Publications
S.R. Morton, J. Short and R.D. Barker
with an Appendix by G.F. Griffin and G. Pearce
Refuge area Zuytdorp
Biogeographic region Geraldton Sandplains
Type of refuge Refuge from land clearing
Lat./Long. 26o 35’ - 27o 15’ S / 113o 45’ - 114o 15’ E
Quality of refuge Extremely significant (8)
Area (km2) <10,000
Chief refuge value
Habitat for malleefowl and regionally endemic reptiles and plants.
General description
Zuytdorp is an area of high botanical diversity in the transition zone between two botanical provinces (Eremaean and South-west). Existing and proposed reserves have never been grazed by stock due to the areas’s low pastoral value.
ANZECC-listed species
Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata1 are now confined to the far south of the central zone, i.e. country immediately south and south-east of Freycinet Estuary to south of the mulga-eucalypt line4. The skink Egernia stokesii aethiops (V). The plants Rhizanthella gardneri (V) and Drummondia ericoides (V)3.
Regional endemics
Among reptiles, the pygopodid Aclys concinna major, the skinks Ctenotus zasticus, Lerista maculosa and L.humpriesi. A further five taxa are almost confined to this area: a frog Arenophryne rotunda extending only to Dirk Hartog Island and Kalbarri National Park, a pygopodid Aprasia smithi to Edel Land and Kalbarri, a dragon Ctenophorus parviceps butleri to Edel Land, a skink Ctenotus youngsoni to Dirk Hartog island, a skink Lerista connivens to Kalbarri and the islands of Freycinet Estuary, and a blindsnake Ramphotyphlops leptosoma to Wooramel and the lower Murchison2.
Relict species
The following rare plants: Drakaea jeanensis, Helipterum gracile, Hydatella leptogyne, Beyeria lepidopetala, Pseudanthus nematophurus, Gastrolobium propinquum, Lechenaultia longiloba, Nigromnia globosa, Thryptomene stenophylla, and Stylidium pseudocaespitosum3.
Other significant species
Among reptiles, Ctenotus zastictus and Egernia stokesii badia7.
Key threats
Clearance of any further land might reduce the numbers of relict and endemic species in this area.
Land tenure
Former Cooloomia Nature Reserve and Zuytdorp National Park have now been amalgamated into the Zuytdorp Nature Reserve.
Key references
1. Blakers et al. (1984)
2. Storr and Harold (1990)
3. Leigh et al. (1984)
4. Storr (1990)
5. Shepherd (1991/2)
6. Burbidge et al. (1980)
7. Cogger et al. (1993)
8. Storr and Harold (1978, 1983)
