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Ctenotus stuarti HORNER, 1995

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Stuart's Ctenotus 
SynonymCtenotus stuarti HORNER 1995
Ctenotus stuarti — COGGER 2000: 753
Ctenotus stuarti — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory)

Type locality: Swim Creek, Opium Creek Station, 12°34'30"S 131 °49'30"E, Northern Territory.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NTM R.13723, coll. P. Horner, 24 April 1988.
PARATYPES - NORTHERN TERRITORY: NTM R.13086-87, same data as holotype except 24 April 1985; NTM R.13722, R.13724-27, same data a. holotype; NTM R.17453, Kapalga, 12° 40'S 132° 22'E. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Ctenotus stuarti sp. nov. is distinguished from C. astictus sp. nov. by having a complex lateral pattern of stripes, pale spots and blotches, and by having generally more ear lobules (mean of 4.1 vs mean of2.9). Additionally, the relative lengths of the limbs are generally less in C. stuarti sp. nov. than in C. astictus sp. nov .. Ctenotus stuarti sp. nov. is distinguished from C. arnhemensis by having a generally lower number of subdigitallamellae under the fourth toe (mean of 20.9 vs mean of 22.9) and by having generally more nuchal scale pairs (mean of 4.7 vs mean of 3.8). Also, the head of C. stuarti sp. nov. is usually deeper than that of C. arnhemensis (head depth as percentage of head width, mean of 88.6% vs mean of 85.7%). In addition, the continuous, smooth-edged, white dorsolateral stripes and dark lateradorsal stripes found in C. arnhemensis and other members of the C. lesueurii species-group are broken into raggededged, semi-continuous series of flecks and streaks in C. stuarti sp. nov. [HORNER 1995]. 
CommentLimb morphology: 5 digits, 5 toes (Singhal et al. 2018, Cogger 2014) 
EtymologyThe new species is named for John McDouall Stuart, first explorer to cross the continent from south to north and survive. He reached the north coast, in the vicinity of the type locality, in July 1862. The name also alludes to Point Stuart, a natural feature of the Northern Territory coast located close to the type locality [HORNER 1995]. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Couper, P., Covacevich, J., Amey, A. & Baker, A. 2006. The genera of skinks (Family Scincidae) of Australia and its island territories: diversity, distribution and identification. in: Merrick, J.R., Archer, M., Hickey, G.M. & Lee, M.S.Y. (eds.). Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. Australian Scientific Publishing, Sydney, pp. 367-384
  • Horner, P. 1995. Two new species of Ctenotus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Northern Territory. The Beagle 12: 75-88.
  • Singhal, Sonal; Huateng Huang, Maggie R. Grundler, María R. Marchán-Rivadeneira, Iris Holmes, Pascal O. Title, Stephen C. Donnellan, and Daniel L. Rabosky 2018. Does Population Structure Predict the Rate of Speciation? A Comparative Test across Australia’s Most Diverse Vertebrate Radiation. The American Naturalist - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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