Rock and log habitats fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

Rocks as habitat

Rocks retain heat from the sun and are used by reptiles to warm themselves. Crevices in or between rocks provide shelter and nesting sites for reptiles and some mammals. Rocks also offer hiding spaces for invertebrates and a growing platform for lichens and other plant-like organisms.

Blue tongue lizards sun bake on top of rocks and logs.

Crevices and cracks in rocks create hiding spaces for many small animals such as these two southern leaf-tailed geckos.

In the Pilliga National Park, pythons rest in large sandstone crevices.

Logs as habitat

Many ground-feeding birds, frogs, lizards and Australian mammals use rotting or hollow logs on the ground. Logs can provide homes and shelter, and the invertebrates that eat the logs become food for insectivores such as echidnas. As logs decompose, they add nutrients to the soil. Lying across slopes, they can also help slow water running down hillsides and act as erosion control.

Once trees die and fall to the ground they still provide essential habitat such as shelter.

Skinks hunt invertebrates hidden on or under logs. Hollow logs can protect the skinks from predators.

Southern leaf-tailed gecko

The southern leaf-tailed gecko is known for its leaf-shaped tail. Its rough, scaly skin with mottled patterns provides excellent camouflage in a sandstone rock crevice habitat. Leaf-tailed geckos are nocturnal; in the evening they emerge from crevices to hunt small invertebrates.

Leaf tailed geckos are nocturnal. In the evening they emerge from crevices to hunt small invertebrates.

Related fact sheets

Habitats

• Habitat fact sheet – overview
• Tree habitats fact sheet – trees that eventually become fallen logs and provide hollows.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – plants that often grow around and between rocks and logs.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – decomposing leaves that collect around rocks and logs.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – explains how rocks and logs create cool, moist shelters.

Species linked with rocks and logs

• Southern leaf-tailed gecko fact sheet – camouflage specialist in sandstone crevices.
• Blue-tongue lizard fact sheet – often basks on rocks and logs.
• Long-nosed bandicoot fact sheet – uses logs, rocks and ground cover for shelter and foraging.
• Short-beaked echidna fact sheet – hunts invertebrates in and around rotting logs.

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