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Saiphos equalis (GRAY, 1825)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Yellow-bellied Three-toed Skink, Three-toed Skink 
SynonymSeps equalis GRAY 1825: 202
Anguis lacertina GRAY 1831: 72 (nomen nudum)
Siaphos aequalis — GRAY 1839 (emendation)
Lygosoma (Siaphos) aequale — LONGMAN 1915: 34
Saiphos equalis — COGGER 1983: 183
Saiphos equalis — COGGER 2000: 572
Saiphos aequalis — GREER et al. 2006 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, SE Queensland)

Type locality: not given by Gray 1825  
ReproductionS. equalis is only one of 3 or so species that are known to have both viviparous and oviparous reproduction (STEWART et al. 2010, Laird et al. 2019). 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.8.16.88, from unknown locality. 
Diagnosis 
CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983.

Type Species: Seps equalis GRAY 1825 is the type species of the genus Saiphos GRAY 1831 (emended to Siaphos by Gray 1839).

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

Limb morphology: 3 digits, 3 toes (Brandley et al 2008)

Morphology: Hutchinson et al. 2021 present a table of morphological character states across 20 Australian sphenomorphine skinks, including this genus.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin aequalis (uniform). Gray's description emphasises the equal-sized body and head scales. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The origin of the genus name Saiphos is unknown. Probably one of the many generic names he coined that were euphonious but lacked any meaning. Derivation not stated by Gray (1825). 
References
  • Beltrán I, Loiseleur R, Durand V & Whiting M.J. 2020. Effects of early thermal environment on the behavior and learning of a lizard with bimodal reproduction. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 74: 73 - get paper here
  • Beltrán, I., Durand, V., Loiseleur, R. et al. 2020. Effect of early thermal environment on the morphology and performance of a lizard species with bimodal reproduction. J Comp Physiol B (2020) - get paper here
  • Biazik, Joanna M.; Michael B. Thompson, and Christopher R. Murphy 2010. Paracellular and transcellular transport across the squamate uterine epithelium. Herp. Cons. Biol. 5 (2) - 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
  • Foster, C.S., Thompson, M.B., Van Dyke, J.U., Brandley, M.C. and Whittington, C.M. 2020. Emergence of an evolutionary innovation: Gene expression differences associated with the transition between oviparity and viviparity. Mol Ecol. - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1831. A synopsis of the species of Class Reptilia. In: Griffith, E & E. Pidgeon: The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organisation by the Baron Cuvier with additional descriptions of all the species hither named, and of many before noticed [Vol. 9]. Whittaker, Treacher and Co., London: 481 + 110 pp. [1830] - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1825. A synopsis of the genera of reptiles and Amphibia, with a description of some new species. Annals of Philosophy, 10:193—217 - get paper here
  • Greer, A.; David, P. & Teynié, A. 2006. The Southeast Asian scincid lizard Siaphos tridigitus Bourret, 1939 (Reptilia, Scincidae): a second specimen. Zoosystema 28 (3) : 785-790
  • Hugi, Jasmina; Mark N. Hutchinson, D. Koyabu, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra 2012. Heterochronic shifts in the ossification sequences of surface- and subsurface-dwelling skinks are correlated with the degree of limb reduction. Zoology 115 (3): 188-198 - get paper here
  • Hutchinson, M. N., Couper, P., Amey, A., & Worthington-Wilmer, J. 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
  • Johnson, R. 2002. A western range extension for the skink Saiphos equalis. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 48(1): 92 - get paper here
  • Laird, Melanie K.; Michael B. Thompson and Camilla M. Whittington 2019. Facultative oviparity in a viviparous skink (Saiphos equalis) Biology Letters 15 (4): - get paper here
  • Laird, Melanie K.;Thompson, Michael B.and Whittington, Camilla M. 2019. Facultative oviparity in a viviparous skink (Saiphos equalis). Biology Letters, 15(4): 20180827 - get paper here
  • Longman, H. A. 1915. Reptiles from Queensland and the Northern Territory. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 3: 30-34. - get paper here
  • Mo, Matthew 2015. Herpetofaunal community of the constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, south Sydney, New South Wales. Victorian Naturalist 132 (3): 64-72 - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. 1994. Reptiles and amphibians of Seven Mile Beach National park, NSW. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 24 (2): 24-30
  • Murphy, Michael J. 2010. ADDITIONS TO THE HERPETOFAUNA OF GORE CREEK RESERVE AND LANE COVE BUSHLAND PARK IN INNER SUBURBAN SYDNEY, NSW. Herpetofauna 40 (2): 103-110 - get paper here
  • Parker, Scott L.; Christopher R. Murphy, and Michael B. Thompson 2010. Uterine angiogenesis in squamate reptiles: Implications for the evolution of viviparity. Herp. Cons. Biol. 5 (2) - get paper here
  • Reeder, T.W. 2003. A phylogeny of the Australian Sphenomorphus group (Scincidae: Squamata) and the phylogenetic placement of the crocodile skinks (Tribolonotus): Bayesian approaches to assessing congruence and obtaining confidence in maximum likelihood inferred relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 27: 384–397 - 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
  • Stewart, J. R., Mathieson, A. N., Ecay, T. W., Herbert, J. F., Parker, S. L. and Thompson, M. B. 2010. Uterine and eggshell structure and histochemistry in a lizard with prolonged uterine egg retention (Lacertilia, Scincidae, Saiphos). Journal of Morphology doi: 10.1002/jmor.10877 - get paper here
  • Stewart, James R. and Tom W. Ecay 2010. Patterns of maternal provision and embryonic mobilization of calcium in oviparous and viviparous squamate reptiles. Herp. Cons. Biol. 5 (2) - 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.
  • Wu, Qiong; Parker, Scott L.; Thompson, Michael B. 2009. Selected body temperature, metabolic rate and activity pattern of the Australian fossorial skink, Saiphos equalis. The Herpetological Journal 19: 127-133 - get paper here
 
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