You are here » home › advanced search › Cryptoblepharus pulcher

Cryptoblepharus pulcher (STERNFELD, 1918)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cryptoblepharus pulcher?

Add your own observation of
Cryptoblepharus pulcher »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesCryptoblepharus pulcher clarus (STORR 1961)
Cryptoblepharus pulcher pulcher (STERNFELD 1918) 
Common NamesE: Elegant snake-eyed skink
E: Bright snake-eyed skink (clarus) 
SynonymAblepharus boutoni pulcher STERNFELD 1918: 423
Ablepharus boutoni virgatus — MERTENS 1931: 112
Ablepharus boutoni virgatus — WORRELL 1963: 35
Cryptoblepharus boutonii virgatus – COOK 1973: 15
Cryptoblepharus virgatus — GREER 1974: 21
Cryptoblepharus virgatus — COGGER 1983: 142
Cryptoblepharus virgatus virgatus – WILSON & KNOWLES 1988: 120
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – STORR et al. 1981: 25
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – COGGER et al. 1983a: 142
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – COVACEVICH & COUPER 1991: 357
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – EHMANN 1992: 183
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – STORR et al. 1999: 25
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – COGGER 2000: 406
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – DALY et al. 2001: 85
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – GREER & JEFFERYS 2001: 3
Cryptoblepharus virgatus – WILSON & SWAN 2003: 150
Cryptoblepharus suburbia WELLS & WELLINGTON, 1985: 27
Cryptoblepharus virgatus suburbia WELLS & WELLINGTON, 1985
Cryptoblepharus virgatus suburbia – WELLS & WELLINGTON 1989: 29
Cryptoblepharus virgatus — COGGER 2000: 406
Cryptoblepharus virgatus — HORNER 2007
Cryptoblepharus pulcher pulcher — HORNER 2007
Cryptoblepharus pulcher — WILSON & SWAN 2013: 192

Cryptoblepharus pulcher clarus (STORR 1961)
Ablepharus boutonii clarus STORR 1961: 176
Ablepharus boutonii clarus — WORRELL 1963: 35
Cryptoblepharus virgatus clarus – STORR 1976: 55
Cryptoblepharus virgatus clarus – WILSON & KNOWLES 1988: 120.
Cryptoblepharus clarus – WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 27
Cryptoblepharus virgatus clarus — STORR et al. 1999
Cryptoblepharus virgatus clarus — WWW 2006
Cryptoblepharus pulcher clarus — HORNER 2007
Cryptoblepharus pulcher clarus — WILSON & SWAN 2013: 192 
DistributionAustralia (far eastern Australia and far southern coastal regions of Western and South Australia, New South Wales).

Type locality: “Neuholland” Cooktown, Qld.

