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Lerista nichollsi (LOVERIDGE, 1933)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Inland Broad-blazed Slider 
SynonymRhodona nichollsi LOVERIDGE 1933: 97
Lygosoma (Rhodona) nichollsi — GLAUERT 1960: 97
Lerista nichollsi — GREER 1967
Lerista nichollsi — STORR 1976: 252
Lerista nichollsi — COGGER 1983: 175
Lerista nichollsi — COGGER 2000: 527
Telchinoscincus nichollsi — WELLS 2012: 131
Lerista nichollsi — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Western Australia: Shark Bay region)

Type locality: Dalgaranger Station, 50 mi NE of Yalgoo, W. A.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MCZ 33252 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Small slender Lerista with digits 0 + 2, forelimb groove minute, eyelid immovable, frontoparietals and interparietal fused, dark brown upper lateral stripe and brown vertebral stripe. Distinguishable from both subspecies of L. connivens by lesser size, fusion of second loreal to prefrontal, narrower and more sharply defined vertebral stripe, and fewer rows of midbody scales. Further distinguishable from L. c. connivens by immovable eyelid, more numerous nuchals, and relatively longer hindleg. (Storr 1976)

Partial redescription: Snout-vent length (mm): 31-61 (51.5). Length of appendages etc. (% SVL): hindleg 14-20 (17.2); snout to foreleg groove 21-26 (23.1).
Nasals forming a short to moderately long median.suture. Prefrontals widely separated. Nuchals 1-3 (2.2). Supraoculars 3, first two contacting frontal. Supraciliaries 0 + 1, 0 + 2, 1 + 1, 1 + 2,3 or 4. Midbody scale rows 20 (occasionally 18). Lamellae under longer toe 9-15 (11.4). (Storr 1976) 
CommentSubspecies: Lerista nichollsi petersoni has been elevated to species status.

Type species: Rhodona nichollsi Loveridge, 1933 is the type species of the genus Telchinoscincus Wells and Wellington, 1984. WELLS 2012: 119 revived the genus for T. gascoynensis, kendricki, kennedyensis, nichollsi, onsloviana, petersoni, uniduo, yuna. 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, 2 toes 
EtymologyNamed after Professor Gilbert Ernest Nicholls (b. 1893) of the Western Australia Museum, Perth, who collected the holotype of this skink. His specialty was crustaceans. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - 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
  • Glauert, L. 1960. Herpetological miscellanea. XII. The family Scincidae in Western Australia. Pt. 2. The genus Lygosoma. Western Australian Naturalist 7 (4): 81-99 - get paper here
  • Greer, Allen E. 1967. A new generic arrangement for some Australian scincid lizards. Breviora (267): 1-19 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1933. New scincid lizards of the genera Sphenomorphus, Rhodona and Lygosoma from Australia. Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8: 95-100
  • Skinner, Adam; Michael S Y Lee and Mark N Hutchinson 2008. Rapid and repeated limb loss in a clade of scincid lizards. [Lerista]. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8:310 - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1984. Revision of the Lerista nichollsi complex (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 11 (2): 109-118 - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1986. Two new members of the Lerista nichollsi complex (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 13 (1): 47-52 - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1991. Four new members of the Lerista nichollsi complex (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 15 (1) 1991: 139-147 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1971. The genus Lerista (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia. J R. Soc. West. Aust. 54: 59-75
  • Storr, G. M. 1976. Revisionary notes on the Lerista (Lacertilia: Scincidae) of Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 4: 241-256 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M., Smith, L. A. & Johnstone, R. E. 1981. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Perth: University of Western Australia Press and Western Australian Museum, 200 pp.
  • Storr, G. M.; L. A. Smith, and R. E. Johnstone 1999. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Revised Edition. Western Australian Museum
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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