Australia is well known for its abundance of interesting and sometimes “dangerous” animals that can be found throughout the land. Today specifically we’ll be talking about 10 of their fascinating reptiles! It was hard to narrow this list down to only 10, so if you want a part 2 of Australian reptiles, comment down below and let us know. We tried to pick reptiles that are less known, as when people think of Australia and their reptiles the first few that come to mind may be the frilled lizard, bearded dragon, or the wonderful blue-tongue skink. So keep scrolling to read about 10 of these awesome reptiles.
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Top 10 List – Australian Reptiles
1. Common Knob-Tailed Gecko
Scientific Name: Nephrurus levis
Geographic Range: Australia (Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
First up on our list of Australian reptiles is the common knob-tailed gecko, also referred to as the three-lined knob-tailed gecko and smooth knob-tailed gecko. They are also called barking geckos, as when they feel threatened they will wiggle their bodies, swing their tails around, and bark loudly at whatever they feel is a threat. These cute little geckos live in a wide variety of habitats in Australia, including arid, semiarid, open woodlands, arid scrubs, spinifex covered deserts, sand-plains, and dune fields. They are able to survive in lower temperatures, for longer amounts of time compared to other geckos in the area. Since they are nocturnal, this allows them an advantage when hunting for insects during the night, as the colder temperature doesn’t bother them/slow them down as much. During the day they can be found in shelters that either they or other animals have made.
They average around 8 – 10 cm (3.1 – 3.9 inches) in length, not including their tail. The original tail (if not dropped and regrown) is usually around 2 cm (0.79 inches) and is a unique, flat, almost leaf-like shape with a little ball shape at the end. Females are usually slightly larger than the male common knob-tailed geckos.
2. Boyd’s Forest Dragon
Scientific Name: Lophosaurus boydii
Geographic Range: Australia (Queensland)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Next, we have the beautiful Boyd’s forest dragon. They are an arboreal lizard that is part of the family Agamidae, with many lizards in this family being called dragons. Often found in rainforests and surrounding areas, they spend most of their time perched on tree trunks. When approached, they will usually move around to the opposite side of the tree, trying to keep the trunk between them and whatever they feel is threatening them. Unlike most lizards, Boyd’s forest dragons do not bask in the sun to heat up and instead allow their body temperature to fluctuate with the air temperature.
Their generic name, Lophosaurus, means “crested lizard”. It is made up of the Greek words lophos for “crest”, and saurus for “lizard”. This is a fitting name as they not only have a prominent head crest, but they also have a crest running down their back, made up of enlarged, hardened, pointed scales. They also have enlarged cheek scales and a yellow dewlap under their chin that is edged with enlarged spines. Males are larger than females, with larger, blockier heads. Not including their tails they average around 14 – 16 cm (5.5 – 6.3 inches) in length. Their tails add an additional 28 – 32.5 cm (11 – 12.8 inches) to their length.
3. Thorny Devil
Scientific Name: Moloch horridus
Geographic Range: Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Check out our article “10 Thorny Devil Facts” to learn even more about these cool lizards!
The thorny devil is a unique lizard, with some unique names to match. Some other common names include mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch. As their name suggests, they have hard, sharp spines all over their bodies that help protect them from predators. They also use camouflage and the false “head” on their back to protect them from predators. When threatened, they will tuck their actual heads in between their legs and present the false spiny head to the predator. Since they don’t always have access to water, they have special grooves in their scales that channel water to their mouths after a rainfall or after dewdrops form on them overnight. They range between 15 – 20.3 cm (5.9 – 8 inches) in total length, with female thorny devils tending to be larger.
Their walk is unusual, with their tail lifted they walk with slow, jerky movements while rocking back and forth. If spotted they will freeze in place. They are myrmecophages, which means they only eat ants, and nothing else. Hiding in a covered spot, or using their camouflage, they will sit and wait for ants to walk by so they can snatch them up.
4. Southwestern Snake-Necked Turtle
Scientific Name: Chelodina oblonga
Geographic Range: Australia
Conservation Status: Near Threatened
The Southwestern snake-necked turtle is a fascinating turtle that is also referred to as the narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle or the oblong turtle. As you can see from the photo above, they have long, snake-like necks – which is where they get their name from. They have a carapace (shell) length of around 36 cm (14.2 inches), with female southwestern snake-necked turtles tending to be larger, while males have thicker tails. Their long necks, as well as binocular vision, allows them to strike at prey quickly. Their large mouth quickly sucks up/engulfs their prey of aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles, and fish.
Most often they are found in their preferred habitat, which is seasonal wetlands on coastal floodplains. They survive the dry season by migrating to areas that have water year-round or by estivating (which is like hibernation, but during the summer), underneath the mud of dry waterholes. Southwestern snake-necked turtles are unique in that unlike other turtles, they lay their eggs in holes dug in the mud under shallow water, instead of on dry land near the water.
5. Broad-Tailed Gecko
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Photo Source
Scientific Name: Phyllurus platurus
Geographic Range: Australia (New South Wales)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Our next of the Australian reptiles on this list is the broad-tailed gecko, also referred to as the southern leaf-tailed gecko or the Sydney leaf-tailed gecko. They are found in the Sydney Basin, mainly inhabiting rocky areas. However, they can also be found in trees when there are no rocky areas nearby. They use their mottled brown and grey colors in order to camouflage themselves against the rocks and trees they are found on. Broad-tailed geckos are nocturnal, and at night will rely on their camouflage and patience to ambush their prey. Their prey includes invertebrates such as spiders, cockroaches, beetles, and moths.
