Genus Lerista Bell, 1833

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• Lerista Bell, T. 1833. Characters of two new genera of reptiles. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1: 98-99 [99].

  Type species:

   Lerista lineata Bell, 1833 by monotypy.
• Rhodona 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] [335].

  Type species:

   Rhodona punctata Gray, 1839 by monotypy.
• Soridia 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] [335].

  Type species:

   Soridia lineata Gray, 1839 by monotypy.
• Brachystopus Duméril, A.M.C. & Bibron, G. 1839. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Paris : Roret Vol. 5 viii 854 pp. [Date published Nov-1839] [778] [ex Smith ms].

  Type species:

   Brachystopus lineopunctulatus Duméril & Bibron, 1839 by monotypy.
• Praepeditus Duméril, A.M.C. & Bibron, G. 1839. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Paris : Roret Vol. 5 viii 854 pp. [Date published Nov-1839] [787].

  Type species:

   Soridia lineata Gray, 1839 by monotypy.
• Ronia Gray, J.E. 1841. Description of some new species and four new genera of reptiles from Western Australia, discovered by John Gould, Esq. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 42: 86-91 [87].

  Type species:

   Ronia catenulata Gray, 1841 by monotypy.
• Leptosoma Fitzinger, L.J. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus Primus. Amblyglossae. Vienna : Braümüller et Seidel i-vi, 106 pp. [23] [junior homonym; non Leptosma Desmarest and other authors, vide Sherborn, C.D. 1927. Index Animalium 1801–1851. H–L. London : British Museum 2885–3746 pp.].

  Type species:

   Riopa bougainvillii Duméril & Bibron, 1839 by original designation.

  Secondary source:

   Sherborn, C.D. 1927. Index Animalium 1801–1851. H–L. London : British Museum pp. 2885-3746.
• Ophiopsis Fitzinger, L.J. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus Primus. Amblyglossae. Vienna : Braümüller et Seidel i-vi, 106 pp. [23].

  Type species:

   Lerista lineata Bell, 1833 by original designation.
• Micalia Gray, J.E. 1845. Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum xxviii 289 pp. [62, 284] [errore pro Miculia Gray, 1845].
• Miculia Gray, J.E. 1845. Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum xxviii 289 pp. [66].

  Type species:

   Miculia elegans Gray, 1845 by monotypy.
• Pholeophilus Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. Reptilia. London : Smith, Elder & Co. [15].

  Type species:

   Pholeophilus capensis Smith, 1849 by monotypy.
• Phaneropis Fischer, J.G. 1881. Beschreibung neuer Reptilien. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 47: 225-238 [236].

  Type species:

   Phaneropis muelleri Fischer, 1881 by monotypy.
• Phaneropus Smith, M.A. 1935. The Fauna of British India; including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II. Sauria. London : Taylor & Francis xiv 440 pp. [309] [lapsus pro Phaneropis Fischer, 1881].
• Nodorha Mittleman, M.B. 1952. A generic synopsis of the lizards of the subfamily Lygosominae. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 117(17): 1-35 [Publication 4096] [14].

  Type species:

   Riopa bougainvillii Duméril & Bibron, 1839 by original designation.
• Gavisus Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. 1984. A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1(3-4): 73-129 [1983 on title page] [95].

  Type species:

   Lygosoma (Rhodona) wilkinsi Parker, 1926 by original designation.
• Telchinoscincus Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. 1984. A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1(3-4): 73-129 [1983 on title page] [104].

  Type species:

   Rhodona nichollsi Loveridge, 1933 by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Greer, A.E. 1967. A new generic arrangement for some Australian scincid lizards. Breviora. Museum of Comparative Zoology 267: 1-19
• 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. [171]

Introduction

In a recent revision, Wells (2012) assigned members of the genus Lerista as recognised here to 20 genera, 11 of them new. The names Rhodona Gray, 1839, Soridia Gray, 1839, Miculia Gray, 1845, Phaneropis Fischer, 1881, Nodorha Mittleman, 1952, Gavisus Wells & Wellington, 1984, Telchinoscincus Wells & Wellington, 1984, are raemoved from synonymy with Lerista and accorded valid species status; several subspecies were raised to subspecies status. The study is supported by detailed argument, but no phylogenetic analysis. Nor is a key provided.

Wells (2012) recognised the following genera:
Alcisius Wells, 2012
Aphroditia Wells, 2012
Cybelia Wells, 2012
Gaia Wells, 2012
Gavisus Wells & Wellington, 1984
Goldneyia Wells, 2012
Krishna Wells, 2012
Lerista Bell, 1833
Lokisaurus Wells, 2012
Marrunisauria Wells, 2012
Miculia Gray, 1845
Nodorha Mittleman, 1952
Phaneropis Fischer, 1881
Rhodona Gray, 1839
Soridia Gray, 1839
Spectrascincus Wells, 2012
Telchinoscincus Wells & Wellington, 1984
Tychismia Wells, 2012
Wondjinia Wells, 2012
Xynoscincus Wells & Wellington, 1988

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Murray Darling Depression (MDD) ; ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic: Riverina (RIV) ; ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Kanmantoo (KAN) ; ACT, NSW, SA, Tas, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Ben Lomond (BEL), Flinders (FLI), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP) ; NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Tanami (TAN) ; NSW, NT, Qld, SA, WA: Channel Country (CHC) ; NSW, Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Desert Uplands (DEU), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ) ; NSW, Qld, SA, Vic: Nandewar (NAN) ; NT: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW) ; NT, Qld, SA, WA: Carnarvon (CAR), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pilbara (PIL), Sturt Plateau (STU) ; NT, Qld, WA: Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Pine Creek (PCK), Victoria Bonaparte (VB) ; NT, WA: Central Kimberley (CK) ; Qld: Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU) ; SA, WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Coolgardie (COO), Esperance Plains (ESP), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mallee (MAL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL) ; WA: Northern Kimberley (NK)

General References

Smith, L.A. & Adams, M. 2007. Revision of the Lerista muelleri species-group (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia, with a redescription of L. muelleri (Fischer, 1881) and the description of nine new species. Records of the Western Australian Museum 23(4): 309-357 [http://www.calodema.com/freefiles/wells/AUSTRALIANBIODIVERSITYRECORD2012(1).pdf]

Wells, R.W. 2012. Some taxonomic and nomenclatural considerations on the Reptilia of Australia. A reclassification of the genus Lerista (Scincidae), including the descriptions of new genera. Australian Biodiversity Record 2012(1): 1-361

History of changes