Delma

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Delma
Striped legless lizard.jpg
Striped legless lizard (Delma impar)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Pygopodidae
Genus: Delma
Gray, 1831 [1] [2]
Species

22 recognized species, see article.

Delma distribution.svg

Delma is a genus of lizards in the family Pygopodidae. The genus Delma contains 22 valid described species, all of which are endemic to Australia.

Contents

Species

Recognized species of Delma according to the Reptile Database:

Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Delma.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygopodidae</span> Family of lizards

Pygopodidae, commonly known as legless lizards, snake-lizards, or flap-footed lizards, is a family of squamates with reduced or absent limbs, and are a type of gecko. At least 35 species are placed in two subfamilies and eight genera. They have unusually long, slender bodies, giving them a strong resemblance to snakes. Like snakes and most geckos, they have no eyelids, but unlike snakes, they have external ear holes and flat, unforked tongues. They are native to Australia and New Guinea.

<i>Ctenophorus</i> Genus of lizards

Ctenophorus is a genus of lizards, commonly known as comb-bearing dragons, in the family Agamidae. The genus contains the most diverse group of dragon lizards in Australia. It is the largest group of Australian lizards and it has an extensive radiation in the arid zones. Many of the species of Ctenophorus have been grouped by a similar morphology. The informal names and groupings within this genus — rock dragon, crevice-dragon, ground-dragon, sand-dragon, and bicycle-dragon — are named after the mythological creature, the dragon.

<i>Aprasia</i> Genus of lizards

Aprasia is a genus of lizards in the family Pygopodidae. The genus is endemic to Australia. The species in the genus Aprasia are worm-like, burrowing lizards. At least four of the species are oviparous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legless lizard</span> Common name for a lizard without obvious legs

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. It is the common name for the family Pygopodidae. These lizards are often distinguishable from snakes on the basis of one or more of the following characteristics: possessing eyelids, possessing external ear openings, lack of broad belly scales, notched rather than forked tongue, having two more-or-less-equal lungs, and/or having a very long tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striped legless lizard</span> Species of lizard

The striped legless lizard is a species of lizards in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. As of 2015 it is threatened with extinction, with few habitats left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton's legless lizard</span> Species of lizard

Burton's legless lizard is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards", "flap-footed lizards" and "snake-lizards". This species is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carphodactylidae</span> Family of lizards

The Carphodactylidae, informally known as the southern padless geckos, are a family of geckos, lizards in the infraorder Gekkota. The family consists of 32 described species in 7 genera, all of which are endemic to Australia. They belong to the superfamily Pygopodoidea, an ancient group of east Gondwanan geckos now only found in Australasia. Despite their well-developed limbs, molecular phylogenies have demonstrated that Carphodactylidae is the sister group to Pygopodidae, a highly specialized family of legless lizards.

<i>Delma molleri</i> Species of lizard

Delma molleri is a small [the snout-vent length of the largest specimen measured 111 mm (4.4 in)], limbless lizard found in southern South Australia around the Adelaide Hills, and pretty common in Adelaide suburbs. Delma molleri has been recorded from a variety of habitats ranging from grassland to woodland beneath rocks, timber, and rubbish. The species is oviparous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink-tailed worm-lizard</span> Species of lizard

The pink-tailed worm-lizard or granite worm-lizard is a rare legless lizard found in Australia. The animal looks like a combination of small snake and worm. Its total length is up to 14 cm. It has a pink tail and is white underneath. The head and neck are brown, and the rest of the top of the body is pale grey. Scales on the back each have a dark bar, giving the appearance of dots down the back. It is found on two hills near Tarcutta, Bathurst, New South Wales, Bendigo in Victoria, and along the sides of the Molonglo River and Murrumbidgee River and on Mount Taylor in the Australian Capital Territory. The lizards eat invertebrates that live under rocks. They can be found under rocks sized from 0.15 to 0.6 m. Their main diet is ant eggs, particularly from Iridomyrmex species and Rhytidoponera metallica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua snake lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Papua snake lizard, also known commonly as Jicar's snake-lizard, the New Guinea snake-lizard, and the Papua snake-lizard, is a species of legless lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea including the Bismarck Archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygopodoidea</span> Superfamily of lizards

Pygopodoidea is a gecko superfamily and the only taxon in the gekkotan subclade Pygopodomorpha. The clade includes three Australasian families: Diplodactylidae, Carphodactylidae, and Pygopodidae. Traditional gekkotan systematics had considered Diplodactylidae and Carphodactylidae as subfamilies of the family Gekkonidae, but recent molecular work have placed Pygopodidae within Gekkonidae making it paraphyletic. These analyses have shown support of Pygopodidae and Carphodactylidae being sister taxa, with Diplodactylidae occupying a basal position in Pygopodoidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marble-faced delma</span> Species of legless lizard endemic to Australia

The Delma australis is often known as the southern legless lizard, or the marble-faced delma. This terrestrial lizard falls into the category of slender Pygopodidae, a legless lizard. There are 21 known species in the Pygopdidae family in Australia. Marble-faced delmas are endemic to Australia. Delma australis was first described by Kluge in 1974.

<i>Delma butleri</i> Species of lizard

Delma butleri, also known commonly as Butler's legless lizard, Butler's scalyfoot, the spinifex snake-lizard, and the unbanded delma, is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser's delma</span> Species of lizard

Fraser's delma, also known commonly as Fraser's scalyfoot, is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species is endemic to the state of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patternless delma</span> Australian Lizard species

The patternless delma is a species of legless gecko from the Pygopodidae family. This species is commonly found throughout New South Wales, Queensland and southeastern South Australia, mostly inhabiting areas consisting of dry to temperate southern grasslands and grassy woodlands.

<i>Delma nasuta</i> Species of lizard

Delma nasuta, also known as sharp-snouted delma or sharp-snouted legless lizard, is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North west Cape delma</span> Species of lizard

The North West Cape delma, also known commonly as Teale's delma, is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species is endemic to Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excitable delma</span> Species of lizard

The excitable delma is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. The lizard gets its name from its active and jumpy defense mechanism. It will erratically jump multiple times in succession, each jump pivoting its body in a different direction. D. tincta is a slender, long legless lizard that through evolution lost its limbs. It is found throughout Australia in a variety of habitats, and spends most of its time hiding. Due to its nocturnal nature, it is rare to spot in the wild. This legless lizard is small to moderate in size, with a tail that is three to four times its body length. The typical size of the excitable delma is 250 – 300 mm. This lizard is an insectivore and feeds on insects it finds when travelling through grass, logs, surface soil, and loose rocks. Like all pygopodids, the excitable delma is oviparous and only lays two eggs per clutch.

References

  1. "Delma ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). www.itis.gov.
  2. "Delma ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de/systematik/Reptilien/Squamata/Gekkota/Pygopodidae.

Further reading