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Mecke, Sven, Doughty, Paul, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2013): Redescription of Eremiascincus fasciolatus (Günther, 1867) (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) with clarification of its synonyms and the description of a new species. Zootaxa 3701 (5): 473-517, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3701.5.1

Eremiascincus phantasmus sp. nov. English name: Ghost Skink German names: S��dlicher Streifenskink, Gespenstskink (Figs. 13 & 14) Synonyms: Sphenomorphus fasciolatus (part.) Storr, 1974 Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 3 (1): 68���70 (���Ghost Skink��� = p. 69) Eremiascincus fasciolatus (part.) Greer, 1979; Rec. Aust. Mus. (32) 7: 323 et seqq. (���Ghost Skink��� = p. 325) Eremiascincus fasciolatus (part.) Cogger, 2000; Rept. Amphib. Aust.: 477 Type material of the species herein described as new has been deposited in the SAMA, QM and AMS collections. Holophoront: SAMA R 49358 (field number C 97047) (Fig. 13), male. Type locality: collected 5.5 km SE of Red Lake Yard, E side of Lake Hope Channel, SA (28 �� 15 ' 29 ''S, 139 �� 12 ' 29 '' E); leg. M. Hutchinson. Paratypes (22 specimens): SAMA R 49896 (F)��� 43.7 km east of Purni Bore, on the Rig Road, SA, 26 �� 19 ' 17 ''S, 136 �� 31 ' 53 ''E; R 50047 (unsexed juvenile)��� 66.8 km E Purni Bore, Big RD, SA, 26 �� 19 ' 17 ''S, 136 �� 31 ' 53 ''E; R 50888 (F)��� 29.1 km NNW Murda Hill, Simpson Desert Regional Reserve, SA, 26 �� 42 '09''S, 138 �� 15 ' 44 ''E; R 51482 (M)��� 25.1 km NW Atna Hill, Simpson Desert CP, SA, 26 �� 16 ' 29 ''S, 137 �� 19 ' 37 ''E; R 51436 (M)��� 1.1 km SSE Approdinna Attora Knolls, SA, 26 ��04' 50 ''S, 137 �� 36 ' 43 ''E; R 54137 (M)��� 37.1 km WNW of Muloorina Homestead, SA, 29 ��09' 45 ''S, 137 �� 32 '01''E; R 54255 (unsexed juvenile)��� 15.3 km WNW Kannakaninna Waterhole, Kalamurina, SA, 27 �� 53 '09''S, 137 �� 49 ' 13 ''E; R 55437 (F)��� 17 km NW Karrathunka Waterhole, SA, 26 ��06'07''S, 139 ��08' 45 ''E; R 55447 (M)��� 12.4 km NW Karrathunka Waterhole, SA, 26 ��08' 27 ''S, 139 ��09' 54 ''E; R 55507 (M)��� 30.2 km ESE Mulka Hill, SA, 28 �� 26 ' 51 ''S, 138 �� 52 '06''E; AMS R 113164 (M)��� 25 km N of Poeppel Corner, Simpson Desert, NT, 25 �� 46 ' S, 138 ��00'E; R 155329 (M)���Sturt National Park, 1.8 km W (by road) along Whitecatch Gate Road, NSW, 29 ��06' 51 ''S, 141 �� 10 ' 54 ''E; QM J 41600 (F), J 41602 (F)���Durrie Station, Glennie Well, QLD, 25 �� 55 ' 48 ''S, 139 �� 55 ' 49 ''E; J 44070 (F)���Simpson Desert, QLD, 25 �� 40 ' 48 ''S, 138 �� 31 ' 48 ''E; 48473 (M)��� Chookoo, 30 km WSW Jackson, QLD, 27 �� 34 ' 48 ''S, 141 �� 54 '00''E; J 75056 ��� 57 (M), J 75060 (M), J 75067 (unsexed juvenile)��� 2 km W of Birdsville (behind Airstrip), QLD, 24 �� 53 ' 60 ''S, 139 �� 18 '00''E. Diagnosis and Description based on material cited in the Appendix and color photographs by P. Tremul (see also Fig. 14). Taxonomic history. Whereas Waite���s (1929) concept of Hinulia fasciolata in southern Australia is rather unsatisfactory and misleading as the morphology for the SA populations seems to be largely based on the type description in Boulenger (1887) (see also Greer [1979] for a discussion on data of reproduction for Hinulia fasciolata presented by Waite [1929]), Worrell (1963) was probably the first author who used the colloquial name ���Ghost Skink��� for a pale, undescribed species of desert-dwelling skink and attributed the scientific name Lygosoma (Sphenomorphus) monotropis to that species. Lygosoma (Sphenomorphus) monotropis, however, is a junior synonym of the heavily banded Eremiascincus richardsonii (Cogger et al. 1983) and is clearly distinct from the form Worrell described. The area of distribution Worrell suggested includes the central parts of SA and the arid parts of WA. Because Worrell did not include ��� pallidu s��� in his Reptiles of Australia it may be that he believed the ���Ghost Skink��� and ��� pallidu s��� to be conspecific. Although Worrell���s species concept remains mysterious, and Lygosoma (Sphenomorphus) monotropis sensu Worrell (1963) might be better regarded a nomen ambiguum rather than a synonym, the name ���Ghost Skink��� was generally used by subsequent authors (e.g., Storr 1974; Greer 1979) to refer to the patternless, extreme pale form of " E. fasciolatus " from the Lake Eyre region of north-eastern SA. Diagnosis. A medium to large-sized (snout-vent length up to 92.5 mm), slender narrow-banded Eremiascincus having 8���9 undivided supralabials (usually 8); 2 infralabials usually in broad contact with the postmental scale; 20���30 subdigital lamellae, at least basally in two rows and at least basally keeled; plantar scales 12���18, smooth; 28���33 scale rows at mid-body; head small, snout depressed, and ear opening small and circular; dorsum with keels posteriorly and tail often with strong ridges; coloration pattern usually comprises 29���39 perfectly transverse narrow, often very pale bands on the tail (type a, b); body without bands or with indication of light narrow bands (type a, b) dorsally or more frequently on sides of body, usually pale, without any indication of banding visible. Description. Dimensions and general characteristics. A medium to large-sized (snout-vent length of adult specimens 62.6���92.5 mm, mean 81.2, n = 117), slender Eremiascincus; head small (HeadL 1 /SVL 0.17���0.20, mean 0.18, n = 113); snout long (SnoutL/HeadL 1 0.39���0.46, mean 0.42, n = 113) top of snout depressed, tip of snout obtusely pointed; canthus rostralis rounded; lower eyelid movable, scaly; ear opening circular in shape and small (maximum length 1.8 mm, maximum height 1.8 mm), about a quarter the area of eye aperture, with minute granules at anterior border; ear opening followed by a depression of the integument; tympanum sunk; limbs pentadactyl, overlapping when adpressed, moderately long (hind legs ~ 40 % length of snout-vent length); fingers and toes moderately long, circular in section; third and fourth finger length similar; fourth toe longer than third; tail up to ~ 138 % of SVL (range 122.7���137.8 %, mean 129.1 %, n = 15), with strong ridges or keels, round in cross section; hemipenis deeply bifurcated, not columnar. Scalation. Nasals widely separated; frontal arrowhead-shaped, ~ 70 % longer than interparietal, much larger than prefrontals; width of rostral-frontonasal suture less than half width of frontonasal; prefrontals narrowly separated; frontal contacting frontonasal; frontoparietals free (paired); interparietal normally free, almost as large as a frontoparietal; parietals large, in contact behind interparietal; each parietal bordered posteriorly by upper secondary temporal and (if present) enlarged nuchal scales; nuchals 0���1; supraoculars 4, normal in shape and orientation; medial 2 much longer than wide, 2 or 3 in contact with frontal; loreals 2, second usually wider than tall, squarish or rectangular; supranasal scale absent; preoculars 2, lower larger; presuboculars usually 2; supraciliaries 7���10 (mostly 8, mean 8.4, n = 117), first largest; supralabials 7���9 (usually 8, mean 8.0, n = 117), supralabial scales undivided, last supralabial scale overlaps lower secondary temporal; infralabials 6���9; postmental in contact with first and second infralabial (Fig. 17 B); no trace of subinfralabial scales; 1 primary and 2 secondary temporals; 28��� 33 (mostly 30���32) scales at mid-body (mean 30.3, n = 113), laterals smallest; 60���71 paravertebral scales (mean 65.9, n = 114); 20���30 subdigital lamellae under fourth toe (mean 25.2, n = 114), scale under fourth toe divided medially, at least basally but often grooved for more than half of digit; weakly keeled or callose (with a single keel per side of a grooved scale); scales on top of toes variable, usually with multiple series covering base or up to half of the length of the digits, sometimes only single scale rows present; scales on soles of hands and feet granular and smooth; body and head shiny-scaled; scales on body smooth; trailing edges of dorsal and lateral scales angularly three-sided rather than smoothly rounded; subcaudals larger than ventrals; tail above usually strongly keeled (keels forming ridges); 2 median precloacal scales distinctly enlarged. Coloration and pattern in preservative (ethanol). Upper surface (head, dorsum, tail, and limbs) whitish to pale gray, rarely with a fine banding discernible laterally or dorsolaterally (never forming conspicuous dark bands across the dorsum); bands usually absent altogether or only evident on the tail as pale brown cross-bands of a single scale row or less and separated by 2 rows of paler scales (if discernible 29���39 bands on tail) (type a, b), regenerated tails usually display no banding; subocular region appears to be dark bluish because of the underlying eye socket; labials pale; underneath immaculate ivory or silvery white, sometimes displaying a strong contrast between the pale dorsal and the ivory or white lateroventral side; scales on chin and gular region, palmar and plantar scales not colored differently; iris as dark as pupil; tongue pale. Hatchlings are similar in most respects to adults but with more intense bands on the tail, which become more faded with age. Coloration and pattern in life. Ground color pale yellowish, brownish or whitish with very faded caudal striping; sometimes with obscure indication of bands laterally or dorsolaterally, rarely with a fine very light banding on dorsum; sides are usually paler than dorsum; belly cream to pinkish; all body scales glossy. Juveniles sometimes display a maculated dorsum. The coloration has resulted in the common name ���Ghost Skink���. Fig. 14 shows a specimen in life. Craniology. According to the data presented in Greer (1979), this species has 9 premaxillary teeth, the surface exposure of the postorbital bone in the supratemporal arch is short, and an ectopterygoid process is not evident or only weakly developed. Sex ratio and dimorphism. The sex ratio of specimens favored males (67: 50). All meristic and morphometric variables were tested for sexual dimorphism, with significant differences found for ArmL (males: mean = 21.4, SD = 1.3, median = 21.6, n = 66; females: mean = 20.5, SD = 1.2, median = 20.6, n = 49; Z = - 3.718 ***), LegL (males: mean = 30.3, SD = 2.0, median = 30.3, n = 66; females: mean = 28.8, SD = 1.7, median = 28.8, n = 49; Z = - 4.215 ***), FootL (males: mean = 12.1, SD = 0.9, median = 12.2, n = 66; females: mean = 11.6, SD = 0.7, median = 11.5, n = 49; Z = - 3.357 ***), ToeL 3 (males: mean = 6.2, SD = 0.5, median = 6.3 n = 65; females: mean = 5.9, SD = 0.5, median = 5.9 n = 48; Z = - 3.177 **), ToeL 4 (males: mean = 8.4, SD = 0.6 median = 8.4, n = 66; females: mean = 8.1, SD = 0.6, median = 8.0, n = 49; Z = - 2.883 **), HeadL 1 (males: mean = 15.4, SD = 1.1, median = 15.7, n = 64; females: mean = 14.3, SD = 1.0, median = 14.4, n = 49; Z = - 4.588 ***), HeadL 2 (males: mean = 14.1, SD = 1.0, median = 14.4, n = 65; females: mean = 13.3, SD = 1.0, median = 13.5, n = 50; Z = - 4.203 ***), HeadW (males: mean = 9.5, SD = 0.8, median = 9.6, n = 64; females: mean = 8.8, SD = 0.8, median = 8.8, n = 49; Z = - 4.372 ***), SnoutL (males: mean = 6.4, SD = 0.5, median = 6.5, n = 67; females: mean = 6.0, SD = 0.4, median = 6.0, n = 50; Z = - 4.243 ***), HeadH (males: mean = 6.6, SD = 0.6, median = 6.7, n = 65; females: mean = 6.1, SD = 0.5, median = 6.2, n = 47; Z = - 4.584 ***). The following ratio likewise showed significant differences between sexes: HeadL 1 /SVL (males: mean = 0.19, SD = 0.00, median = 0.19, n = 64; females: mean = 0.18, SD = 0.01, median = 0.18, n = 49; Z = - 5.182 ***). TrunkL/SVL did not differ between sexes, but probability level was close to the critical level. Details of holophoront (Fig. 13) (SAMA R 49358) [adult male]. SVL 90.5 mm, TrunkL 50.6 mm, TailL 109.1 mm (tip regenerated), ArmL 21.9 mm, LegL 29.9 mm, HeadL 1 15.8 mm, HeadL 2 14.9 mm, HeadW 10.3 mm, SnoutL 6.7 mm, snout depressed, HeadH 6.6 mm, AxillaEar 16.9 mm, ear opening 1.3 x 1.3 mm, MBSR 28, PVS 65, SupraLab 9 (DividedLab: none/undivided), InfraLab 8, SupraCil 9, prefrontals separated, presuboculars 2, nuchals 1, 4TLam 25, upper surface of fourth toe with scales in single rows with transverse sutures along almost entire digit, plantar scales 13, no bands or pattern noticeable on body, BandsTail (type b) 32. Distribution. Eremiascincus phantasmus sp. nov. predominantly occurs in the low elevation deserts of the Lake Eyre Basin with the main distribution area in north-eastern SA (Fig. 18). The area of distribution extends from south of Lake Frome north-west to the mound spring area of Emerald and Strangways Springs and north to Witjiara National Park at the western border of the Simpson Desert, where it predominantly occurs in the Marla- Oodnadatta and the Marree Soil Conservation Districts. In the NT, E. phantasmus sp. nov. extends from Andado in the south, north-west to Charlotte Waters with the northernmost records from Illogwa Creek in the south-east central NT and Lake Caroline in the east. In the south-eastern corner of the NT, E. phantasmus sp. nov. is poorly collected. The species also occurs in the Central Ranges xeric scrubland in the Curtin Spring and Uluru area, where it may be sympatric with E. pallidus. Eremiascincus phantasmus sp. nov. has not been collected from the central Finke bioregion. In QLD the species occurs in the Channel Country of the extreme south-west. It occurs from the Mirrica Bore region in the north, south to Mount Leonard. The species is also found in the Baryulah area south to the border of NSW. From Cameron���s Corner, the species extends south-east to Tero Creek. In south-west NSW the distribution extends from the Broken Hill area in the north to Wentworth on the Victorian border and east to Mungo National Park (see also Swan 1990 for a report of an eastern range extension). Eremiascinus phantasmus sp. nov. to date has not been recorded from the far north-west of Victoria. Geographic variation. Variation in color pattern (e.g., subdued narrow dorsolateral bands) is present in some specimens, but in other respects (e.g., labial scalation) these localized entities are typical of E. phantasmus sp. nov. Habitat and ecology. The species inhabits low lying flood-prone areas and sandy rises with Spinifex cover or without vegetation (Fig. 15) and is often found in association with buildings and under rubbish piles. The very glossy, smooth-scaled skink is a sand-swimmer as one would expect from its overall morphology and habitat and occurs on substrates sandy enough to support a range of burrowing species (P. Tremul, pers. comm.). Eremiascincus phantasmus sp. nov. is crepuscular and nocturnal in its activity, becoming most active in the late afternoon and the first few hours of darkness. Like its congeners, the species feeds on insects, small skinks, and geckos. Clutch size varies from 2��� 7 eggs, measuring approximately 16���17 x 10 ���12 mm. Hatchlings have a SVL of 32���36 mm and a TailL of 72���75 mm (D. Brown, pers. obs. of E. phantasmus from QLD held in captivity). Etymology. The specific name ��� phantasmus ��� is Latin for ���ghost��� and used as a noun in apposition. It is the Latin translation for a vernacular name Worrell proposed in 1963. Comparison with other species. This medium-sized to large Eremiascincus is generally distinguishable from all other narrow-banded skinks by its pale dorsal coloration. This character is only shared with the smaller E. pallidus from the western arid zone, which is distinguishable from E. phantasmus in usually having 7 supralabial shields (instead of usually 8) and 1 infralabial in contact with the postmental scale (vs. almost always 2 infralabials in contact with the postmental)., Published as part of Mecke, Sven, Doughty, Paul & Donnellan, Stephen C., 2013, Redescription of Eremiascincus fasciolatus (G��nther, 1867) (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) with clarification of its synonyms and the description of a new species, pp. 473-517 in Zootaxa 3701 (5) on pages 601-606, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3701.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/248353

International audience; The worm-like snakes (Scolecophidia; approximately 400 nominal extant species) have a conservative morphology and are among the most poorly-known terrestrial vertebrates. Although molecular evidence has helped determine their higher-level relationships, such data have rarely been used to discriminate among species. We generated a molecular data set for the continental Australian blindsnakes (genus Ramphotyphlops) to determine the concordance of molecular and morphological information in the taxonomic recognition of species. Our dataset included 741 specimens morphologically attributed to 27 nominal Ramphotyphlops species. We proposed species hypotheses (SHs) after analysis of sequences from a variable mitochondrial gene (cytochrome b) and examined these SHs with additional evidence from a nuclear gene (prolactin receptor) and geographical data. Although the nuclear marker was not as fast-evolving and discriminating as the mitochondrial marker, there was congruence among the mitochondrial, nuclear, and geographical data, suggesting that the actual number of species is at least two times the current number of recognized, nominal species. Several biogeographical barriers and complex phytogeographical and geological patterns appeared to be involved in the division of some burrowing snake populations and, by consequence, in their diversification and speciation through isolation.

