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Lerista ameles GREER, 1979

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Limbless Fine-lined Slider 
SynonymLerista ameles GREER 1979
Gavisus ameles — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984
Lerista ameles — COGGER 2000: 512
Gavisus ameles — WELLS 2012: 109
Lerista ameles — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland)

Type locality: 19. 7 km W of the junction of the Kennedy and Gulf Highways along the Gulf Highway, NE Qld.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: QM J30004 
Diagnosis 
CommentLimb morphology: 0 digits, 0 toes (limbless); This is only one of 5 species of Lerista with no external trace of limbs (along with L. apoda).

Conservation: this is one of the most-threatened reptile species in Australia (Geyle et al. 2021).

Species group: wilkinsi.

Abundance: Rare. This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. 
EtymologyFrom the Greek prefix a- (without) plus melos (limb), in reference to the lack of limbs in the species, and paralleling the earlier name L. apoda. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Amey, A.P. & Couper, P.J. 2009. A new limb-reduced skink (Scincidae: Lerista) from the dry rainforest of north Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa 2173: 19–30 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Geyle, H. M., Tingley, R., Amy, A., Cogger, H., Couper, P., Cowan, M., Craig, M., Doughty, P., Driscoll, D., Ellis, R., Emery, J-P., Fenner, A., Gardner, M., Garnett, S., Gillespie, G., Greenless, M., Hoskin, C., Keogh, S., Lloyd, R., ... Chapple, D. 2020. Reptiles on the brink: Identifying the Australian terrestrial snake and lizard species most at risk of extinction. Pacific Conservation Biology - get paper here
  • Greer A E 1979. A new species of Lerista (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from northern Queensland, with remarks on the origin of the genus. Rec. Austral. Mus. 32 (10): 383-388 - get paper here
  • Greer A E; McDonald K R; Lawrie B C 1983. Three new species of Lerista (Scincidae) from northern Queensland with a diagnosis of the wilkinsi species group. Journal of Herpetology 17 (2): 247-255 - 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
  • Lindken T.; Anderson, C. V., Ariano-Sánchez, D., Barki, G., Biggs, C., Bowles, P., Chaitanya, R., Cronin, D. T., Jähnig, S. C., Jeschke, J. M., Kennerley, R. J., Lacher, T. E. Jr., Luedtke, J. A., Liu, C., Long, B., Mallon, D., Martin, G. M., Meiri, 2024. What factors influence the rediscovery of lost tetrapod species? Global Change Biology, 30: 1-18 - 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
  • Wells R W; Wellington C R 1984. A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1 (3-4): 73-129 [31 Dec 1983 on cover]
  • Wiens, J.J. 2009. Estimating rates and patterns of morphological evolution from phylogenies: lessons in limb lability from Australian Lerista lizards. Journal of Biology 2009, 8:19 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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