Lialis Explained

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.

Species

The following two species are recognized as being valid.^[2]

• Lialis burtonis
• Lialis jicari

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 London 1834: 134–135. (Lialis, new genus, p. 134). (in Latin and English).

Notes and References

1. Patchell F, Shine R (1986). "Feeding Mechanisms in Pygopodid Lizards: How Can Lialis Swallow Such Large Prey?". Journal of Herpetology 20 (1): 59-64.
2. www.reptile-database.org.