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]

Delma butleri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Pygopodidae
Genus: Delma
Species:
D. butleri
Binomial name
Delma butleri
Storr, 1987
Synonyms

Delma haroldi Storr, 1987

Etymology

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

Habitat

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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

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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

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D. butleri is oviparous.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b 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.
  2. ^ a b 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.

Further reading

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  • 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.