, long-term collaborative partnerships.
From Warlpa Thompson: Whatever we do needs to be done on Country, and led by Wiimpatja. That knowledge has to be driven by us but we need help to look after this lizard. It’s in such a bad position that we’re going to need everyone working together, in a culturally grounded way.
Acknowledgements: scientific description and conservation of the kungaka has been a truly collaborative effort, made possible through the dedication and knowledge of many individuals. We acknowledge the important work and contributions of Gerry Swan, Lyndy Marshall, Keanu Garni Bates, Ray Hunter-McKeller, Nhalpa Thompson and Dane Trembath, whose involvement have been integral to this research and its outcomes.
