Abstract
The configuration of the phalanges and the number of presacral vertebrae vary within and among seven populations representing the five species of Hemiergis. Phalangeal variation within popu- lations is rare, being restricted to three of the seven populations sampled. Phalangeal variation among populations suggests a pattern of generally simultaneous reduction of phalanges in the manus and pes. This pattern is in contrast to that observed in Lerista, another genus of fossorial Australian skinks, in which the phalanges of the manus are reduced to a progressively greater degree than are the phalanges of the pes as limbs are reduced. All populations show sexual dimorphism in numbers of presacral vertebrae, females having more presacrals than males. The most parsimonious transformation series among modal
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