Liopholis compressicauda (QUOY & GAIMARD, 1824)
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Liopholis compressicauda
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Egerniinae (Tiliquini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Northern White’s Skink G: Nördlicher White-Stachelskink |
| Synonym | Scincus compressicauda QUOY & GAIMARD 1824: 180 Lygosoma moniligera DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 736 (fide STORR 1968) Liopholis moniligera — FITZINGER 1843: 22 Egernia whitii moniligera — COGGER 1975: 290 Liopholis coplandi WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 32 Liopholis compressicaudus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 32 Liopholis whitii compressicaudus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1988: 6 Liopholis whitii coplandi — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1988: 6 Liopholis compressicauda — PARKIN et al. 2026 |
| Distribution | Australia (E New South Wales, NE Victoria) Type locality: “La Nouvelle-Galles du sud, au-delà des montagnes Bleues” (beyond the Blue Mountains of New South Wales) and “le Port-Jackson” (Port Jackson, presumably near Neutral Bay). moniligera: coastal and adjacent areas north of Nowra, New South Wales. |
| Reproduction | Viviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: MNHN-RA 2989 (formerly the holotype of L. moniligera), designated by Parkin et al. 2026. Paralectotype: MNHN-RA 2988 (originally two syntypes). A lectotype designation by Wells & Wellington (1985) of the larger of the two specimens is invalid, as it is not clear what they meant by "larger". Brygoo (1985) notes that 2988, with the smaller SVL, has a longer total length than 2988A, which has a broken tail. See also DONNELLAN et al. 2002) and Guibé (1954) who was not able to locate the holotype. Holotype: (probably), BMNH xv.17a, from Kangaroo Is., S. A. (original description cites Australia). [Tiliqua leucopsis] Syntypes: MNHP 2988 (2 specimens, Kangaroo Island), MNHP 2989 (Australia), MNHP 2992 (2 specimens, Australia), ?MNHP 2990 (Australia), ?MNHP 7123 (2 specimens, Hobart, Tas.), ?MCZ 2133 (Australia), from Australia and Kangaroo Is., S. A. (original description cites only Australia). Guibé (1954) cites only the first five specimens as types. [Lygosoma moniligera] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium to large skink (SVL up to 112 mm; x̅ = 91 mm), with smooth dorsal scales, a pointed snout and original tail length 130–183% of SVL (x̅ = 157.7%). Head length 19–24% of SVL (x̅ = 21%), mid-body scale rows 36–44 (x̅ = 40), and paravertebral scales 51–69 (x̅ = 58). Subdigital lamellae number 13–21 under fourth finger (mode = 16) and 20–30 under fourth toe (mode = 26), both with a prominent dark callus on the free edge. Palmar and plantar scales usually plain, but faint dark calli present in ~10% of individuals. Supralabials 7–8 (mode = 7), infralabials 7–8 (mode = 7), and supraciliaries 6–9 (mode = 7). Antebrachium length 9–12% of SVL; crus length 11–15% of SVL. (Parkin et al. 2026) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about about 1.13 pages) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. |
| Comment | Synonymy: previously considered as a synonym of L. whitii, but resurrected by Parkin et al. 2026. See also L. whitii. Type Species: Lygosoma moniligera DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839 is the type species of the genus Liopholis FITZINGER 1843. Distribution: See map in Parkin et al. 2026: 465 (Fig. 4, as “northern L. whitii”). |
| Etymology | Named after John White (ca. 1756-1832), who served in the Royal Navy (1781-1820), visiting India and the West Indies before 1788. The genus Liopholis was presumably named after the Greek leios (smooth) plus pholis (scale), with reference to the smooth body scales of the type species. Derivation not stated by Fitzinger (1843). |
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