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for providing expert advice during the post-workshop review stage. We thank the experts involved in the New Guinea assessment workshop, for their information on species with distributions spanning Torres

This study used ecological criteria to evaluate systematically the conservation status of all mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs in New South Wales. The outcome was an official schedule of endangered fauna as defined under the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 as amended by the Endangered Fauna (Interim Protection) Act 1991. The work was modelled on the study by Millsap et al. (1990) which scored a range of biological variables and used expert opinion to determine priorities for conservation. The listing was undertaken by a statutory Scientific Committee and the results provided the first baseline status list for all species in New South Wales. Of the 883 faunal species (including 10 Lord Howe Island subspecies) identified in the state, 233 (26%) were recognized as endangered. Of these, 40 are considered to be extinct in New South Wales. Mammals constituted the worst affected group, with 77 (59%) of the 130 species recorded as endangered, of which 27 species are recorded as extinct in the state. The assessment of the New South Wales fauna also found that adequate ecological information exists for only 6% of the state's species. The outcome of this study not only provided the first official list of the endangered fauna of New South Wales and explained the methods and reasons for listing or excluding each species, but also furnished new material, ideas and directions for programmes to conserve the state's fauna.

Our knowledge of the conservation status of reptiles, the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates, has improved dramatically over the past decade, but still lags behind that of the other tetrapod groups. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive evaluation (~92% of the world's ~1714 described species) of the conservation 1 Joint senior authors. D.G. Chapple et al.

Australia hosts approximately 10% of the world's reptile species, the largest number of any country. Despite this and evidence of widespread decline, the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of Australian terrestrial squamates (snakes and lizards) was undertaken only recently. Here we apply structured expert elicitation to the 60 species assessed to be in the highest IUCN threat categories to estimate their probability of extinction by 2040. We also assessed the probability of successful reintroduction for two Extinct in the Wild (EW) Christmas Island species with trial reintroductions underway. Collation and analysis of expert opinion indicated that six species are at high risk (.50%) of becoming extinct within the next 20 years, and up to 11 species could be lost within this timeframe unless management improves. The consensus among experts was that neither of the EW species were likely to persist outside of small fenced areas without a significant increase in resources for intense threat management. The 20 most imperilled species are all restricted in range, with three occurring only on islands. The others are endemic to a single state, with 55% occurring in Queensland. Invasive species (notably weeds and introduced predators) were the most prevalent threats, followed by agriculture, natural system modifications (primarily fire) and climate change. Increased resourcing and management intervention are urgently needed to avert the impending extinction of Australia's imperilled terrestrial reptiles.