Cryptoblepharus australis (STERNFELD, 1918)
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Cryptoblepharus australis
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Inland snake-eyed skink |
| Synonym | Ablepharus boutoni australis STERNFELD 1918: 424 Ablepharus boutonii – WAITE 1929: 166 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus STERNFELD 1918 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus – MERTENS 1931: 120 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus — LOVERIDGE 1934: 375-376 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus — WORRELL 1963: 35 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus — MERTENS 1964: 106 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – STORR 1976: 56 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – STORR et al. 1981: 24 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – GOW 1981 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COGGER et al. 1983: 142 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – WILSON & KNOWLES 1988: 120 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COVACEVICH & COUPER in INGRAM & RAVEN 1991: 357 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – EHMANN 1992: 182 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – STORR et al. 1999: 24 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COGGER 2000: 406 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – WILSON & SWAN 2003: 148 Cryptoblepharus australis – WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 27 Cryptoblepharus hawkeswoodi WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 27 Cryptoblepharus carnabyi – HORNER 1991: 16 Cryptoblepharus carnabyi – HENLE 1996: 15, 17 Cryptoblepharus australis — HORNER 2007: 57 |
| Distribution | Australia (arid inland Australia, extending north to vicinity of Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory and Queensland, east to the central plains of Queensland and New South Wales, and south to Eyre Peninsula in South Australia (Fig. 41). In Western Australia, known from Murchison and Great Victoria Desert bioregions, and probably also occurs in most bioregions adjoining southern Northern Territory and South Australia) Type locality: “West-Central-Australien”, [= Hermannsburg, central Australia, fide MERTENS 1931] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: SMF 15683; M. v. Leonhardi, 1907, Designation by Mertens (1967). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A large (45–50 mm SVL), short-legged, shallow-headed, arboreal Cryptoblepharus, distinguished from Australian congeners by combination of usually having: six supraciliary scales; 24 mid-body scale rows; mean values of hindlimb length 41.1% of snout-vent length, head depth 42.3% of head length; smooth subdigital lamellae; immaculate, acute plantar scales; greyish, longitudinally aligned body pattern and arboreal habits. |
| Comment | Synonymy: Mertens (1931) treated C. australis as a synonym of A. b. metallicus, using the two A. b. australis types as the basis of his A. b. metallicus description. Later, Mertens (1964) questioned the status of C. metallicus, stating that SMF 15683-84 displayed no C. metallicus features and should be considered faded examples of C. plagiocephalus, a designation followed by most subsequent authors. Mertens (1967) designated SMF 15683 as the lectotype of A. b. australis. Sympatry. C. buchananii, C. ochrus, C. pannosus, C. pulcher and C. zoticus. |
| Etymology | Presumably named after the Latin australis (southern), although in this case Sternfeld is likely alluding to the southern continent Australia rather than a southern distribution within that continent. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) |
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