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Aprasia rostrata PARKER, 1956

IUCN Red List - Aprasia rostrata - Vulnerable, VU

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Higher TaxaPygopodidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Exmouth Worm-lizard 
SynonymAprasia repens rostrata PARKER 1956
Aprasia rostrata — KLUGE 1974
Aprasia rostrata fusca STORR 1979
Aprasia fusca — STORR et al. 1990
Aprasia rostrata — KLUGE 1993
Aprasia rostrata — COGGER 2000: 282
Aprasia fusca — JENNINGS et al. 2003
Abilaena fusca — WELLS 2007
Abilenea rostrata — WELLS 2007 (see comment)
Aprasia rostrata — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Aprasia rostrata — MARYAN et al. 2013 
DistributionAustralia (Western Australia)

rostrata: Hermite Island, Monte Bello Island, Western Australia. Type locality: Hermite Island, Montebello archipelago, W.A., 20° 29’ S, 115° 31’ E

fusca: Australia (Western Australia), Exmouth Gulf region; Type locality: 3 km NW of Bullara (22° 40’ S, 114° 02’), W.A.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: WAM R13861, paratype: BMNH
Holotype: WAM R61077 [fusca] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus Abilenea): A genus of small fossorial cryptozoic lizards of the family Aprasiaidae, readily separated from all other genera by the following combination of characters: very slender body form; snout long and slightly to strongly angular in profile (vs blunt and rounded in Aprasia); tail much shorter than body length; forelimbs absent; hindlimbs reduced to a poorly-developed minute scaly flap on each side of vent; eye covered with a transparent spectacle; no external ear opening; dorsal and ventral scales smooth; ventral scales not wider than adjacent body scales; temporal scales small, not at all enlarged; anterior parts of head covered with enlarged symmetrical shields; parietal scales absent; one frontal; one elongated supraocular on each side; pair of prefrontals; nasal scales in contact; prefrontal in contact with first and sometimes second supralabial (vs not in contact with supralabial in Aprasia); nasal scale undivided; first supralabial only partly fused (anteriorly ) to nasal (vs complete fusion in Aprasia); one preocular; supraloreal absent; loreals absent; supraciliaries absent; distinct ring of circumocular scales; postocular fused to a supralabial (vs not fused in Aprasia); usually 2 enlarged preanal scales (vs usually 3 in Aprasia); and, no preanal pores. Content: Abilenea aurita comb. nov. (Kluge, 1974); Abilenea fusca nov. comb. (Storr, 1979); Abilenea glauerti comb. nov. (Parker, 1956); Abilenea haroldi nov. comb. (Storr, 1978); Abilenea inaurita comb. nov. (Kluge, 1974); Abilenea picturata nov. comb. (Smith and Henry, 1999); Abilenea repens nov. comb. (Fry, 1914); Abilenea rostrata nov. comb. (Parker, 1956); Abilenea smithi nov. comb. (Storr, 1970); Abilenea striolata comb. nov. (Luetken, 1863). [from WELLS 2007].


Additional details (77 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSpecimens: No additional specimens of A. rostrata have been collected since its locality was subjected to atomic weapons testing in the 1950s (Ehmann, 1992).

Subspecies: The subspecies fusca has been elevated to full species status by STORR et al. (1990) but was synonymized with rostrata by MARYAN et al. 2013.

Limb morphology: Limbless.

Type species: Aprasia repens rostrata PARKER 1956 is the type species of the genus Abilaena WELLS 2007. Kaiser et al. (2013) considered the generic name Abilenea Wells 2007 invalid and rejected it in favor of Aprasia. 
EtymologyNamed after the protrusive snout, from the Latin adjective “rostratus”, meaning beaked.

The genus name Abilenea is derived from “abilene” from the ancient Hebrew meaning “grass” and given in reference to the importance of native hummock grass and other arid ground vegetation in the habitats of this group of lizards. 
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.
  • Ehmann, Harold 1992. Encyclopedia of Australian Animals: Reptiles. Angus & Robertson, Pymble, NSW, 495 pp.
  • Jennings, W.B.; Pianka, E.R. & Donnellan, S. 2003. Systematics of the lizard family Pygopodidae with implications for the diversification of Australian temperate biotas. Systematic Biology 52: 757-780 - 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, Brad and Bush, Brian 2007. Rediscovery of Aprasia rostratus on the Montebello Islands, Western Australia. Western Australian Naturalist 25 (4): 247-251 - get paper here
  • Maryan, Brad; Brian G. Bush and Mark Adams 2013. Morphological and molecular assessment of Aprasia fusca and A. rostrata (Squamata: Pygopodidae), with a description of a new species from the Lake MacLeod region, Western Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 28: 144–163 - get paper here
  • Maryan, Brad; Mark Adams, and Ken P. Aplin 2015. Taxonomic resolution of the Aprasia repens species-group (Squamata: Pygopodidae) from the Geraldton Sandplains: a description of a new species and additional mainland records of A. clairae. Rec. Austr. Mus. 30 012–032, DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.30(1).2015.012-032
  • Parker, H. W. 1956. The lizard genus Aprasia; Its taxonomy and temperature correlated variation. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology, 3:365-385 - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1979. Five new lizards from Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 8 (1): 134-142 - get paper here
  • Storr, G.M., Smith, L.A. & Johnstone, R.E. 1990. Lizards of Western Australia III. Geckos and Pygopods. Western Australian Museum, Perth.
  • Wells, R. W. 2007. Some taxonomic and nomenclatural considerations on the class Reptilia. A review of species in the genus Aprasia GRAY 1839 (Aprasiaidae) including the description of a new genus. Australian Biodiversity Record (6): 1-17 - 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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