Lizards in pinstripes: morphological and genomic evidence for two new species of scincid lizards within Ctenotus piankai Storr and C. duricola Storr (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Australian arid zone
Author
Rabosky, Daniel L.
Author
Doughty, Paul
Author
Huang, Huateng
text
Zootaxa
2017
4303
1
1
26
journal article
32535
10.11646/zootaxa.4303.1.1
958ff34b-f5e0-4e8f-903f-2b4473bb69b3
1175-5326
840417
9E9C21C7-AB32-4A65-A2C0-1A0B826F5D64
Ctenotus
Storr, 1964
Comb-eared skinks or Striped skinks
Type species—
Lacerta
(=
Ctenotus
) taeniolata
White, 1790, by original designation.
Diagnosis.
A large group of small to medium- sized sphenomorphine scincid lizards, characterized by cylindrical body shape, long snout and tail, smooth shiny scales, eyelids without transparent window, parietals in contact, pointed ear lobules, well-developed short limbs each with five narrow digits terminating with a claw, and color pattern usually involving longitudinal stripes often with complex sides with spots and dashes. Terrestrial; diurnal; egg-laying.
Distribution.
Mainland
Australia
and
C. spaldingi
in southern New
Guinea
.
Etymology.
From the Greek
kten
(comb) and
ot
(ear), forming ‘comb-eared’ in reference to the conspicuous ear lobules (
Storr 1964
).