Pygopus (Squamata: Pygopodidae) from mid-Holocene cave deposits, Western and South Australia

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 7 years ago

ABSTRACT – We report fossil remains of pygopodid lizards of known or probable Holocene deposits in Webbs Cave in Western Australia and Wombat Cave in South Australia. Knowledge of patterns of skeletal variation within and across pygopodid groups is insufficiently mature to permit species-level resolution. Confident identification of apomorphies to diagnose our specimens is limited by a general paucity of skeletal preparations of pygopodids. Preserved anatomical features on the fossils are interpreted in the context of published literature and putative apomorphies, and permit referral to the genus Pygopus. These specimens represent important additional records of Pygopus, and contribute to an improved understanding of the evolution of faunal communities in the Holocene of western and southern Australia.