Common Knob-tailed Lizard

Common Knob-tailed Lizard

Nephrurus levis

Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Cape Range

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

8 Verified sightings at Cape Range From 2019 to 2026
29 In all 3 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Knob-tailed Lizard

Nephrurus levis, commonly known as the three-lined knob-tailed gecko, smooth knob-tailed gecko, or common knob-tailed gecko, is a native Australian gecko species. The smooth knob-tailed gecko is part of the Carphodactylidae family, a family endemic to Australia. A common alternative name for this family is "barking geckos" due to the loud barks they make during threat displays, which includes swaying their bodies, winding their tail and attacking with an open mouth. There are multiple sub-species of Nephrurus levis, these include N.l. levis, N.l. occidentalis and N.l. pibarenis. Its various Indigenous names include: Illchilijera from the Arrernte people of central Australia, Wauṟa from the Anangu peoples of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park region in central Australia, Jagajagara in the Ngarluma language from the Pilbara region in Coastal Western Australia, and Tyarla-tyarla from the Wangkangurru people whose traditional lands include parts of the Simpson Desert in South Australia and Queensland.

A robust, medium-sized gecko, with a large, triangular head. It has a short, flattened, carrot shaped like tail, that ends in a knob. This tail can be autotomised to distract... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
2 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
3 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 National Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Closest Relatives at Cape Range

No species of the same family or order lives in Cape Range, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Knob-tailed Lizard in Cape Range?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Knob-tailed Lizard sighting in Cape Range on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 22 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Knob-tailed Lizard in Cape Range?

January

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Knob-tailed Lizard in Cape Range on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, July and November, the lowest months. That is one of Cape Range's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 55 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Common Knob-tailed Lizard?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Knob-tailed Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Cape Range the best place to see a Common Knob-tailed Lizard?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Common Knob-tailed Lizard sightings, Cape Range has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Ningaloo Marine Park (Australia, about 20%) and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 20%).

Where does the Common Knob-tailed Lizard sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Knob-tailed Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Cape Range (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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