Lialis

Lialis
Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota
Family:	Pygopodidae
Genus:	Lialis Gray, 1835
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

1. Patchell F, Shine R (1986). "Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey?". Journal of Herpetology20 (1): 59-64.
2. 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 London1834: 134–135. (Lialis, new genus, p. 134). (in Latin and English).