Lerista timida (DE VIS, 1888)

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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). Additional details (3366 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
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)
References	Ahl, E. 1935. Beschreibung einer neuen Eidechse aus Westaustralien. Zool. Anz. 112: 204-205 Fry, D. B. 1914. On a collection of reptiles and batrachians from Western Australia. Rec. West. Austral. Mus. 1:174-210 - get paper here Glauert, L. 1960. Herpetological miscellanea. XII. The family Scincidae in Western Australia. Pt. 3. The genus Ablepharus. Western Australian Naturalist 7: 115-122 - 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 Greer, Allen E. 1967. A new generic arrangement for some Australian scincid lizards. Breviora (267): 1-19 - get paper here Hutchinson, M. N 2008. NOMENCLATURE OF THE SCINCID LIZARDS BELONGING TO EASTERN AUSTRALIAN POPULATIONS FORMERLY ASSIGNED TO LERISTA MUELLERI (FISCHER, 1881). Herpetofauna 38 (1): 39-40 - get paper here Kay, G.M.; D. Michael; M. Crane; S. Okada; C. MacGregor; D. Florance; D. Trengove; L. McBurney; D. Blair; D.B. Lindenmayer. 2013. A list of reptiles and amphibians from Box Gum Grassy Woodlands in south-eastern Australia. Check List 9 (3):476-481 - get paper here Lucas, A. H. S. & Frost, C. 1896. Description of a new species of Ablepharus from Victoria, with critical notes on two other Australian lizards. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 21: 281-283 - get paper here Michael, D.R.; D.B. Lindenmayer; M. Crane; C. MacGregor; R. Montague-Drake; L. McBurney. 2011. Reptilia, Murray catchment, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. Check List 7 (1):25-29 - get paper here Shea G M. 1991. The identity of Lygosoma (Rhodona) goerlingi Ahl, 1935 (Squamata: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 15 (1): 303-306. - get paper here Smith, LA; Adams, M 2007. Revision of the Lerista muelleri species-group (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia, with a redescription of L. muelleri (Fischer, 1881) and the description of nine new species. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 23 (4): 309-358 - get paper here Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp. Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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