Figure 1

Body form variation in Lerista. Three species of the Australian skink genus Lerista are shown, illustrating the remarkable morphological changes that have occurred within this genus, as elucidated in the new paper by Skinner et al. [9]. (a) The species at the top (Lerista microtis) has the typical lizard-like body form with five digits per limb, (b) the species in the middle (Lerista punctovittata) has an intermediate body form with reduced limbs whereas (c) the species at the bottom (Lerista ameles) has the elongate snake-like body form and lacks external limbs and digits. The photos of L. microtis and L. punctovittata are by Mark Hutchinson and the photo of L. ameles is by Marco Sacchi.