The Pygopodidae are the only lizard family endemic to the region of Australia and New Guinea. Despite their snake-like appearance, they are closely related to the Gekkonidae (geckos), and Kluge went so far as to make them part of the subfamily Diplodactylinae, although this does not appear to have found ready acceptance.
Species in this family are distinguished by the absence of forelimbs and the reduction of hindlimbs to a scaly flap just above the vent. The eyes are lidless and covered by a spectacle. An external ear opening may or may not be present. The tail is readily broken. All are oviparous. Most are insectivorous, but some feed primarily on spiders or skinks.
In captivity few if any are seen outside the region. Lialis burtonis of New Guinea is sometimes available, but as its diet is mainly skinks it is by no means an easy species to feed.
The following table is taken from the EMBL database.
| Species | Common Name | Distribution | No. of species | Notes |
| Subfamily Pygopodinae | ||||
| Paradelma | Brigalow Scaly-Foot | Australia (SE Queensland) | 1 | |
| Pygopus | Scaly-Foots | Australia | 3 | |
| Delma | Delmas | Australia | 16 | |
| Subfamily Lialisinae | ||||
| Tribus Lialisini | ||||
| Lialis | Snake-Lizard | Australia, Indonesia | 2 | |
| Tribus Aprasiani | ||||
| Pletholax | Slender Slider | Australia (W Australia) | 1 | |
| Ophidiocephalus | Bronzeback | Australia (Northern Territory, poss. South Australia) | 1 | |
| Aprasia | Worm-Lizards | Australia | 11 | |
Bibliography
Partly owing to the geographical isolation of the family and the ban on exports of wildlife from Australia, there appears to be very little readily available in print on the Pygopodidae, except in works covering the wildlife of the region as a whole. It is likely however that Australian herpetological magazines will have had articles on these interesting animals in the past.
Links
So far we have not been able to find any links to sites dedicated to or dealing with the Pygopodidae as such. If anyone knows of any we would be glad to hear from them.
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