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Lerista microtis (GRAY, 1845)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: South-western Slider 
SynonymMocoa microtis GRAY 1845: 83
Mocoa microtis — MÜLLER 1880
Rhodona microtis — SMITH 1937: 230
Lygosoma (Rhodona) microtis — GLAUERT 1960: 94
Lerista microtis — GREER 1967
Lerista microtis arenicola STORR 1971
Lerista microtis — COGGER 1983: 175
Nodorha microtis — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 36
Nodorha arenicola — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 36
Lerista arenicola — STORR 1991
Lerista microtis schwaneri STORR 1991
Lerista microtis intermedia STORR 1991
Lerista microtis intermedia — STORR et al. 1999
Lerista microtis — COGGER 2000: 525
Lerista arenicola — COGGER 2000: 526
Lerista microtis — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Lerista arenicola — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Nodorha arenicola — WELLS 2012: 87
Nodorha microtis microtis — WELLS 2012: 94
Nodorha microtis intermedia — WELLS 2012: 93
Nodorha schwaneri — WELLS 2012: 96
Lerista microtis — FARQUHAR et al. 2024 
DistributionAustralia (South Australia, Western Australia)

microtis: SW Australia; Type locality: Swan River, W. A.

intermedia: S Western Australia. Type locality: Culham Inlet, WA [33°55'S 120°04'E].

schwaneri: Nuyts Archipelago, South Australia. Type locality: Franklin Island (west), SA [32°27'S 133°39'E].

 
ReproductionVivparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.8.18.64
Holotype: WAM 89408, collected by R.Elston in 1982 [intermedia]
Holotype: SAMA 25088 (South Australian Museum), collected on 15 December 1983 by K. Jordan [schwaneri] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (314 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: mainly after COGGER 1983 and FARQUHAR et al. 2024. The latter synonymized all microtis subspecies and arenicola with microtis.

Limb morphology: 5 digits, 5 toes 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Greek mikros (small) plus otos (ear), referring to the small ear size of Lerista species. The species was first described in the genus Mocoa, the other species of which had larger ear apertures. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Blackburn, Daniel G. 1999. Are Viviparity and Egg-guarding Evolutionarily Labile in Squamates? Herpetologica 55 (4): 556-573 - 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
  • Fairbairn, John; Richard Shine, Craig Moritz, and Marianne Frommer 1998. Phylogenetic Relationships between Oviparous and Viviparous Populations of an Australian Lizard (Lerista bougainvillii, Scincidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol. 10 (1): 95–103 - get paper here
  • Glauert, L. 1960. Herpetological miscellanea. XII. The family Scincidae in Western Australia. Pt. 2. The genus Lygosoma. Western Australian Naturalist 7 (4): 81-99 - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of die British Museum/Edward Newman, London: xxvii + 289 pp. - 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
  • Müller, F. 1880. Erster Nachtrag zum Katalog der herpetologischen Sammlung des Basler Museums. Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel 7: 120-165 - 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. Revision of Lerista microtis (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 51 (2): 469-478 - get paper here
  • 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.; L. A. Smith, and R. E. Johnstone 1999. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Revised Edition. Western Australian Museum
  • 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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