Phasmasaurus tillieri (INEICH & SADLIER, 1991)

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Leiolopisma tillieri INEICH & SADLIER 1991 Lioscincus tillieri — BAUER & SADLIER 1993 Leiolopisma trilloni — FRANK & RAMUS 1995 (in error) Lioscincus tillieri — BAUER 1999 Phasmasaurus tillieri —SADLIER et al. 2015 Phasmascincus sp. — CHAPPLE et al. 2023 (in error)
Distribution	S New Caledonia Type locality: Riviere Bleue, maquis along the crestline, 166°40'06" E, 22°06'05" S, 310 m elevation, Malaise trap.
Reproduction	viviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022)
Types	Holotype: MNHN-RA 1989.0026
Diagnosis	Diagnosis (genus). Moderately large in size, maximum SVL 61 mm (maruia) and 64 mm (tillieri), with a moderately elongate body, well developed limbs and digits, and very long tail* (maximum tail length range c. 250–300% of SVL respectively). Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3531 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	In appearance it most closely resembles species of the endemic New Caledonian genus Tropidoscincus Bocage, 1873 but lacks the key diagnostic features for inclusion in that or any other monophyletic New Caledonian genus. Abundance: Rare. Type species: Leiolopisma tillieri Ineich & Sadlier, 1991 is the type species of the genus Phasmasaurus SADLIER et al. 2015. Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species.
References	Bauer, A. M. & SADLIER, R. A. 2000. The herpetofauna of New Caledonia. Contributions to Herpetology, 17; Society for Study Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, New York. Bauer, A.M. 1999. The terrestrial reptiles of New Caledonia: The origin and evolution of a highly endemic herpetofauna. In: Ota,H. (ed) Tropical Island herpetofauna..., Elsevier, pp. 3-25 - get paper here Bauer, A.M. & Sadlier,R.A. 1993. Systematics, biogeography and conservation of the lizards of New Caledonia. Biodiv. Lett. 1: 107-122 - get paper here Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here Chapple, D., Chapple, S., Smith, S., Shea, G., Brennan, I., & Sadlier, R. 2023. Phylogenetic relationships in the Eugongylini (Squamata: Scincidae): generic limits and biogeography. Australian Journal of Zoology 70(6): 165–203 - get paper here Ineich I. & SADLIER R A. 1991. A new species of scincid lizard from New Caledonia, South Pacific Ocean (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae). MEMOIRES DU MUSEUM NATIONAL D'HISTOIRE NATURELLE SERIE A ZOOLOGIE 149: 343-348. Sadlier, R.A. & Bauer, A. M. 1999. The scincid lizard Lioscincus tillieri (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific: new information on the species’ biology, distribution and morphology. Rec. Austral. Mus. 51 (1): 93-98 - get paper here Sadlier, Ross A., A. M. BAueR, Glenn M. Shea, and S. A. SMith. 2015. Taxonomic resolution to the problem of polyphyly in the New Caledonian scincid lizard genus Lioscincus (Squamata: Scincidae). Records of the Australian Museum 67(7): 207–224 - get paper here Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information https://endemia.nc/en/faune/fiche1068 Google images

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