Pindan Dragon Figs. 2 a, 4, 5 Holotype. WAM R 58402, an adult female collected 2 km north of Coulomb Point, Western Australia (17 �� 18 ��S, 122 �� 10 ��E), on 17 April 1977 by R.E. Johnstone. Paratypes. All from Western Australia. WAM R 166, Streeters Station, Broome(17 �� 48 ��S, 122 �� 14 ��E); WAM R 15185, WAM R 20262 ��� 4, WAMR 20317 ��� 29, WAM R 26834, WAM R 46661, Derby (17 �� 18 ��S, 123 �� 37 ��E); WAM R 26216, La Grange (18 �� 40 ��S, 122 ��01��E); WAM R 27638, Indujinah Creek (18 �� 38 ��S, 121 �� 52 ��E); WAM R32167, 24 km south of Derby (17 �� 26 ��S, 123 �� 45 ��E); WAM R 36336, 130 km east of Broome (17 �� 58 ��S, 123 �� 28 ��E); WAM R 40266, Coulomb Point (17 �� 22 ��S, 122 ��09��E); WAM R 46463, Beagle Bay (16 �� 59 ��S, 122 �� 40 ��E); WAM R 53979, WAMR 53998, WAMR 54013 ��� 4, WAMR 54018 ��� 22, WAM R 54028 ��� 31, WAM R 54038, Edgar Ranges (18 �� 21 ��S, 122 �� 53 ��E); WAM R54080, 37 km SSE of McHughes Bore (18 �� 39 ��S, 123 �� 11 ��E); WAM R 58403 ��� 10; WAM R 58461, WAM R 58516, WAM R58503, 5 km north of Coulomb Point (17 �� 19 ��S, 122 �� 10 ��E); WAM R 58500, WAM R 58514, WAM R 58515, Martins Well (16 �� 34 ��S, 122 �� 51 ��E); WAM R 58517, Dampierland (20 �� 40 ��S, 116 �� 40 ��E); WAM R58605, 26 km ESE Derby (17 �� 23 ��S, 123 �� 51 ��E). Diagnosis. A slender, small-bodied Diporiphora, with no gular or post-auricular folds, and a weak scapular fold, no crests on the forebody, homogeneous dorsal scales with keels parallel to midline, 0���4 precloacal pores, no femoral pores, 64 or more mid-body scale rows, Description. A slender and elongate dragon; body round in cross-section with flat venter; head medium with short angular snout; from above, sides of snout slightly convex with rounded tip; head widest behind eyes (HW%SVL: 15���19); neck constricted to �� maximum head width; gular and post-auricular folds absent, a weak scapular fold present; limbs slender, arms moderately long, legs long; digits long and slender; finger length: 4> 3> 2> 5> 1; toe length: 4> 3> 5> 2> 1; canthus well defined; nasal scale below canthal ridge, nare at anterior of nasal. Tail very long and slender (TL%SVL: 205���275); flexible; tapering gradually to fine tip. Supralabials 8���12 (avg. 10), infralabials 8���11 (avg. 10); tympanum circular; scales on temporal stripe enlarged from eye to posterior edge of tympanum; 0���2 small postauricular spines present; rows of low sharp teeth; upper canines 2; lower canines 2; scales above supralabials angle back from jaw for 2���3 scale rows, uppermost rows comprised of minute scales, and above a row of thin keeled longitudinally-oriented scales beginning at nasal and ending just posterior to midpoint of eye; snout and anterior top of head with distinct keels terminating in 1���4 perforations on posterior edge and aligned horizontally, following contours of snout and eye socket; on posterior top of head scales are more rugose with direction of keels more scattered; 1���2 low post-auricular spines may be present. Dorsals homogeneous, imbricate, diamond-shaped with low keels terminating posteriorly with small perforation; upper keels on dorsum parallel throughout or at most only weakly converging towards midline; upper lateral scales smaller with keels directed slightly dorsally; lower lateral scales enlarged with low keels; gular and ventral scales keeled, keel terminating in spine projecting past posterior edge of scale; dorsal and ventral scales similar in size; 0���4 precloacal pores, pore located on edge of scale; no femoral pores; hemipenes bifid. Background pattern and color variable, from complex patterning or plain. Complex pattern (Fig. 4 a) ���background color light brown; pale silver vertebral stripe 2���3 scales wide; prominent pale yellowish-white dorsolateral stripe 1���2 scales wide; dark brown longitudinal markings (4���6 scales long) to either side of dorsolateral stripe, interrupted regularly by background color for 4���8 scales; dorsolateral stripes continuing posteriorly along tail; well-defined lateral stripe absent, lateral zone a mosaic of light and dark scales that transition to pale ventral color; head matches background color; prominent pale temporal stripe often with dark brown border, continuous with dorsolateral stripe with hiatus posterior to tympanum; labials and eyelids pale white; labial stripe terminates at posterior edge of mandible or on neck. Plain pattern���brown to black uniform background color with highly contrasting pale yellow dorsolateral stripes (usually males; Fig. 4 b) or lighter uniform color with no dorsolateral stripes (usually females); males often have a large black circular mark on the sides posterior to the arms. Ventrum pale white; if well-marked, a pair of brownish-gray stripes from near tip of snout, separating through gular region, then in close proximity on neck (often enclosing medial element projecting from neck), then widening and separating on venter (for heavily-marked individuals these ventral lines can merge creating a single dark ventral patch), converging at cloaca; below infralabials a dark stripe continuous with silvery-gray coloration on sides of neck. Strength of ventral patterning appears to vary independently with dorsal coloration. Habitat. Occurs in vegetation associated with sands, such as Spinifex, grasses, and Acacia. Observed perching on vegetation in the day and while asleep at night; some individuals were found under low ground cover and one specimen was dug from a burrow. Distribution. Occurs from the Dampier Peninsula in the south-west Kimberley, south through the Great Sandy Desert and occurring along the Pilbara coast as far west as Karratha; east to the Tanami (Fig. 3). Etymology. The specific name refers to the pindan country of the south-west Kimberley region where the type series was collected and to which it was believed to be confined. Remarks. Houston (1977) first identified D. pindan and D. valens in his analysis of variation in D. winneckei and description of D. linga, but deferred describing them. Storr (1979) described both forms identified by Houston with more material available at the WAM. In this study it was surprising to find so many D. pindan specimens identified as ��� D. winneckei ��� in the WAM collections. We suspect part of this was due to a kind of circular logic of believing that D. pindan was restricted to the region around the Dampier Peninsula in the southwest Kimberley (first indicated in Houston���s 1977 paper), combined with the lack of a detailed investigation of morphological variation of arid zone Diporiphora for many decades. Diporiphora pindan is now known to occur widely through the Great Sandy Desert and in to the Tanami, greatly extending its known range. It also occurs in the sandy coastal region of the Pilbara, a pattern seen in the distributions of several other recently-studied species complexes including the ���sand-swimming��� skink Eremiascincus musivus (Mecke et al. 2009) and the frog Uperoleia talpa (Catullo et al. 2010) (see also Doughty et al. 2011 a)., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Kealley, Luke & Melville, Jane, 2012, Taxonomic assessment of Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) dragon lizards from the western arid zone of Australia, pp. 1-24 in Zootaxa 3518 on pages 7-10, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.214811, {"references":["Houston, T. F. (1977) A new species of Diporiphora from South Australia and geographic variation in D. winneckei Lucas and Frost (Lacertilia: Agamidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 101, 199 - 206.","Storr, G. M. (1979) Two new Diporiphora (Lacertilla, agamidae) from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 7, 255 - 263.","Mecke, S., Doughty, P. & Donnellan, S. (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.","Doughty, P., Rofle, J. K., Burbidge, A. H., Pearson, D. J. & Kendrick, P. G. (2011 a) Herpetological assemblages of the Pilbara biogeographic region, Western Australia: ecological associations, biogeographic patterns and conservation. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement, 78, 315 - 341."]}

Cyrtodactylus kimberleyensis sp. nov. Kimberley Bent-toed Gecko Figs. 2���5 Holotype. WAM R 164144, gravid adult female (Fig. 2); Australia, Western Australia, Kimberley region, East Montalivet Island (14 �� 16 ���S, 125 �� 18 ���E), collected with a funnel trap in a vine thicket by R. Browne-Cooper, 26 April 2007. Diagnosis. A small sized Cyrtodactylus (female gravid at SVL of 45 mm); body slender; limbs and digits relatively long, slender; partly regenerated tail longer than SVL; one pair of greatly enlarged postmental scales in contact with one another behind mental, a smaller pair of enlarged chin shields (second postmentals) lateral to these; small, mostly keeled tubercles in 16���18 longitudinal rows on dorsum; 36 scales across mid-venter between lowest rows of flank tubercles; ventrolateral folds weakly developed and atuberculate; six broad basal lamellae and nine narrow distal lamellae beneath digit IV of pes; dorsal and basal portion of tail only with flattened and keeled tubercles. Color pattern of small diffuse light and dark spots or blotches, no dark transverse bands or large dark blotches. Description of holotype. Adult female. SVL 45.1 mm; TailL 53.3 mm (terminal 5.3 mm regenerated); mass in life 2.5 g. Head moderately long (HeadL/SVL ratio 0.29), narrow (HeadW/HeadL = 0.58), somewhat depressed (HeadH/HeadL = 0.34), distinct from neck. Loreal region weakly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout elongate (SnEye/HeadL = 0.42), somewhat accuminate; longer than eye diameter (OrbD/SnEye = 0.58); scales on snout small, oval, conical with apex directed posteriorly, mostly homogeneous, distinctly larger than those on crown, interorbital and occipital regions. Eye moderately large (OrbD/HeadL = 0.24); pupil vertical with crenelated margins; supraciliaries short, lacking spines or projections. Ear opening horizontally elliptical (right ear opening partly occluded by fold of skin), large (EarL/HeadL = 0.10); eye to ear distance much greater than diameter of eyes (EyeEar/OrbD = 1.42). Rostral much wider (1.9 mm) than deep (1.0 mm), rostral crease about 2 / 3 height of rostral. Two slightly enlarged, rhomboidal supranasals separated by a single, smaller, pentagonal internasal. Rostral in contact with first supralabials, nostrils, internasal and supranasals. Nostrils oval, slightly posterolaterallydirected, each surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial and two postnasals (Fig. 3 A). Two to three rows of small scales separate orbit from supralabials. Mental triangular with very acute posteriorly-oriented apex separating anterior 2 / 3 of postmentals, narrower (1.8 mm) than deep (2.2 mm). A single pair of enlarged postmentals in contact behind mental, each bordered anteromedially by mental, anterolaterally by first infralabial, posterolaterally by an enlarged lateral chinshield (or second postmental), and posteriorly by one or two enlarged granules (Fig. 3 B). Supralabials to midorbital position 7 (right) to 8 (left); enlarged supralabials to angle of jaws 9 (left) to 10 (right). Infralabials 9 (right) to 10 (left). Interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal bone 11; 33 scales between left and right supraciliary rows. Body slender, elongate (TrunkL/SVL = 0.42) lacking well defined ventrolateral folds, although small discrete folds clearly present in life. Dorsal scales largely homogeneous, conical with slightly posteriorly-oriented apices; somewhat irregularly distributed tubercles (2���6 times size of adjacent scales), each wider than long, extending from shoulder region on to tail base, smallest on flanks, largest over sacrum, smaller tubercles on postocular region, crown, occiput, and nape; most dorsal tubercles bearing a keel, those on flanks conical, often lacking a distinct keel, those on posterior trunk and sacral region most prominent; tubercles in 16���18 rows at midbody, typically separated from one another by 1���3 dorsal granules (Fig. 2). Ventral scales larger than dorsals, smooth, oval to subtriangular and subimbricate, largest on posterior abdomen and in precloacal region. Midbody scale rows across belly to lowest rows of tubercles ~ 36. Gular region with homogeneous, smooth, juxtaposed granular scales. No precloacal or femoral pores. No precloacal groove. Anteroventral scales of thigh much larger than posteroventral and posterior, but lacking a distinct single row of enlarged femoral scales. Two slightly enlarged, smooth postcloacal spurs, anterior larger than posterior. Scales on palm and sole smooth, rounded to oval, flattened to slightly domed. Scalation on dorsal surfaces of limbs similar to body dorsum with enlarged, conical, usually keeled tubercles interspersed among smaller scales (except for proximal portion of forearm, which lacks tubercles); tubercles separated from one another by 1���2 small scales, or in direct contact with one another. Fore and hindlimbs moderately short, slender (ForeaL/SVL = 0.12; CrusL/SVL = 0.14). Digits long, slender, inflected at interphalangeal joints, especially antepenultimate joint of longer digits, all bearing robust, slightly recurved claws. Basal subdigital lamellae broad, squarish to rectangular with rounded corners, distalmost generally largest, without scansorial surfaces (1-3 - 4-5 - 3 left manus, 1-4 - 4-5 - 3 right manus; 2-4 - 5-6 - 5 left and right pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 6 - 5 (tip missing)- 8 - 7 - 7 (left manus), 6-7 - 8 - 8 - 7 (right manus), 6-7 - 9 - 9 - 9 (left pes), 7 - 7-9 - 9 - 7 (right pes) (Fig. 4); very weakly developed interdigital webbing between digits (except IV and V). Relative length of digits: IV>III>II>V>I (manus); V~IV~III>II>I (pes). Mostly original tail, long, slightly depressed, gently tapering to pointed tip; longer than SVL (TailL/SVL = 1.18). Scales of tail dorsum squarish, flat, juxtaposed to weakly imbricate, arranged in distinct segments of 8���9 scale rows basally, decreasing to 7, then 6 scale rows distally. Pygal segments bearing 6 strongly keeled tubercles, each 5���6 times the size of adjacent scales and separated from each other by 1���2 scales, in a transverse row; next three tail segments with four tubercles, followed by a single segment with two enlarged, flattened, keeled scales in position of tubercles, but on left side only; no tubercles more distally. Subcaudals approximately 1.5 times size of dorsal caudals, squarish proximally, becoming rounded to oval distally. No enlarged median subcaudal plates. Measurements (in mm): SVL 45.1, ForeaL 5.6, CrusL 6.1, TailL 53.3, TailW 3.5, TrunkL 19.1, HeadL 13.0, HeadW 7.5, HeadH 4.4, OrbD 3.2, EyeEar 4.5, SnEye 5.5, NarEye 3.5, Interorb 4.5, EarL 1.3, Internar 1.2. Coloration in ethanol: Dorsum light brown mottled with small darker blotches and tubercles. A series of small rounded white blotches on lower flanks, neck and lower part of side of head. Two dark blotches on occiput and a broken, heart-shaped marking on the crown. A broad bold dark brown streak from posterior midpoint of orbit to above ear, confluent with a narrower incomplete stripe continuing on to shoulder. A pair of dark brown canthal streaks and several dark stray marks on other areas of head. Rostral mostly medium brown. Labials mostly brown with some scales bearing white patches. Limbs similar to dorsum, light brown with darker mottling and distinct white blotches. Digits with alternating light and dark markings. Soles and palms pale grayish brown. Tail light brown with a pair of paravertebral dark brown stripes proximally breaking into paired dashes at approximately midpoint of tail. Distal 70 % of tail with alternating white to cream and mid-brown markings. Regenerated tail tip without regular pattern. Venter beige with cream to whitish spots under throat and posterior border of thighs. Underside of tail uniform brown with white speckling along entire length. Color in life (based on live photograph of holotytpe, Fig. 5): Similar to that in preservative, pale areas of body with a pale grayish to grayish-pink suffusion, and pale spots on flanks and limbs more evident than in preserved specimen. Pale coloration of tail base pale yellowish-cream to straw. Iris silvery with dark reticulations. Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Distribution, reproduction and habitat. The only known specimen of C. kimberleyensis sp. nov. is from East Montalivet Island (Fig. 1), although it is possible the taxon occurs on the Kimberley mainland as well. The holotype is a gravid female containing a single egg measuring 9.4 mm x 5.3 mm. Like most gekkotans Cyrtodactylus spp. typically produce two eggs per clutch. Single egg clutches are uncommon in the Gekkonidae (Marquet et al. 1990), but do occur, chiefly in miniaturized lineages. If a single egg clutch is normal for C. kimberleyensis sp. nov. it would be the first member of its genus known to do so. The specimen was collected in late April, very late in the tropical wet season, and it is possible the female had produced other clutches earlier in the season, as occurs in many other tropical geckos (Inger & Greenberg 1966). The holotype was collected from a vine thicket on a lateritic slope (R. Browne-Cooper, pers. comm.; Fig. 6). Other reptiles also occurring on the island are the gekkotan lizards Heteronotia binoei (Gray) and Delma borea Kluge, the skinks Carlia johnstonei Storr, C. triacantha (Mitchell), Ctenotus inornatus (Gray), Eremiascincus isolepis (Boulenger), Lerista walkeri (Boulenger), and the elapid snake Parasuta nigriceps (G��nther). Comparisons with other species. The diagnosis of Cyrtodactylus spp. known only from female specimens is generally quite difficult because the presence/absence, number, and distribution of precloacal and femoral pores in males are useful and convenient characters that often distinguish species from one another (Bauer 2003). However, the very small size C. kimberleyensis sp. nov. (confirmed as an adult because the sole known specimen is gravid) easily separates it from the majority of its congeners. Most gekkotans show little sexual dimorphism in overall body length, with slightly larger females in approximately two-thirds of species investigated (Fitch 1981). In only two species of Cyrtodactylus are size and maturity data known for large samples (C. malayanus (de Rooij), n= 131 males, 162 females; C. pubisulcus Inger, n= 56 males, 62 females; Inger & Greenberg 1966). In both species females were slightly larger on average and attained somewhat greater maximum sizes than males. A review of recent descriptions of new Cyrtodactylus based on samples containing both males and females suggests no intrageneric directionality of sexual dimorphism in SVL, and no clear examples of strong size asymmetry between genders. In C. pubisulcus the minimum size at which females were gravid was 89.6 % of maximum SVL and in C. malayanus it was 83.1 %. (Inger & Greenberg 1966). Most studies of size at maturity in geckos suggest that females reach maturity at 73���82 % of maximum size (Parker 1972; Vitt 1986; How et al. 1986; Selcer 1986; Okada et al. 2002) although there are some genera in which sexual maturity may be reached at smaller relative sizes (e.g., Ptenopus Gray, Hibbitts et al. 2005; Homonota Gray, Ibarg��engoyt��a & Casalins 2007). These values may, however, be influenced by the criteria used to determine maturity. For example, in Homopholis wahlbergii Smith females had muscular oviducts at 71.4 % of maximum size (Whiting et al. 2007). Based on data from other geckos one may thus conservatively estimate that the holotype of C. kimberleyensis sp. nov. is at least 70 % of the maximum size the species might attain. Of named species summarized by R��sler and Glaw (2008), only the following species had maximum SVLs of less than 65 mm, the maximum size of C. kimberleyensis sp. nov. so predicted: C. consobrinoides (Annandale), C. feae (Boulenger, C. annandalei Bauer, C. gansi Bauer, and C. wakeorum Bauer���all from Myanmar, C. agamensis (Bleeker) from Sumatra, C. buchardi David et al. from Laos, C. gubernatoris (Annandale) from the eastern Himalayas, C. laevigatus Darevsky from Komodo and Flores, C. malcolmsmithi (Constable) from northern India, and several species in the subgenus Geckoella occurring in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Cyrtodactylus jellesmae (Boulenger) from Sulawesi was reported to have a maximum SVL of 63 mm by R��sler & Glaw (2008) but adults are now known to reach at least 75 mm SVL (Linkem et al. 2008). All descriptions published since the summary of R��sler and Glaw (2008) were consulted and the only additional taxon with a mature SVL of less than 65 mm subsequently described is C. mandalayensis Mahony. However, this description was based on a single, apparently immature specimen of 61.7 mm SVL, implying a maximum adult size of> 75���85 mm SVL. The new species may be distinguished from Geckoella spp. by its longer toes, more depressed habitus, tail longer than SVL, and tubercular dorsum. By the absence of enlarged caudal midventral plates it may be distinguished from C. annandalei and from this species and C. agamensis in having fewer ventral scales across midbody (36 versus 43 and 67, respectively) [Note: The ventral scale count in C. kimberleyensis sp. nov., which lacks ventrolateral folds, was made between the lowest rows of lateral tubercles and is thus not strictly comparable to counts of species with folds. However, as tubercles are never present ventral to such folds, and the ventralmost tubercles are often several scale rows above the folds, the ventral count in the new species may be assumed to be equal to or greater than (but not less than) corresponding inter-fold counts. Inter-fold scale counts of greater magnitude than the inter-tubercle count of the new species may thus be conservatively regarded as putatively diagnostic]. It differs from C. malcolmsmithi in having small caudal tubercles restricted to the proximal portion of the tail (versus prominent tubercles along the entire tail), from C. buchardi, C. annandalei and C. consobrinoides, C. gansi and C. wakeorum in lacking a banded dorsal pattern and from the last two of these, as well as C. buchardi, in having a lower number of dorsal tubercle rows (16���18 versus 20���25 [24 in C. wakeorum, 25 in C. buchardi]). It is distinguished from C. feae and C. gubernatoris in having a weakly defined ventrolateral fold (versus a well-defined row of enlarged tubercles separating flank and venter) and further from the former species in lacking a reticulate pattern on the head and from the latter in lacking irregular blackish transverse markings on the dorsum. Cyrtodactylus kimberleyensis sp. nov. is the same size as C. laevigatus and C. l. uniformis Auffenberg from Flores but differs from these in its more regularly arranged dorsal tubercles (16���18 discrete longitudinal rows versus scattered or irregularly arranged tubercles) and in having at most a single transverse row of granules separating the proximal and distal series of subdigital lamellae (versus multiple such rows; see Darevsky 1964, Fig. 4; Auffenberg 1980, Fig. 14 E). It also differs from these species in dorsal pattern (light and dark blotches versus short, sometimes interrupted transverse bars in the nominate form and mostly patternless in C. l. uniformis)., Published as part of Bauer, Aaron M. & Doughty, Paul, 2012, A new bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from the Kimberley region, Western Australia, pp. 32-42 in Zootaxa 3187 on pages 34-38, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.215278, {"references":["Marquet, P. A., Bozinovic, F., Medel, R. G., Werner, Y. L. & Jaksic, F. M. (1990) Ecology of Garthia gaudichaudi, a gecko endemic to the semiarid region of Chile. Journal of Herpetology, 24, 431 - 434.","Inger, R. F. & Greenberg, B. (1966) Annual reproductive patterns of lizards from a Bornean rainforest. Ecology, 47, 1007 - 1021.","Bauer, A. M. (2003) Descriptions of seven new Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with a key to the species of Myanmar (Burma). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 54, 463 - 498.","Fitch, H. S. (1981) Sexual size differences in reptiles. The University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication, (70), [4], 1 - 72.","Parker, W. S. (1972) Aspects of the ecology of a Sonoran Desert population of the western banded gecko, Coleonyx variegatus (Sauria, Eublepharinae). American Midland Naturalist, 88, 209 - 224.","Vitt, L. J. (1986) Reproductive tactics of sympatric gekkonid lizards with a comment on the evolutionary and ecological consequences of invariant clutch size. Copeia, 1986, 773 - 786.","How, R. A., Dell, J. & Wellington, B. D. (1986) Comparative biology of eight species of Diplodactylus gecko in western Australia. Herpetologica, 42, 471 - 482.","Selcer, K. W. (1986) Life history of a successful colonizer: the Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in southern Texas. Copeia, 1986, 956 - 962.","Okada, S., Izawa, M. & Ota, H. (2002) Growth and Reproduction of Gekko hokouensis (Reptilia: Squamata) on Okinawajima Island of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Journal of Herpetology, 36, 473 - 479.","Hibbitts, T. J., Pianka, E. R., Huey, R. B. & Whiting, M. J. (2005) Ecology of the common barking gecko (Ptenopus garrulus) in southern Africa. Journal of Herpetology, 39, 509 - 515.","Ibarguengoytia, N. R. & Casalins, L. M. (2007) Reproductive biology of the southernmost gecko Homonota darwini: convergent life-history patterns among Southern Hemisphere reptiles living in harsh environments. Journal of Herpetology, 41, 72 - 80.","Whiting, M. J., Reaney, L. T. & Keogh, J. S. (2007) Ecology of Wahlberg's velvet gecko, Homopholis wahlbergii, in southern Africa. African Zoology, 42, 38 - 44.","Rosler, H. & Glaw, F. (2008) A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Malaysia including a literature survey of mensural and meristic data in the genus. Zootaxa, 1729, 8 - 22.","Darevsky, I. S. (1964) Two new species of gekkonid lizards from the Komodo Island in Lesser Sundas Archipelago. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 173, 169 - 174.","Auffenberg, W. (1980) The herpetofauna of Komodo, with notes on adjacent areas. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences, 25, 39 - 156."]}

