See text Lerista is a diverse (~ 90 species) genus of skinks endemic to Australia, commonly known as sliders.

[1] The genus is especially notable for the variation in the amount of limb reduction.

A phylogenetic tree of Lerista, derived from DNA analysis, reveals that limb loss has happened multiple times within this group.

[4][5] Limb loss has occurred relatively recently, in the past 3.6 million years or so.

[6] Note: a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Lerista.