''Lialis'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
legless lizard
Legless lizard may refer to any of several groups of lizards that have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion.Pough ''et al.'' 1992. Herpetology: Third Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall:Pearson Education ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Pygopodidae
Pygopodidae, commonly known as legless lizard, legless lizards, snake-lizards, or flap-footed lizards, is a Family (biology), family of squamates with reduced or absent limbs, and are a type of gecko. At least 35 species are placed in two subfami ...
. The genus is native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.
Diet
Lizards in the genus ''Lialis'' specialize in eating
skinks
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...
.
[Patchell F, Shine R (1986). "Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey?". ''Journal of Herpetology'' 20 (1): 59-64.] They have hinged teeth and kinetic skull joints which flex allowing them to swallow their prey whole.
[
]
Reproduction
Lizards in the genus ''Lialis'' exhibit oviparity
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and m ...
.[
]
Species
The following two species are recognized as being valid.[ www.reptile-database.org.]
*''Lialis burtonis
Burton's legless lizard (''Lialis burtonis'') is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards",Bradshaw ...
''
*'' Lialis jicari''
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. ... Pygopodidæ ....'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. (Genus ''Lialis'', p. 246).
* Gray JE (1835). "Characters of a New Genus of Reptiles (''Lialis'') from New South Wales". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1834: 134–135. (''Lialis'', new genus, p. 134). (in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and English).
Pygopodidae
Lizard genera
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
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