The Papua snake lizard (Lialis jicari), also known commonly as Jicar's snake-lizard, the New Guinea snake-lizard, and the Papua snake-lizard, is a species of legless lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea including the Bismarck Archipelago.
Etymology The specific name, jicari, is in honor of Mr. A.H. Jiear, a Resident Magistrate in British New Guinea, who presented the holotype to the British Museum (Natural History). Boulenger misread the donor's surname as "Jicar".Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Lialis jicari, p. 134).
Habitat L. jicari is found in a variety of habitats including freshwater wetlands, grassland, shrubland, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to .
Description L. jicari is limbless. It may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , with a tail length of . It has 22 scales around the middle of the body, seven preanal pores, and six anal scales.de Rooij N (1915). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. Leiden: E.J. Brill. iv + 384 pp. (Lialis jicari, pp. 64–66, Figure 41).
Reproduction L. jicari is oviparous.
References
Further reading Boulenger GA (1903). "Descriptions of new Lizards in the Collection of British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Seventh Series 12: 429–435. (Lialis jicari, new species, p. 430). Neill WT (1957). "Notes on the Pygopodid Lizards Lialis burtoni and L. jicari ". Copeia 1957 (3): 230–232. Rösler H (1995). Geckos der Welt: Alle Gattungen. Leipzig: Urania Verlag. 256 pp. . (Lialis jicari, p. 88). (in German).