Checklist of the Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna of Western Australia

Taxonomic checklist of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna for Western Australia

Download the latest version of the WA Checklist (2025) (updated May 2025) for the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Western Australia. This handy Excel sheet can be modified to suit your needs or imported into other applications. Use the 'SORT' column to restore the list into taxonomic order. The file is a single Excel workbook, with separate sheets for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. 

The changes from the May 2025 checklist are documented below and can also be downloaded in pdf format. Previous changes to the checklist (2014-2024) can be found listed at the bottom of the page.

A comprehensive update of the WA Checklist is released by the WA Museum every year or as necessary. The WA checklist (2025) contains revisions of the terrestrial vertebrate species of Western Australia and additional information on the conservation status of the WA fauna (provided by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions). 

The taxonomic changes are based on the work of the WA Museum's Terrestrial Zoology staff, and their many colleagues from around Australia and beyond. In the future, we will try to update the list as new taxonomic changes occur.

Bookmark this page, and keep visiting for the latest updated version. This page is updated twice a year, in April and October.

Please contact the relevant author of the specific list if you have any questions or comments.

Changes to the WA Museum Checklist from November 2024 (updated May 2025)

Reptiles and frogs

New species of frog. In a continent-wide assessment of Litoria rubella, this widespread species was found to be three species. One species (L. pyrina) occurs on the east coast; L. rubella (common name: red tree frog) occurs in the Kimberley region in WA and also in the Northern Territory and arid regions of Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales; the third species occurs in the Pilbara and inland areas of the Mid-West and has been renamed as L. larisonans (common name: western desert tree frog; a WA endemic).

Purser, W.A., Doughty, P., Rowley, J.L., Bohme, W., Donnellan, S.C., Anstis, M., Mitchell, N., Shea, G.M., Amey, A., Mitchell, B.A. & Catullo, R.A. (2025). Systematics of the Little Red Tree Frog, Litoria rubella (Anura: Pelodryadidae), with the description of two new species from eastern Australia and arid Western Australia. Zootaxa 5594: 269–315. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5594.2.3

Removal of Chelodina burrangandjii from the list. A work by Kehlmaier et al. (2025) found that Chelodina kuchlingi is not “near extinct” but widespread throughout the Kimberley region. They found evidence for only one Chelodina species in the Kimberley (C. kuchlingi) although C. burrangandjii remains on the Australian Society of Herpetologists lists as occurring in the Top End of the Northern Territory. The name(s) of the Kimberley snake-necked turtles has been unstable the last decade and may continue to be so pending further definitive research.

Kehlmaier, C., Fritz, U. & Kuchling, G. (2025). The taxonomic quagmire of northern Australian snake-necked turtles (Testudines: Chelidae): Chelodina kuchlingi – extinct or hiding in plain sight? Vertebrate Zoology 75: 127–145. DOI 10.3897/vz.75.e150370

Birds

Following IOC changes:

• Eastern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes filholi is split from Western Rockhopper Penguin E.chrysocome based on integrative taxonomy including genetic and morphological differences.
• Polytypic Little Heron Butorides atricapilla is split from monotypic Striated Heron B. striata based on phylogenetic analysis.
• Ducula bicolor recognised here as a distinct species.
• Geopelia placida is treated as a full species.
• Himantopus leucocephalus is treated as a full species.

New Vagrant:

• Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus observed on North Keeling Island 24-26 February 2025

Mammals

No changes.