clarus: Western Australia; Type locality: lower Dalyup River, in 33° 45’ S, 121° 32’ E (20 mi WNW of Esperance), W. A.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: SMF 15680 (= 6347 1a in Boettger, 1893; 6348, 10a in Mertens, 1922), from Australia, designated by Mertens (1967) (Ablepharus boutoni pulcher)
Lectotype: WAM R18228, designated by Wells & Wellington (1985); paratype: QM [clarus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A medium sized (40–44 mm SVL), shortlegged, shallow-headed, arboreal Cryptoblepharus, distinguished from Australian congeners by combination of modal values of five supraciliary scales, 24 mid-body scale rows and 50 paravertebral scales; mean head depth of 39.3% of head length; plain, rounded, dark pigmented plantar scales, and narrow, pale dorsolateral stripes. 
CommentSynonymy after HORNER 2007. Cryptoblepharus suburbia was placed in the synonymy of C. virgatus by Shea and Sadlier (1999), but was transferred to the synonymy of C. pulcher pulcher by HORNER 2007. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin pulcher (beautiful) after the colour pattern. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Bowles, F.D. 2000. A short note on the herpetofauna of Brisbane and its suburbs. Herpetological Bulletin (73): 27-29 - get paper here
  • Cogger H.G., Cameron EE & Cogger HM 1983. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Volume 1: AMPHIBIA AND REPTILIA. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  • 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.
  • Cook, R. 1973. The wall lizard, Cryptoblepharus boutonii virgatus. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 6: 15-16
  • Covacevich, J. & Ingram, G. J. 1978. An undescribed species of rock dwelling Cryptoblepharus (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 18: 151-154 - get paper here
  • Daly, G., Pennay, M. and Gosper, C. 2001. Surveys of reptiles and amphibians at Razorback Nature Reserve, Keverstone State Forest and the Abercrombie Caves region of New South Wales. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 31(2): 82–91
  • Eldridge, M. D. B., S. Ingleby, A. G. King, S. V. Mahony, H. E. Parnaby, C. A. Beatson, A. Divljan, G. J. Frankham, A. C. Hay, R. E. Major, S. E. Reader, R. A. Sadlier, and L. R. Tsang. 2020. Australian Museum surveys of the vertebrate fauna of Coolah Tops National Park, NSW. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum Online 30: 1–26 - get paper here
  • Garman, S. 1901. Some reptiles and batrachians from Australasia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 39: 1-14 - get paper here
  • Greenbaum, E. 2000. Herpetofaunal observations in disparate habitats in south Sustralia, New South Wales, and queensland, Australia. Herpetological Bulletin (72): 6-16 - get paper here
  • Greer, A.E. 1974. The generic relationships of the scincid lizard genus Leiolopisma and its relatives. Australian Journal of Zoology 31: 1-67. - get paper here
  • Kay, G.M.; D. Michael; M. Crane; S. Okada; C. MacGregor; D. Florance; D. Trengove; L. McBurney; D. Blair; D.B. Lindenmayer. 2013. A list of reptiles and amphibians from Box Gum Grassy Woodlands in south-eastern Australia. Check List 9 (3):476-481 - get paper here
  • Mertens,R. 1931. Ablepharus boutonii (DESJARDIN) und seine geographische Variation. Zool. Jahrb. Syst. 61: 63-210
  • Mo, Matthew 2015. Herpetofaunal community of the constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, south Sydney, New South Wales. Victorian Naturalist 132 (3): 64-72 - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. 2010. ADDITIONS TO THE HERPETOFAUNA OF GORE CREEK RESERVE AND LANE COVE BUSHLAND PARK IN INNER SUBURBAN SYDNEY, NSW. Herpetofauna 40 (2): 103-110 - get paper here
  • Pike, D. A., Roznik, E. A., Webb, J. K. and Shine, R. 2020. Life history and ecology of the elegant snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus pulcher) in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1918. Zur Tiergeographie Papuasiens und der pazifischen Inselwelt. Abh. senckenb. naturf. Ges. (Frankfurt) 36: 375-436 [missing from BHL in 2023]
  • Storr, G. M. 1961. Ablepharus boutonii clarus, a new skink from the Esperance District, Western Australia. Western Australian Naturalist 7: 176-178 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1976. The genus Cryptoblepharus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 4: 53-63 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M., Smith, L. A. & Johnstone, R. E. 1981. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Perth: University of Western Australia Press and Western Australian Museum, 200 pp.
  • Storr, G. M.; L. A. Smith, and R. E. Johnstone 1999. Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks. Revised Edition. Western Australian Museum
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. 1985. A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series (1): 1-61 [sometimes cited as 1983] - get paper here
  • Wells, R. W., and C. R. Wellington. 1989. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles known from the Cumberland Plain Region, Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia. Australian Herpetologist, (506) :1-34
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Wilson, Stephen K. & Knowles, David G. 1988. Australia's Reptiles: A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Reptiles of Australia. Cornstalk Publishing, Pymble, NSW, 447 pp.
  • Worrell, E. 1963. Reptiles of Australia. Angus & Robertson (Sydney), xv + 207 pp
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator