Two new subspecies of Tympanocryptis lineata Peters are described: T. l. houstoni from the Nullarbor Plain and T. l. macra from the Kimberley and neighbouring part of Northern Territory. Tympanocryptis tetraporophora Lucas and Frost and T. uniformis Mitchell are removed from the Western Australian list, and T. cephala gigas Mitchell is merged in T. cephala Günther.

Data on a new occurrence of Ps. aqabensis in the Sinai peninsula, Egypt, are presented. The specimens from the Taba prefecture are characterized by the morphological and genetic characters of Ps. aqabensis. All the specimens studied have their third toe longer than the fourth one, and males have four welldeveloped preanal pores separated from each other. The sequences of mtDNA (COI and ND2) and nuclear DNA (RAG1) fragments are similar to those of the specimens from the typical locality of Ps. aqabensis, including the Holotype. We assume that Ps. aqabensis has penetrates to the Sinai Peninsula from the Arabia. This direction is opposite to the Ps. sinaitus penetration from Africa to Arabia, which was proposed in our earlier paper based on the study of more than 150 sequences of mitochondrial (COI and ND2) and nuclear (RAG1) DNA of all Pseudotrapelus species from whole distributional range. It was shown very low genetic variability of Ps. sinaitus from the most south-western locality in African Egypt (Azraq) through the type locality of the species (mountain Sinai) to the north-eastern Jordan (Mquat). This indicates a very fast species expansion through the paleo-bridge that connecting Africa and Asia in the past. While recent features as geographic barriers – Red Sea, Suez and Aqaba bay, are not affecting the molecular-genetic structure of the species. The history of Ps. aqabensis и Ps. sinaitus colonization of this territory is complicated and needs further investigations.

MELVILLE, J., GOEBEL, S., STARR, C., KEOGH, J.S. & J. J. AUSTIN (2007): Conservation genetics and species status of an endangered Australian dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla (Reptilia: Agamidae). – Conserv. Genet. 8:185–195.

We present a phylogenetic and morphological study of the grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, an endangered habitat specialist that occurs in a few isolated populations in eastern Australia. Tympanocryptis pinguicolla occurred historically in Victoria in south-eastern Australia, but has not been seen since 1990, and current populations are known in New South Wales and Canberra in south-eastern Australia. Recently, new populations identified as T. pinguicolla were discovered on the Darling Downs, Queensland. Translocation of individuals between these populations has been suggested as a conservation management strategy to maintain genetic diversity. To address this issue, we undertook a phylogenetic study of all major populations of T. pinguicolla using a 1838 bp region of mitochondrial DNA, incorporating ND1, ND2, COI and eight tRNA genes. We incorporated specialized degraded-DNA techniques to amplify DNA from historical museum specimens, as no extant tissue was available for Victorian populations. Our results, which include morphological analysis, provide convincing evidence that populations currently identified as T. pinguicolla do not comprise a monophyletic species, as the populations from the Darling Downs are more closely related to T. tetraporophora than to T. pinguicolla. In addition, we find that there is a significant level of haplotype divergence between populations of T. pinguicolla, indicating that these lineages separated at least 1.5 mya. Our results suggest translocation may not be an appropriate management strategy and our findings that Darling Downs populations are not T. pinguicolla will significantly influence the conservation management of this species in Queensland.

MITCHELL, F.J. (1948): A revision of the lacertilian genus Tympanocryptis. - Rec. South Austral. Mus. 9: 57-86.

SCOTT, I.A.W. & J.S. KEOGH (2000): Conservation genetics of the endangered grassland earless dragon Tympanocryptis pinguicolla (Reptilia: Agamidae) in Southeastern Australia. Conservation Genetics 1(4):357-363.

The grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, is listed as endangered throughout its range. A recent taxonomic study based on both morphological and allozyme data elevated pinguicolla from a subspecies of T. lineata to full species status, but the allozyme data showed considerable differentiation among pinguicolla populations to investigate the magnitude and nature of these differences with an independent data set, we targeted key pinguicolla populations and sequenced an approximately 900 base pair DNA fragment of the mitochondrial genome that includes half of the ND4 gene and three tRNA genes.We obtained sequence data from 21 individuals drawn from the three T. pinguicolla populations, included representatives of two other Tympanocryptis species and used an Amphibolurus species as an outgroup. Seven mitochondrial haplotypes were found among the 21 T. pinguicolla samples – two in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and five in the Cooma region, Phylogenetic signal in the data sets was extremely strong and a variety of phylogenetic analyses of the data all resulted in the same single fully resolved tree. There are 37 unique differences in the ND4 gene between the ACT and Cooma populations. This translates into genetic differences of between 5.76% and 6.23% between the two populations. In comparison to studies on other reptile groups in which the same fragment of DNA was used, the differences found between the ACT and Cooma populations are more in line with species-level differences than differences within a single species and suggests that these populations should be considered separate taxonomic units.

STARR, C.R. & L.K.P. LEUNG (2006): Habitat Use by the Darling Downs Population of the Grassland Earless Dragon: Implications for Conservation. - Journal of wildlife management 70 (4): 897-903.

A population of the grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) on the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia, had been considered extinct until its recent rediscovery. We determined factors affecting grassland earless dragon abundance and prey availability in 3 habitats. Mean dragon body condition and prey numbers were higher in sorghum than grasslands and grass verges. Poisson regression analyses indicated that the dragon numbers were 10 times higher in sorghum, and that this may result from differences in prey numbers as well as other habitat conditions. Tracking data indicated selection of open versus closed microhabitat. Sorghum planted in rows provided alternating open and closed microhabitats for optimal thermoregulation conditions. Grasslands and grass verges were more uniformly shaded. Of individuals we tracked in the sorghum stubble, 85.7% used litter as overnight refuges. Litter was abundant in sorghum and sparse in grass habitats. The practices of minimum tillage and resting stubble strips possibly mitigate agricultural impacts on dragons and provide continuous access to suitable habitat. Changes in agricultural practices that affect the habitat suitability will potentially have detrimental impacts on the population. Our data suggest that conservation efforts be focused on maintaining suitability of habitats in crop fields. We recommend monitoring dragon abundance at control and trial sites of any new agricultural practices; this will provide opportunity to modify or stop undesirable practices before adoption by farmers. Conservation agencies may use our data as a baseline for monitoring long-term viability of the population.

STEVENS, T.A., EVANS, M.C., OSBORNE, W.S. & S.D. SARRE (2010): Home ranges of, and habitat use by, the grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) in remnant native grasslands near Canberra. – Aust. J. Zool., 58 (2): 76-84.

The grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) is a habitat specialist restricted to the highly fragmented native temperate grasslands of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and nearby New South Wales (NSW). These grasslands, which are listed as an endangered ecological community, continue to be affected by a range of processes including development and overgrazing. Although changes to its habitat present a significant threat to the grassland earless dragon, little is known about its spatial and habitat requirements. We used radio-tracking to study the home-range areas and habitat requirements of 10 adult lizards in native grassland adjacent to Canberra, ACT. We found that burrows excavated by arthropods are an important resource for grassland earless dragons, with individuals having one or two home burrows around which they maintained home ranges of between 925m2 and 4768m2. Fidelity to these burrows increased with the onset of winter, indicating their importance as over-winter refuge sites. Within the native grasslands, grassland earless dragons were found to use a broad range of grassland structure as habitat. This result contrasts with the prevailing view that these dragons are confined to well drained, minimally disturbed areas, which include large patches of short grass dominated by Austrodanthonia.Weconclude that habitat management (i.e. grazing, mowing, burning) for this species should aim to retain structural heterogeneity of native grasslands rather than impose a uniform structure.