Delma butleri explained

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.

Etymology

The specific name, butleri, is in honor of Australian naturalist William Henry "Harry" Butler.^[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of D. butleri is grassland. 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.^[2]

Description

Limbless and small for its genus, D. butleri may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 9cm (04inches), with a tail length of three times SVL.^[3]

Reproduction

D. butleri is oviparous.

Further reading

• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. .
• Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. .

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. Brennan . Ian G. . species:Ian G. Brennan . May 2014 . Interspecific and intraspecific relationships, and biogeography of flap-footed geckos, Delma Gray 1831 (Squamata: Pygopodidae) . .
3. Storr GM . Glen Milton Storr . 1987 . Three new legless lizards (Pygopodidae) from Western Australia . Records of the Western Australian Museum . 13 . 4 . 345–355 .