Common Scaly-Foot (Pygopus lepidopodus)
Family: Flap-Foot Family (Pygopodidae)
IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern
Although its long and seemingly limbless body means that it is easily mistaken for a snake, the Common Scaly-Foot is, surprisingly, actually a member of a family of highly specialized geckos known as Pygopodids or flap-foots that have independently developed snake-like bodyplans to allow for more efficient movement through dense vegetation and subterranean burrows (while they have lost their front limbs entirely, many Pygopodids retain tiny, flap-like hindlegs which are theorized to serve some role in courtship, and this combined with their external earholes and thick, unforked tongues can be used to distinguish them from snakes upon close inspection.) Native to southern and eastern regions of Australia, the Common Scaly-Foot inhabits dense grasslands, heathlands and woodlands and is among the most abundant and extensively studied members of its family. It is active mainly at dawn and dusk (although may become entirely nocturnal during periods of extremely warm weather,) feeds mainly on small arthropods (particularly burrowing spiders, easily navigating their dens with its long and flexible body), and, like almost all geckos, reproduces by laying eggs which are laid underground in small clutches. When threatened, members of this species have been observed to take advantage of their snake-like appearance by rearing up and opening their mouths in a manner that resembles the defensive threat displays of some venomous snakes (although, as Common Scaly-Foots are not venomous and lack any real defensive abilities besides mimicry, this threat is ultimately empty.)
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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/36963-Pygopus-lepidopodus
