''Liopholis aputja'', also known as the Central Ranges rock-skink, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

, a

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scincidae. 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 central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''aputja'' means “of the hills” in the Pitjantjatjara and

Yankunytjatjara dialect Yankunytjatjara (also Yankuntatjara, Jangkundjara, or Kulpantja) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Wati languages, belonging to the large Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the many varieties of the Western Desert Languag ...

s of the

Western Desert language The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family. The name ''Wati'' tends to be used when considering the various varieties to be distinct languages, ''Western Desert'' w ...

spoken within the species' range, with reference to its preferred habitat.

Discovery

The species was described following a scientific collecting expedition by

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

researchers to the

Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely populated Local government in Australia, local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people, located in the remot ...

(APY) lands of north-western

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, where the team worked with the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

, being assisted by the Anangu Rangers with local knowledge and by access to particular sites.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2024. Following morphological and

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

analysis, ''Liopholis aputja'' was

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

from its closest congener '' Liopholis margaretae''. The degree of genetic divergence between the two taxa indicates genetic separation took place during the aridifying environmental conditions of the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

Description

The Central Ranges rock skink is a moderately large and robust ''Liopholis'' species, with a

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

(SVL) of up to 135 mm and a tail length up to 158 mm. The back, sides, limbs and tail are coloured dull orangish-brown with thin black scale margins, with the top and sides of the head a more vibrant orangish shade. There are also distinctive arrangements of the supraciliary scales and ear lobules on the head.

Distribution and habitat

Both ''L. margaretae'' and ''L. aputja'' are found in central Australia. However, the former appears to be largely confined to the

MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte language, Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australia ...

bioregion A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries, but by distinct characteristics such as plant and animal species, ecological systems, soils and landforms, Human settlement, human settlements, and ...

of the southern

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, while ''L. aputja'' is only known from the

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann (rapper), Dijon Shariff Thames (born 19 ...

Musgrave Ranges Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia ( Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) and the Northern Territory ( MacDonnell Shire), extending into Western Australia. It is between the Gre ...

of the Central Ranges bioregion of north-western South Australia and extreme south-western Northern Territory. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was collected in Alalkanya Gorge, 13 km north of

Pukatja Pukatja (formerly Ernabella, ) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pipalyatjara, Fregon/ Kaltji ...

in the eastern

, in 2005. The two bioregions are separated by

Lake Amadeus Lake Amadeus (together with Lake Neale, Pitjantjatjara: ''Pantu'' ("salt lakes")) is a large salt lake in the southwest corner of Northern Territory of Australia, about north of Uluru. The smaller Lake Neale is adjacent to the northwest. I ...

and other

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

s in the

Amadeus Basin The Amadeus Basin is a large (~170,000 km2) intracratonic sedimentary basin in central Australia, lying mostly within the southern Northern Territory, but extending into the state of Western Australia. Origins The Amadeus Basin is name ...

, which form a 180 km biogeographical barrier affecting rock-dwelling fauna. ''L. aputja'' also appears to favour higher elevations in rocky country, with other local ''Liopholis'' species preferring sandplain habitats.

Behaviour

''L. aputja'' constructs burrow systems in the soil beneath rocks and into soil-filled rock crevices. It is mainly diurnal but is sometimes active at night in hot weather.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131138411 Skinks of Australia Liopholis Reptiles described in 2024