Lerista allanae (Longman, 1937:167)
Retro slider, Allan's lerista, Greater robust fine-lined slider, Allan’s skink
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Rhodona allanae Longman, 1937:167 (basionym)
Conservation Status
Last record: 1960 (1967?)
Rediscovered in 2009
IUCN RedList status: Critically Endangered
Since its discovery in central Queensland in 1929, only 13 specimens have been collected; the last of which was in 1960 or 1967 (Covacevich et al. 1996; Anon., 2008). This is also the last time the species was seen, dead or alive and it was presumed to be critically endangered if not already extinct, having not been seen for a period of no less than 45 years. However, it was rediscovered in 2009 (Borsboom et al., 2010).
Distribution
Queensland (central), Australia
All known specimens were collected from either Retro Station (at least one of which was collected in the 1930's), Logan Downs Station (one or more in or before 1948), or Clermont (Cogger et al., 1993; Anon, 2008).
Biology & Ecology
"Ecology: open scrub, woodland, fossorial, nocturnal; (oviparous), arthropod-feeder."
(Cogger et al., 1983:171)
Hypodigm
Either 12 (Covacevich et al. 1996) or 13 (Anon, 2008) specimens exist in museum collections.
Holotype: QM J6180 (Cogger et al., 1983:171)
Type locality: "Retro Station, Capella, central Qld" (Cogger et al., 1983:171)
Media
A photograph of this species can be seen here: https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-retro-slider-12076
References
Original scientific description:
Longman, H. A. (1937). Herpetological notes. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 11(2): 165-168.
Other references:
Anonymous. (2008). Approved Conservation Advice for Lerista allanae (Allan’s Lerista). [Accessed 1 September 2012]
Australasian Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group. (1996). Lerista allanae. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 24 September 2011.
Borsboom A C, Couper P J, Amey A, Hobson R & Wilson S K. (2010). Rediscovery of the endangered Retro Slider (Lerista allanae) in the Clermont region of central Queensland. Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences, Brisbane and the Queensland Museum, Herpetology, Brisbane.
Brigalow Belt Reptiles Workshop. (2010). Proceedings from the workshop for the nine listed reptiles of the Brigalow Belt bioregions. 18-19 August. Brisbane: Queensland Herbarium.
Cogger, Hal G. (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia - 6th edition. Sydney, NSW: Reed New Holland.
Cogger, Harold G., Cameron, Elizabeth E. and Cogger, Heather M. (1983). Scincidae, pp. 135-193. In: Zoological Catalogue of Australia. I. Amphibia and Reptilia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. vi + 313 pp. [p. 171]
Cogger, Hal G., Cameron, Elizabeth E., Sadlier, Ross A. and Eggler, Peter. (1993). The Action Plan for Australian Reptiles. Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency. [pp. 110-112]
Couper, P., Amey, A. & Borsboom, A. (2012). Retro Slider, Lerista allanae (Longman, 1937) pp. 229-230 In Curtis, L.K., Dennis, A.J, McDonald, K.R., Kyne, P.M. & Debus, S.J.S. (eds). Queensland’s Threatened Animals. (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Victoria) 449 pp.
Couper, P. J. and Ingram, G. J. (1992). A new species of skink of Lerista from Queensland and a re-appraisal of L. allanae (Longman). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 32: 55-59.
Covacevich, J.A., P.J. Couper & K.R. McDonald. (1996a). Reptiles of Queensland's Brigalow Biogeographic Region: Distributions, Status and Conservation. Page(s) 148. Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA).
Covacevich, J. A., Couper, P. J. and McDonald, K. R. (1996b). Lerista allanae (Scincidae: Lygosominae): 60 years from exhibition to extinction? Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39(2): 247-256.
DERM. (2010). WildNet database records for L. allanae. Accessed June 2010. Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Geyle, Hayley M. et al. (2021). Reptiles on the brink: identifying the Australian terrestrial snake and lizard species most at risk of extinction. Pacific Conservation Biology 27: 3-12.
https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20033
Greer, A. E. (1987). Limb reduction in the lizard genus [i]Lerista[/i]. 1. Variation in the number of phalanges and presacral vertebrae. Journal of Herpetology 21(4): 267-276.
McDonald, K. R., Covacevich, J. A., Ingram, G. J. and Couper, P. J. (1991). The status of frogs and reptiles, pp. 338-345. In: Ingram, G. J. and Raven, R. J. (eds.). An Atlas of Queensland's Frogs, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Brisbane: Queensland Museum. [relevant citation?]
Regalado, Pedro Galán. (2015). Los Anfibios y Reptiles Extinguidos: Herpetofauna Desaparecida Desde el Año 1500. Monografías de la Universidade da Coruña 155: 1-509.
Richardson, R. (2006). Queensland Brigalow Belt Reptile Recovery Plan 2008 – 2012. Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. WWF-Australia, Brisbane.
Shea, Glen M. (1993). New records of Lerista allanae (Squamata: Acincidae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 33(1): 220.
Slevin, Joseph R. (1955). Notes on Australian amphibians. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, ser. 4, 28(8): 355-392.
Vanderduys, Eric. (2013). Australian endangered species: Retro Slider. The Conversation, 7 March, available online: https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-retro-slider-12076
Wilson, Steve. (2005). A field guide to reptiles of Queensland. Sydney: Reed New Holland.
Wilson, Steve and Swan, G. (2003). A complete guide to reptiles of Australia. Sydney: Reed New Holland.
Wotherspoon, Lucy, de Oliveira Caetano, Gabriel Henrique, Roll, Uri, Meiri, Shai, Pili, Arman, Tingley, Reid and Chapple, David G. (2024). Inferring the extinction risk of Data Deficient and Not Evaluated Australian squamates. Austral Ecology 49(2): e13485. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13485 [Supporting Information (Data S1)]
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/16838/retro-slider