Significant gaps in knowledge currently exist regarding the small mammal fauna of the Northern Kimberley (NOK) bioregion. Theda Station is a previously unsurveyed pastoral lease in the NOK. The aim of the current study was to determine the presence of small mammals (non-volant, <2 kg) on Theda Station and to compare these findings with those recently obtained on the adjacent Doongan Station. Between 2006 and 2014, 226 site surveys were conducted across 69 sites, with over 26 000 trap-nights encompassing a range of habitats. Thirteen of the 27 small mammal species known to occur in the NOK were detected. Four species (Pseudomys nanus, Rattus tunneyi, Zyzomys argurus and Sminthopsis virginiae) were common, five (Pseudomys delicatulus, Pseudantechinus ningbing, Dasyurus hallucatus, Isoodon macrourus and Petropseudes dahli) were detected less frequently, and four (Leggadina lakedownensis, Hydromys chrysogaster, Planigale maculata and Petaurus breviceps) were occasionally recorded. Our study provides important baseline data for small mammals in this region. It highlights the lack of detailed knowledge of both the presence of, and temporal fluctuations in, the region’s small mammal fauna. This study supports a non-uniform distribution of the small mammal fauna across the NOK, with Theda Station lying within a transition zone between the high rainfall rugged coastal and near-coastal areas and the lower rainfall areas of the east.

Mitchell's water monitors (Varanus mitchelli) are a small to medium-sized (<1 m TL) Australian varanid lizard endemic to northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory, extending just into north-western Queensland. They are a semi-aquatic, semi-arboreal monitor, typically thought of as being associated with freshwater riparian habitats. Following the arrival of cane toads (Rhinella marina) across their distribution, V. mitchelli were observed to have suffered precipitous population declines and local extinctions due to lethal toxic ingestion of toads. Here, we present observations of V. mitchelli from previously unreported saline and brackish habitats, as well as information on the cryptic behaviour and seasonal activity of this threatened species in Darwin, Northern Territory. Currently, because V. mitchelli are undocumented in mangrove and littoral habitats, ecological consultants in northern Australia are considering such habitats unsuitable for this threatened varanid and are not recommending targeted surveys for this species in these habitats. We argue that the niche occupied by V. mitchelli is broader than currently recognised and they should be considered as potentially occurring in most mangrove habitats across their known range. We also suggest species-appropriate survey techniques to improve detection of this very cryptic threatened species. Concerningly, despite recently being recognised as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), V. mitchelli are currently not recognised as threatened by the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

A land of extremes, the Northern Territory’s arid deserts and monsoonal forests harbour some of Australia’s smallest and the world’s largest reptiles, as well as some of the world’s most venomous snakes. Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Northern Territory is the first regional guide to the crocodiles, turtles, lizards and snakes of this megadiverse region. It presents introductions to order, family and genus; keys to family, genus and species; and species profiles, including descriptions, photos, distribution maps and notes on natural history. It features profiles for the 390 species that occur or may occur on the land and in the sea of the Northern Territory. Extensively illustrated, this is an essential resource for wildlife enthusiasts and professional and amateur herpetologists.

Until now there have been two species of burrowing elapid from the genus Brachyurophis known to occur in the Einasleigh Uplands Bioregion of northeastern Queensland, the Australian coral snake (Brachyurophis australis Krefft, 1864) and the north-eastern (or Campbell’s) shovel-nosed snake (Brachyurophis campbelli Kinghorn, 1929). Here we report a third species from the region, the unbanded shovel-nosed snake (Brachyurophis incinctus Storr, 1968). This is significant because it is the most north-easterly known occurrence of this species in Australia, adds to the known biodiversity of the region and extends the species’ known range by more than 400km to the northeast.