Diporiphora Gray, 1842 Type species��� Diporiphora bilineata Gray, 1842, by monotypy., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Kealley, Luke & Melville, Jane, 2012, Taxonomic assessment of Diporiphora (Reptilia: Agamidae) dragon lizards from the western arid zone of Australia, pp. 1-24 in Zootaxa 3518 on page 7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.214811

Uperoleia russelli (Loveridge, 1933) Northwest Toadlet Glauertia russelli Loveridge, 1933, Occas. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 8: 89. Uperoleia russelli, Tyler, Davies and Martin, 1981 Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser. 79: 19���24. Holotype. WAM R 2608, collected on the bank of Aurillia Creek flowing into the Gascoyne River near Landor Station (24 �� 53 ���S, 116 �� 59 ���E), Western Australia, by L. Glauert (collection date unknown, believed to be 1929). Paratypes. There are 23 paratypes: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ) 19424 ��� 9, SAMA R 9723, WAM R 2609 ��� 25. Paratype collection details as for holotype. Diagnosis. Distinguished from congeners by a combination of moderate body size (males 20.9 ���33.0 mm, females 28.8���32.8 mm SUL) with moderately long limbs (TV/SUL 0.35 �� 0.02 [0.33���0.39]), narrow snout (EN/IN 1.35 �� 0.08 [1.24���1.60]), absence of maxillary teeth, extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, faintly tubercular skin on dorsum, brown dorsal surface with paravertebral series of usually interconnected dark blotches, snout often pale gray, wide ���V��� behind eyes directed posteriorly and usually bisected by vertebral row of pale tubercles, reddish-orange femoral patches, well-developed parotoid, inguinal, and coccygeal glands; inguinal gland large, rounded, and usually distinct from parotoid gland. Toes extensively webbed to second proximal tubercle on fourth toe (Fig. 2 d), broadly fringed, and large thin inner and outer metatarsal tubercles. Description. Moderate body size, squat, and rotund. Head is small with slightly protruding eyes. When viewed laterally, slightly sloping snout and slightly rounded tip; when viewed from above, the sides of the snout gradually come to a broadly rounded point. Canthus rostralis straight and poorly defined; loreal region sloping and slightly convex. Sharply pointed medial projection (synthesis of mentomeckelian bones) that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with a slight rim. Anterior corner of eye covered by flap of skin; at dorsal terminus FIGURE 8. Distribution of a) U. glandulosa, b) U. micromeles, c) U. russelli, d) U. saxatilis sp. nov. () and U. talpa (���). Holotype locations are indicated by an arrow. the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Posterior edge of brow projects slightly over skin on side of head. Tympana covered by skin and parotoid glands. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary and vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle extensively exposed. EN larger than IN (EN/IN 1.35 �� 0.08 [1.24���1.60]). Arms and hands thickly built. Arms are of moderate length (ArmL/SUL 0.42 �� 0.03 [0.39���0.47]) and the fingers are poorly fringed and unwebbed. Finger length 3> 4> 2> 1. Tubercles under fingers extensively developed; one on first and second, two on third and fourth. Palmar tubercles large, prominent and conical. Moderately developed outer palmar tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of first finger (beginning 1 / 3 down finger), extending to base of wrist (�� along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmar surface. Legs moderately long (TL/SUL 0.35 �� 0.02 [0.33���0.39]), and of moderate build. Toe length 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Tubercles under toes moderately developed; one on first and second, two on third and fifth, three on fourth. Toes moderately long, extensively webbed to second tubercle, and strongly fringed (Fig. 2 d). Poorly developed webbing between the fourth and fifth toes, reaching first tubercle on fifth toe. Large spatulate inner metatarsal tubercle, oriented along fifth toe. Outer metatarsal tubercle thin, spatulate, and oriented perpendicular to foot. Dorsal and ventral surface slightly granular. Well developed parotoid, inguinal and coccygeal glands; inguinal rounded and rarely extends to parotoid gland. Mandibular gland well developed, discrete from parotid gland but disrupted into at least two sections. Coloration. Dorsal ground color pale brownish-gray with wide dark brown paravertebral blotches or stripes (if connected) from anterior end of parotoid gland to coccygeal gland. Snout usually pale gray or orange, bordered behind by a wide dark brown 'V' between the eyes directed posteriorly, often extending to above eyes and disrupted in the center by vertebral row of orange tubercles; canthus rostralis often dark. Dorsolaterally along glands a wide broken pale orange-red stripe from nares extending to cloaca (Fig. 7). Lateral surfaces and upper surfaces of limbs with finer spotting, often forming thin irregular blotches; glands and upper surfaces of limbs with an orange wash. Femoral patches red or a reddish-orange when present; groin lacks flash coloration. Ventral surface translucent between finely granular whitish and gray tubercles. Large white tubercles at base of arm; inner portion of thighs translucent and entirely without pigment. Throat of males suffused with gray. Advertisement call. Figure 6 b and 6 c and Table 5 summarize the main features of the call. This species has been recorded producing two calls; a long squelch of 22���38 pulses, and a short squelch of 17���26 pulses. The long call is much more common on nights of high calling activity. Habitat. Specimens have been collected from under tufts of grass or leaf litter near the edges of creeks and rivers, alluvial flats, and along the lower pebble-strewn slopes of rocky ranges. Appears to prefer flowing rivers and streams versus the ephemeral pools of other arid zone Uperoleia. Distribution. This species is restricted to the Carnarvon and Gascoyne Regions of Western Australia (Fig. 8 b). Etymology. Named for the property owner in the 1920 s where the first specimens were collected, A.R.E. Russell. Comparisons with other species. Distinguished from all western arid zone species except U. saxatilis sp. nov. by extensive toe webbing, which extends to the second proximal tubercle (Fig. 2 d). Uperoleia russelli can be further distinguished from other western arid zone Uperoleia by the presence of wide dark paravertebral blotches or stripes which are absent in U. micromeles, U. saxatilis sp. nov., and U. talpa. The paravertebral coloration in U. glandulosa is narrower and restricted to the anterior end of the dorsum. Remarks. These data present a significant reduction in the described range of U. russelli and illustrates a real lack of knowledge about this species. Prior data on U. russelli indicated an extensive distribution across a huge area. However, over 70 % of museum records of U. russelli actually apply to other Uperoleia within the arid zone and U. russelli has only been accurately reported from 11 different localities. Environmental assessments using previous survey work must carefully evaluate historical records for accurate species identification., Published as part of Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 2902 on pages 19-21, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835, {"references":["Tyler, M. J., Davies, M. & Martin, A. A. (1981) Australian frogs of the Leptodactylid Genus Uperoleia Gray. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series, 79, 1 - 64."]}

Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale, Keogh, Scott (2011): Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species. Zootaxa 2902: 1-43, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835

Uperoleia micromeles Tyler, Davies, and Martin, 1981 Tanami Toadlet Uperoleia micromeles Tyler, Davies, and Martin, 1981 Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser. 79: 46���49. Holotype. SAMA R 17175, an adult female collected in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory, on 18 January 1978 by M. Gillam and I. Andrews. In the original description Tyler et al. (1981) note the coordinates as 28 �� 38 ���S; 130 �� 25 ���E. However, these coordinates contained a typo and the correct coordinates are 20 �� 38 ���S; 130 �� 25 ���E (M.J. Tyler, per. comm.). Paratypes. There are five paratypes, one adult male and four adult females NTM R 31199 (previously Central Australian Museum (CAMA) 140); SAMA R 17176 ��� 78, R 17221. All paratypes share the same collection details as the holotype. Diagnosis. Distinguished from congeners by a combination of large body size (males 24.2���31.1 mm, females 22.2���37.6 mm SUL) with short to moderate length limbs (TL/SUL 0.36 �� 0.01 [0.33���0.38]), very broad snout (EN/ IN 0.87 �� 0.09 [0.70���0.98]), absence of maxillary teeth, narrowly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, scattered pale or reddish tubercles on dorsum, pale tubercles conspicuous on side of snout and above eyes, dull brown dorsal surface with irregular-shaped rich dark brown and red blotches, usually a vertebral row of orange tubercles from snout to urostyle, well developed parotoid and subarticular glands, inguinal and coccygeal glands moderately developed and restricted to rear of body. Toes basally webbed (Fig. 2 a), and thin exceptionally large and projecting inner and outer metatarsal tubercles. Description. Body large, squat, rotund, and thick. Head wide with small eyes. When viewed laterally, thick snout with little slope and squarish tip; when viewed from above, the sides of the snout slope minimally and end in a wide square tip. Canthus rostralis not defined; loreal region sloping and moderately concave. Rounded medial projection (synthesis of mentomeckelian bones) on lower jaw that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with moderate rim. Anterior corner of eye moderately covered by flap of skin; at dorsal terminus the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Posterior edge of brow projects slightly over skin on side of head. Tympana covered by skin and parotoid glands. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary and vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle narrowly exposed (Tyler et al. 1981). EN less than IN (EN/IN 0.87 �� 0.09 [0.70��� 0.98]). Arms and hands thickly built. Arms are short (ArmL/SUL 0.39 �� 0.02 [0.35���0.43]) and fingers are poorly fringed and unwebbed. Finger length 3> 4 = 2> 1. Tubercles under fingers moderately developed; one on first and second, two on third and fourth. Large outer palmar tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of first finger (beginning halfway down finger), extending to base of wrist (�� along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmar surface. Figure 7: Photos in Life. Top row from left to right: Uperoleia glandulosa from Tabba Tabba Ck (M. Anstis), U. micromeles from South Headland (H. Cook), and U. russelli from Gascoyne River Crossing (M. Anstis). Bottow Row from left to right: U. saxatilis sp. nov. from Mt. Brockman (WAM R 162771, P. Doughty), U. saxatilis sp. nov. from Mt. Brockman (WAM R 162774, P. Doughty), and U. talpa from Tabba Tabba Ck (M. Anstis). Legs short (TL/SUL 0.36 �� 0.01 [0.33���0.38]) with thickly muscled tibia. Toe length 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Tubercles under toes moderately developed; one on first and second, two on third and fifth, three on fourth. First toe extremely reduced and fifth toe very narrow (�� the width of the third toe). Toes basally webbed (Fig. 2 a) and moderately to strongly fringed. Inner and outer metatarsal tubercles extremely large and spatulate, oriented perpendicular to the foot. Dorsum with scattered tubercles, with a raised mid-vertebral stripe. Large pale tubercles present along snout above mouth. Ventral surface slightly granular. Parotoid gland well developed; inguinal and coccygeal glands moderately developed. Mandibular gland well developed, discrete and prominent posterior to angle of jaw. Coloration. The dorsal surface is a pale dull brown, with irregularly connected dark brown and red blotches. A vertebral row of crimson tubercles runs from snout to cloaca, with scattered red tubercles on the eye, hind limbs, and glands. Scattered white tubercles occur above the mouth on the side of the snout. The parotoid glands are suffused with metallic gold (Fig. 7). Ventral and femoral coloration is unknown. Males have a darkly pigmented chin. Advertisement call. Unknown. Habitat. Occurs in sandridge deserts with Spinifex. Several specimens collected under rocks adjacent to creeks or pools. Known to burrow up to 2 m down in deserts during the dry season (Thompson et al. 2005). Distribution. Widely distributed across the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory and the Great and Little Sandy Deserts in Western Australia, extending to the north-eastern edge of the Pilbara craton near Port Hedland (Fig. 8 b). Etymology. micromeles is derived from the Greek micros (small) and melos (limb) referring to the short limbs of this species. Comparisons with other species. Uperoleia micromeles is easily distinguished from all other Uperoleia species by the very broadly spaced nares. It is the only species where the internarial span is greater than the eye-naris distance (EN/IN 0.87 �� 0.09 [0.70���0.98], all others EN/IN Uperoleia share these characteristics. Remarks. The ability of this species to live within some of the driest and hottest areas in Australia is remarkable, and distributional information is potentially limited by the difficulty surveying sand dunes and remote locations during the monsoonal wet season when frogs may be active. This species may also be more extensively distributed in the Gibson Desert as it forms part of the Great Sandy Desert drainage (Beard & Webb 1974)., Published as part of Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 2902 on pages 17-19, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835, {"references":["Tyler, M. J., Davies, M. & Martin, A. A. (1981) Australian frogs of the Leptodactylid Genus Uperoleia Gray. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series, 79, 1 - 64.","Thompson, G. G., Withers, P. C., McMaster, K. A. & Cartledge, V. A. (2005) Burrows of desert-adapted frogs, Neobatrachus aquilonius and Notaden nichollsi. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 88, 17 - 23.","Beard, J. S., & Webb, M. J. (1974) Vegetation of Western Australia - Great Sandy Desert, 1: 1,000,000 vegetation series: explanatory notes to sheet 2. Nedlands, W. A.: University of Western Australia Press."]}

Underwoodisaurus seorsus sp. nov. Pilbara Barking Gecko Figs. 2–5 Holotype. WAM R 157525, adult female with original tail, Packsaddle Range (22.9144 ºS, 118.9158 ºE, elevation 638 m), Pilbara region, Western Australia, collected by P. Cullen and M. Menz on 7 May 2004. Paratypes. WAM R 129895 (male), West Angelas, 100 km north-east of Newman (23.1833 ºS, 118.8142 ºE, elevation 775 m) on 14 June 1997; WAM R 157520 (male), WAM R 157522 (female), WAM R 157513 (juvenile), Packsaddle Range (22.9144 ºS, 118.9158 ºE, elevation 861 m) collected on 7 May 2004; WAM R 163638, female, 60 km north of Tom Price (22.1191 ºS, 117.9183 ºE, elevation 579 m) collected on 18 November 2008; all from the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Diagnosis. A typically-sized (to ~ 100 mm SVL) Underwoodisaurus with transverse subdigital lamellae, minute anterior loreals compared to larger posterior loreals, labial scales larger than neighboring scales, unreduced phalangeal formula (2.3.4.5.3/2.3.4.5.4), and long original tail gradually tapering to tip. Distinguished from U. milii by possessing an elongate snout (NE/IN: 1.74–1.89), relatively long limbs (ArmL/SVL: 0.18–0.20; LegL/SVL: 0.20–0.22) and digits (4 FL/SVL: 0.064–0.084; 4 TL/SVL: 0.076–0.095), higher density of smaller enlarged tubercles scattered across the dorsum but with lower, more acute tubercles with anterior keel more common and conspicuous, relatively deep mental (projecting to level of, or beyond, first secondary infralabial) and often terminating posteriorly in a point (v. rounded), enlarged tubercles on original tails not forming transverse rows. Reddish-brown ground color with relatively plain head without light blotching or patterning, dorsal pattern consisting of sparsely scattered small pale tubercles and a narrow band across the nape. Description. A large carphodactylid gecko with large head, long slender limbs and digits, and long tail terminating in a point (Figs. 2–4). Table 2 presents measurements and scores for meristic characters. Large and triangular head, nearly as wide as body, slightly depressed, terminating in a relatively straight-edged blunt snout; large and protruding eyes with overhanging supraciliary ridge, medial portion of dorsal eye bulges separated by 12–15 scales; dorsal skin on head not loose; wide nostrils in lateral view, narrow dorsally, directed posteriorly; vertical and elongate ear opening, recessed tympanum; labial scales enlarged relative to neighboring scales, first largest, then gradually decreasing along jaw; wide rostral, lacking a medial crease, and not in contact with nostril; anterior edge of nostril bordered anteriorly by 3 enlarged scales and 8–10 fine postnasal scales; relatively straight, slightly concave loreal region; extremely small loreal scales closest to nostrils compared to larger loreal scales nearer to the eye and elsewhere on head; mental deep, usually extending beyond scale posterior to first secondary infralabial, and ending in a sharp point; narrow neck, approximately half the width of head. Body covered with small relatively flat scales with much larger tubercles scattered across dorsum with higher density towards flanks (Fig. 5); tubercles heterogeneous in size; tubercles round or slightly keeled anteriorly (especially in nuchal region), apex directed posteriorly; ventral surface covered with flat slightly oblong scales, scales on venter larger than those on dorsum; scales below neck and gular region small; scale rows medial to infralabials enlarged relative to gulars and in ca. 6 rows. Very long and slender limbs, pentadactyl; long fingers (4 FL/SVL: 0.064–0.084) and toes (4 TL/SVL: 0.076– 0.095), terminating in a sharp claw; limbs covered in fine scales with scattered moderately-sized tubercles; digits moderately compressed and covered in small scales on the dorsal and lateral surfaces, but with narrow lamellae that span the width of the fingers (4 FLam: 15–18) or toes (4 TLam: 18–23); no expanded lamellae at tips; claw surrounded by sheath formed by a ring of enlarged scales. Tail long (78 and 95 % of SVL), constricted at base widening ca. 5 mm past cloaca in two adult specimens with original tails; proximal half wide with thick medial portion and tapering laterally; scattered dorsal tubercles on proximal half, tending not to form transverse rows, and encircled by a row of scales at base of tubercle; distal half of tail narrows, gradually tapering to a fine point. No pre-anal or femoral pores; 11 or 13 enlarged cloacal spurs to either side of base of tail of single adult male specimen (WAM R 157520), 4–6 enlarged cloacal spurs on females; hemipenes strongly bifid. Coloration. Ground color light to medium reddish-brown, overlain with numerous small pale spots corresponding to tubercles that tend to form irregular bands across the dorsum; plain and unpigmented ventral surface of body, legs, feet and tail; dark reddish brown original tail with five pale stripes: two on wide proximal half of tail consisting of separate small white spots and three on thin distal half of tail that are more defined but still broken (Figs. 2–4). Variation. Meristic and mensural variation is provided in Table 2. The largest specimens were females, approaching 100 mm SVL. Pattern variation was slight, although the background coloration appeared darker in smaller individuals (Fig. 4). Regrown tails were more mottled, without the regular bands of original tails. Distribution. Known only from the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia: from north of Tom Price in the western Hamersley to West Angelas mine near Newman to the south-east (Fig. 1). These three points are supplemented by other observations of U. seorsus sp. nov. where specimens were not collected, but confirmed by observations of knowledgeable herpetologists and/or photographs examined by the authors (see Appendix 2; open circles in Fig. 1). The closest populations of U. milii are approximately 450 km to the south-east near Wiluna and 600 km to the south-west in Shark Bay and offshore islands (Fig. 1). Habitat. Encountered in rocky areas of the Hamersley Range. Some of the specimens from the type series were collected on a graded road running through a ‘ major gully’, and one was sheltering under a rock slab (Menz & Cullen 2006). They have also been observed at the bottom of a rocky gorge with a low tree cover (Thompson et al. 2009). Vegetation associated with other observations (Appendix 2) is shown in Fig. 6 and consists of low sparse trees of Eucalyptus leucophloia, low shrubs of Acacia pilbara and Triodia wiseana (M. O’Connell & B. Maryan, pers. comm.). Etymology. seorsus is Latin for ‘apart’ or ‘separate’ in reference to the large distance between the distributions of U. seorsus sp. nov. and U. milii. Used as a noun in apposition. Comparison with other species. Underwoodisaurus seorsus sp. nov. can be distinguished from the two Nephrurus species in the Pilbara by absence of the enlarged knob at the end of the tail. In the absence of an original tail, N. wheeleri cinctus possesses large tubercles scattered on the dorsum and also enlarged scales on the head; in addition, this species has conspicuous bands. Nephrurus levis pilbarensis has multiple wide nuchal bands, whereas U. seorsus sp. nov. has only a single narrow band. Although widely allopatric, Underwoodisaurus seorsus sp. nov. is only likely to be confused with U. milii. In overall appearance, U. seorsus sp. nov. is relatively more slender than U. milii, and has a longer snout, narrower head, more infralabials, longer limbs and toes (Table 3), more numerous but smaller, more acute, and lower scattered dorsal tubercles, and a deeper angular mental scale. The pattern and color also differ: U. seorsus sp. nov. has a relatively simple dorsal pattern on both head and body comprised of widely scattered pale tubercles. In contrast, U. milii often has relatively well-defined transverse bands made up of larger spots, and usually has considerable areas of lighter patches on the head, including the labial scales and often extending across the top of the head (Figs. 2, 4). The pale-headed pattern is most apparent in populations from Shark Bay, one of the closest populations to U. seorsus sp. nov. and the type locality for U. milii (Shea 2002). Remarks. While early biogeographic studies did not identify the Pilbara as an area of high faunal endemism (Schall & Pianka 1978; Cracraft 1991), it is becoming increasingly clear that the Pilbara is a center of faunal endemism within Australia (How & Cowan 2006; Powney et al. 2010; Doughty et al. 2011 a, submitted). Based on the limited numbers of studies that have been published it appears that endemic Pilbara lineages have a wide range of geographic associations; some are southern isolates of northern lineages (Fitch et al. 2006; Catullo et al. 2011), some are sister to arid zone lineages (Aplin et al. 2006; Pepper et al. 2006) and some are northern isolates of lineages with otherwise more southerly distribution (Doughty et al. 2008). This diverse pattern of relationships of Pilbara taxa to other regions is not surprising given the size, geographic complexity and age of the Pilbara landform. Within the Pilbara, a disproportionate number of endemic species have saxicoline habits compared to other parts of the arid zone (Doughty et al. 2011 a, submitted). The occurrence of U. seorsus sp. nov. in the Pilbara is consistent with the pattern of saxicoline endemics, as individuals have only been collected from rocky areas, and U. milii from their extensive southern range are frequently associated with rocks (e.g. Storr et al. 1990; Swan et al. 2004). The distribution of U. seorsus sp. nov. and U. milii suggests that their common ancestor was once more widely distributed, but that aridification and/or increasing temperature eliminated populations in the Gascoyne region. The rocky gorges and moderately high elevations of the southern Pilbara ranges may have acted as a relatively moist and potentially cooler refugium, allowing an isolated population of Underwoodisaurus to persist especially the rocky gorges at moderately high elevations where individuals have been observed to occur. Relative to southern U. milii, U. seorsus sp. nov. are much more slender with a longer snout, larger scales and longer digits and limbs. This elongation of the body and limbs may aid climbing in the rocky areas this species appears to favor, but further observations of behavior are necessary to test this idea. Within the Pilbara, U. seorsus sp. nov. seems to be rare and have a relatively small distribution. Despite extensive survey effort in recent years they have only been found at a small number of sites. This combination of rarity and small relictual distribution indicates this species may be of conservation concern. The possible effects of increases in global temperature in the coming decades on what is seemingly already a relictual species are of particular concern. We recommend that U. seorsus sp. nov. is classified as Priority 2 (Department of Environment & Conservation, Western Australia) which will afford this species a high level of protection within the state.

Genus Underwoodisaurus Wermuth, 1965 Type species Phyllurus milii Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1823 by original designation. Original type locality 'Australasie sur les rives de la baie des Chiens-Marins' [= Shark Bay, Western Australia]. Neotype locality:'Bernier Island, Shark Bay'. Note: Shea (2002) demonstrated that the type of P. milii was, in fact, a specimen illustration of Nephrurus levis occidentalis but maintained current usage of the epithet milii for the species of Underwoodisdaurus to which it has uniformly been applied, and designated a neotype to fix the name. Diagnosis. A moderately large (adult SVL to 100 mm) genus of carphodactylid geckos with transverse subdigital lamellae, anterior loreals minute and strongly differentiated from posterior loreals, labial scales much larger than neighboring scales, mean of 26 presacral vertebrae, phalangeal formula unreduced (2.3.4.5.3/2.3.4.5.4), and original tail long with 33���42 postsacral vertebrae, post pygal pleurapophysis absent or reduced, rounded in cross section, and gradually tapering to tip lacking a terminal 'knob'., Published as part of Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2011, A new species of Underwoodisaurus (Squamata: Gekkota: Carphodactylidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, pp. 20-30 in Zootaxa 3010 on page 22, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.204380, {"references":["Shea, G. M. (2002) The identity of Phyllurus milii Bory de Saint Vincent, 1823 (Squamata: Pygopodidae: Diplodactylinae). Records of the Western Australian Museum, 20, 431 - 436."]}

Uperoleia saxatilis sp. nov. Pilbara Toadlet Holotype. WAMR 162877, a calling male collected at Turee Creek (23 �� 20 ��� 37.6 ���S, 118 �� 1 ��� 16.6 ���E), Western Australia, in May 2006 by P. Doughty, C. Stevenson, and P.G. Kendrick (Fig. 9). Paratypes. There are 10 paratypes, 4 adult males and 6 adult females: WAM R 110883, a gravid female collected 36.8 km SSE of Pannawonica (21 �� 56 ��� 28.7 ���S, 116 �� 27 ���14.0���E), Western Australia, on 16 March 2005 by R.J. Teale; WAM R 135086, a gravid female collected at Hamersley Gorge, Karijini National Park (22 �� 15 ���S, 118 ��0���E), Western Australia, on 28 August 1996 by S.J. Reynolds; WAM R 135639, a female collected at Pinga Creek Crossing (21 �� 28 ��� 59.9 ���S, 118 �� 39 ���0.0���E), Western Australia, on 16 February 1999 by B. Maryan and J. Smith; WAM R 140012, a male collected at Millstream Chichester National Park (21 �� 10 ��� 52.7 ���S, 117 �� 3 ��� 28.1 ���E), Western Australia, on 12 September 1999 by Ecologia; WAM R 145561, a gravid female collected 80 km S of Port Hedland (21 ��0���36.0���S, 118 �� 42 ���0.0���E), Western Australia, on 3 May 2001 by R.J. Teale; WAM R 154550, a gravid female collected at Wheelarra Hill (23 �� 23 ��� 21.8 ���S, 120 �� 9 ���41.0���E), Western Australia, on 12 February 2004 by M. Ladyman; WAM R 154764, a male collected at Brockman Ridge (23 �� 19 ��� 9.8 ���S, 119 �� 57 ��� 11.9 ���E), Western Australia, on 5 April 2004 by J. Fraser; WAM R 156614, a male collected at the Woodie Woodie Minesite (21 �� 38 ��� 58.9 ���S, 121 �� 14 ��� 17.2 ���E), Western Australia, on 11 June 2005 by M. Peterson; WAM R 156222, a gravid female collected at Cattle Gorge (20 �� 36 ��� 11.9 ���S, 120 �� 15 ��� 51.1 ���E), Western Australia, on 17 December 2004 by M. Ladyman; and WAM R 166206, a male collected 10 km S of Nullagine (21 �� 57 ��� 16.9 ���S, 120 �� 7 ��� 35.04 ���E) Western Australia, on 11 September 2006 by M. Peterson and K. George. Diagnosis. Distinguished from all other Uperoleia by a combination of large body size (males 20.9 ���33.0 mm, females 27.4���36.6 mm SUL) with short limbs (TL/SUL 0.35 �� 0.02 [0.31���0.39]), narrow snout (EN/IN 1.40 �� 0.12 [1.18���1.66]), absence of maxillary teeth, extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, brown skin with darker markings, red femoral patches when present, moderately large hypertrophied parotoid glands, moderately developed inguinal and coccygeal glands which are restricted to the rear portion of the body. Toes extensively webbed to second proximal tubercle, and elongate, thin, and large inner and outer metatarsal tubercles. A low-pitched squelch as an advertisement call. Description. Moderately large body size, squat, thick and rotund. Head is small, thin in depth with slightly protruding eyes. When viewed laterally, slightly sloping snout and slightly rounded tip; when viewed from above, the sides of the snout slope in strongly and come to a short slightly rounded tip. Canthus rostralis moderately defined with gradually rounded edge; loreal region sloping and slightly convex. Moderate rounded medial projection (synthesis of mentomeckelian bones) that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with slight rim. Anterior corner of eye covered by flap of skin, which is usually darkly pigmented; at dorsal terminus the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Posterior edge of brow does not project over side of head side of head. Tympana covered by skin and parotoid glands. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary and vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle extensively exposed. EN larger than IN (EN/IN 1.40 �� 0.12 [1.18���1.66]). Arms and hands thickly built. Arms are short (ArmL/SUL 0.39 �� 0.09 [0.34���0.37]) and the fingers are poorly fringed and unwebbed. Finger length 3> 4> 2> 1. Tubercles under fingers moderately developed; one on first and second, two on third and fourth. Palmar tubercles moderately developed. Moderately developed outer palmar tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of first finger (beginning halfway down finger), extending to base of wrist (�� along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmar surface. Legs moderately short (TL/SUL 0.35 �� 0.02 [0.31���0.39]) and of thick build. Toe length 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Tubercles under toes moderately developed and conical; one on first and second, two on third and fifth, three on fourth. Toes moderately long, webbed almost to second proximal tubercle on fourth toe, and moderately to strongly fringed. Webbing highly reduced between fourth and fifth toes. Large, slightly spatulate inner metatarsal tubercle, oriented along fifth toe. Outer metatarsal tubercle spatulate and oriented perpendicular to foot. Skin rough with large scattered tubercles on dorsum, with a raised mid-vertebral stripe. Ventral surface slightly granular. Cloacal flap present, moderately fimbriated in males and strongly fimbriated in large females. Parotoid gland extensively developed, starting from just behind eye and extending up 1 / 3 of body length; inguinal and coccygeal glands moderately developed and restricted to rear portion of body. Scattered glandular tubercles between inguinal and parotoid glands. Mandibular gland moderately developed and disrupted. Coloration. Dorsal ground color is a dark brown. Blackish patches cover the dorsal surface. Red tubercles often forming a dorsolateral stripe extending from the snout to approximately between the middle of the parotoid glands. Reddish tubercles may be present on sides and upper limbs. Glands are pigmented in shades of red varying from light pink to crimson (Figs. 7 & 9). Reddish femoral coloration when present, although frequently absent. Ventral surface a pale off-white. Background pigment usually absent on upper inner thigh, with scattered white tubercles. Males have a darkly pigmented chin. Holotype measurements. (in mm) SUL��� 30.1, ArmL��� 12.6, TL��� 10.7, FL��� 18.1, IO��� 4.6, EyeL��� 2.8, EN��� 2.4, IN��� 1.53. Advertisement call. Figure 6 f and 6g and Table 5 summarize the main features of the call. The holotype was recorded producing two calls; a long squelch of 19���24 pulses, and a short squelch of 15���19 pulses. The long call is much more common on nights of high calling activity. Habitat. Specimens have been collected while calling from the banks of rocky creeks. Distribution. Extensive sampling has shown this species to be restricted to the rocky Pilbara Craton. Apparently adapted to rocky landscapes, this species does not occur in any of the sandy regions surrounding the Pilbara, including the Roebourne Plain (Fig. 8 d). Etymology. The Latin word saxatilis is an adjective meaning ���associated with rocks��� referring to the distribution of this species on the rocky Pilbara craton. Comparisons with other species. This species can be distinguished from U. glandulosa and U. russelli by absence of red to golden glands connecting along the sides, possessing a darker ground coloration and many small dark dorsal blotches (versus larger, often interconnecting blotches). In addition, U. saxatilis differs from the sympatric U. glandulosa by having more extensive webbing between the toes (to between first and second or to second proximal tubercle versus to first proximal tubercle) and a squelch (versus a click) as an advertisement call. Near the edges of the Pilbara craton U. micromeles may also closely occur; from this species U. saxatilis can be distinguished by narrower snout (EN/IN 1.18���1.58 versus 0.70���0.88), more extensive webbing (to between first and second or to second proximal tubercle versus basal) and lacking fine white tubercles on sides of snout and above eyes. Uperoleia saxatilis is most similar morphologically to its sister species U. talpa and is compared extensively in the U. talpa description above., Published as part of Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 2902 on pages 23-25, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835

Uperoleia Gray, 1841 Uperoleia Gray, 1841, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 1, 7: 90. Hyperoleia Agassiz, 1846, Nomencl. Zool., Fasc. 12: 384. Unjustified emendation. Glauertia Loveridge, 1933, Occas. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 8: 89. Type species: Glauertia russelli Loveridge, 1933, by monotypy. Synonymy by Tyler et. al. 1981, Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser., 29 (79): 9. Hosmeria Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 2. Type species: Uperoleia marmorata laevigata Keferstein, 1867, by original designation. Prohartia Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 3. Type species: Pseudophryne fimbrianus Parker, 1926, by original designation. Type species: U. marmorata, by monotypy. Diagnosis. A group of small-bodied (to 41 mm) terrestrial frogs with short limbs, no webbing on fingers, first finger shorter than second, inner metatarsal tubercle not compressed, lacking vomerine teeth, covered tympana, pupil rhomboidal, parotoid, dorsolateral/inguinal and coccygeal glands usually present, males with unilobular submandibular vocal sac and unpigmented nuptial pads, aquatic reproduction with small pigmented eggs and free-swimming larvae (Tyler et al. 1981). Cloacal flap present, moderately fimbriated in males and strongly fimbriated in females. Other genera in synonymy. Uperoleia are morphologically conservative and monophyly is not in question based on morphological (Tyler et al., 1981) or molecular data (Read et al., 2001; Frost et al., 2006, this study). Parker (1940) indicated Hyperoleia was an unjustified emendation of Uperoleia. There are no compelling reasons to recognize further genera within this clade. Therefore we maintain the synonymy of Glauertia by Tyler et. al. (1981) and tranfer Hosmeria and Prohartia to the synonymy of Uperoleia., Published as part of Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 2902 on page 15, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835, {"references":["Tyler, M. J., Davies, M. & Martin, A. A. (1981) Australian frogs of the Leptodactylid Genus Uperoleia Gray. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series, 79, 1 - 64.","Read, K., Keogh, J. S., Scott, I. A. W., Roberts, J. D. & Doughty, P. (2001) Molecular phylogeny of the Australian frog genera Crinia, Geocrinia, and allied taxa (Anura: Myobatrachidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 21, 294 - 308.","Frost, D. R., Grant, T., Faivovich, J., Bain, R. H., Haas, A., Haddad, C. F. B., De Sa, R. O., Channing, A., Wilkinson, M., Donnellan, S. C., Raxworthy, C. J., Campbell, J. A., Blotto, B. L., Moler, P., Drews, R. C., Nussbaum, R. A., Lynch, J. D., Green, D. M. & Wheeler, W. C. (2006) The Amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 297, 1 - 370.","Parker, H. W. (1940) The Australasian frogs of the family Leptodactylidae. Novitates Zoologicae, 42, 1 - 106."]}

Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony, and Roberts, 1985 Glandular Toadlet Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony, and Roberts, 1985, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 109: 103 Holotype. WAM R 89489, adult male collected at Petermarer Creek, Port Hedland-Broome Rd, WA (21 �� 23 ��� 6 ���S, 118 �� 48 ��� 21 ���E) on 10 January 1983 by M. Mahony and J.D. Roberts. Paratypes. There are seven paratypes, six adult males and one adult female: WAM R 89490 ��� 2, AMS R 114573 collected with the holotype; SAMA R 27081 ��� 2 (cleaned and stained), 3.2 km NE Wittenoom turnoff on Port Hedland-Broome Rd, WA, on 10 January 1983 by M. Mahony and J.D. Roberts; WAM R 22921, Mundabullangana (5 km E of homestead), WA, on 19 Feb 1961 by G.M. Storr. Diagnosis. Distinguished from congeners by a combination of small body size (males 20.6���30.4 mm, females 22.8���27.5 mm SUL) with moderately long limbs (TL/SUL 0.37 �� 0.03 [0.33���0.42]), narrow snout (EN/IN 1.28 �� 0.11 [1.03���1.47]), absence of maxillary teeth, extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, faintly tubercular skin on dorsum, olive-brown dorsal surface with loosely connected irregular dark markings, orange femoral patches, well-developed parotoid, inguinal and coccygeal glands; inguinal gland thin and long, sometimes connecting to parotoid gland. Toes webbed to first or just past first proximal tubercles (Fig. 2 b), and oval inner and broad outer metatarsal tubercles. A sharp ���click��� as an advertisement call. Description. Moderate body size, squat and rotund. Head small with slightly protruding eyes. When viewed laterally, evenly sloping snout with slightly rounded tip; when viewed from above, sides of snout gradually terminate in rounded point. Canthus rostralis prominent and rounded; loreal region sloping and slightly convex. Small and rounded medial projection (synthesis of mentomeckelian bones) that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with a raised edge. Anterior corner of eye covered by flap of skin; at dorsal terminus the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Tympana not visible, covered by skin and parotoid glands. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary and vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle extensively exposed (Davies et al. 1985). EN larger than IN (EN/IN 1.27 �� 0.11 [1.03���1.39]). Arms and hands moderately built. Arms of moderate length (ArmL/SUL 0.40 �� 0.11 [0.37���0.50]), fingers poorly fringed and unwebbed. Finger length 3> 4> 2> 1. Tubercles under fingers extensively developed; one on first and second, two on third and fourth. Palmar tubercles large and prominent. Large outer palmar tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of first finger (beginning halfway down finger), extending to base of wrist (�� along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmar surface. Legs moderately long (TL/SUL 0.37 �� 0.03 [0.33���0.42]) and of thin build. Toe length 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Tubercles under toes conical and well developed: one on first and second, two on third and fifth, three on fourth. Toes long, webbed to first or just beyond first proximal tubercles (Fig. 2 b), and moderately to extensively fringed. Large oval inner metatarsal tubercle, oriented along fifth toe. Outer metatarsal tubercle large, rounded, spatulate, and oriented perpendicular to foot. Dorsum faintly tubercular with a raised mid-vertebral line on snout extending posteriorly to between parotoid glands, and sometimes to urostyle. Tiny pale tubercles occasionally on either side of snout, especially below eye. Ventral surface slightly granular, with scattered white tubercles. Well developed parotoid, inguinal and coccygeal glands; inguinal long and thin, occasionally continuous with parotoid. Mandibular gland moderately developed but disrupted. Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color pale to dark olive brown. An unbroken dark brown 'V' pointed posteriorly is located between the eyes, occasionally interrupted at midline by vertebral row of orange tubercles. Large dark semi-circular markings that curve above the parotoid glands usually present. Dorsal surface with loosely connected irregular dark brown blotches, including on glands (Fig. 7). All glands colored orange or yellowish-orange. Large red orange femoral patches and in groin. Ventral surface whitish and flecked with gray. Chest is occasionally unpigmented, and a few larger white tubercles are present at the junction of the arms and chest. Thighs are unpigmented with scattered white tubercles. Males have a darkly pigmented chin. Advertisement call. Figure 6 summarizes the main features of the call. The call is a sharp click comprised of two to four pulses. Habitat. Specimens have been collected from drainage lines with sparse tree cover and in roadside pools, and in ephemeral pools in riverbeds. Davies et al. (1985) report ���males were calling at the base of sedge clumps at the water���s edge or in a similar position in the water��� and ���around a flooded claypan���. As a microhabitat preference, we observed U. glandulosa preferred areas covered with thick sedge clumps close to water. Under the continuous cover of the grass U. glandulosa did not appear to hide under litter or otherwise attempt to conceal location. Distribution. Uperoleia glandulosa is only known to occur along the eastern portion of the Roebourne Plain from Goldsworthy to Mundabullangana, and occurs inland along the Yule River in the Chichester subregion (Fig. 8 a). The Roebourne Plain is characterized by a sandy substrate supporting coastal grasslands interspersed with floodplains. The area receives intermittent rainfall during summer. Etymology. glandulosa refers to the conspicuous glands of this species. Comparisons with other species. Uperoleia glandulosa is distinguished from other Uperoleia species in the western arid zone by a combination of characters including dark paravertebral bands above but not extending far posteriorly past the parotoid glands. Uperoleia russelli has dark longitudinal bands running down the full length of the body and U. micromeles, U. saxatilis sp. nov., and U. talpa do not have dark dorsal bands. Glands are orangish and unlike all but U. russelli the glands usually connect along the sides. They have an extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle unlike all other western arid zone Uperoleia, and toe webbing extends to the first or just past the first proximal tubercle (Fig. 2 b), which is more extensive than U. micromeles and less extensive than U. russelli and U. saxatilis sp. nov. Within the region, U. glandulosa is the only species known to have a short sharp click as an advertisement call. Remarks. The original species description by Davies et al. (1985) contains detailed and accurate information. This species appears highly limited by geological boundaries including the rocky Pilbara craton to the south and the Great Sandy Desert to the northeast. The Roebourne Plain continues along the entire coastline of the Pilbara, except for the protrusion of the Chichester Range where it reaches the coast between Karratha and Roebourne. This rocky area may act as a barrier to further dispersal into the western Roebourne Plain for this species., Published as part of Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 1-43 in Zootaxa 2902 on pages 15-17, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.201835, {"references":["Davies, M., Mahony, M. & Roberts, J. D. (1985) A new species of Uperoleia (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 109 (3), 103 - 108."]}

Diplodactylus savagei species complex Diagnosis. Differs from other Diplodactylus in possessing a beaked face with nostril excluded from rostral, no enlarged labial scales (except for first), 6���10 rows of paired moderately-enlarged subdigital lamellae, reddishbrown dorsal colouration and short cylindrical tail. Comparison with other taxa. The two members of the D. savagei species complex share with D. conspicillatus, D. pulcher and D. klugei Aplin & Adams, 1998 a pointed snout with no tall labial scales and rostral scale excluded from nostril, distinguishing all the taxa above from all other Diplodactylus. Diplodactylus savagei species complex members are distinguished from the sympatric D. conspicillatus by red background colouration, cylindrical (versus flattened) tail and two rows of enlarged subdigital lamellae. They share with D. pulcher and D. klugei a reddish background colour but can be distinguished by having either small spots that form transverse rows or fine widely-scattered spots, whereas the other two taxa have large blotches along the back or a vertebral stripe., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Pepper, Mitzy & Keogh, Scott, 2010, Morphological and molecular assessment of the Diplodactylus savagei species complex in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 33-45 in Zootaxa 2393 on page 36, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.193899, {"references":["Aplin K. P. & Adams M. (1998) Morphological and genetic discrimination of new species and subspecies of gekkonid and scincid lizards (Squamata: Lacertilia) from the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 81, 201 - 223."]}

Litoria aurifera sp. nov. Kimberley Rockhole Frog Holotype: WAM R 169913, an adult female collected as a tadpole from a creek near Bachsten Creek, Prince Regent River Nature Reserve, Western Australia (elevation 343m; 15 º 59 ’ 18.2 ”S, 125 º 19 ’ 38.1 ”E) on 23 January 2007 by J.D. Roberts and P. Doughty and raised to an adult by M. Anstis. Paratypes (prefixes excluded). Paratypes include a mix of field-collected adults, males with recorded calls, and two adults reared from tadpoles. WAM specimens are all taken from smaller unnamed creeks off Bachsten Creek, Prince Regent River Nature Reserve. R 168004 (female), 168006 (male), 168008 (female), 168009 (male), 168010 (female), 168013 – 4 (males), 168016 – 8 (males): elevation 349m, 15 ° 59 ' 22 "S, 125 ° 19 ' 36 "E; 168059 (male), 168062 (male): elevation 260m, 15 ° 44 ' 54 "S, 125 ° 22 ' 25 "E; 168095 (male): elevation 232m, 15 ° 25 ' 42 "S, 125 ° 18 ' 42 "E; 168114 (male), 168116 (male), 168118 (female), 168129 (male), 168134 (female): elevation 46m, 15 ° 35 ' 40 "S, 125 ° 11 ' 14 "E; 168182 – 5 (males): elevation 408m, 15 ° 51 ' 34 "S, 125 ° 41 ' 47 "E. SAMA specimens were reared from tadpoles collected at 5.1 km ESE of junction of Pitta Creek and Prince Regent River, Western Australia: 63001 and 63002 (male and female): elevation 408m, 15 º 51 ’ 34.6 ”S, 125 º 41 ’ 47 ”E. Diagnosis. Australia has three hylid genera of which Cyclorana is fossorial, Nyctimystes has a vertical pupil and palpebral venation, and Litoria, which has a horizontal pupil and no palpebral venation. The new taxon is assigned to Litoria because of its obvious morphological affinity to Litoria meiriana in body form, size, skin colour and texture and its ability to bounce lightly across the water surface without immersion, an attribute shared only by L. meiriana. Litoria aurifera is a small (to 22 mm), saxicoline species, characterized by a somewhat dorsoventrally compressed, slight body and numerous scattered tubercles over the dorsal surface. The snout is moderately pointed in dorsal view, canthus rostralis slightly curved, tympanum distinct and toes almost fully webbed. It can be distinguished from L. meiriana primarily by its vividly pigmented gold and black tadpole and by adult call characteristics. While very similar to L. meiriana, the snout of adult L. aurifera tends to be slightly more pointed in dorsal view (Figure 1 C), and SVL, TL and HW are slightly greater than the former species. Description of holotype. Size small (SVL 21.8 mm). Head slightly longer (7.7 cm) than broad (6.4 cm), HL/HW 1.203. Canthus rostralis very slightly curved. Snout moderately pointed when viewed from above; obtusely rounded in profile. Eye prominent, horizontal diameter 2.7 mm. Eye to naris distance greater than internarial span (EN/IN 1.7). Tympanum distinct with sharply defined annulus; horizontal diameter 2.0 mm. Small circular gland at angle of jaws and poorly developed supratympanic fold. Vomerine teeth oblique, slope slightly downwards towards medial corner. Fingers long and slender, in decreasing order of length 3> 4> 2> 1, with small, transversely oval terminal discs that are distinctly wider than digits; a trace of webbing between third and fourth fingers. Subarticular tubercle at base of terminal phalanx elongate and oval. Palmar tubercle broad and flattened (Figure 1 E). Tibia length slightly more than one-half SVL (TL/SVL 0.55). Toes long and slender, in decreasing order of length 4> 5> 3> 2> 1, discs slightly more rounded than oval and wider than digits. Interdigital webbing extensive, reaching the base of the discs of all digits except the third and fourth (Figure 1 F). Inner metatarsal tubercle small and elongate; outer metatarsal tubercle extremely small and circular. The dorsum bears numerous scattered slightly raised tubercles, middorsal tubercles more flattened. The throat is smooth; abdomen is weakly granular with granulation larger towards sides of body. The colour in life of the dorsal surface and limbs is mottled with shades of brown and reddish brown (Pantone 464 M to 465 M). Dorsal tubercles are surrounded by darker brown (462 M), which is also in patches upon the hind limbs. The upper lip is often edged with dark brown and silver-white bars, and the sides of the body have scattered whitish tubercles on a dark brown background. The iris is reddish above and grey-gold below (Figure 2 C). In ventral view, the submandibular area and throat are warm grey (1 M), and the abdomen is white tinged with pale copper-pink (Figure 2 E). The undersurface of the limbs is dark flesh colour (436 M). In preservative, each of the pigments is paler and all red, gold and copper pigment is lost. Variation. Males (N = 20) range in SVL from 18.2–20.2 mm and females (N = 8) from 20.3–21.6 mm. The TL/SVL range is 0.479 to 0.594 (Table 1). The nasal and maxillary bones are extremely thin and the anterior portion of the skull is therefore subject to distortion by compression. As a result, some specimens were excluded from the analysis because they are slightly distorted rendering measurements unreliable. snout-vent length; TL = tibia length; HW = head width; HL = head length; IO = interorbital span; IN = internarial span; ED = horizontal eye diameter; TD = horizontal tympanum diameter; ET = eye to tympanum; EN = distance between eye and naris. Colour in life: Two specimens reared in captivity had an iridescent reddish tinge over mottling on the dorsum. Specimens photographed before collection at night in the field were reddish brown to almost translucent beige over the limbs, where faint darker patches were visible beneath (Figure 2 B). Some others were darker reddish-brown with black mottling over dorsum and limbs (M. Barrett pers. comm.). The throat of calling males was dusky grey. Ventrally, the subgular, pectoral and abdominal regions were white and the limbs faint purple (Pantone 5155 M). Colour in preservative: All iridophore pigment is lost. Ventrally, the limbs fade to the same tone as the remainder of the ventral surfaces. Etymology. Derived from the latin aureus (gold) and fero (to carry or bear) alluding to the distinctive gold patches characterising the colour of the tadpole. Distribution and habitat. Figure 3 shows the distributions of L. aurifera and L. meiriana. Adults and tadpoles of L. aurifera were collected from creeks where tadpoles of the new species were found, across an altitudinal range of about 46–408m within about 100 km S. of the Prince Regent River. All sites were first order, fast flowing creeks which collect water from rain on sandstone rock escarpments. Tadpoles were collected from pools within the creeks, but were never found in larger creeks or water that carries silt from flooding (M. Barrett, pers. comm.). Water depth in the pools ranged from a few cm to 1 m and substrate was irregular sandstone rock. In some sites the yellow sandstone rock was covered with patches of black algae, on which tadpoles were well camouflaged.

Diplodactylus galaxias sp. nov. Northern Pilbara Beak-faced Gecko (Figs. 2, 3, 5) Holotype. R 113624, an adult female collected 42km NNE Munjina Roadhouse, Western Australia, Australia (2159 ���S; 11845 ���E) on 15 April 1992 by B. Bush. Paratypes. R 146616 (female) ��� 203 km S Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia; R 158145 (male) ��� 24.5 km N Cowra Line Camp, Western Australia, Australia; R 165134 (male) ��� 2.6 km WNW Python Pool, Western Australia, Australia; R 165502, R 165516 and R 165532 (males) ��� West Intercourse Island, Western Australia, Australia; R 166639 (female) ��� Mons Cupri Mine, Western Australia, Australia. Diagnosis. Differentiated from D. savagei in having smaller body size (means: galaxias ��� 3 38.1 mm, �� 43.8 mm; savagei ��� 3 40.0 mm, �� 46.2 mm), less gabled dorsal scales, longer (galaxias ��� 17.9 mm; savagei ��� 16.8 mm) and thinner (galaxias ��� 5.0 mm; savagei ��� 5.2 mm) tail, scattered fine spots (not heavy spots that form transverse rows) on lighter reddish-brown background colour, pale dorsal border to dark loreal stripe and gradual dorsal-ventral colouration transition (not abrupt or marked by spots or stippling). Description. Small-bodied Diplodactylus with cylindrical body shape and a small, depressed head; tail cylindrical, slightly increasing in width towards tip until about four-fifths of length, then tapering at roughly a 60 �� angle to tip. Eyes small with no spiny ridges on upper eyelid; snout relatively long and pointed with blunt tip. Scales contacting nostril: supranasal and 6 postnasals; rostral roughly hexagonal without crease, bordered by enlarged supralabials, supranasals and internarials; other than first, enlarged supralabials absent with scales along upper jaw similar in size to adjoining rows of scales; mental wider than long with adjacent enlarged gular scales in 2���3 rows; no enlarged infralabials scales with typical-sized scales along lower jaw; ear aperature small and located near retroarticular process. Limbs slender and of moderate length; undersurfaces of digits terminating with claw between moderately enlarged apical plates and 6���9 rows of enlarged paired lamellae along length of digit until decreasing to the size of tubercles on palmar and plantar surfaces. Scales on body small; dorsal and ventral scales approximately the same size. Dorsal scales low, apex not prominent and located at centre of scale. Caudal scales on original tail enlarged and flattened, tending to form transverse rows; scattered enlarged scales on tail tip. Colouration. In life, dorsum reddish with fine (1���5 scales) pale yellowish spots scattered (not typically forming transverse rows); spots continue to limbs; dark loreal-temporal streak through eye and weakly connecting on nape; a pale border dorsal to loreal streak; top of head slightly pale compared to rest of dorsal colouration. Transition from dorsal to ventral colouration gradual (not demarcated by sharp transition or stippling). Ventral surfaces pale off-white. In preservative, ground colour faded, pale cap on head more prominent and spots creamy white (almost no trace of yellow colour). Measurements of holotype. SVL��� 46; TrunkL���23.9; TailL��� 18; TailW���4.9; ArmL���5.9; LegL���6.4; HeadL���. 2; HeadW���6.4; HeadD���3.8; INar���1.0; IO���3.4; IntNar��� 2; PostNas��� 6; MentL/ W���0.58; 4 FLam��� 6; 4 TLam��� 8. Variation. Table 1 presents the ranges of values for the characters measured. Males possess an average of 8 enlarged pointed cloacal spurs on either side of cloaca. Females attain larger body sizes and trunk lengths than males (Table 1). Ground colour showed some limited variation. In some individuals the spotting shows a weak tendency to form rows instead of widely scattered spots (e.g., moderate in R 165532 and more pronounced in R 165134); some individuals have spots with darker borders that contrast with background colour (e.g., R 110149, R 160861); spotting on the limbs is also variable but tends to be much weaker than on dorsum (Fig. 3). Habitat. Diplodactylus galaxias is associated with stony hills with spinifex, Eucalyptus and Acacia spp. Individuals shelter in Spinifex clumps and under rocks. Distribution. Pilbara region (Fig. 1): along the coast from the mouth of the Fortescue River east to the Burrup Peninsula and slightly inland to Whim Creek; west to Peedamulla Station and vicinity of Pannawonica then extending east and inland along the Chichester Range (not occurring south of the Fortescue River) to the headwaters of the Western Shaw River. Also known from West Intercourse Island in the Dampier Archipelago. Etymology. galaxias (Greek) is in reference to the widely-scattered spots on the dorsum which resemble stars in a galaxy. Used as a noun in apposition. Comparison with D. savagei. Diplodactylus galaxias can be distinguished from D. savagei by the spots being finer and never tightly aligning to form transverse bars. Some individuals of D. galaxias have the fine spots in weak rows, but the spots remain widely separated; this is in contrast to the transverse rows in D. savagei that are formed by rows of heavier spots in contact that usually form solid bars (Figs. 2, 3). Furthermore, along the ventrolateral zone the transition from the dorsal to ventral colouration is very gradual in D. galaxia s, whereas it is abrupt in D. savagei. In D. savagei, the lateral zone also tends to have small spots or fine stippling where the dorsal and ventral colouration meet. Diplodactylus galaxias has a smaller mean and maximum body size than D. savagei and a longer and thinner tail (Table 1). The shape of the dorsal scales also differs subtly, with D. galaxias having quite low scales whereas D. savagei has more gabled scales with the apex towards the posterior edge of the scale., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Pepper, Mitzy & Keogh, Scott, 2010, Morphological and molecular assessment of the Diplodactylus savagei species complex in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 33-45 in Zootaxa 2393 on pages 40-43, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.193899

Diplodactylus savagei Kluge, 1963 Southern Pilbara Beak-faced Gecko (Figs. 2, 3) Holotype. R 14369, an adult female collected at Marble Bar, Western Australia, Australia on 22 September 1960 by G.M. Storr. Paratypes. None. Diagnosis. Differentiated from D. galaxias sp. nov. in having slightly larger body size, more gabled dorsal scales, slightly shorter and wider tail, heavy yellowish spots that form transverse rows (not scattered fine spots) on darker reddish-brown background colour, pale dorsal border to dark loreal stripe rarely present and dorsal-ventral colouration transition abrupt or marked by spots or stippling (not gradual). Description. Small-bodied Diplodactylus with cylindrical body shape and a small, depressed head; tail cylindrical, slightly increasing in width towards tip until about four-fifths of length, then tapering at roughly a 60 �� angle to tip. Eyes small with no spiny ridges on upper eyelid; snout relatively long and pointed with blunt tip. Scales contacting nostril: supranasal and 4���6 postnasals; rostral roughly hexagonal without crease, bordered by enlarged supralabials, supranasals and internarials; other than first, enlarged supralabials absent with scales along upper jaw similar in size to adjoining rows of scales; mental wider than long with adjacent enlarged gular scales in 2���3 rows; no enlarged infralabials scales with typical-sized scales along lower jaw; ear aperature small and located near retroarticular process. Limbs slender and of moderate length; undersurfaces of digits terminating with claw between moderately enlarged apical plates and 6���10 rows of enlarged paired lamellae along length of digit until decreasing to the size of tubercles on palmar and plantar surfaces. Scales on body small; dorsal and ventral scales approximately the same size. Dorsal scales slightly gabled, with the apex towards the posterior edge of scale. Caudal scales on original tail enlarged and flattened, tending to form transverse rows; scattered enlarged scales on tail tip. Colouration. In life, dorsum a rich reddish brown with small (1���5 scales) yellowish spots that usually align and/or abut to clearly form 8���12 transverse rows between nape and base of tail; spots rarely extending onto limbs but, if present, also tending to form rows; dark loreal-temporal streak through eye, weakly connecting nape; dorsal border loreal streak rarely with pale edge; top of head slightly pale compared to rest of dorsal colouration. Transition from dorsal to ventral colouration abrupt: demarcated by a sharp transition or stippling. Ventral surfaces pale cream. In preservative, ground colour faded, pale cap on head more prominent and spots creamy white (almost no trace of yellow colour). Measurements. See Table 1. Variation. Males possess an average of 7 enlarged pointed cloacal spurs on either side of cloaca. Females attain larger body sizes and trunk lengths than males (Table 1). Ground colour shows some limited variation in hue, but the pattern of spotting is more variable, and even more variable than in D. galaxias sp. nov. In some individuals the spots align to form solid transverse bars across the dorsum, although the individual spots comprising the bars are still evident (e.g., R 162852, R 170211, R 170196, R 170275; Fig. 3). The size of the spots also varied, from very small (Habitat. Collection records of D. savagei indicate an association with stony hills with spinifex, scree slopes, Eucalyptus and Acacia spp, but also occasionally recorded from termitaria, cracking clays and loamy plains. Distribution. Pilbara and Ashburton regions (Fig. 1): eastern Pilbara from Wodgina to the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, then extending south and west along the Hamersley Range, not occurring north of the Fortescue Marsh. Two widely-separated southeastern locality records are from the Barlee Ranges and Waldburg Station; however, the intervening area is poorly surveyed and the species may be common there. Etymology. Named after American herpetologist Jay M. Savage., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Pepper, Mitzy & Keogh, Scott, 2010, Morphological and molecular assessment of the Diplodactylus savagei species complex in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 33-45 in Zootaxa 2393 on page 38, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.193899, {"references":["Kluge, A. G. (1963) Three new species of the gekkonid lizard genus Diplodactylus Gray from Australia. Records of the South Australian Museum, 14, 545 - 553."]}

Diplodactylus Gray, 1832 Type species: D. vittatus Gray, 1832, by monotypy. Diagnosis. A genus of the Diplodactylidae (sensu Han et al. 2004) distinguished from all but Lucasium and Rhynchoedura by having both lateral and medial pairs of cloacal bones present. Distinguished from Lucasium and Rhynchoedura by the anteriorly enlarged jugal bone that enters the floor of the lacrimal foramen, by having relatively high numbers of preanal spinose scales (generally> 5), absence of preanal pores and shorter, stouter proportions of the body and tail (fourth toe on hind foot approximately four times as long as wide, tail generally swollen and less than 80 % of SVL) (Oliver et al. 2007 a). The genetic data of Oliver et al. (2007 b) clearly places D. savagei within Diplodactylus., Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Pepper, Mitzy & Keogh, Scott, 2010, Morphological and molecular assessment of the Diplodactylus savagei species complex in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, with a description of a new species, pp. 33-45 in Zootaxa 2393 on page 36, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.193899, {"references":["Gray, J. E. (1832) Three new animals brought from New Holland by Mr Cunningham. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1832, 39 - 40.","Han, D., Zhou, K. & Bauer, A. M. (2004) Phylogenetic relationships among gekkotan lizards inferred from C-mos nuclear DNA sequences and a new classification of the Gekkota. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 83, 353 - 368.","Oliver, P. M., Hutchinson, M. N. & Cooper, S. J. B. (2007 a) Phylogenetic relationships in the lizard genus Diplodactylus Gray and resurrection of Lucasium Wermuth (Gekkota, Diplodactylidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 55, 197 - 210.","Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 b) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88."]}

Diplodactylus furcosus Peters, 1863 Ranges Stone Gecko Figs. 4, 5, 14 B Diplodactylus furcosus Peters, 1863: 229. Lectotype ZMB 39231 from Buchsfelde (southwestern outskirts of Gawler), SA (Fig. 4). Diagnosis. A moderate-sized, longer tailed member of the D. vittatus complex, with strongly scalloped to zigzag vertebral stripe, sometimes a chain of angular blotches, strongly bifurcating on the head and extending as a relatively narrow dark-edged pale stripe to each eye. Flanks with no, small or large pale circular lateral spots. Pale markings thinly outlined in black. Description (Figs. 5, 14 B). SVL 37.0���58.0 mm (mean 50.7, n= 30); tailL 22.0���26.0 mm, mean 32.0 (55.2���68.6 % SVL, mean 65.5) (n= 21). Supralabials 9���13 (mean 11.3, n= 22), the first usually distinctly taller than the second. Infralabials 9���13 (mean 10.5, n= 22). Apex of rostral scale with median division descending to about the mid-height of the scale. Supranasals usually in contact; a single internarial present in 5 of 30 examined. 2���4 postnasals (mean 3.3, n= 30). Dorsal colour medium brown, grey-brown or tan. Beige vertebral stripe with strongly scalloped to zigzagged margins, sometimes broken into a chain of angular pale blotches. Vertebral stripe bifurcates on the nape forming a pair of pale stripes, margined with black, terminating at the eye, and leaving an inverted triangular patch of the dorsal colour on the crown and occiput of the head. Blackish paravertebral margins of vertebral stripe prominent but narrow (one to two scales wide) and contrasting sharply with both the light vertebral colour and the medium shade of the upper lateral zone. Upper lateral zone usually well marked with one or more irregular series of small to moderate, well-defined, and sometimes dark-edged circular spots. As with the paravertebral markings, any dark margins of the spots tend to contrast sharply with the adjacent colour. The background colour of the upper lateral zone is uniform, without a peppering of lighter or darker scales. Venter immaculate off-white. Karyotype. 2 n= 34, with two large metacentric pairs, the presumed fusion products of chromosomes 3 + 5 and 4 + 6 from the 2 n= 38 karyotype; remainder acrocentric (King 1977). Distribution. Southern interior of SA, from the western margin of the Gawler Ranges around Minnipa and Wirrulla, through the Gawler and Middleback Ranges to the Flinders and Mount Lofty Ranges, extending east to the Murray River, and along the northern margin of the Murray into the far west of NSW (Figs 1, 16). Similar species. The distribution of D. furcosus abuts or overlaps those of D. vittatus, D. calcicolus sp. nov. and D. wiru sp. nov. Specimens of D. furcosus can be distinguished from sympatric and parapatric specimens of these species as follows: from D. vittatus by the bifurcate head marking and lighter brown colour with the pale markings outlined by narrow but highly contrasting black lines, and longer tail; from D. calcicolus sp. nov. by lack of complex lateral pattern of intermixed dark and light scales and generally a more continuous and boldly outlined dorsal pale stripe. Some specimens of D. calcicolus sp. nov. have continuous dorsal stripes that bifurcate on the head, but these can be distinguished from D. furcosus by having intermixed light and dark scales peppering the flanks, and frequently have a prominent row of very large spots along the flanks where the dorsal colour merges with the ventral colour. Diplodactylus furcosus can be distinguished from D. wiru sp. nov. by the strongly bifurcate occipital marking, rather than pale cap, and narrow, sharply outlined pale dorsal markings, rather than having thick dark outlines that may merge with the dorsal background colour. Occasional specimens of some other members of the D. vittatus complex can resemble D. furcosus, but the light colouring and sharp narrow black outlines of the dorsal markings usually distinguish D. furcosus. Further distinguished from D. granariensis and D. ornatus by the narrow bifurcation of the stripe towards each eye which has more well-defined inner margins. Remarks. The holotype of Diplodactylus furcosus (ZMB 39231) clearly preserves the distinctive colour pattern of pale zigzag dorsal stripe narrowly but prominently margined in black and bifurcating on the nape to form well-defined, relatively narrow stripes to each eye. All specimens of the D. vittatus complex occurring within a 60 km radius of the type locality are readily assignable to D. furcosus. In life most specimens of this species have a light tan background colour, distinctly different in hue to the more grey to greyish-brown dorsal colour of the other southern and eastern members of the complex. In most parts of its range this species is associated with rocky areas or bare stony soils, and there are few records from habitats where the soil is sandy., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Peters, W. (1863) Eine Ubersicht der von Hrn. Richard Schomburgk an das zoologische Museum eingesandten Amphibien, aus Buchsfelde bei Adelaide in Sudaustralien. Monatsberichte der K. Preussisches Akademie von Wissenschaft, Berlin, 1863, 228 - 236.","King, M. (1977) Chromosomal and morphometric variation in the gecko Diplodactylus vittatus (Gray). Australian Journal of Zoology, 25, 42 - 57."]}

Diplodactylus granariensis rex Storr, 1988 Giant Stone Gecko Figs 8, 9, 14 D Diplodactylus granariensis rex Storr, 1988: 220. Holotype WAM R 97288, 44 km southeast of Leinster, WA. Diagnosis. A large-bodied, shorter-tailed member of the D. vittatus complex, usually lacking a rostral crease. Colour pattern includes a strongly-developed, wavy-edged to almost straight dorsal stripe, extending on to the head as a very broad bifurcate pale stripe to each eye. Upper flanks lighter and bordered below by a dark midlateral stripe. Description (Fig 8, 9, 12 D). SVL 49.0���72.0 mm (mean 60.9, n= 27); tailL 24.0���42.0 mm, mean 34.5, (45.2���63.3 % SVL, mean 59.8) (n= 20). Supralabials 10���13 (mean 11.7, n= 27), relative height of first and second supralabial generally subequal. Infralabials 10���13 (mean 11.3, n= 27). Apex of rostral scale usually lacking a median division (small division evident in 4 of 27 examined). Supranasals usually in contact; a single internarial present in 3 of 27 examined. 1���4 postnasals (mean 3.1, n= 27). Dorsal colour light to medium dark brown, greyish-brown or tan. Beige vertebral stripe continuous, with margins that vary from straight to scalloped. Vertebral stripe bifurcates on the nape to form two very wide stripes ending at the eyes. Inner margins of these stripes define a relatively small inverted triangle of the dorsal body colour confined to the parietal region. Blackish paravertebral margins of vertebral stripe strongly developed, tending to merge gradually with the colouring of the upper lateral zone, but sometimes forming a broad blackish dorsolateral stripe, well demarcated from both the vertebral and lateral colours. Upper lateral zone usually with a wavy dark stripe margined by paler colouring. At most, lateral patterning consists only of scattered small lighter spots that lack obvious dark margins. Karyotype. Unknown. Distribution. Arid interior of Western Australia, beyond the mulga-eucalypt line and south of the Gibson Desert, from the Ophthalmia Range near Newman, southeast to near Leonora and southwest to Paynes Find (Figs 1, 15). Similar species. Distinguished from D. g. granariensis and all other Diplodactylus by presence of a dark lateral stripe, lack of a rostral crease and larger body size. Remarks. Storr (1988) believed the two subspecies of D. granariensis to have allopatric distributions (see also Storr et al. 1990, p. 26), and this is still the case although the apparent gap has been narrowed by subsequent collections. Recent mtDNA and allozyme studies (Oliver et al. 2007 a; Doughty et al. 2008) have shown that there are very few molecular differences between the two taxa, with D. g. granariensis being paraphyletic, the populations of D. g. rex forming a monophyletic crown group most closely related to northern populations of D. g. granariensis. Yet, D. g. rex is the most distinctive taxon morphologically within the species complex. We regard the status of rex as not yet firmly established, and so for this paper continue to recognize rex as a subspecies of D. granariensis. Continued use of subspecies helps to emphasise the very close genetic similarity between rex and geographically proximate populations of typical granariensis, in spite of obvious morphological differences. Detailed sampling in the region of overlap (running from about Mt Magnet to Leonora) would provide the specimens needed to establish whether there is gene flow between the taxa., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 35-37, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Storr, G. M. (1988) Three new Diplodactylus (Lacertilia: Gekkonidae) from the arid zone of Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 14, 217 - 223.","Storr, G. M., Smith, L. A. & Johnstone, R. E. (1990) Lizards of Western Australia. III. Geckos and Pygopods. Western Australian Museum Press, Perth, WA, Australia. x + 141 pp.","Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 a) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88."]}

Diplodactylus Gray, 1832 Type species: D. vittatus Gray, 1832, by monotypy. Diagnosis. A genus of the Diplodactylidae (Han et al. 2004) distinguished from all but Lucasium and Rhynchoedura by having both lateral and medial pairs of cloacal bones present. Distinguished from Lucasium and Rhynchoedura by the anteriorly enlarged jugal bone that enters the floor of the lacrimal foramen, by having relatively high numbers of preanal spinose scales (generally> 5), absence of preanal pores and shorter, stouter proportions of the body and tail; fourth toe on hind foot approximately four times as long as wide, tail generally swollen and less than 80 % of SVL (Oliver et al. 2007 b). The D. vittatus species complex. Oliver et al. (2007 a) referred to lizards described below as the D. vittatus species complex, and the data presented there and in Oliver et al. (2007 b) show that they form a paraphyletic assemblage within Diplodactylus. They share a general similarity in habitus and colour pattern, sufficiently similar that all were formerly combined as a single species, D. vittatus, sensu Kluge (1967). The head and body are moderately stout in general proportions, limbs are of moderate length and build, the tail shows little taper until near the tip and frequently has its maximum diameter at about the midpoint, producing a spindle-shape. The undersides of the digits typically have a single series of enlarged, hemispherical subdigital ���lamellae��� which tend to break up into smaller scales towards the base of the toes. The labial scales are differentiated from adjacent scales and the nostril is generally surrounded by the rostral, two supranasals, two or three small postnasals, and the first supralabial. There are no tubercular or spinose caudal scales. The species are coloured in shades of grey, brown or reddish-brown and black, with a dorsal pattern that includes a pale vertebral stripe usually scalloped to produce a zigzag shape, but which may be straight-edged, or broken into a series of angular or irregular dorsal blotches. The vertebral stripe may fork on the neck with a process extending to each eye, or may broaden to form a pale cap over the nape and dorsal surface of the occipital and parietal areas. The edges of the vertebral stripe are weakly to boldly edged with blackish paravertebral margins, the colour fading laterally to a medium shade of grey or brown. The light dorsal stripe continues on to the tail when original, but is often less continuous on the tail than on the body. Colouring of the flanks can be divided into an upper lateral zone of a medium to dark shade of the basic body colouring, and a lower lateral zone that is an extension of the ventral colouring. The upper lateral zone may be immaculate, with or without a peppering of paler and darker scales, or may have a few to many small to large circular spots. Limbs are coloured and patterned similarly to the body. The venter is unmarked light grey to white. The only member of the complex to depart from this general scheme is D. polyophthalmus, which has an indistinct pale vertebral zone and numerous small, blurry pale dorsal spots. The tendency of all of the markings of D. polyophthalmus to ���bleed��� into the surrounding colour distinguishes it from all other members of the complex. The similar species section is based on areas of sympatry and parapatry, and is designed to draw attention to distinguishing features of species that might be found together. As most species show extensive overlap in morphology, this focuses attention on to those characters that are most useful for particular combinations of species., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 28-29, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Gray, J. E. (1832) Three new animals brought from New Holland by Mr Cunningham. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1832, 39 - 40.","Han, D., Zhou, K. & Bauer, A. M. (2004) Phylogenetic relationships among gekkotan lizards inferred from C-mos nuclear DNA sequences and a new classification of the Gekkota. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 83, 353 - 368.","Oliver, P. M., Hutchinson, M. N. & Cooper, S. J. B. (2007 b) Phylogenetic relationships in the lizard genus Diplodactylus Gray and resurrection of Lucasium Wermuth (Gekkota, Diplodactylidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 55, 197 - 210.","Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 a) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88.","Kluge, A. G. (1967) Systematics, phylogeny and zoogeography of the lizard genus Diplodactylus Gray (Gekkonidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 15, 1007 - 1108."]}

Eremiascincus musivus sp. nov. Mosaic desert skink (German���Mosaik-W��stenskink) Figures 4 ���6 Holotype. WAM R 165266 m (M). Type locality: 20 km ENE Karratha at 20 �� 47 ' 10 "S, 116 �� 38 ' 29 "E. Collected by Roy Teale on 31 October 2005. Paratypes (WAM prefixes excluded). R 70927 (M)��� 46.5 km WSW Gorda Tower, 18 �� 53 ' 30 "S, 123 ��02' 30 ���E; R 139046 m (M)���Mandora 19 �� 48 ' 30 "S, 121 �� 27 ' 50 "E; R 139083 m (F)���Mandora, 19 �� 48 ' 44 "S, 12128 ' 25 "E; R 163962 (F)��� 27 km NE Warrawagine Homestead, 20 �� 47 ' 17 "S, 120 �� 54 '04"E; R 165264 m (M) and R 165265 m (F)��� 20 km ENE Karratha, 20 �� 47 ' 10 "S, 116 �� 38 ' 29 "E; R 165833 (M)��� 10 km W Port Hedland, 20 �� 22 ' 47 "S, 11834 '06"E; R 166120 m (M)���Dampier area, 20 �� 46 ' 49 "S, 116 �� 38 ' 25 "E; R 166117 m (M), R 166119 m (M), R 166121 m (F)���Dampier area, 20 �� 46 ' 48 "S, 116 �� 38 ' 26 "E. listed in column headings, unless noted for individual characters below. Mean��SD (range). For a key to the variables see Table. 1 continued next page Diagnosis. A small, slender Eremiascincus (maximum SVL 59.2 mm), distinguished from other members of the genus by the following combination of characters: ground colour reddish to yellowish brown with a characteristic, consistent dorsal pattern of numerous whitish and dark spots often aligning to form short streaks in an irregular, diffuse reticulum; the presence of a pale vertebral stripe running from the neck to the base of tail (occasionally extending to tail); narrow, wavy, dark bands on the tail (~ 35), which are divided medially and interspaces between these dark bands, which consist of dark-edged pale scales in a single row; homogenous, smooth scales on the dorsum and tail; scales along the top of fourth toe with oblique sutures on basal quarter to third of digit, followed by single rows of scales with transverse sutures; 4 TLam undivided and only feebly keeled; plantar scales 10-15; small circular ear opening; MBSR 29���34, PVS 52���62; SupraLab usually 7; 3 chin shields and 1 median chin shield. Description. Body proportions. Head moderate, barely distinct from neck (Figs. 4, 6); external ear opening prominent, small and circular, about one-third size of eye; tympanum sunk, hardly visible; snout rounded in profile; body slender, with well-developed, overlapping, pentadactyl limbs; SVL 43.9���59.2 mm, 4.4���4.9 times HeadL 1; TrunkL ~ 41���55 % of SVL; ArmL ~ 25���31 % of SVL and LegL ~ 38���45 % of SVL; forelegs reaching the eye when adpressed; hindlimbs long, reaching beyond the middle of axilla-groin when adpressed, digits moderately long and slender; finger length: 4> 3> 2> 5> 1; toe length 4> 3> 5> 2> 1; claws strong with long sharp tip; tail round in cross-section with a very gradual taper to its pointed tip; unregenerated TailL 108���150 % of SVL. Scalation. Head scales smooth; rostral trilobed, wider than high, its part visible in dorsal view distinctly narrower than the frontonasal; nasals widely separated by the prefrontal, slightly longer than high and in broad contact with frontonasal scale; nostril positioned medially in nasal; frontonasal usually 1.4 times wider than long, laterally contacting anterior loreal; supranasals absent and nasals undivided; prefrontals large, pentagonal and separated by a medial scale; frontal shield elongate, nearly two times as long as wide, much longer and narrower than prefrontal region, in contact with frontonasal shield; supraoculars 4, first 2 on each side contacting frontal, first one usually in contact with 3 SupCil; frontoparietals paired, in contact with second, third and fourth supraoculars; interparietal 1.3���1.6 times longer than wide; about half the size of frontal, as long as frontoparietals, with light pineal organ visible in posterior lobe; parietals meeting behind interparietal, each in contact with fourth supraocular, frontoparietal, interparietal, upper secondary temporal and 1 or 2 pretemporal scales; nuchals 0���2 on each side; loreals 2; anterior loreal twice as high as long, touching frontal and prefrontal; posterior loreal larger, slightly higher than long; preoculars 2, upper smallest; SupCil 7���10 (usually 8), in a continuous row, first largest, contacting prefrontal and first supraocular; last large and projecting medially between last supraocular and first pretemporal; presuboculars 2, second higher than long; postsuboculars usually 3; pretemporals 2, upper larger, lower vertical and about three times as high as long; lower eyelid movable and scaly; temporals 3, primary temporal 1, quadrangular and oblique; secondary temporals 2, upper secondary much longer than wide and broadly in contact with parietal, lower secondary larger than last labial shield, overlapped by posterior margin of primary temporal and in contact with vertically arranged, narrow scales posteriorly; SupraLab 6 or 7 (usually 7), fourth or fifth (usually fifths) in subocular position, slightly higher than long, last two largest, usually smaller than lower secondary temporal, last SupraLab separated from ear by 4 or 5 scales occupying a space equalling its length; postsupralabials 2; InfraLab 5���7, usually only the first infralabial in contact with postmental scale; mental shield large, wider than rostral, followed by postmental and 3 pairs of enlarged chin shields; first scale in contact, second scale separated by a single median chin shield; anterior margin of ear aperture with small granules or rudimentary lobules (4 or 5). Body scales imbricate, 4 -sided, regular and arranged in parallel longitudinal rows; dorsal scales homogeneous, smooth, polished; scales in median dorsal rows as wide as long; lateral scales smallest; 29���34 MBSR; PVS 52���62, not enlarged; limbs with smooth cycloid scales in parallel longitudinal rows; subdigital lamellae of fourth toe 18���26, feebly keeled, undivided (except basal 1���4); multiple rows of scales with oblique sutures covering the top on at least basal quarter of fourth toe, followed by scales with transverse sutures in single rows (Fig. 4); relatively small plantar scales, rounded in dorsal view, slightly raised and pointed in profile (12.9 �� 1.2, counted in a line drawn between the basal lamella of third toe and lower imbricate scales of hindlimb, N = 25); caudal scales larger than dorsals, two times wider than long, without ridges; a median ventral series of enlarged subcaudal scales; 4 enlarged preanal scales, median preanal scales largest, overlapping outer; 3 or 4 postanal transverse rows of smaller scales. Colouration (Figs. 5, 6). In life, dorsum light yellowish or orange brown, with whitish and dark brown spots aggregated to form a diffuse reticulum; a pale vertebral stripe runs from the back of head to the base of tail; sides generally spotted with larger pale dashes; limbs yellowish or greyish brown without any pattern; tail with dark, narrow bands, which are divided medially; interspaces between bands consist of one row of darkedged scales; some head scales with dark spots or lines, e.g. margins of supraoculars and parietals; occasionally with a dark line at the anterior border of the eye opening in subocular position; labial shields whitish, sutures edged light greyish-brown; venter, including chin and throat uniform whitish-grey to cream; plantar scales and digital lamellae slightly darker pigmented. In preserved specimens, the colour and pattern of the dorsum and the tail is subdued; the ground colour varies from light yellowish brown to dark greyish brown; nonetheless, the typical mosaic-like dorsal colour pattern and the dark bands covering the tail remain evident; a pale vertebral stripe was evident in 89 % of specimens examined (N = 27); the head scales usually show dark markings and the labial shields are edged with darker colour. The colour of the venter becomes yellowish-white. Variation. Juveniles show the same, characteristic colour pattern. Colour variation shows some local minor individual variation, but relatively little geographic variation. Some specimens collected near Mandora (e.g. WAM R 139042, R 139046, R 139083, R 162974) differ in the intensity of dark brown or black spots and some lack darker pigments on the dorsum. In other respects (e.g. caudal colour pattern, squamation of the digits) these specimens are typical of E. musivus. Details of holotype. (WAM R 156266): SVL ��� 59.2 mm; TrunkL ��� 31.2 mm; TailL ��� 79 mm; ArmL ��� 15.9 mm; LegL ��� 22.2 mm; AxillaEar ��� 10.8 mm; HeadL 1 ��� 11.8 mm; HeadL 2 ��� 11 mm; HeadW ��� 7.5 mm; HeadH ��� 5.2 mm; SnoutL ��� 4.9 mm; FootL ��� 9 mm; Toe 3 L ��� 4.5 mm; Toe 4 L ��� 6.1 mm; EarL ��� 0.9 mm; EarH ��� 1.1 mm; MBSR ��� 29; PVS ��� 52; SupLab ��� 7; InfraLab ��� 6; 4 TLam ��� 21; SupCil ��� 9; Nuchals ��� 1; Prefrontals separated. Distribution. This species has been found in desert habitats, buffel- and spinifex grassland and low shrub land of the Pilbara Coast, Dampierland and the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia, where it is sympatric with E. fasciolatus, E. richardsonii and E. isolepis (Fig. 3). The area of distribution extends from the Dampier area (21 ��S; 116 ��E) along the coast to Mandora (ca. 19���20 ��S; 121 ��E). Although most specimens of E. musivus have been collected in coastal areas of the Pilbara region and Dampierland, the species��� distribution extends to the northern parts of the Great Sandy Desert (19 ��S; 123 ��E) with the easternmost record from the St. George Ranges (18 ��S; 125 ��E). The new species likely ranges over much of the northern Great Sandy Desert. However, the coastal area of distribution of E. musivus appears to be unique among lizards reported from that area. Habitat preferences, reproduction and behaviour. The new species is abundant in microhabitats with both loose and hard soil with dense to scattered spinifex (Triodia) and buffel grass (Chenchrus) cover and low shrubs (Fig. 7). Some specimens were collected on dunes and sandridges with orange to red siliceous sand. Individuals of E. musivus have also been observed in low woodlands of Eucalyptus, Grevillea and Acacia. Some morphological characters, however, such as a small circular ear opening, indicate that the species presumably is fossorial (see also Greer 2002). Examination of gut contents indicated that individuals feed on invertebrates and small lizards. Cannibalism also occurs, as a preserved specimen had a smaller conspecific in its gut. Eremiascincus musivus matures at a SVL of approximately 49 mm. Females are oviparous and vitellogenesis begins in spring, between September and October, based on the presence of enlarged follicles during this period. The appearance of enlarged testes in males coincides with the appearance of follicles in females. Oviposition presumably takes place until late summer. One female collected in mid-February contained three shelled oviducal eggs that were ~ 6 mm in diameter. The timing of reproduction in E. musivus appears to be similar to that recorded for other congeners inhabiting the Australian arid zones (James et al. 1991). Like its congeners, the new species is most likely crepuscular or nocturnal, and one specimen was collected at night on a road. However, little is known about the ecology of the species at present. Comparisons with other Western Australian species. Eremiascincus musivus is distinguished from the sympatric congeners E. isolepis and the allopatric E. brongersmai by scales along the top of the fourth toe in multiple rows with oblique sutures along basal quarter or third of digit, followed by more than five single scales with transverse sutures (only distal 1���3 scales in E. isolepis and E. brongersmai have transverse sutures), 4 TLam undivided along almost entire digit and only feebly keeled, while at least divided along basal quarter of digit and strongly keeled or callused in both other taxa, a slightly depressed snout and a small circular ear opening. The new species also differs from the larger, sympatric E. richardsonii in having undivided subdigital lamellae and a small circular ear opening. In addition, E. richardsonii has a dorsal pattern consisting of sharply defined, dark brown bands across the body instead of numerous pale and dark spots, divided, dark callused subdigital lamellae, a large subcircular or elliptical ear aperture and is furthermore characterised in usually having four chin- and two median chin shields (96 % of E. richardsonii examined for this study had four chin shields on both sides of the head and 80 % had two median chin shields; N = 25). E. isolepis usually has a heavily speckled dark brown lateral zone and speckled hindlimbs, both of which are absent in E. musivus. The larger E. brongersmai has a sharply defined solid dark dorsolateral streak at the anterior part of the body, dark spots on the limbs, which align longitudinally and 6 SupraLab instead of 7. Both E. isolepis and E. brongersmai also share a colour pattern in which dark banding on the tail is absent. The new species differs from the sympatric E. fasciolatus by fewer PVS (52���62 versus 59���69), a lower number of plantar scales (12.9 �� 1.2, range 10���15 in E. musivus, N = 25 versus16.0�� 0.9, range 14���18 in E. fasciolatus, N = 20); smooth supracaudal scales instead of keeled scales, scales along the top of the fourth toe in multiple rows with oblique sutures along basal quarter or third of digit (instead of single rows with transverse sutures along almost entire digit) and smaller body size. Eremiascincus musivus shows some morphological similarities with E. fasciolatus. The two species are desert inhabiting and show similar morphological and ecological characteristics. The fingers and toes of both taxa are covered with a higher number of single rows of scales than in the more mesic taxa and the lamellae are undivided and only feebly keeled, which may reduces contact with the sandy ground. The snout is somewhat depressed and the ear opening is small and almost circular. However, E. fasciolatus lacks an obvious dorsal colouration of dark and pale blotches and a pale vertebral stripe. In addition, the dark bands on the tail are more sharply defined and perfectly transverse in E. fasciolatus, while medially divided and more diffuse in E. musivus. In E. musivus, the sides are spotted with white dashes and the sutures between the supralabials are edged with light greyish or reddish-brown, in contrast to E. fasciolatus. The new species has a smaller mean adult SVL than E. fasciolatus and E. isolepis, both in males and females and a relatively longer tail than E. fasciolatus (Table 2). Etymology. The specific epithet (from Latin, meaning ���tessellated���) refers to the unique dorsal colour pattern formed by numerous whitish and dark spots. Used as a noun in apposition., Published as part of Mecke, Sven, Doughty, Paul & Donnellan, Stephen 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, pp. 1-20 in Zootaxa 2246 on pages 10-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.190705, {"references":["Greer A. E. (2002). The Loss of the External Ear Opening in Scincid Lizards. Journal of Herpetology, 36 (4), 544 - 555.","James, C. D. & Losos, J. B. (1991) Diet and reproductive biology of the Australian sand-swimming lizards, Eremiascincus (Scincidae). Wildlife Research, 18, 641 - 654."]}

Diplodactylus granariensis granariensis Storr, 1979 Western Stone Gecko Figs. 6, 7, 14 C. Diplodactylus granariensis, Storr 1979: 397. Holotype WAM R 54239 from Walyahmoning Rock, WA. Diagnosis. A moderate-sized member of the D. vittatus complex, with strongly-developed, wavy-edged to almost straight dorsal stripe, extending on to the head as a very broad bifurcate pale stripe to each eye. Flanks unmarked or with only small and poorly defined pale spots. Description (figs 6, 7 14 C). SVL 44.0���62.0 mm (mean 54.3, n= 32); tailL 22.0���39.0 mm, mean 33.0, (48.6���71.2 %SVL, mean 62.3) (n= 29). Supralabials 10���15 (mean 11.9, n= 32), relative height of first and second supralabial generally subequal or the second slightly higher than the first. Infralabials 10���15 (mean 11.9, n= 32). Apex of rostral scale with median division descending to about the mid-height of the scale. Supranasals usually in contact; a single internarial present in 4 of 32 examined. 2���3 postnasals (mean 3.1, n= 32). Dorsal colour medium to dark brown, greyish-brown or tan. Beige vertebral stripe continuous, with margins that are almost straight, or no more than moderately scalloped. Vertebral stripe bifurcates on the nape to form two very wide stripes ending at the eyes. Inner margins of these stripes define a relatively small inverted triangle of the dorsal body colour confined to the parietal region. Blackish paravertebral margins of vertebral stripe strongly developed, tending to merge gradually with the colouring of the upper lateral zone, but sometimes forming a broad blackish dorsolateral stripe, well demarcated from both the vertebral and lateral colours. Upper lateral zone usually immaculate and uniformly coloured, without a peppering of lighter or darker scales. At most, lateral patterning consists only of scattered small lighter spots that lack obvious dark margins. Karyotype. 2 n= 36; a submetacentric pair 1 is the presumed fusion product of pairs 1 + 3 of the 2 n= 38 all acrocentric karyotype. All other chromosomes acrocentric (King 1977). Distribution. Southwestern interior of Western Australia, east to Zanthus, but absent from the coastal plain and high rainfall southwestern forests and coasts (Figs. 1, 15). Similar species. Distinguished from D. g. rex by lack of a dark upper lateral stripe, presence of a rostral crease and smaller size. Distinguished from sympatric and parapatric species as follows: from D. ornatus and D. calcicolus sp. nov. by lack of complex lateral pattern of intermixed dark and light scales and more continuous and straighter-edged dorsal pale stripe; from D. wiru sp. nov. by bifurcate occipital marking, rather than pale cap, and absent or weak pale lateral spots which, when present, lack dark borders. Remarks. When Storr (1979) described D. granariensis as distinct from D. vittatus in the east, he did not make use of the chromosome data of King (1977) who showed that there were different chromosomal races of ��� D. vittatus ��� across southern Australia. Perhaps owing to the wide overlap of distributions of D. granariensis s.s. and D. calcicolus sp. nov., and the similarity in scalation and (sometimes) dorsal pattern, he conservatively pooled both taxa for his description of D. g. granariensis. However, the type population of D. granariensis, morphologically indistinguishable from nearby animals known to have a 2 n= 36 karyotype (King 1977), is strongly genetically divergent (Oliver et al. 2007 a) from more southerly populations that include animals with a 2 n= 38 karyotype. Our study shows that the two genetic and karyotypically distinct groups are also distinct morphologically, and the southern populations that have much more broken and spotted colour patterns are described below as a new species., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 34-35, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Storr, G. M. (1979) The Diplodactylus vittatus complex (Lacertilia: Gekkonidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 7, 391 - 402.","King, M. (1977) Chromosomal and morphometric variation in the gecko Diplodactylus vittatus (Gray). Australian Journal of Zoology, 25, 42 - 57.","Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 a) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88."]}

Diplodactylus granariensis Storr, 1979 Diagnosis. The species D. granariensis is distinguished from other stone geckos by a combination of strongly-developed, wavy-edged to almost straight dorsal stripe, extending on to the head as a very broad bifurcate pale stripe to each eye and flanks with no, or only small, and poorly-defined pale spots and the second supralabial consistently as tall as or taller than the first., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on page 33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Storr, G. M. (1979) The Diplodactylus vittatus complex (Lacertilia: Gekkonidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 7, 391 - 402."]}

Eremiascincus Greer, 1979 Type species ��� Hinulia richardsonii Gray, 1845, by original designation (Greer 1979 a). Content. Eremiascincus, erected by Greer (1979 a) to contain only two species (E. fasciolatus and E. richardsonii), is expanded to include the following species, formerly belonging to ���Glaphyromorphus���: E. antoniorum (Smith, 1926), comb. nov., E. brongersmai (Storr, 1972) comb. nov., E. butlerorum (Aplin, How & Boeadi, 1993), comb. nov., E. emigrans (Lidth de Jeude, 1895) comb. nov., E. douglasi (Storr, 1967) comb. nov., E. isolepis (Boulenger, 1887) comb. nov., E. pardalis (Macleay, 1877) comb. nov., and E. timorensis (Greer, 1990) comb. nov. Diagnosis. The expanded Eremiascincus comprises small to medium-sized (SVL 44���125 mm) lygosomine skinks, which can be slender to robust; diurnal, crepuscular or nocturnal; terrestrial, fossorial or litter dwelling. No synapomorphy is known for this group, but it can be diagnosed by the following combination of characters: parietal shields in contact behind the interparietal; prefrontals large, in contact or narrowly separated; supranasals absent and nasals undivided; frontoparietals paired; frontal much longer than prefrontals; SupraLab 6���8; 1 or 2 InfraLab in contact with postmental scale; lower eyelid movable, scaly; small or missing auricular granules (when present usually 4���5); SupCil 6���10; supraoculars 4; 4 TLam 15���30; usually more than 24 MBSR; dorsal and caudal scales smooth or keeled, head scales smooth; limbs well developed, meeting or overlapping when adpressed (exceptions are E. pardalis from the woodlands and monsoon forests of Queensland and E. butlerorum from Sumba Island, Indonesia); fingers and toes 5; tail usually much longer than SVL; ear opening prominent; colour pattern variable, composed of either distinct crossbands, a reticulum, numerous spots or dashes and can include a dark lateral zone. All species are oviparous, but E. pardalis has been reported as egg laying (Greer & Parker 1974) and live-bearing (Rankin 1978). Differentiation of Eremiascincus from Glaphyromorphus is possible with the exception of a few problematic species. Members of Eremiascincus usually share a higher number of MBSR than most Glaphyromorphus: Eremiascincus (> 24 MBSR) is separated from the elongated, slender G. cracens (20���22 MBSR), G. crassicaudis (20���22 MBSR), G. darwiniensis (20���22 MBSR), G. mjobergi (22 MBSR) and G. punctulatus (18���20 MBSR). Furthermore, these species have very short, widely separated limbs when adpressed, a condition rare among members of Eremiascincus. The exceptions are G. fuscicaudis and G. nigricaudis and both taxa may represent a basal lineage within Glaphyromorphus (Greer 1979 c, 1989). The presence of an ectopterygoid process, a small strut of bone in the secondary palate (Greer 1979 a, 1989) might be of taxonomic importance as well, but seems to be absent in some populations of E. fasciolatus and E. richardsonii (Greer 1979 a). However, this character is not present in any member of Glaphyromorphus. Little more is known about the relationships of the elongated, short-limbed G. clandestinus Hoskin & Couper, 2004 from Mt. Elliot in northeastern Queensland. In their description of G. clandestinus, the authors compared that species with four subgroups of ��� Glaphyromorphus ��� suggested by Greer (1989), a concept we have not followed here. Morphological similarities with one of these groups (G. c r a c e n s, G. darwiniensis, ���G���. gracilipes) were apparent (Hoskin & Couper 2004) based on two soft tissue and two osteological characters and superficial similarities with G. punctulatus were indicated. We leave G. clandestinus as a member of Glaphyromorphus until further evidence becomes available., Published as part of Mecke, Sven, Doughty, Paul & Donnellan, Stephen 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, pp. 1-20 in Zootaxa 2246 on pages 8-9, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.190705, {"references":["Gray, J. E. (1845) Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum / Edward Newman, London: xxvii + 289 pp.","Greer, A. E. (1979 a) Eremiascincus, a new generic name for some Australian sand swimming skinks (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Records of the Australian Museum, 32, 321 - 338.","Storr, G. M. (1972) Revisionary notes on the Sphenomorphus isolepis complex (Lacertilia, Scincidae). Zoologische Medededelingen, 47, 1 - 5.","Aplin K. P., How, R. A. & Boeadi (1993) A new species of the Glaphyromorphus isolepis species-group (Lacertilia Scincidae) From Sumba Island, Indonesia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 16, 235 - 242.","Lidth de Jeude, T. W. van. (1895) Reptiles from Timor and the neighbouring islands. Notes from the Leyden Museum, 16, 119 - 127.","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.","Boulenger, G. A. (1887) Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London, 575 pp.","Macleay, W. (1877) The lizards of the \" Chevert \" Expedition. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 2, 60 - 69; 97 - 104.","Greer A. E. (1990) The Glaphyromorphus isolepis species group (Lacertilia: Scincidae): diagnosis of the taxon and description of a new species from Timor. Journal of Herpetology, 24, 372 - 377.","Greer, A. E. & Parker, F. (1974) The fasciatus species group of Sphenomorphus (Lacertilia: Scincidae): notes on eight previously described species and descriptions of three new species. Papua and New Guinea Scientific Society Proceedings, 25, 31 - 61.","Rankin, P. R. (1978) Notes on the biology of the skink Sphenomorphus pardalis (Macleay) including a captive breeding record. Herpetofauna (Sydney), 10, 4 - 7.","Greer, A. E. (1979 c) A new Sphenomorphus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from the rainforests of northeastern Queensland. Records of the Australian Museum, 32, 373 - 382.","Hoskin, C. J. & Couper P. J. (2004) A new species of Glaphyromorphus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Mt Elliot, northeastern Queensland. Australian Journal of Zoology 52, 183 - 190."]}

Diplodactylus calcicolus sp. nov. South Coast Gecko Figs. 10, 11, 14 E Diplodactylus 'southern', Oliver et al., 2007 a Holotype. SAMA R 25343, adult male, from Hambidge Conservation Park, Eyre Peninsula, SA (33 �� 26 ' 40 " S, 136 �� 02' 30 " E), collected by the Mammal Club of the SA Field Naturalists��� Society on 23 April 1984 (Fig. 8). Paratypes. South Australia (SAMA specimens): R 24763 (M) Lighthouse near Stenhouse Bay (35 �� 17 ' S, 136 �� 57 ' E); R 25382 (M) Ifould Campsite No. 2, 62 Km N Colona H/S (30 �� 56 ' S, 132 �� 05' E); R 26257 (F) 10 km NE Border Village (31 �� 36 ' 50 " S, 129 �� 06' 20 " E); R 26322 (F) 48 km SE Koonalda Stn (31 �� 30 ' 40 " S, 130 �� 21 ' 30 " E); R 26495 (F) 11 km NE Border Village (31 �� 35 ' 30 " S, 129 �� 07' 20 " E); R 26496 (M), R 26497 (M) 21 km NE Border Village (31 �� 30 ' 00" S, 129 �� 08' 50 " E); R 36643 (F) Venus Bay (33 �� 14 ' S, 134 �� 40 ' E); R 39517 (M) 5 km S of Monarto South (35 �� 10 ' 34 " S, 139 �� 07' 24 " E); R 44119 (F) Mt Younghusband, St Peter Island (32 �� 15 ' S, 133 �� 37 ' E); R 52488 (F) 28.3 km SSE Port Lincoln (34 �� 58 ' 23 " S, 135 �� 57 ' 08" E). Western Australia (WAM specimens): R 24602 (F) Eucla (31 �� 43 ' S, 128 �� 54 ' E); R 39921 (M) 2 miles W Greenshield Soak (33 �� 30 ' S, 118 �� 49 ' E); R 56866 (F) Eyre (32 �� 15 ' S, 126 �� 18 ' E); R 91602 (M) 16 km E Toolinna Rockhole (32 �� 40 ' S, 125 �� 07' E); R 91627, R 91628 and R 91630 (all M) 53km WNW Toolinna Rockhole (32 �� 40 ' S, 125 �� 07' E); R 93273 (F) and R 93275 (F) 32 km NW Clyde Hill (33 �� 12 ' S, 122 �� 43 ' E); R 114154 (F) 4 km N Ravensthorpe (33 �� 32 ' S, 120 �� 03' E); R 116051 (F) 3.5 E Calyerup Rocks (33 �� 53 ' 26 " S, 119 �� 07' 32 " E); R 133572 (F) Saint Ronans Nature Reserve (31 �� 52 ' 30 " S, 116 �� 36 ' 10 " E); R 140932 (M) and R 140941 (M) 27.5 km SSE Peak Eleanora (33 �� 10 ' S, 121 �� 16 ' E); R 143815 (M) Lake Magenta Nature Reserve (33 �� 29 ' 41 " S, 119 �� 02' 53 " E); R 144224 (M) Bandalup Hill (33 �� 39 ' 58 "S, 120 �� 23 ' 55 "E); R 149069 (F) Scaddan area (33 �� 23 ' 10 "S, 121 �� 34 ' 58 "E); R 151209 (M) Salmon Gums area (32 �� 48 ' 36 " S, 121 �� 23 ' 24 " E); R 154175 (M) near Kundip (33 �� 41 ' 16 " S, 120 �� 11 ' 52 " E); R 156209 (F) Kundip (33 �� 41 ' 07" S, 120 �� 11 ' 50 " E); R 156943 (M) and R 156947 (M) Forrestania area (32 �� 24 ' S, 119 �� 41 ' E). Diagnosis. A moderate-sized, longer tailed member of the D. vittatus complex, typically with a highly broken and spotted pattern, but showing considerable within-population variation. Flanks marked with spots of various sizes, and background colour of dorsum usually variegated by a mixture of lighter and darker scales. Description (Figs 10, 11, 14 E). SVL 31.0���58.0 mm (mean 48.9, n= 34); tailL 24.5���38.0 mm, mean 32.4, (56.6���72.3% SVL, mean 64.5) (n= 18). Supralabials 10���13 (mean 11.5, n= 17), first and second supralabial generally subequal or the second slightly higher than the first. Infralabials 8���13 (mean 10.4, n= 17). Apex of rostral scale with median division descending to about the mid-height of the scale. Supranasals usually in contact; a single internarial present in 5 of 34 examined. 2���5 postnasals (mean 3.1, n= 34). The most variable in colour and pattern of the group. Dorsal colour pale to very dark brown, grey, or greybrown. Beige to pale grey vertebral stripe most often broken into a disconnected series of irregularly-shaped dorsal blotches, but within population variation can include individuals with a more continuous chain of blotches, or a continuous dorsal stripe with deeply to moderately scalloped margins. Vertebral stripe usually bifurcates on the nape with well-defined lateral margins but irregularly defined inner margins, so that the crown of the head tends to be paler laterally but with a darker, weakly defined central patch of background colour. Blackish paravertebral margins of vertebral stripe variable in contrast, but even if prominent, often discontinuous due to random interruptions by lighter scales. Upper lateral zone sometimes patterned with irregularly distributed circular spots; some specimens with very large spots, similar in size to the vertebral series of blotches. Apart from such spots, the upper lateral surfaces have a ���messy��� texturing of lighter and darker scales overlying the medium-toned background colour. Ventral surface white to greyish white. Karyotype. 2 n= 38 (King 1977). Distribution. Distributed along the dry temperate to arid southern coast and hinterland of Australia, from near Perth, WA, south to Albany (absent from southwest corner) and along the Great Australian Bight to the Eyre Peninsula, with outliers on the southern York Peninsula and the mouth of the Murray River (Figs 1, 15, 16). Etymology. The specific name has been constructed from Latin roots ' calci ' (lime) and ' cola' (inhabitant), referring to the dominant limestone geology of the coast and hinterland of the Great Australian Bight, the central area of the species��� distribution. Similar Species. This is the most variable species within the complex, and it overlaps geographically with all other taxa treated here except D. g. rex. Within most populations of D. calcicolus a minority of specimens have a continuous vertebral stripe combined with weakly marked flanks. Such individuals are difficult to distinguish from sympatric individuals of D. furcosus, D. g. granariensis, or D. vittatus. The stripe is more irregular than in either of the other species, the flanks have intermixed darker and lighter scales rather than being uniformly coloured and the occipital markings are usually more poorly defined (Fig. 9). The longer tail of D. calcicolus sp. nov. further distinguishes it from D. vittatus in the small overlap zone on the lower Murray River. In the southwest of Western Australia, the diffuse spotted markings of D. polyophthalmus are unlike the more solidly delineated and irrregular spots of D. calcicolus. At present, distinguishing some far western D. calcicolus sp. nov. from geographically proximate individuals of D. ornatus can be difficult. More detailed genetic comparisons among Perth area Diplodactylus populations, focusing on the distinctions between D. calcicolus sp. nov. and D. ornatus, will be necessary before the unambiguous genetic distinction can be matched by equally clear morphological characters.. Remarks. This species mostly occurs in cool dry habitats, typically on limestone or calcareous coastal sands. Oliver et al. (2007 a) noted that this species comprises three genetic lineages that do not correspond to any obvious patterns of variation in the characters discussed above., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 37-39, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 a) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88.","King, M. (1977) Chromosomal and morphometric variation in the gecko Diplodactylus vittatus (Gray). Australian Journal of Zoology, 25, 42 - 57."]}

Diplodactylus wiru sp. nov. Desert Wood Gecko Figs. 12, 13, 14 F Diplodactylus 'GVD' Oliver et al., 2007 a Holotype. SAMA R 59908, adult male, from 15 km S of Mount Finke, SA (31 �� 02' 02" S, 134 �� 02' 45 " E), collected by D. Armstrong on 27 November 2004 (Fig. 10). Paratypes. South Australia (SAMA specimens): R 18202 (F) SW Wyola Lake (29 �� 30 ' S, 130 �� 10 ' E); R 31848 (F) 17 km ESE Mt Christie Siding (30 �� 37 ' 37 " S, 133 �� 17 ' 04" E); R 31863 (M) 15 km SSE Mt Christie Siding (30 �� 37 ' 31 " S, 133 �� 15 ' 46 " E); R 31942 (F) 20 km N Wallala Hill (32 �� 08' 40 " S, 134 �� 40 ' 20 " E); R 31946 (M), R 31947 (M), R 31951 (M) S Inila Rock Waters Yumbarra Conservation Park (31 �� 48 ' 14 " S, 133 �� 24 ' 05" E); R 31963 (F) 1.5 km S Inila Rock Waters Yumbarra Conservation Park (31 �� 47 ' 42 " S, 133 �� 25 ' 44 " E), R 32052 (M) 5.5 km S Immarna Siding (30 �� 33 ' 07" S, 132 �� 08' 42 " E); R 32097 (F) 9.5 km WNW Immarna Siding (30 �� 29 ' 16 " S, 132 �� 03' 35 " E); R 45552 (M) 6 km NNE of Inila Rock Waters Yumbarra Conservation Park (31 �� 43 ' 47 " S, 133 �� 27 ' 02" E); R 57217 (M) 23.9km E Vokes Hill Corner (28 �� 34 ' 16 " S, 130 �� 55 ' 31 " E); R 59458 (M) Maralinga (29 �� 46 ' 14 " S, 131 �� 06' 29 " E); R 61154 (M) Lake Ifould area (30 �� 52 ' 17 " S, 132 �� 15 ' 47 " E); R 62000 (M), R 62001 (M), Moonaree (31 �� 57 ' 41 " S, 135 �� 40 ' 33 " E); R 62293 (M) Noorina (28 �� 30 ' 30 " S, 129 �� 12 ' 37 " E); R 62367 (M) Vokes Hill (28 �� 32 ' 25 " S, 130 �� 02' 49 " E); R 62465 (F) Childara rockhole (31 �� 36 ' 18 " S, 134 �� 26 ' 48 " E). Western Australia (WAM specimens): R 100622, R 135291 (M) 25 km NNE Queen Victoria Spring (30 �� 14 ' S, 123 �� 43 ' E); R 157876 (30 �� 14 ' S, 123 �� 43 ' E). Diagnosis. A moderate-sized member of the D. vittatus complex, showing relatively little variation compared with other members of the complex. Well-developed, almost straight-edged to zigzag dorsal stripe always present, broadly bordered by black; light dorsal colour extends on to occiput as a pale cap with somewhat darker centre, but no well-defined bifurcate pattern; flanks dark grey with one or more rows of well-defined, dark-edged circular spots. Description (Figs 12, 13, 14 F). SVL 41.0���59.5 mm (mean 54.0, n= 23); tailL 32.0���39.0 mm, mean 35.5 (56.1���67.3% SVL, mean 61.9) (n= 11). Supralabials 11���14 (mean 11.9, n= 11), first supralabial generally higher than the second. Infralabials 10���14 (mean 11.3, n= 11). Apex of rostral scale with median division descending to about the mid-height of the scale (absent in one specimen). Supranasals in contact (13 / 23), separated by a single internarial (8 / 23) or separated by two internarials (2 / 23). 2���4 postnasals (mean 3.2, n= 23). Dorsal colour medium to dark brownish grey. Beige vertebral stripe almost always continuous, but with strongly scalloped margins; less scalloped to almost straight-edged in a minority of specimens. Vertebral stripe expands to a pale cap on the head, colour uniform or with at most a weakly evident darker parietal patch. Blackish paravertebral margins of vertebral stripe strongly developed, tending to merge laterally with the colouring of the upper lateral zone. Upper lateral zone usually well marked with a series of relatively large dark-edged, circular spots (the dorsal edge is often heavier marked than the ventral edge of the spots) and sometimes with a dorsolateral series of smaller spots. Apart from the prominent spots, the upper background colour of the upper lateral zone is uniform, without a peppering of lighter or darker scales. Ventral surface offwhite. Karyotype. 2 n= 38, all acrocentric (King 1977). Distribution. Southern Great Victoria Desert and adjacent sandy habitat blocks. Records extend southwest to Norseman, WA, and east to the Lake Acraman area, Gawler Ranges, SA (Figs 1, 15, 16). Northern limits appear to be at about the level of the Serpentine Lakes, SA. Absent from the Nullarbor Plain. The absence of D. wiru sp. nov. from the area immediately west of the WA border likely represents a gap in collecting effort. Etymology. The specific epithet is an adjective from the western desert languages (e.g. Pitjantjatjara, Ngaatjatjarra), wiru meaning 'beautiful' or 'fine' (Goddard 1996); chosen to highlight the bold markings of this species. Similar Species. Distinguished from sympatric and parapatric species as follows: from D. granariensis by the presence of a well-defined dark-edged light lateral spots arranged in one or more longitudinal series and absence of a bifurcate pattern on the occiput, and the first supralabial consistently taller than the second; from D. furcosus by the pale occipital cap rather than a bifurcate occipital marking and the blackish outlines to the light dorsal markings thick and often merging into the dorsal background colour, rather than narrow and sharply distinct from the dorsal background colour; from D. calcicolus sp. nov. by the continuous, regularly arranged dorsal stripe and lateral series of spots rather than large irregular blotches, and unicoloured rather than minutely variegated background colour of the flanks. Remarks. Specimens pit-trapped or observed at night have been associated with large mallee eucalypts with extensive ground litter of fallen bark, branches and leaves. Unlike syntopic species of Lucasium (L. damaeum Lucas and Frost, 1896 and L. bungabinna Doughty and Hutchinson, 2008) which were generally found in open sandy patches, specimens of D. wiru sp. nov. appeared to stay close to woody debris and ���cluttered��� understorey cover (MNH, PMO, pers. obs.). The distributional pattern of D. wiru sp. nov. is highly congruent with those of a number of species that occur in a narrow band of sandy mallee vegetation communities that lie between the semiarid south coast and hinterland and the Great Victoria Desert (Doughty & Hutchinson 2008)., Published as part of Hutchinson, Mark N., Doughty, Paul & Oliver, Paul M., 2009, Taxonomic revision of the stone geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Diplodactylus) of southern Australia, pp. 25-46 in Zootaxa 2167 on pages 39-42, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189132, {"references":["Oliver, P., Hugall, A., Adams, M., Cooper, S. J. B. & Hutchinson, M. (2007 a) Genetic elucidation of ancient and cryptic diversity in a group of Australian geckos: the Diplodactylus vittatus complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 77 - 88.","King, M. (1977) Chromosomal and morphometric variation in the gecko Diplodactylus vittatus (Gray). Australian Journal of Zoology, 25, 42 - 57.","Goddard, C. (1996) Pitjantjara / Yunkunytjatjara to English Dictionary. IAD Press, Alice Springs, xiv + 306 pp.","Lucas, A. H. S. & Frost, C. (1896) Reptilia. In: Spencer, W. B. (Ed.), Report on the Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia, Part. II. - Zoology. Melville, Mullen & Slade, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, pp. 112 - 151.","Doughty, P. & Hutchinson, M. N. (2008) A new species of Lucasium (Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from the southern deserts of Western Australia and South Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, 25, 95 - 106."]}

Uperoleia micra sp. nov. Tiny Toadlet Figs. 2–4 Holotype. WAM R 168043, an adult male collected near Bachsten Creek near the southwest corner of the Prince Regent River Nature Reserve, Western Australia (15 º 59 ’ 29 ” S; 125 º 19 ’ 54 ”E) on 22 January 2007 by J. D. Roberts, R. Barrett, P. Doughty and M. Barrett. Call recorded; liver stored at – 70 ºC at WAM. Paratypes. WAM R 168039 - 40 and WAM R 168042, adult males, location and date as for holotype (15 º 59 ’ 26 ”S; 125 º 19 ’ 50 ”E); WAM R 168044, adult male, location and date as for holotype; WAM R 167989, adult female, collected from the Prince Regent River Nature Reserve (15 º 40 ’ 58 ”S; 125 º 34 ’ 59 ”E) on 21 January 2007; WAM R 166476, a metamorphosing individual, collected near the Walcott Inlet, Western Australia (16 º 20 ’ 51 ” S; 124 º 46 ’ 24 ” E) on 21 January 2008; WAM R 164897 - 8, adult males collected from Katers Island, Western Australia (14 º 26 ’ 56 ”S; 125 º 31 ’ 22 ”E) on 14 February 2008. Diagnosis. Distinguished from congeners by a combination of small body size, presence of maxillary teeth, broadly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, slightly tubercular skin on dorsum and upper limbs, moderately conspicuous parotoid and inguinal glands and less developed coccygeal glands, toes basally webbed, elongate inner metatarsal tubercle perpendicular to foot, dark brown dorsal surfaces with small darker spots, loreal and lateral zone stippled with bluish-white dots, pale orange-red femoral patches, speckled and slightly granular ventral surface and high-pitched rasp as an advertisement call. Description. Body small, squat and rotund. Head small with slightly protruding eyes. When viewed laterally, evenly sloping snout with a rounded or truncated tip; when viewed from above, the sides of the snout gradually come to a rounded point. Canthus rostralis rounded; loreal region moderately steep and slightly concave. Sharp medial projection (symphysis of mentomeckelian bones) on lower jaw that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with only a slight rim. Anterior corner of eye covered by flap of skin; at dorsal terminus the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Posterior edge of brow projects slightly over skin on the side of the head. Tympana covered by skin and parotoid glands. One-three small infralabial glands present below angle of jaw. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary teeth present; vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle broadly exposed. EN slightly larger than IN (EN/IN = 1.15). Arms and hands slightly built. Arms are of moderate length (ArmL/SUL = 0.44) and the fingers unwebbed. Finger length: 3> 4> 2> 1. Tubercles under fingers moderately developed; one on 1 st and 2 nd; two on 3 rd and 4 th. Large outer palmer tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of 1 st finger (beginning halfway down finger), extending to base of wrist (1 / 4 along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmer surface. Legs short (TL/SVL = 0.36) and of moderate build. Toe length: 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Tubercles under toes moderately developed; one on 1 st and 2 nd; two on 3 rd and 5 th; three on 4 th. Toes basally webbed. A weakly-developed flange runs along the length of the toes. Inner metatarsal tubercle moderately developed, 1 / 2 – 1 / 3 the length of the 1 st toe; projecting anteriorly (towards toe tips). Outer metatarsal tubercle is moderately developed and larger than inner, usually spatulate (sometimes round) and oriented perpendicular to the foot with the medial edge adrupt and the distal edge gradually sloped. Skin with scattered low tubercles on dorsum, head and limbs. The ventral surface is slightly granular. Cloacal flap present. Parotoid and inguinal glands moderately developed; coccygeal gland discernible but poorly developed. Measurements. Adult males (N = 7): SUL (mean and range in mm)— 19.6 (18.0– 21.5); HD— 3.9 (3.5– 4.4); EN— 1.5 (1.3–1.8); IO— 3.5 (3.2–3.8); IN— 1.3 (1.2–1.4); EyeL— 2.2 (2.1–2.4); ArmL— 8.5 (8.1 –9.0); TibL—7.0 (6.8–7.5); FTL— 11.4 (10.3–12.1); EN/IN— 1.17 (1.00– 1.50); ArmL/SUL— 0.44 (0.39–0.46); TL/ SUL— 0.36 (0.34–0.38). Adult female (N = 1): SUL— 20.5; HD— 4.2; EN— 1.4; IO— 3.7; IN— 1.4; EyeL— 2.3; ArmL—9.0; TibL — 7.3; FTL—12.0; EN/IN—1.00; ArmL/SUL— 0.44; TL/SUL— 0.36. Metamorph (N = 1): SUL—19.0. Colouration. In life, specimens from the mainland had a dorsum with background shade ranging from a charcoal black to dark brown, with scattered small darker blotches and faint barring on the limbs. There is a zone stippled with pale bluish-white from the tip of the snout, posterior through the loreal region and extending along the sides; also on the undersurfaces of the limbs. There is a subtle wash of orange-red on the dorsum, including more conspicuous blotches on the parotoid glands, the anterior tip of the snout, submandibular glands, vertebral zone of dorsum and upper arms. The fingers and toes are a creamy white. The ventral surface is a dull white peppered with small dark spots; the abdomen lacks the dark spots or white pigment altogether. The margin of chin is only slightly more pigmented than the rest of the chin and ventral surface. Femoral patch a pale orange-red, only moderately contrasting with background colour. The iris is a chestnut brown with a hint of green. Specimens from Katers Island were similar, but differed in having slightly lighter colouration and with inguinal glands with orange-red colouration. In preservative, the colouration is almost completely black, with the orange-red highlights only faintly visible; the paler loreal and lateral zone is still visible. Advertisement call. Table 1 summarises the main features of the call. The call is a long high-pitched rasp that has an obvious regular pulse structure and a moderate pulse rate (Fig. 4). The call also shows some evidence of frequency modulation with frequency rising later in the call. TABLE 1. Call structure characteristics in Uperoleia. A) Uperoleia micra sp. nov. from near Bachsten Creek, Prince Regent River Nature Reserve; B) comparison with other Uperoleia species from the Kimberley region, Western Australia, and U. daviesae from near Darwin, Northern Territory. A) Habitat. At Bachsten Creek, U. micra were calling in moist crevices in sandstone rock faces high on a ridge. One male was seen calling at the back of a narrow crevice sitting just above a broad sheet of shallow, flowing water (Fig. 2 D). Other calling males were collected in crevices and cracks in rock faces with slowly flowing water from seepages among vegetation and litter. Other species calling within a few meters were U. borealis and U. crassa in a flooded grassy area and Limnodynastes lignarius (Tyler, Martin & Davies, 1979) along a rocky creek. On Katers Island, U. micra was encountered in a low valley near the top of an extensive sandstone plateau. Males were calling from a hard-capped sandstone surface with slow-flowing water forming small pools among Triodia clumps. Other species that were calling at the same sites were U. borealis and L. lignarius. At both sites, males were encountered after heavy early evening showers which may have stimulated calling. The individual collected from near the Walcott Inlet was found on a high flat sandstone rock platform (M. Barrett, pers. comm.). Distribution. Only known to occur in the high rainfall zone (> 1000 mm /year) of the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia (Fig. 1). On the mainland, from the Prince Regent River Nature Reserve south to Walcott Inlet. Also on Katers Island. Etymology. Derived from the Greek mikros, alluding to this species’ small size and to the nearby U. minima which is similar in size and external appearance. Used as an adjective. Comparisons with other species. Uperoleia is a genus characterized by low morphological diversity. Nevertheless, U. micra is distinguished from congeners from a combination of internal and external characters as well as call structure. The small (~ 2 cm) body size rules out U. marmorata (30.1 mm; Tyler et al. 1981 a). Within the genus, only U. daviesae Young, Tyler and Kent, 2005 has both the presence of maxillary teeth and a broadly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle like U. micra. This species also shares tubercular skin and basal webbing, but can be distinguished from U. micra by light grey dorsum with faint purple tone, absence of pale loreal and lateral zone and less developed outer metatarsal tubercle. In addition, U. daviesae has only been found in flooded grasslands (versus sandstone boulders and escarpments) and although its call is similar to U. micra, it has fewer pulses and a lower pulse rate (Table 1). The most similar Kimberley species in external appearance to U. micra is U. minima which occurs at Mitchell Plateau and may prove to be sympatric with U. micra (see Fig. 1). Both species have small body size, dark mottled coloration, pale speckled venter and tubercular skin. They can be distinguished, however, by the following external traits. In U. minima, the dorsal tubercles are denser and often form short scapular folds in some specimens; in U. micra the tubercles are less dense and lower. In U. micra, the outer metatarsal tubercle is elongate and orientated perpendicular to the foot (Fig. 3 D); in U. minima this tubercle is round (Fig. 3 E). In U. micra, males have few markings on the chin; in U. minima there is a conspicuous dark pigmentation bordering the edge of the jaw. Internally, U. micra has maxillary teeth and a broadly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, whereas U. minima lacks teeth and has well-developed frontal bones. Calls of U. micra can be readily distinguished from other Kimberley species. Uperoleia aspera, U. lithomoda, U. minima and U. trachyderma have a much shorter call duration and lower pulse numbers (Table 1 b); the calls sound like ‘clicks’ to the ear. Uperoleia borealis, U. crassa and U. mjobergii have much longer call durations and higher pulse rates (Table 1 b); the calls sound like a short rasp or grate. The call of U. talpa has a similar pulse rate to U. micra but much lower frequency and higher pulse number. The calls of all eight Kimberley species are clearly discrete in two or more characters. The variation in temperature between sets of recording was 3.9 ºC, but temperature is unlikely to have affected any metric used to differentiate calls over that small a range. For example, pulse rate in U. laevigata Keferstein, 1867 of eastern Australia is strongly temperature dependent, but the regression coefficient is only 5.56 which would generate a maximum increment in pulse rate of 21.7 between the high and low temperatures compared here (data reported as U. rugosa Andersson, 1916 by Robertson 1986; Davies & Littlejohn 1986). The only other Uperoleia species known from the Kimberley is U. marmorata, but no call data are available. Remarks. The discovery of another species of Uperoleia brings the total number of species in the genus to 26. This is the second-largest genus of Australian frog after Litoria. Continued exploration of remote areas of the Kimberley and revision of Uperoleia using morphology, genetics and call data may reveal further species. The new species has only been found at four locations in the high rainfall zone of the northwest Kimberley. This area is rich with terrestrial vertebrate species, including frogs, lizards, snakes and mammals (Storr & Smith 1975; Smith & Johnstone 1991). Biological surveys continue to discover new species of vertebrates with regularity, including other new species of frogs (Doughty & Anstis 2007; Doughty et al. in press). Invertebrate and plant species are being discovered at even higher rates (e.g. McKenzie et al. 1991; Barrett 2006; Harvey & Edward 2007). These findings indicate that the true biodiversity of the region is underestimated. With recent interest in increasing mining, agriculture and tourism in the region, it is essential that large areas are set aside in managed reserves to ensure protection of both described species and additional new species awaiting discovery and description.

Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale (2008): A new species of Uperoleia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia. Zootaxa 1939: 10-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.185001

Uperoleia Gray, 1841 Type species: U. marmorata, by monotypy. Diagnosis. A group of small-bodied (to 4 cm) terrestrial frogs with short limbs, no webbing on fingers, first finger shorter than second, inner metatarsal tubercle not compressed, lacking vomerine teeth, covered tympana, pupil rhomboidal, parotoid, dorsolateral and coccygeal glands usually present, aquatic reproduction with small pigmented eggs and free-swimming larvae., Published as part of Doughty, Paul & Roberts, Dale, 2008, A new species of Uperoleia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia, pp. 10-18 in Zootaxa 1939 on page 12, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.185001, {"references":["Gray, J. E. (1841) Descriptions of some new species and four new genera of reptiles from Western Australia, discussed by John Gould, Esq. Annals of the Magazine of Natural History, 7, 86 - 91."]}

Oxyuranus temporalis new species. (Figs 3 & 4), Published as part of Doughty, Paul, Maryan, Brad, Donnellan, Stephen C. & Hutchinson, Mark N., 2007, A new species of taipan (Elapidae: Oxyuranus) from central Australia, pp. 45-58 in Zootaxa 1422 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1422.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/5077067