The pale-rumped ctenotus or regal striped skink (''Ctenotus regius'') is a medium-sized species of

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

with an arid distribution restricted to the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Mainland, which belongs to the largest group of reptiles in Australia, '' Ctentotus'' (containing close to 100 species).

Description

''Ctentotus regius'' is a medium-sized

, characterised by its longitudinally striped back and white spotted sides. The species has a reddish-brown tail and its body is patterned by a blackish brown colour with a white-cream lateral stripe that runs from over the ear to below the eye, and white side spots in between the longitudinal lines that span the length of its body. The average snout-to-vent length of the species is 7.2 cm with females being recorded as slightly larger, on average, than their male counterparts.

Taxonomy

''Ctenotus regius'' was first described by Glen Milton Store in 1970, and has not since had a name revision. The pale-rumped ctenotus is a member of the skink family (Scincidae), and the genus ''Ctenotus,'' often described as 'comb-eared' for its row of small scales on the anterior edge of its ears. Many of the species within this genus are exceedingly similar in shape, build and appearance, with many differences only identifiable in their size and foraging and sheltering behaviours.

Distribution

''Ctentotus regius'' is endemic to Australia, with a distribution isolated to the in north-west of New South Wales, the south-west of Queensland, the south-east of Northern Territory, the north-east of South Australia and the north-west of Victoria. Atlas of Living Australia currently holds 7,697 records for the species across Australia, although some of these may be misidentifications. Records for the species exist in a number of National Parks and Nature Reserves within New South Wales, including Mallee Cliffs NP, Tarawi NR, Mungo NP, Sturt NP, Kinchega NP, Nocoleche NR and Yathong NR. Species distribution map

Ecology and habitat

The pale-rumped ctenotus inhabits sandy and loamy deserts in central Australia, seeking refuge in low shrubs including saltbush (''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and w ...

spp.''), bluebush ('' Maireana spp.'') and nitre bush (''

Nitraria billardierei ''Nitraria billardierei'', commonly known as nitre bush or dillon bush, is a perennial shrub native to Australia. It is often found in saline areas or other areas which have been disturbed. This species produces flowers predominantly in spring, ...

''). Although much is still unknown about the species' ecological ties to its predators and prey, grey butcherbirds ('' Cracticus torquatus'') have been observed preying upon the species in

Murray-Sunset National Park The Murray-Sunset National Park is the second largest national park in Victoria, Australia, located in the Mallee district in the northwestern corner of the state, bordering South Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwe ...

in Victoria. The species has been observed to occupy a home range, with estimates ranging from 40-60 square metres.

Reproduction and lifecycle

The pale-rumped ctenotus is an

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

(egg-laying) species. Females are on average larger than their male counterparts and lay a clutch of approximately two eggs early in summer, although reproductive efforts have been noted to vary considerably with environmental conditions. The pale-rumped ctenotus has a relatively short lifespan of approximately 3 years, in contrast to other ''Ctenotus'' species such as ''C. leonhardii'' with specimens recorded as living for as long as 7 years.

Diet

''Ctentotus regius'' is largely an unspecialised

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

, although it may occasionally consume plant material.

Conservation

''Ctenotus regius'' is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. However, many pressures impact desert reptile populations within Australia, including habitat loss from land clearing, habitat degradation and modification as a result of introduced pest species and

anthropogenic climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, vehicle collisions and

emerging diseases An emerging infectious disease (EID) is an infectious disease whose incidence has increased recently (in the past 20 years), and could increase in the near future. The minority that are capable of developing efficient transmission between human ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3006585 regius Skinks of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Reptiles described in 1971 Taxa named by Glen Milton Storr