Lialis
Lialis is a genus of legless lizards in the family Pygopodidae. The genus is endemic to Australia and New Guinea.
| Lialis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Pygopodidae |
| Genus: | Lialis Gray, 1835 |
 | |
| Geographic range of the genus Lialis in 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 allow them to swallow their prey whole.[1]
Species
The following two species are recognized as being valid.[2]
- Lialis burtonis Gray, 1835
- Lialis jicari Boulenger, 1903
References
- Patchell, F. Shine, R. 1986. Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey? Journal of Herpetology Vol. 20, No. 1 (Mar., 1986), pp. 59-64 (6 pages)
- "Lialis ". 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". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1834: 134–135. (Lialis, new genus, p. 134). (in Latin and English).
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