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Coeranoscincus frontalis (DE VIS, 1888)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Limbless Snake-tooth Skink 
SynonymOphioscincus frontalis DE VIS 1888: 823
Anomalopus frontalis — COGGER 1983: 135
Coeranoscincus frontalis — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 26
Coeranoscincus frontalis — GREER & COGGER 1985
Coeranoscincus frontalis — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1988:
Coeranoscincus frontalis — COGGER 2000: 402
Coeranoscincus frontalis — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Coeranoscincus frontalis — SKINNER et al. 2013 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland)

Type locality: Innisfail (as Geraldton), Qld.  
Reproductionoviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesSyntypes: QM J243, QM J11499, QM J19737-41 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Coeranoscincus differs from all other members of the Sphenomorphus group in Australia in the following combination of derived character states: snout slightly conical; nasals slightly enlarged; prefrontals separated (although often only barely in C.
frontalis); supraoculars 3 (primitive supraoculars 3 and 4 fused or one lost - cf. Anomalopus (Vermiseps) and Ophioscincus); first supraciliary contacts frontal; supraciliaries 6 or less; supralabials 6, fourth below centre of eye; infralabials 5; ear opening absent; size large (maximum size of smaller species = 195 mm).
Maxilla-frontal contact; pre- and postfrontals closely apposed above orbit; quadratal conch lacking; supratemporal fenestra obliterated by apposition of supratemporal arch to parietal; premaxillary teeth':;; 8; teeth pointed and recurved; palatal rami of pterygoids moderately separated.
Presacral vertebrae ≥ 52; complete inscriptional chevrons ≥ 12; manus lacks intermedium and pisiform, distal carpals 1 and 5 and metacarpal 1, and has phalanges reduced to 0.2.3.3.0 or less; pes has astragalus and calcaneum distinct, lacks metatarsal 1 and has phalanges reduced to 0.2.3.3.0; sternal ribs ≤ 2; mesosternal ribs 1.
Parietal peritoneum lacks pigment.
Three characters in the foregoing suite are not necessarily associated with burrowing and therefore provide the primary reason for hypothesizing the monophyly of the group: large size, premaxillary teeth ~ 8, teeth pointed and recurved, and palatal rami of pterygoids slightly separated medially.
It should be noted that this diagnosis differs substantially from that of Wells & Wellington (1984) (Greer & Cogger 1985: 41)


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CommentType species: Ophioscincus frontalis DE VIS 1888: 823 is the type species of the genus Coeranoscincus WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985.

Phylogenetics: see Singhal et al. 2017 and 2018 for a phylogeny of Australian sphenomorphine skinks.

Limb morphology: 0 digits 0 toes (Limbless, Singhal et al. 2018, Cogger 2014)

Morphology: Hutchinson et al. 2021 present a table of morphological character states across 20 Australian sphenomorphine skinks, including this genus. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin frons (the brow) or the frontal scale more particularly, plus the suffix -alis (relating to). The reference is unclear, as de Vis did not make any special note of this region in his species description. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The genus was named after Coerano = master, ruler; scincus = lizard (fide Wells & Wellington 1988) 
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
  • 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
  • Greer A E; Cogger H G 1985. Systematics of the reduce-limbed and limbless skinks currently assigned to the genus Anomalopus (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. Austral. Mus. 37(1) 1985: 11-54 - get paper here
  • Hutchinson, M. N., Couper, P., Amey, A., & Wilmer, J. W. 2021. Diversity and Systematics of Limbless Skinks (Anomalopus) from Eastern Australia and the Skeletal Changes that Accompany the Substrate Swimming Body Form. Journal of Herpetology 55 (4): 361-384 - get paper here
  • Singhal, Sonal; Huateng Huang, Maggie R. Grundler, María R. Marchán-Rivadeneira, Iris Holmes, Pascal O. Title, Stephen C. Donnellan, and Daniel L. Rabosky 2018. Does Population Structure Predict the Rate of Speciation? A Comparative Test across Australia’s Most Diverse Vertebrate Radiation. The American Naturalist - get paper here
  • Skinner, Adam; Mark N. Hutchinson, Michael S.Y. Lee 2013. Phylogeny and Divergence Times of Australian Sphenomorphus Group Skinks (Scincidae, Squamata). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69 (3): 906–918 - get paper here
  • Wells, R.W., & Wellington, C.R. 1988. Amphibians and reptiles of the Upper Cox’s River area, Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia, with comments on Greer & Cogger’s recent reclassification of the genus Anomalopus (sensu lato). Australian Herpetologist 505: 1-15
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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