page_title: Houtman Abrolhos
section_title: Reptiles
hierarchical_section_title: Houtman Abrolhos / Terrestrial fauna / Reptiles
caption_attribution_description: This is photograph of an Abrolhos Dwarf Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor minima) on West Wallabi Island in the Houtman Abrolhos.
context_page_description: The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at 28°43′S 113°47′E, it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral reef in the Indian Ocean, and one of the highest latitude reef systems in the world. It is one of the world's most important seabird breeding sites, and is the centre of Western Australia's largest single-species fishery, the western rock lobster fishery. It has a small seasonal population of fishermen, and a limited number of tourists are permitted for day trips, but most of the land area is off limits as conservation habitat. It is well known as the site of numerous shipwrecks, the most famous being Dutch ships Batavia, which was wrecked in 1629, and Zeewijk, wrecked in 1727.
  In July 2019 the Houtman Abrolhos was declared a national park by the Western Australian government.
context_section_description: 23 terrestrial reptile species are known to occur on the islands of the Houtman Abrolhos. This relatively low biodiversity is apparently due to the homogeneity of habitat on the islands, which provide few distinct ecological niches. The most significant terrestrial reptile species are the spiny-tailed skink (Egernia stokesii stokesii) and the carpet python (Morelia spilota imbricata), both of which are listed as rare and therefore afforded special protection under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950; and the Abrolhos dwarf bearded dragon (Pogona minor minima), a Houtman Abrolhos endemic that is listed as a Priority 4 species by the Department of Environment and Conservation. For a full list of species, see list of reptiles of the Houtman Abrolhos.
caption: An Abrolhos dwarf bearded dragon (Pogona minor minima) on West Wallabi Island
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