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Lerista

Genus of lizards From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lerista
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Lerista is a diverse (~ 90 species) genus of skinks endemic to Australia, commonly known as sliders.[1]

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Lerista bougainvillii

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Description

The genus is especially notable for the variation in the amount of limb reduction.[2][3] The variation ranges from short-bodied forms with large legs bearing five toes, to elongate forms completely lacking legs. The body length of the lizards is 33–103 millimetres (1.3–4.1 in). Their locomotion is linked to their body shape. The shorter skinks with prominent limbs travel on the surface; the longer skinks with reduced legs tend to burrow more. A phylogenetic tree of Lerista, derived from DNA analysis, reveals that limb loss has happened multiple times within this group.[4][5] Limb loss has occurred relatively recently, in the past 3.6 million years or so.

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Species

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The following species are recognized as being valid.[6]

Note: a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Lerista.

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References

Further reading

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