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Coggeria naufragus COUPER, COVACEVICH, MARSTERSON & SHEA, 1996

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Fraser Island Sand Skink 
SynonymCoggeria naufragus COUPER et al. 1996
Coggeria naufragus — COGGER 2000: 750
Coggeria naufragus — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland: Fraser Island)

Type locality: E of Central Stn workshop (25°28' 42"S, 153°03'21 "E).  
Reproductionoviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: QM J59361 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS (genus): Elongate body (Fig. 1 in Couper et al. 1996), reduced limbs (front and rear limb 4.3% and 7.7% of SVL, respectively), snout wedge-shaped in profile (Figs 2,3); nasals slightly enlarged; prefrontals separated; supraoculars 3, first only in contact with frontal; last 2 supraoculars partially separated by a supraciliary; supraciliaries 5, first contacting frontal; supralabials usually 6, fourth below eye; postsupralabial single; ear opening absent; upper secondary temporal overlapped by lower. Osteology: maxilla-frontal contact; preand postfrontals in contact above orbit; postorbital absent; distinct narrowing of skull at premaxillary- maxillary junction; maxillary teeth greater than 40, with long axis of tooth running transversely and crowns directed lingually; dentary teeth more than 45; pterygoid teeth absent; presacral vertebrae 47-50; manus lacking intermedium, distal carpals I and 5 and metacarpals 1 and 5, and has phalanges reduced to 0.2.3.3.0; pes with astragalus and calcaneum fused, lacking distal tarsals I and 5, metatarsals 1 and 5, and with phalanges reduced to 0.2.3.3.0 (Fig. 4); sternal ribs 2; mesosternal ribs 1; ischia forming acute angle at symphysis with shafts paralleling those of pubes. Parietal peritoneum lacking pigment. Other elongate genera of the Sphenomorphus group (Anomalopus, Calyptotis, Coeranoscincus, Ophioscincus, Saiphos, Lerista) share some of the apomorphies of Coggeria in varying combinations (Table 1). However, many of these apomorphies are associated with burrowing, and may point to parallel evolution rather than close relationships (Greer & Cogger, 1985). Anatomical variation and phylogenetic relationships in the Sphenomorphus group, particularly in the nonAustralian members, remain poorly known, and a well-corroborated cladistic phylogeny is not available. Coggeria shares many apomorphies with Coeranoscincus (15; 18) and Ophioscincus (17), which are closely associated geographically. However, Coeranoscincus differs from Coggeria in having: teeth fang-like, posteriorly curved and sharply pointed; snout conical; ischial shaft weakly developed or absent. Ophioscincus differs from Coggeria in having: supraciliaries 3-4; supralabials 5; limbs 2% of SVL or shorter; phalanges absent on both manus and pes. Tooth shape and a high number of maxillary teeth of Coggeria set it apart from Anomalopus, Calyptotis, Coeranoscincus, Ophioscincus, Saiphos and Lerista, all of which have fewer than 26 maxillary teeth, with a generally upright or posteriorly-curved orientation (Cogger, 1992; Greer, 1983, 1986b, 1989; Greer & Cogger, 1985; Storr, 1971).


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CommentType Species: Coggeria naufragus COUPER et al. 1996 is the type species of the genus Coggeria COUPER et al. 1996.

Phylogenetics: see Singhal et al. 2017 and 2018 for a phylogeny of Australian sphenomorphine skinks.

Limb morphology: 3 digits, 3 toes (Singhal et al. 2018, Skinner 2010)

Morphology: Hutchinson et al. 2021 present a table of morphological character states across 20 Australian sphenomorphine skinks, including this genus. 
EtymologyThe species was named after Latin naufragus, castaway, shipwrecked.

The genus was named after Harold Cogger, former Curator of Reptiles and Deputy Director of the Australian Museum, for his many contributions to knowledge and conservation. 
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 J; Covacevich J A; Marsterson S P; Shea G M 1996. Coggeria naufragus gen. et sp. nov., a sand-swimming skink from Fraser Island, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39 (2), 20 July 1996: 233-241 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Hutchinson, M. N., Couper, P., Amey, A., & Wilmer, J. W. 2021. Diversity and Systematics of Limbless Skinks (Anomalopus) from Eastern Australia and the Skeletal Changes that Accompany the Substrate Swimming Body Form. Journal of Herpetology 55 (4): 361-384 - get paper here
  • Singhal, Sonal; Huateng Huang, Maggie R. Grundler, María R. Marchán-Rivadeneira, Iris Holmes, Pascal O. Title, Stephen C. Donnellan, and Daniel L. Rabosky 2018. Does Population Structure Predict the Rate of Speciation? A Comparative Test across Australia’s Most Diverse Vertebrate Radiation. The American Naturalist - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • 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
 
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