Lerista macropisthopus (WERNER, 1903)

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies	Lerista macropisthopus macropisthopus (WERNER 1903) Lerista macropisthopus remota STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus fusciceps STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus galea STORR 1991
Common Names	E: Unpatterned Robust Slider
Synonym	Lygosoma (Rhodona) macropisthopus WERNER 1903: 246 Rhodona macropisthopus — SMITH 1937: 230 Lerista macropisthopa — GREER 1967 Rhodona macropisthopus — PIANKA 1969 Lerista macropisthopus — STORR 1976: 251 Lerista macropisthopus — COGGER 1983: 174 Lerista macropisthopus — GANS & FUSARI 1994 Lerista macropisthopus — COGGER 2000: 525 Aphroditia macropisthopus — WELLS 2012: 178 Lerista macropisthopus — WILSON & SWAN 2010 Lerista macropisthopus fusciceps STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus fusciceps — STORR et al. 1999 Aphroditia fusciceps — WELLS 2012: 173 Lerista macropisthopus galea STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus galea — STORR et al. 1999 Aphroditia galea — WELLS 2012: 175 Lerista macropisthopus remota STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus remota STORR 1991 Lerista macropisthopus remota — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 284 Aphroditia remota — WELLS 2012: 185
Distribution	macropisthopus: Australia (Western Australia); Type locality: Qld. fusciceps: central Western Australia; Type locality: 2 km SSW Carnarvon, WA [24°54'S 113°39'E]. galea: central Western Australia; Type locality: 8 km S Galena, WA [27°53'S 114°42'E]. remota: central interior of Western Australia; Type locality: Coondra Coondra Spring, Robertson Range, WA [23°06'S 121°02'E].
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: IRSNB 6481 (type 2016) (also given as RIB) Holotype: WAM R71118 [fusciceps] Holotype: WAM R83228 [galea] Holotype: WAM R42282 [remota]
Diagnosis	Diagnosis (macropisthopus): A dark robust subspecies of L. macropisthopus with 2 fingers, 3 toes and little or no colour pattern. Additional details (459 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Front and hind limbs with 2 and 3 digits, respectively. Type Species: Lygosoma (Rhodona) macropisthopus Werner, 1903 is the type species of the genus Aphroditia WELLS 2012: 157. WELLS 2012: 47 erected the genus for A. axillaris, baynesi, bunglebungle, desertorum, edwardsae, emmotti, eupoda, fusciceps, galea, gerrardii, macropisthopus, picturata, punctatovittata,puncticauda, remota. Unfortunately WELLS did not provide a phylogenetic analysis of the genera into which he broke up Lerista, hence we leave the current genus Lerista intact for the time being. Limb morphology: 2 digits, 3 toes
Etymology	L. m. galea was named after the Latin word for helmet, in allusion to dark top of head. L. m. fusciceps was named after the Latin “fuscus” (dark) and “-ceps” (head).
References	Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp. Couper, P., Covacevich, J., Amey, A. & Baker, A. 2006. The genera of skinks (Family Scincidae) of Australia and its island territories: diversity, distribution and identification. in: Merrick, J.R., Archer, M., Hickey, G.M. & Lee, M.S.Y. (eds.). Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. Australian Scientific Publishing, Sydney, pp. 367-384 Gans C; Fusari M 1994. Locomotor analysis of surface propulsion by three species of reduced-limbed fossorial lizards (Lerista: Scincidae) from Western Australia. Journal of Morphology 222 (3): 309-326 - get paper here Greer, Allen E. 1967. A new generic arrangement for some Australian scincid lizards. Breviora (267): 1-19 - get paper here Greer,A.E. 1990. Limb reduction in the scincid lizard genus Lerista. 2. Variation in the bone complements of the front and rear limbs and the number of postsacral vertebrae. Journal of Herpetology 24 (2): 142-150 - get paper here Maryan, B., Gaikhorst, G., & Parkhurst, B. 2024. The terrestrial herpetofauna of the Zuytdorp coast and hinterland of Western Australia: Exceptional richness in a global biodiversity hotspot. Western Australian Naturalist, 33, 3 Morinaga, Gen and Philip J. Bergmann 2020. Evolution of fossorial locomotion in the transition from tetrapod to snake-like in lizards. Proc. R. Soc. B. 287: 20200192 - get paper here Pianka, E. R. 1969. Habitat specificity, speciation, and species density in Australian desert lizards. Ecology 50 (3): 498-502 - get paper here Skinner, Adam; Michael S Y Lee and Mark N Hutchinson 2008. Rapid and repeated limb loss in a clade of scincid lizards. [Lerista]. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8:310 - get paper here Smith, M.A. 1937. A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its allies. Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213-234 Storr G M. 1991. Partial revision of the Lerista macropisthopus group (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 15 (1): 149-161 - get paper here Storr, G. M. 1971. The genus Lerista (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia. J R. Soc. West. Aust. 54: 59-75 Storr, G. M. 1976. Revisionary notes on the Lerista (Lacertilia: Scincidae) of Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 4: 241-256 - get paper here Storr, G. M., Smith, L. A. & Johnstone, R. E. 1981. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Perth: University of Western Australia Press and Western Australian Museum, 200 pp. Storr, G. M.; L. A. Smith, and R. E. Johnstone 1999. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Revised Edition. Western Australian Museum Werner, F. 1903. Neue Reptilien und Batrachier aus dem naturhistorischen Museum in Brüssel. Zool. Anz. 26: 246-253 - get paper here Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information http://www.arod.com.au/arod/reptilia/Squamata/Scincidae/Lerista… Google images

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