Elusive, But Not Extinct
The Age
Monday December 20, 1993
Aprasia aurita, better known as the slim, underground-living Mallee worm-lizard, is back from the brink of extinction.
This elusive member of the legless lizard family was not seen in the Mallee from the time it was discovered near Ouyen around the turn of the century until 1985, when only seven were found during a wildlife survey in a flora and fauna reserve near the Wyperfeldt National Park.
The curator of reptiles at the South Australian Museum found another in 1989.
But its status was rated endangered and possibly extinct, until this year, when wildlife officers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources caught 150 in the same reserve and in the Wyperfeldt park.
One of the researchers, Mr Peter Robertson, said it was the first time the animal had been found in the park.
Last week, several of the worm-lizards were packed up for a trip for the South Australian Museum for genetic testing.
The scientists believe it may have cross-bred with a much more common species, Aprasia inaurita, which is also found in the reserve, creating a Mallee worm-lizard hybrid.
© 1993 The Age