Egernia

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha
Superfamilia: Scincoidea

Familia: Scincidae
Subfamilia: Egerniinae
Genus: Egernia
Species (17): E. cunninghami – E. cygnitos – E. depressa – E. douglasi – E. eos – E. epsisolus – E. formosa – E. hosmeri – E. kingii – E. mcpheei – E. napoleonis – E. pilbarensis – E. richardi – E. rugosa – E. saxatilis – E. stokesii – E. striolata
Name

Egernia Gray, 1838: 288

Type species: Tiliqua cunninghami Gray, 1832, by monotypy.

Synonyms

Tropidolopisma Duméril & Bibron, 1839: 744 [synonymised by Boulenger (1887: 134)]
Type species: Tropidolopisma dumerilii Duméril & Bibron, 1839, by monotypy.

Silubosaurus Gray, 1845: 73 [synonymised by Boulenger (1887: 134)]
Type species: Silubosaurus stokesii Gray, 1845, by monotypy.

Contundo Wells & Wellington, 1984: 88 [synonymised by Gardner et al. (2008: 790)]
Type species: Tiliqua napoleonis Gray, 1838, by original designation.

Sivascincus Wells & Wellington, 1985: 38 [synonymised by Gardner et al. (2008: 790)]
Type species: Egernia pilbarensis Storr, 1978, by original designation.

Storrisaurus Wells & Wellington, 1985: 39 [synonymised by Gardner et al. (2008: 790)]
Type species: Storrisaurus husbandi Wells & Wellington, 1985, by original designation.

References
Primary references

Gray, J.E. 1838. Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species. Annals of Natural History série 1, 2: 287-293. BHL
Duméril, A.M.C. & Bibron, G. 1839. Erpétologie Générale on Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: Paris. VIII + 854 pp. BHL Reference page.
Gray, J.E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of die British Museum/Edward Newman: London. xxvii + 289 pp. BHL Reference page.
Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. [1983] 1984. A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1(3–4): 73–129. Reference page.
Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. 1985. A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series 1: 1–61. Reference page.
Gardner, M.G., Hugall, A.F., Donnellan, S.C., Hutchinson, M.N. & Foster, R. 2008. Molecular systematics of social skinks: phylogeny and taxonomy of the Egernia group (Reptilia: Scincidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 154(4): 781–794. DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00422.x Open access. Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Bellatorias . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 27 October 2019.

Vernacular names
日本語: イワトカゲ属

Egernia is a genus of skinks (family Scincidae) that occurs in Australia. These skinks are ecologically diverse omnivores that inhabit a wide range of habitats. However, in the loose delimitation (which incorporates about 30 species) the genus is not monophyletic but an evolutionary grade, as has long been suspected due to its lack of characteristic apomorphies.[1]

Some of the skinks traditionally placed in Egernia appear to be among the most intelligent squamates. They have been shown to be able to distinguish between relatives and unrelated conspecifics, and can recognize relatives individually. Several species form monogamous pair-bonds. Most of these species belong to Egernia sensu stricto, and similar behaviour is also known in the related Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata). The latter means that the high intelligence and social skills are probably plesiomorphic for the Egernia genus-group as a whole, and that the solitary species appear to have evolved towards being less intelligent and social again. It may still be, however, that the intelligent behaviour is a homoplasy that evolved several times in the Egernia genus-group; the fact that Corucia is a monotypic and rather distinct genus makes it impossible to decide at present.[1][2]

Systematics, taxonomy and evolution

It is the namesake genus of the Egernia genus-group, which also includes the Solomon Islands skink (Corucia), Cyclodomorphus and the blue-tongued skinks (Tiliqua). In some older works, it is considered closely related to Mabuya, but even among the subfamily Lygosominae this genus does not seem to be particularly closely related and would—were the genus-groups treated at the rarely used rank of infrafamily—certainly constitute an infrafamily of its own. On the other hand, the enigmatic crocodile skinks (Tribolonotus) might be a very basal member of the Egernia genus-group.[2]

The genus Egernia proper, as well as the other lineages, appear to be of Miocene—probably Early Miocene—origin, meaning they radiated at least 15, maybe 20 million years ago (mya). There are fossils of Egernia-like Lygosominae from around the Oligocene-Miocene boundary 23 mya, but these cannot be assigned to the present genus with certainty. Rather, they appear to be basal members of the Egernia genus-group, still very plesiomorphic Lygosominae with a habitus similar to Mabuya.[1]
Species
Stokes's skink (E. stokesii) is a large species of the "typical" clade

Mid-sized to large skinks (adult snout-vent length 100–240 mm) with a bulky, usually somewhat flattened body and small eyes. 24–46 rows of midbody scales; dorsal scales smooth, ridged, keeled or spiny (the tail is often notably spiny). The nasal scale has a postnarial groove; the subocular scale row is incomplete. Eyelids similar in colour to the adjacent scales.[1]

Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832) – Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink
Egernia cygnitos Doughty, Kealley & Donnellan, 2011 – Western Pilbara spiny-tailed skink
Egernia depressa (Günther, 1875) – pygmy spiny-tailed skink
Egernia douglasi Glauert, 1956 – Kimberley crevice-skink
Egernia eos Doughty, Kealley & Donnellan, 2011 – central pygmy spiny-tailed skink
Egernia epsisolus Doughty, Kealley & Donnellan, 2011 – Eastern Pilbara spiny-tailed skink
Egernia formosa Fry, 1914 – Goldfield's crevice-skink
† Egernia gillespieae K. Thorn et al., 2019[3]
Egernia hosmeri Kinghorn, 1955 – Hosmer's spiny-tailed skink
Egernia kingii (Gray, 1838) – King's skink
Egernia mcpheei Wells & Wellington, 1984 – eastern crevice-skink, McPhee's egernia
Egernia napoleonis (Gray, 1838) – southwestern crevice-skink
Egernia pilbarensis Storr, 1978 – Pilbara crevice-skink
Egernia richardi (W. Peters, 1869) – bright crevice-skink, dark spiny-tailed skink
Egernia roomi Wells and Wellington, 1985
Egernia rugosa De Vis, 1888 – Yakka skink[4]
Egernia saxatilis Cogger, 1960 – Black rock skink, black crevice-skink
Egernia stokesii (Gray, 1845) – gidgee spiny-tailed skink, gidgee skink, Stokes's skink
Egernia striolata (W. Peters, 1870) – tree crevice-skink, "tree skink"

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Egernia.
Splitting Egernia in four

Cladistic analysis of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, 12S rRNA, c-mos and β-fibrinogen intron 7 DNA sequence data delimits 3 clades, Bellatorias, Liopholis, and Lissolepis in Egernia sensu lato, which are best regarded as separate genera — as had already been often proposed in former times, as early as the 19th century.[1]
References

Gardner, Michael G.; Hugall, Andrew F.; Donnellan, Stephen C.; Hutchinson, Mark N.; Foster, Ralph (2008). "Molecular systematics of social skinks: phylogeny and taxonomy of the Egernia group (Reptilia: Scincidae)". Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 154 (4): 781-794. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00422.x (HTML abstract).
Austin, J.J.; Arnold, E.N. (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 39 (2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract).
Thorn, Kailah M.; Hutchinson, Mark N.; Archer, Michael; Lee, Michael S. Y. (2019). "A New Scincid Lizard from the Miocene of Northern Australia, and the Evolutionary History of Social Skinks (Scincidae: Erginiinae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e1577873. (Egernia gillespieae, new species).
Curtis, Lee K. (February 2012). Queensland's Threatened Animals. ISBN 9780643104570.