Lialis

Lialis is a genus of legless lizards in the family Pygopodidae. The genus is endemic to Australia and New Guinea.

Lialis
Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Pygopodidae
Genus: Lialis
Gray, 1835
Geographic range of the genus Lialis in Australia and New Guinea.

Diet

Lizards in the genus Lialis specialize in eating skinks.[1] They have hinged teeth and kinetic skull joints which flex allow them to swallow their prey whole.[1]

Reproduction

Lizards in the genus Lialis exhibit oviparity.[2]

Species

The following two species are recognized as being valid.[2]

References
  1. Patchell, F. Shine, R. 1986. Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey? Journal of Herpetology Vol. 20, No. 1 (Mar., 1986), pp. 59-64 (6 pages)
  2. "Lialis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

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". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1834: 134–135. (Lialis, new genus, p. 134). (in Latin and English).


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