''Delma vescolineata'', commonly known as the Hunter Valley Delma, is a species of legless gecko from the

Pygopodidae Pygopodidae, commonly known as snake-lizards, or flap-footed lizards, are a Family (biology), family of Legless lizard, legless lizards with reduced or absent limbs, and are a type of gecko. The 47 species are placed in two subfamilies and eight ...

family.

Taxonomy

Discovered in 2012, the species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

and

Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...

region of New South Wales, Australia, but was believed to be either a separated population of Striped legless lizard (''Delma impar''), or part of the local population of Leaden Delma (''Delma plebeia''). DNA analyses in 2022 confirmed its status as a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of the Striped legless lizard. The Hunter Valley Delma can be further differentiated from the Striped legless lizard due to its barred lips, weaker stripes and subtle differences in scale and head shape.

Distribution and habitat

''Delma vescolineata'' is the only species of ''Delma'' entirely endemic to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Like other ''Delma'', the Hunter Valley Delma prefers open grassland habitats, living in burrows, dense grass tussocks, and under rocks.

References

Pygopodids of Australia Delma Reptiles described in 2022 Endemic fauna of Australia {{Gecko-stub