Lerista timida (DE VIS, 1888)
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Lerista timida
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Dwarf Three-toed Slider |
| Synonym | Ablepharus timidus DE VIS 1888: 824 Ablepharus rhodonoides LUCAS & FROST 1896: 281 Cryptoblepharus rhodonoides — FRY 1914: 189 Lygosoma (Rhodona) goerlingi AHL 1935 Lygosoma (Rhodona) goerlingi — GLAUERT 1960 Ablepharus rhodonoides — GLAUERT 1960: 119 Lerista timidus — GREER 1967 Miculia goerlingi — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 34 Miculia timida — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 34 Miculia rhodonoides — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 34 Lerista rhodonoides — SMITH & ADAMS 2007 Lerista timida — MICHAEL et al. 2011 Lokisaurus rhodonoides — WELLS 2012: 276 Lerista timida — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 296 Lokisaurus timidus — WELLS 2012: 280 Lerista timida — KAY et al. 2013 |
| Distribution | Australia (New South Wales, S Northern Territory, Queensland, east into South Australia, NW Victoria and New South Wales, mideast interior of Western Australia) Type locality: Charleville, QLD. goerlingi: Type locality: Wurarga, Marloo Stn, W.A. rhodonoides: Type locality: Mildura, Victoria. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: QM J3601, designated by Wells & Wellington (1985) Syntypes: AMS (AM) R4156, other syntype presumed lost, from Mildura, Vic.; WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985 designated this specimen as lectotype [rhodonoides] Holotype: ZMB 35352 (not found), from Wurarga, Marloo Station, W. A. [goerlingi] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Lerista rhodonoides is distinguished from L. clara, L. haroldi, L. jacksoni, L. kingi, L. micra, L. muelleri, L. nevinae, L. occulta, L. rolfei and L. verhmens by having fused frontoparietals. Distinguished from L. allochira and L. amicorum which also have fused frontoparietals as follows: from L. allochira by having three fingers (two in L. allochira) and from L. amicorum by always having 20 midbody scales (22 midbody scales in a third of L. amicorum specimens). |
| Comment | Synonymy: Storr 1971 synonymised A. timidus, (along with A. rhodonoides) with L. muelleri. Storr (1971) and Cogger et al. (1983) tentatively placed L. goerlingi in the synonymy of L. muelleri (Fischer, 1881). The latter decision was confirmed by Shea 1991. Hutchinson 2008 emphasized the almost identical descriptions of L. Lerista rhodonoides and L. timida and synonymized the two. The only possibly distinguishing character would be the slightly longer limbs of Lerista rhodonoides vs. L. timida (forelimb and hidnlimb 4.5 and 9.5 vs. 3.5 and 7.5 mm). Type Species: Ablepharus timidus De Vis (1888) is the type species of the genus Lokisaurus WELLS 2012: 267 which was erected for the species L. amicorum, rhodonoides, and timidus. |
| Etymology | Presumably named after the Latin timidus (fearful), and in reference to the small size, slender body and weak limbs of the species. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) |
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