Australia has arguably the greatest diversity of lizards in the world. This research will investigate how this diversity arose, using Lerista, a radiation of skinks with over 80 species spanning fully limbed to totally legless forms. We will investigate how development, geographic distribution and morphological features have influenced the evolutionary diversification of Lerista. We will also map the biodiversity of Lerista across Australia using (and thus testing) several alternative methods of quantifying biodiversity. Such knowledge is important as many hotspots of Lerista diversity are coming under increasing human pressure (e.g. mid coast of WA), and many species have very localised ranges.
Dr Michael S Lee (email) Deputy Head of School School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Adelaide University