They are an average of 10cm (3.9 inches) in length not including their tail. Their tail that they get their name from, is large and flat, resembles the shape of a leaf, and is quite spikey looking. They use their tail to store extra fat, as well as to drop it when in danger to confuse/distract predators in order to escape.
They are considered an “easy to keep” species as pets, however, in Australia, you need a license in order to keep one.
6. Painted Dragon
Scientific Name: Ctenophorus pictus
Geographic Range: Australia (Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Another beautiful “dragon” on this list is the painted dragon. Their body color and patterns can vary from grey, and brown, to orange with various spots, and occasionally, a stripe down their back. Males can be brighter than that – having a blue throat, blue color down their sides, as well as sometimes bright yellow, orange, or red on the top of their heads as well as on their neck. This beautiful coloring makes them popular as pets and is also how they got the name painted dragon. They are around 7.5 cm (3 inches) in length not including their tail. Including their tail, which makes up the majority of their length, they can range from 18 – 25 cm (7.1 – 9.8 inches) in length.
Found in dry sandy regions with grasses and shrublands, they are often spotted low to the ground and in burrows at the base of bushes. They can sprint very quickly over short distances. Sometimes they can be spotted communicating by using various head bobs and dips, arm-waving, and tail lashing. They feed on various arthropods and insects found throughout their region.
7. Perentie
Scientific Name: Varanus giganteus
Geographic Range: Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Perenties are large monitor lizards. In fact, they are the largest monitor lizards that are native to Australia! They can grow up to 2.5 m (8 feet 2 inches) long, however, a more average length is around 1.7 – 2m (5’7″ -6’7″). When threatened they use their sharp claws, teeth, and whip-like tail to defend against what they feel threatened by. They may also puff up their throat and hiss, and lunge forward with their mouths open. They do this either as a bluff to scare the predator or to actually attack. Thankfully for humans, they are rather shy and would rather hide. Their natural range is also fairly remote from humans. Throughout their natural habitat are rocky outcroppings and gorges, with hard-packed soil and loose stones.
Their long claws allow them to be able diggers that can burrow for shelter quite quickly, as well as helps them climb trees. They can sometimes be spotted “tripoding”, which is when they stand on their back legs and tails in order to get a better look around. They are also fast sprinters, allowing them to easily catch their prey such as reptiles, small mammals, and less commonly birds. However, they aren’t opposed to eating carrion either. Young perenties mostly eat arthropods like grasshoppers.
Perentie is a favored food item among Aboriginal desert tribes, and their fat was used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes.
8. Prickly Forest Skink
Scientific Name: Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae
Geographic Range: Australia (Queensland)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
The prickly forest skink is the only animal in the genus Gnypetoscincus, making it quite unique. They live in closed-canopy forests in high rainfall areas and can be found within rotting logs and leaf litter. Because they like to hide, they are often not spotted unless you go looking for them. As well as living in forests, their name was given to them because of their rough, rigid, pointed scales. These scales are unusual as skinks tend to have smooth scales, not prickly scales. They can range in size from 5 – 8.5 cm (2 – 3.3 inches) in length, not including their tail.
Prickly forest skinks are actually a vocal species and have been observed making a high-pitched, but audible, call when being handled by humans. They are ovoviviparous, meaning that the eggs will stay inside the mother until they hatch, and then the mother skink will birth 2 – 5 live young from February to April.
9. Eastern Bandy-Bandy Snake
Scientific Name: Vermicella annulata
Geographic Range: Australia (Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Bandy-bandy snakes are nocturnal, venomous snakes that can be found throughout Australia. Their name, bandy-bandy (bandi-bandi), traces back to the indigenous dialect of Kattang, from the Taree region in New South Wales. They have small eyes, a blunt tail, and 48+ black and white rings that go around their entire body. The average length of the bandy-bandy is around 76 cm (30 inches). When threatened the bandy-bandy will raise its looped body vertically off the ground. While not completely sure why they do this, it is thought that it may be to confuse predators or to protect their heads.
They are found in most habitats throughout Australia, from wet coastal rainforests to deserts. As they are burrowing snakes, they can often be found sheltering beneath rocks and logs. While they feed infrequently because they are able to go long periods of time without food and water, when they do eat, they almost exclusively feed on different blind snakes.
10. Rough-Scaled Death Adder
Scientific Name: Acanthophis rugosus
Geographic Range: Australia (Northern Territory); Indonesia (Papua New Guinea)
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Last but not least on our list of Australian reptiles is the rough-scaled death adder, which is also referred to as the Papuan death adder. It was first described in 1948 by British biologist Arthur Loveridge. While they look more like vipers, they are actually from the also venomous elapid family. They are actually quite highly-venomous snakes and account for a large percentage of serious snake bites in Australia. However, they are quite slow-moving, so the majority of bites are because they have been accidentally stepped on.
Found mostly in deserts, they spend large chunks of time, sometimes even days, waiting in grass for prey to come by. Their prey includes small mammals, birds, lizards, and frogs.
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