# ID Please found on Manly to Spit Walk NSW



## TORCH49 (Mar 19, 2014)




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## saximus (Mar 19, 2014)

Head shape and the spot/stripe directly below the eye are pretty big giveaways that it is a Common Scaly Foot (Pygopus lepidopodus).
If you managed to get a good look at it, you should be able to see they have ear holes and don’t have a forked tongue. That’s the easiest way to tell a legless lizard from a snake. The vestigial rear legs are really obvious too if you see the underside but you’d usually need to pick it up for that and it’s never a good idea to do that with something you don’t know the ID of.


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## Bushman (Mar 19, 2014)

It's definitely a Common ScaleyFoot (_Pygopus lepidopodus_).
Distinguishing characteristics are the dark marking on the neck and particularly the markings under the eye. Also the head morphology is distinctive, being more lizard-like and the eye has a subtle pale rim. An ear opening is also visible.
The pale, cool grey coloration is a also common in _P. lepidopodus_ within the Sydney region.


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## -Peter (Mar 19, 2014)

No picture


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## TORCH49 (Mar 19, 2014)

-Peter said:


> No picture



Thank you Bushman/Saximus

I thought it might be a legless lizard, but as you say I didnt want to touch it or unsettle , I was just happy to have 
seen it in the Bush on my walk.


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## Bushman (Mar 19, 2014)

It's a pleasure mate. Thanks for putting the pic back up. It's a good find, as you don't hear about these being found very often any more. It's good to know that they're still around.


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## saximus (Mar 19, 2014)

Bushman said:


> It's a pleasure mate. Thanks for putting the pic back up. It's a good find, as you don't hear about these being found very often any more. It's good to know that they're still around.



That's interesting that they're so rare. I had one literally slither across my path a few months ago after some bush fires. What really surprised me about them was how different they feel to handle compared to a snake. In a way I would say they're stronger for their size than pythons even. Very cute creatures too 



Boiga said:


> LOL comment deleted



http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/...tile-identification-forum-please-read-193502/


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## Bluetongue1 (Mar 19, 2014)

Just to add a few more details to the excellent info already provided…
The head is round in cross-section and not at all distinct from the body. In most snakes the head is somewhat flattened and therefore stands out as different. The tubular body form has a very gradual reduction to the tail, whereas most snakes have a distinctinct reduction in the body diameter from the vent back. The external ear opening is the dark arc just behiind the angle of the jaws.

Blue


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## JrFear (Mar 20, 2014)

Hey torch, I do that walk regularly as I live local! I see them a lot on that track along with blue tongues, water dragons, red bellied black snakes, green tree snake, marsh snakes and even a decent sized diamond python! I tend to see a lot around the light house track!


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