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Delma tincta DE VIS, 1888

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Higher TaxaPygopodidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Excitable Delma 
SynonymDelma tincta DE VIS 1888: 824
Delma reticulata GARMAN 1901: 5
Delma tincta — KLUGE 1974: 121
Delma tincta — SHEA 1991: 87
Delma tincta — KLUGE 1993
Delma tincta — COGGER 2000: 292
Delma tincta — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Delma tincta — PEPPER et al. 2025: 10 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia)

Type locality: Normanton and Springsure, Qld.; restricted to Normanton by choice of lectotype.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: QM J241, designated by Kluge (1974). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A moderately-sized Delma (SVL to 55–96 mm; tail length up to 280 mm long) with one pair of supranasals, third labial below eye and 14 midbody scale rows. Differs from D. reticulata by adults lacking a boldly patterned head and neck, where these species come into near-contact in northern Queensland. It differs from D. branchia sp. nov. by lacking the series of ventrolateral transverse bars on the neck and posterior edge of ear opening, usually in contact or narrowly separated from the dark nuchal band. If present, pale band separating the crown and nuchal band is twice as wide as the one between the ocular and the crown bands.
Genetically diagnosed from all other members of the
D. tincta species-group by 11 unique fixed differences (see Appendix 2), and from the sympatric D. hades sp. nov. by 118 fixed SNP differences (see Table 2). Appendices 2–3 show the diagnostic positions and sequences for all comparisons and the position on the reference chromosome where it aligns to Gekko japonicus. (Pepper et al. 2025)


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CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983 and KLUGE 1993.

Limb morphology: Limbless.

Distribution: see map in Pepper et al. 2025: 7 (Fig. 3)

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin tinctus (painted), likely referring to the bold head markings. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Bauer,A.M. 1986. Saltation in the pygopodid lizard, Delma tincta. Journal of Herpetology 20 (3): 462-463 - get paper here
  • Bush, B. & Maryan, B. 2006. Snakes and Snake-like Reptiles of Southern Western Australia. Snakes Harmful & Harmless, Stoneville, Perth, Western Australia, 40 pp. - 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.
  • De Vis, C. W. 1888. A contribution to the herpetology of Queensland. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales (2) 2: 811-826 [1887] - get paper here
  • Garman, S. 1901. Some reptiles and batrachians from Australasia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 39: 1-14 - get paper here
  • Glauert, L. 1956. Herpetological Miscellanea VIII Snake Lizards and Worm Lizards (Family Pygopodidae). Western Australian Naturalist 5 (6): - get paper here
  • Jolly, C., Schembri, B., & Macdonald, S. 2023. Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Northern Territory. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne - 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
  • Kinghorn, J. Roy 1926. A brief review of the family Pygopodidae. Rec. Austral. Mus. 15 (1): 40-64 - get paper here
  • Kluge, Arnold G. 1976. Phylogenetic relationships in the lizard family Pygopodidae: an evaluation of theory, methods and data. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (152): 1-72 - get paper here
  • Maryan, B., Gaikhorst, G., & Parkhurst, B. 2024. The terrestrial herpetofauna of the Zuytdorp coast and hinterland of Western Australia: Exceptional richness in a global biodiversity hotspot. Western Australian Naturalist, 33, 3
  • Murphy, Michael J. 2016. Survey of the reptiles and amphibians of Yarrigan National Park in the Pilliga forest of northern inland New South Wales. Australian Zoologist 38 (2): 147- - get paper here
  • Pepper, M., Doughty, P., Fletcher, J., & Keogh, J. S. 2025. Molecular and morphological assessment of the widely distributed legless gecko Delma tincta Kluge (Squamata: Pygopodidae), including a taxonomic revision. RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, 1(046), 046 - get paper here
  • Riedel, J., Nordberg, E. and Schwarzkopf, L. 2020. Ecological niche and microhabitat use of Australian geckos. Israel J Ecol Evol 66 (3-4): 209-222 - get paper here
  • Shea, G. M. 1991. Revisionary notes on the genus Delma (Squamata: Pygopodidae) in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Rec. South Austral. Mus. 25: 71-90 - get paper here
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • 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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