Delma butleri

Delma butleri
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Gekkota
Family:	Pygopodidae
Genus:	Delma
Species:	D. butleri
Binomial name
	Delma butleri; Storr, 1987
Synonyms
	Delma haroldi Storr, 1987

Last updated September 29, 2025

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.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, butleri, is in honor of Australian naturalist William Henry "Harry" Butler.^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of D. butleri is grassland.^[1] Populations of butleri are broadly separated by the hyperarid center of Australia across the Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields, Stony Plains, Great Victoria Desert, Finke, MacDonnell Ranges, and Nullarbor bioregions- most likely due to recent (<10 Mya) aridification.^[4]

Description

Limbless and small for its genus, D. butleri may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 9 cm (3.5 in), with a tail length of three times SVL.^[5]

Reproduction

D. butleri is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 Shea, G.; Ellis, R.; Wilson, S. (2017). "Delma butleri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017 e.T102830450A102830477. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102830450A102830477.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
1 2 Delma butleri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Delma butleri, p. 44).
↑ Brennan, Ian G. (May 2014). Interspecific and intraspecific relationships, and biogeography of flap-footed geckos, Delma Gray 1831 (Squamata: Pygopodidae) (Thesis). ProQuest 1614169430.
↑ Storr GM (1987). "Three new legless lizards (Pygopodidae) from Western Australia" (PDF). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 13 (4): 345–355.

Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.

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[iucn_status_18_November_2021-1] 1 2 Shea, G.; Ellis, R.; Wilson, S. (2017). "Delma butleri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017 e.T102830450A102830477. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102830450A102830477.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 Delma butleri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Delma butleri, p. 44).

[4] Brennan, Ian G. (May 2014). Interspecific and intraspecific relationships, and biogeography of flap-footed geckos, Delma Gray 1831 (Squamata: Pygopodidae) (Thesis). ProQuest 1614169430.

[5] Storr GM (1987). "Three new legless lizards (Pygopodidae) from Western Australia" (PDF). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 13 (4): 345–355.

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