Lialis
Genus of lizards
Lialis | |
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Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Pygopodidae |
Genus: | Lialis Gray, 1835 |
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Geographic range of the genus Lialis in Australia and New Guinea. |
Lialis is a genus of legless lizards in the family Pygopodidae. The genus is native to 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 allowing 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]
- Lialis burtonis Gray, 1835
- Lialis jicari Boulenger, 1903
References
- ^ a b Patchell F, Shine R (1986). "Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey?". Journal of Herpetology 20 (1): 59-64.
- ^ a b Genus Lialis at 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". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1834: 134–135. (Lialis, new genus, p. 134). (in Latin and English).
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