Burton's Legless Lizard
Burton's Legless LizardBurton's Legless LizardBurton's Legless LizardBurton's Legless Lizard

Burton's Legless Lizard

Lialis burtonis

Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Kakadu National Park
25 Verified sightings at Kakadu National Park From 2019 to 2026
105 Verified sightings across all 13 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month highest sighting rate
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted Active throughout day and night

About the Burton's Legless Lizard

Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis) is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards", "flap-footed lizards" and "snake-lizards". This species is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

English zoologist John Edward Gray described Burton's legless lizard in 1835. The specific name, burtonis, is in honour of British army surgeon Edward Burton (1790–1867). Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis) is a member of the genus Lialis within the family Pygopodidae. There are approximately 40 species in the family Pygopodidae, however, Burton's legless lizard and another species (L. jicari) are the only species that fall within genus Lialis. Members in genus Lialis are considered analogous to macrostomatan snakes as these taxonomic groups have functionally similar adaptations such as the ability to swallow relatively large prey whole. However, their resemblance to snakes is merely superficial example of convergent evolution, and they are not closely related.

Differences between legless lizards and snakes include the lack of venom glands in legless... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Kakadu National Park

Northern Hooded Scaly-foot
LC Endemic

Northern Hooded Scaly-foot

🌙 Nocturnal Reptile

Pygopus steelescotti

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~50%
2 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
3 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
4 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
5 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
7 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
8 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
9 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
10 Flinders Ranges National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
11 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
12 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
13 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Burton's Legless Lizard in Kakadu National Park?

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Burton's Legless Lizard sighting in Kakadu National Park, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Burton's Legless Lizard in Kakadu National Park?

January has the highest sighting rate for Burton's Legless Lizard in Kakadu National Park in our monthly data.

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