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Pygmaeascincus timlowi (INGRAM, 1977)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Dwarf Litter-skink 
SynonymMenetia timlowi INGRAM 1977
Lygisaurus timlowi — INGRAM & COVACEVICH 1988
Menetia timlowi — GREER 1991
Menetia timlowi — COGGER 2000: 541
Menetia timlowi — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 318
Menetia timlowi — COGGER 2014: 658
Pygmaeascincus timlowi — COUPER & HOSKIN 2014
Pygmeascincus timlowi — CHAPPLE et al. 2023 (in error, by implication) 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland)

Type locality: Barmount, 80 km NW of Marlborough, 22° 32’ S, 149° 06’ E, mideastern Qld.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: QM J24940 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Pygmaeascincus is a genus of small litter skinks that is distinguished from all other Australian skinks by the following character states: small size (SVL < 30 mm); limbs short and widely separated when adpressed; digital formula 4/5 (four fingers, five toes) with ≤ 10 supradigital scales on fourth toe; frontoparietals and interparietal fused into a single shield; eyelid preablepharine; supraoculars transverse, ≤ 3, squarish, with only the 1st contacting the frontal.


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CommentType species: Menetia timlowi INGRAM 1977 is the type species of the genus Pygmaeascincus COUPER & HOSKIN 2014. Pygmaescincus corresponds to the Menetia timlowi species group fide Greer 1991.

Greer 1991: 272 has a table comparing the 3 members of the genus.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyFrom the Latin pygmaea for pygmy. Referring to the very small size of the three species. These skinks, at SVL < 30 mm, are amongst the smallest skinks in the world (Greer 2001). The species has been named after Tim Low who apparently discovered it.

The genus Pygmaeascincus was named after “the Latin pygmaea for pygmy,referring to the very small size of the three species." (Couper & Hoskin 2014) 
References
  • 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
  • COUPER, PATRICK J.; CONRAD J. HOSKIN 2014. A new genus to accommodate three skinks currently assigned to Menetia (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Zootaxa 3884 (6): 597–599 - get paper here
  • Greer A E 1991. Two new species of Menetia from northeastern Queensland, with comments on the generic diagnoses of Lygisaurus and Menetia. Journal of Herpetology 25 (3): 268-272 - get paper here
  • Greer, Allen E. 2001. Distribution of maximum snout-vent length among species of Scincid lizards. Journal of Herpetology 35 (3): 383-395 - get paper here
  • Ingram G J 1977. Three species of small lizards - two of them new. Genus Menetia (Lacertilia, Scincidae) in Queensland. Victorian Naturalist 94: 184-187 - get paper here
  • Ingram G; Covacevich J 1988. Revision of the genus Lygisaurus de Vis (Scincidae: Reptilia) in Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 25 (2): 335-354 - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - 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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