A quarter of the world’s reptiles use rocky habitats. So why aren’t we protecting them?

By Jackie O'Sullivan, Research Scientist, Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems, CSIRO
Claire Foster, Research Fellow, Ecology and Conservation, Australian National University
Damian R. Michael, Senior Research Fellow, Ecology and Herpetology, Charles Sturt University
David Lindenmayer, Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

Ask any reptile lover where to find a cold-blooded creature and chances are they will point to a rocky outcrop.

Look closely and you might find a snake or lizard basking on a sun-warmed boulder, sheltering in a narrow crevice or even living under a loose surface rock.

For reptiles, these rocks are not simply somewhere to hang out.

Rocky habitats help reptiles control their body temperature, escape…

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