'Elusive and cryptic' lizard may be first Australian mainland reptile declared extinct

Hunt is on in Melbourne for grassland earless dragon - not seen since 1969 - after one species was reclassified as four

A newly reclassified species of lizard that is native to areas now paved by Melbourne's suburbs could become the first reptile on mainland Australia to be declared extinct.

A taxonomic survey of the grassland earless dragon, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal this week, discovered that the species classified as Tympanocryptis pinguicolla was in fact four species - one of which has not been seen since 1969.