Description of type series. All raw measurements and scale counts are presented in Table 2; traits not given therein are described below.

General dimension and proportions. A large, robust Eremiascincus. Head relatively large (21–23% of snout–vent length), deep (depth 49–50% of head length), wide (width 70–78% of head length); snout relatively short (38–40% of head length), bluntly rounded; ventral edge of rostral forms obtuse point in lateral view; dorsal snout profile slightly convex, not depressed; canthus rostralis rounded; lower eyelid movable, scaly; ear opening very large (height 33–34% of head depth; length 11–12% of head length), vertically elliptic, somewhat rectangular, bordered by small granular scales; tympanum visible; neck thick, scarcely distinct from head. Limbs pentadactyl, overlapping when adpressed; digits rounded in cross-section; fourth toe longest. Tail thick, smooth, round in cross-section; no ridges or keels on dorsal surface of hindbody or tail; length of fully original tails unknown.

Scalation. Nasals widely separated; frontal elongate, arrowhead-shaped, much larger than prefrontals; prefrontals widely separated; frontal contacting frontonasal; frontoparietals paired; interparietal free, smaller than frontoparietals; parietals large, in contact posterior to interparietal, each bordered posteriorly by upper secondary temporal and enlarged nuchals, sometimes also by unenlarged paravertebral scales; 2nd and 3rd supraoculars usually widest (3rd and 4th widest on right side of AMS R54808); 2–3 supraoculars contacting frontal; supraciliaries 9–11, 1st usually largest (2nd largest on left side of AMS R54808; last largest on left side of holotype MAGNT R36326); 1st supraciliary on left side of AMS R54808 divided horizontally, producing enlarged upper (2nd) supraciliary; loreals 2; in AMS R54808 lower lateral portion of frontonasal or upper portion of 1st loreal divided horizontally, forming narrow intervening scale; supranasals absent; nasal groove posterior to naris present on right side of AMS R54808 but otherwise absent; preoculars 2, lower larger than upper; presuboculars 2–3; posteriormost and sometimes penultimate supralabial divided horizontally; upper half of posteriormost supralabial overlapping lower secondary temporal; subinfralabial scales (between chin shields and infralabials) present in holotype MAGNT R36326 but absent in others; temporals one primary and two secondary (upper and lower); distal 4–7 subdigital lamellae on 4th toe single (7 in holotype MAGNT R36326), remainder divided medially; lamellae callose, each single lamella bearing one callus, calli strongest proximally, sometimes appearing keeled rather than callose distally; supradigital scales on 4th toe in multiple rows with oblique sutures, except distalmost (adjoining claw) and penultimate scale rows single; plantar scales rounded to weakly callose; median precloacal scales 2, distinctly enlarged.

Colour-pattern in preservative. Ground colour of dorsal and lateral surfaces pale yellow to yellow-brown, paling to cream on flanks; dorsal pattern of dark brown to blackish latitudinal crossbands, 1–2.5 scales wide, on neck, body, and original tail; anteriormost nuchal band broken medially; torso bands usually oblique and irregular rather than strictly transverse, descending anteriorly on lateral surfaces and often bifurcating toward flanks; bands on dorsum of holotype MAGNT R36326 most regular (Fig. 2), with all but anteriormost unbroken and of largely consistent width; other specimens characterised by more broken and irregular banding (Fig. 2); pale interspaces with diffuse stippling, most intense mid-dorsally, becoming more diffuse laterally; dorsal and lateral surfaces of head with extensive diffuse stippling and mottling, giving head an overall darker appearance than body ground colour; ventral surfaces cream, largely immaculate, with diffuse stippling and/or mottling near flank margins and on lower lateral surfaces of neck and head.

Colouration in life (Figs 3A–3C, 3E, 5A). Based on both type series (n = 3) and unvouchered photographed individuals (n = 3): Overall similar to colouration in preservative, but generally more vivid and variable; yellows more intense, pale ventral surfaces closer to ivory than cream. Ground colour of lower lateral surfaces and limbs often greyish in appearance, typically due to fine stippling. Ground colour darkest mid-dorsum, reflecting denser dark stippling, with colour becoming brighter on upper lateral surfaces where stippling is reduced, grading to grey on flanks and to ivory ventrally. One photographed individual (Fig. 5A) exhibited a browner ground colour rather than yellow, with dark bands of reduced contrast relative to other individuals.

Supplementary observations from unvouchered individuals. Photographs of two unvouchered individuals permit limited assessment of diagnostic characters—other than colouration in life, already given above—relative to the type series. One individual (SMZ371; Fig. 3C) bears eight supralabials on each side, with both the penultimate and posteriormost scales horizontally divided; the second individual (Fig. 5A) bears nine supralabials on each side, with the posteriormost divided on the left and both the penultimate and posteriormost divided on the right. Both individuals exhibit very large ear openings and entirely lack raised dorsal ridges on the posterior body and tail. In both individuals, the supradigital scales on the fourth toe are arranged in multiple rows with oblique sutures, with the distalmost (adjoining the claw) and penultimate rows single. These observations are consistent with the type series, thus corroborating several diagnostic traits given above. In contrast, SMZ371 possesses a single median chin scale, rather than the two median chin shields observed in the type series, indicating some intraspecific variation in this character.