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Bellatorias major (GRAY, 1845)

IUCN Red List - Bellatorias major - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Egerniinae (Tiliquini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Land Mullet 
SynonymTropidolepisma major GRAY 1845: 107
Tropidolepisma majus GÜNTHER 1875: 15
Egernia bungana De VIS 1888: 814
Egernia major — COGGER 1983: 158
Egernia major — COGGER 2000: 465
Egernia major — COUPER et al. 2006: 380
Bellatorias major — GARDNER et al. 2008
Bellatorias major — COGGER 2014: 419 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland)

Type locality: Australia, but restricted to E Australia (Sydney and Rockhampton) by Günther (1875).  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH xv.88a
Holotype: (not found) from S Queensland, QM [Egernia bungana] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2291 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983.

Type Species: Tropidolepisma major GRAY 1845 is the type species of the genus Bellatorias WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984.

Phylogenetics of Tiliquini: Brennan et al. 2024.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin major (greater), relating to the large size of the species. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The genus was named after Latin “bellum” = war. Wells & Wellington 1984 only give the etymology as “war-like”, without further explanation. Presumably from the Latin bellator, a soldier, although bellatorias would be an adjective in the the feminine plural accusative, and generic names must be, or be treated as, nouns in the nominative singular (Article 11.8). 
References
  • Bowles, F.D. 2000. A short note on the herpetofauna of Brisbane and its suburbs. Herpetological Bulletin (73): 27-29 - 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.
  • 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
  • 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
  • Gardner, M. G., Hugall, A. F., Donnellan, S. C., Hutchinson, M. N., and Foster, R. 2008. Molecular systematics of social skinks: phylogeny and taxonomy of the Egernia group (Reptilia: Scincidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 154 (4): 781-794 - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of die British Museum/Edward Newman, London: xxvii + 289 pp. - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1875. A list of the saurians of Australia and New Zealand. Pp. 9-19. In: Richardson, J., and J. E. Gray. The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Vol. 2. Reptiles, fishes, crustacea, insects, mollusca. E. W. Janson, London - get paper here
  • Horton,D.R. 1972. Evolution in the genus Egernia (Lacertilia, Scincidae). Journal of Herpetology 6 (2): 101-109 - get paper here
  • Longley, G. 1946. The giant skink (Egernia major) in the vivarium. Proc. R. Zool. Soc. N. S. W. 1945-46: 33-34 - get paper here
  • Longman, H. A. 1918. Notes on some Queensland and Papuan reptiles. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 6: 37-44 - get paper here
  • Mitchell, F. J. 1950. The scincid genera Egernia and Tiliqua (Lacertilia). Rec. South Austral. Mus. 9: 275-308 - get paper here
  • Shea, G.M. 1999. Morphology and natural history of the Land Mullet Egernia major (Squamata: Scincidae). Australian Zoologist 31 (2): 351 - 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.
  • Brennan, I.G., Chapple, D.G., Keogh, J.S. & Donnellan, S. 2024. Evolutionary bursts drive morphological novelty in the world’s largest skinks. Current Biology 34, 3905-3916. - get paper here
 
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