Striped Legless Lizard  |  

The Striped Legless Lizard is a member of the family Pygopodidae, the legless or flap-footed lizards. As with other members of the legless lizard family, Striped Legless Lizards lack forelimbs and have only very reduced hind limbs. These hind limbs are apparent only as small flaps on either side of the vent. Superficially, these animals resemble snakes, but can be readily distinguished from the latter by the presence of external ear openings, a fleshy undivided tongue and a tail which is longer than the body. Striped Legless Lizards can be readily distinguished from other legless lizards by body colouration, body size and head scalation. The Striped Legless Lizard is a pale-grey lizard up to 30 cm in length, with a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of about 12 cm. Striped Legless Lizards have a long thin body and the tail, when unbroken, is about twice the length of the body. They have a series of stripes on their sides and the sides of their back, becoming diagonal bands on the tail. These stripes are dark-brown or blackish and extend the whole length of the individual from the neck to the tail. Each stripe has individual black-centered scales. However, in some individuals, particularly juveniles, these stripes may be very faint or absent. The head is generally darker than the body, tending to black in juveniles. The underside of Striped Legless Lizards is whitish and they have a blunt snout. The sexes of Striped Legless Lizards appear very similar externally. However, adult males may be distinguished by the presence of a small rounded ‘spur’ under each hind limb flap. There is significant variation in the size of Striped Legless Lizards in different populations in Victoria. A study at Dashwood found the modal size class to be 6.0–6.9 g, while a study at Derrimut Grassland Reserve reported the modal size class to be 3.0–4.1 g. The modal size class of Striped Legless Lizards captured at the Keilor Plains site was 6.0–6.9 g. Some generations (size classes) appeared to be uncommon, suggesting that recruitment may be low in some years. Observations of captive animals suggest that Striped Legless Lizards may skip reproduction when not in prime condition.