| Gnaraloo worm-lizard | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Pygopodidae |
| Genus: | Aprasia |
| Species: | A. litorea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Aprasia litorea Maryan, Bush, & Adams, 2013
| |
The Gnaraloo worm-lizard (Aprasia litorea) is a species of legless lizard in the family Pygopodidae and order Gekkota. The Gnaraloo worm-lizard is a small, slim worm-lizard, with an average snout–vent length (distance from the tip of the snout to the end of the opening of the cloacal slit) of 84.8 cm (33.4 in) and a mean tail length of 60.7 cm (23.9 in). The upper side of the body is yellowish-brown, the sides are silvery-grey, and the underside of the body and head is heavily marked with dark brown flecks. The underside of the tail is light yellow; regenerated parts of the tail are greyish and marked with dark brown.
The species is endemic to Western Australia and has only been recorded from a 1–10 km (0.62–6.21 mi) wide strip of coastal sand dunes and sandplains west of Lake Macleod. Individuals have been collected from sand hillocks stabilized by vegetation, under leaf litter, and below rotting stumps and logs set in sand. In coastal habitats, the surrounding vegetation consists mainly of Spinifex longifolius, Nitraria schoberi, Scaevola crassifolia, and Acanthocarpus preissii, but vegetation further inland is denser and consists of wattles and hummock grasslands. The Gnaraloo worm-lizard is listed as being endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its extremely small range and is threatened by the modification of its habitat, caused by the growth of invasive weeds such as buffel grass and overgrazing and trampling by domestic sheep and goats.