What is a Collared Delma?
The Collared Delma (Delma torquata) is a tiny legless lizard about 19cm in length. They are harmless. Look for the three yellowish bands around their neck.
Collared Delmas are rare and difficult to find. You will generally only encounter a Collared Delma if you are working in bushland areas while gardening or hand weeding or turning over rocks or logs.
If you do find one – yay! Take a photo and upload it to iNaturalist to confirm the identification. If you have found a Collared Delma under a rock, make sure you put the rock back where you found it so the delma can return to its home.
Where do Collared Delmas live?
Collared Delmas only live in south-east Queensland. In the last few decades, Collared Delmas have been found in the Lockyer Valley (Withcott, Ballard and Helidon Hills), western Brisbane (Anstead, Pullenvale, Lake Manchester and Mt Crosby) and further out to the Blackdown Tablelands and Bunya Mountains.
Collared Delmas occur in suitable habitat and have been found on private properties, council reserves and National Parks. They prefer sandy soils on the upper slopes and ridgetops. They avoid gullies, heavy clay soils and areas that could become flooded or swampy. They live in very small areas – their home range is only 10×10 metres.
What do Collared Delmas need?
Collared Delmas need an intact eucalypt open forest with surface rocks, native grasses, leaf litter and fallen timber under which they live. Sunlight needs to reach the forest floor and warm the rocks to allow Collared Delmas to thermoregulate. The forest needs to support invertebrates like spiders, small cockroaches and termites on which Collared Delmas prey.
- Open forest floor
- Surface rocks
- Logs and leaf litter
- Native grasses
- Sunlight on the forest floor
- Small invertebrates
What threats do Collared Delmas face?
Ground cover weeds are a key threat to Collared Delmas. Given that Collared Delmas are so small, they need an open forest floor to allow them to move, hunt and find a mate. They cannot move if there is a thick, dense mat of weeds. Some of the worst weeds are Creeping Lantana, Cat’s Claw Creeper, Corky Passion Vine, Dyschoriste and Creeping Inch Plant. Dense introduced grasses like Guinea Grass, Signal Grass and Rhodes Grass also outcompete native grasses and make the site uninhabitable for delmas.
Hot wildfires will probably kill Collared Delmas.
Removing rocks from bushland areas will take away essential habitat for Collared Delmas.
Free-roaming cats, chickens, guinea fowl and other poultry that are allowed to scratch in bushland areas will find and eat Collared Delmas.
❌ Dense, matting ground-cover weeds
❌ Hot wildfires
❌ Free-roaming cats, chickens and other poultry
❌ Rock removal