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Lerista anyara AMEY, COUPER & WORTHINGTON-WILMER, 2019

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Olkola Slider Skink 
SynonymLerista anyara AMEY, COUPER & WORTHINGTON-WILMER 2019 
DistributionAustralia (N Queensland: Olkola National Park)

Type locality: Kimba Plateau, Olkola National Park, Qld (15° 18′ 59′′ S, 143° 40′ 22′′ E),  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: QM J95773, 12 March, 2017. Paratypes: QM J94490, Kimba Plateau, Olkola National Park, (15° 19? 43?? S, 143° 39? 56?? E), 17 Aug, 2015; QM J95659, Olkola National Park, Qld (15° 18? 37?? S, 143° 40? 43?? E), 12 March, 2017; QM J95663, Olkola Na- tional Park, Qld (15° 18? 56?? S, 143° 40? 30?? E), 12 March, 2017; QM J95666, Olkola National Park, Qld (15° 19? 16?? S, 143° 40? 17?? E), 12 March, 2017. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Lerista anyara sp. nov. has 18 midbody scale rows, no forelimbs, styliform hindlimbs (only 2–3% SVL), prefrontals, a free interparietal, two supraoculars and four supraciliaries in a continuous row. This combined character suite will separate it from all its congeners.

Comparisons. Only six other species of Lerista have a stylar hindlimb and no trace of a forelimb: L. alia Amey, Couper and Worthington Wilmer, 2019, L. carpentariae Greer, 1983, L. humphriesi Storr, 1971, L. praepe- dita (Boulenger, 1887), L. storri Greer, McDonald and Lawrie, 1983 and L. stylis (Mitchell, 1955). However, as variability in limb morphology is well known in Lerista (see Amey & Edwards 2017; Amey & Worthington Wilmer 2014), our diagnosis uses other characters to also distinguish L. anyara sp. nov. from species with a single, clawed digit on the hindlimb and no trace of a forelimb.
Twelve other species of Lerista have a single digit or stylar hindlimb, no forelimb and free interparietal and frontoparietals (not fused into a single scale): L. allanae, L. alia, L. carpentariae, L. cinerea Greer, McDonald and Lawrie, 1983, L. hobsoni Amey, Couper and Worthington Wilmer, 2016 (in Couper et al. 2016). L. karlschmidti (Marx and Hosmer, 1959), L. parameles Amey, Couper and Worthington Wilmer, 2019, L. rochfordensis, L. storri, L. stylis, L. vanderduysi Amey, Couper and Worthington Wilmer, 2016 (in Couper et al. 2016) and L. vittata Greer, McDonal and Lawrie, 1983. Of these, only L. allanae, L. cinerea, L. hobsoni and L. rochfordensis have a prefrontal. None of these four species have a stylar hindlimb or four supraciliaries in a continuous row. 
CommentLimb morphology: 0 digits, 1 “toe” (reduced styliform hindlimb) 
EtymologyAnyara is an Olkola word for worm and is used for the area this species is found, possibly because of the presence of this species. Used at the suggestion and by the permission of the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation. 
References
  • AMEY, ANDREW P.; PATRICK J. COUPER, JESSICA WORTHINGTON WILMER 2019. A new species of Lerista Bell, 1833 (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, belonging to the Lerista allanae clade but strongly disjunct from other members of the clade. Zootaxa 4613 (1): 161–171 - get paper here
 
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