Species Hemiergis gracilipes (Steindachner, 1870)
South-western Mulch-skink
- Hinulia gracilipes Steindachner, F. 1870. Herpetologische Notizen (II). Reptilien gesammelt Während einer Reise in Sengambien. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien 62: 326-349 [342, pl. 5].
Type data:
Syntype(s) NHMW 10141 2 specimens, Australia, perhaps Rockhampton or Cape York, QLD
Comment: syntype status implied in Museum records. - Lygosoma australis Gray, J.E. 1839. Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species. (contd.). Annals and Magazine of Natural History 2(11): 331-337 [1839 on title page] [332] [junior homonym; junior homonym of Tiliqua australis Gray, 1838. Tiliqua australis Gray, 1838 and Lygosoma australis Gray, 1839, were both placed in the genus Lygosoma by Boulenger (1887) who erroneously treated Tiliqua australis as the junior secondary homonym. While it can be argued that Lygosoma australis has never been formally rejected as a junior homonym and therefore is available and has priority over Hinulia gracilipes Steindachner, 1870, Cogger et al. (1983) arbitrarily treated Lygosoma australis Gray, 1839 as a junior secondary homonym of Tiliqua australis Gray, 1838 and, with both names being rejected prior to 1961, followed Article 59 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature in treating both as invalid.].
Type data:
Neotype WAM R24980, Albany, WA.Secondary source:
Boulenger, G.A. 1887. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xii 575 pp. 40 pls.; Loveridge, A. 1934. Australian reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 77: 243-383.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Cogger, H.G., in Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983. Amphibia and Reptilia. 313 pp. in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1 vi + 313 pp. [184] (as Sphenomorphus gracilipes)
Generic Combinations
- Glaphyromorphus gracilipes (Steindachner, 1870). —
Skinner, A. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships and rate of early diversification of Australian Sphenomorphus group scincids (Scincoidea, Squamata). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 92: 347-366 - Hemiergis gracilipes (Steindachner, 1870). —
Mecke, S., Doughty, P. & Donnellan, S.C. 2009. A new species of Eremiascincus (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from the Great Sandy Desert and Pilbara Coast, Western Australia and reassignment of eight species from Glaphyromorphus to Eremiascincus. Zootaxa 2246: 1-20 [6] (transferrred from Glaphyromorphus; reassigned to Hemiergis) - Sphenomorphus gracilipes (Steindachner, 1870). —
Choquenot, D. & Greer, A.E. 1989. Intrapopulational and interspecific variation in digital limb bones and presacral vertebrae of the genus Hemiergis (Lacertilia, Scincidae). Journal of Herpetology 23(3): 274-281
Distribution
States
Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
South-western WA
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
WA: Jarrah Forest (JF), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Warren (WAR)
Ecological Descriptors
Fossorial, nocturnal, open forest, terrestrial, woodland.
General References
Storr, G.M. 1967. The genus Sphenomorphus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 50: 10-20 (taxonomy, as Sphenomorphus australis)
Common Name References
Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp. [31] (South-western Mulch-skink)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-May-2023 | SCINCIDAE | 10-Mar-2023 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Feb-2024 | Hemiergis Wagler, 1830 | 23-Sep-2020 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Feb-2024 | 21-Aug-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
| 08-Mar-2011 | 02-May-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |