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Issue: Vol. 5839 No. 1: 26 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-26
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5839.1.2
Page range: 40-70
Abstract views: 107
PDF downloaded: 6

On an even keel: revision of Lerista planiventralis (Lucas & Frost, 1902; Squamata: Scincidae) in Western Australia, with synonymy of its subspecies

School of Biological Sciences; Monash University; Clayton; Victoria 3800; Australia
Research Associate; Collections & Research; Western Australian Museum; Welshpool; Western Australia 6106; Australia
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Zoology; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor; Michigan; USA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Zoology; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor; Michigan; USA
Collections & Research; Western Australian Museum; Welshpool; Western Australia 6106; Australia
School of Biological Sciences; Monash University; Clayton; Victoria 3800; Australia
Reptilia subspecies synonymy integrative taxonomy clinal variation morphological variation meristics colour pattern phylogeography Western Australia skink

Abstract

In reptile taxonomy, many subspecies have been described based on subtle variation in morphological traits like colour pattern and scalation. However, the subspecific rank itself has received increasing scrutiny on both conceptual and operational grounds. The species-rich (~100 species) and morphologically diverse Australian lizard genus Lerista Bell, 1833 provides opportunities to assess the evolutionary significance of subspecies taxa, given that subspecies throughout the genus were described before the widespread use of genetic-based assessments of divergence in taxonomy. Based on a combined analysis of patterns of genetic and morphological variation in Lerista planiventralis (Lucas & Frost, 1902), we found that partitioning of populations into subspecies, namely L. p. planiventralis (Lucas & Frost, 1902), L. p. decora Storr, 1978 and L. p. maryani Storr, 1991, is unwarranted. We found negligible molecular or phenotypic divergence corresponding to those names, revealing continuous, overlapping clinal variation rather than discrete, diagnosable units. Consequently, we synonymise all three subspecies under a single, morphologically variable L. planiventralis and present its revised species-level diagnosis.

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How to Cite

Farquhar, J.E., Maryan, B., Prates, I., Rabosky, D.L., Doughty, P. & Chapple, D.G. (2026) On an even keel: revision of Lerista planiventralis (Lucas & Frost, 1902; Squamata: Scincidae) in Western Australia, with synonymy of its subspecies. Zootaxa, 5839 (1), 40–70. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5839.1.2