Lerista apoda STORR, 1976
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Lerista apoda
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Dampier Land Limbless Slider |
| Synonym | Lerista apoda STORR 1976: 255 Lerista apoda — COGGER 1983: 171 Gavisus apoda — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984 Lerista apoda — COGGER 2000: 513 Wondjinia apoda — WELLS 2012: 156 Lerista apoda — WILSON & SWAN 2010 |
| Distribution | Australia (Western Australia) Type locality: Cygnet Bay, 16° 26’ S, 123° 01’ E, W. A. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: WAM R52163 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Very slender Lerista with no trace of legs (including forelimb groove); eye very small and located under a transparent scale; snout flat, sharp and pro- truding well beyond mouth; tail much shorter than body and terminating abruptly and obtusely (as in Typhlopidae). (Storr 1976) Description: Snout-vent length (mm): holotype 70.5, paratype 77. Length of tail (% 8VL): holotype 56, paratype 20. Nasals very large, forming a moderately long suture. No prefrontals. Frontonasal and frontal much wider than long. Frontoparietals and inter- parietal fused into a large triangular shield. Parietals long and narrow, in short contact. No nuchals. Two apically pointed scales between frontal and ocular. One loreal (the only scale between nasal and ocular). One postocular. Temporals 3, upper secondary a little larger than primary, lower secondary much the smallest. Upper labials 4. Ear aperture minute (as in all Lerista). Midbody scale rows 16. Upper surface whitish with a few faint brown blotches on head and four series of faint brown dots along back and tail. Lateral and lower surfaces dark brown, obscurely spotted with still darker brown, except for whitish under snout, lips, chin, throat and preanal scales, and for anterior half of tail (which is whitish, sparsely spotted with brown). (Storr 1976) |
| Comment | Type Species: Lerista apoda Storr, 1976 is the type species of the genus Wondjinia WELLS 2012: 146. WELLS 2012: 146 erected the genus for Wondjinia apoda (Storr, 1976). Unfortunately WELLS did not provide a phylogenetic analysis of the genera into which he broke up Lerista, hence we leave the current genus Lerista intact for the time being. Limb morphology: 0 digits, 0 toes (limbless). This is only one of 5 species of Lerista with no external trace of limbs (along with L. ameles. Species group: wilkinsi. |
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