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Ctenophorus fordi (STORR, 1965)

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Amphibolurinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mallee Sand-dragon, Mallee Dragon 
SynonymAmphibolurus fordi STORR 1965
Amphibolurus fordi — COGGER 1983
Phthanodon fordi — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 18
Phthanodon hawkeswoodi — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 18 (fide SHEA 1999)
Ctenophorus fordi — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 48
Ctenophorus fordi — COGGER 2000: 315
Ctenophorus fordi — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Ctenophorus fordi — SADLIER et al. 2019
Ctenophorus fordi — CHAPPLE et al. 2019: 60 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia; from Comet Vale and Coolgardie eastwards to the southern rim of the Victoria desert)

Type locality: 12 mi NW of Coolgardie, in 30'49’ S, 121° 02’ E, Western Australia  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: WAM R19151 
DiagnosisDiagnosis. Dorsally pale brown to sandy with uninterrupted pale dorsolateral stripes bordered medially by black spots and laterally by irregular blackish lateral blotches speckled with reddish brown. Males with variable throat patterns, most often a pattern of irregular blotches and small spots in the shape of a chevron (Figs. 7A–B, S8A–B, S9H). Femoral pores generally to midthigh. (Edwards & Hutchinson 2023)


Additional details (1485 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHabitat: shrubs, hummock grass.

Synonymy: Eastern populations of this species have been split off as C. spinodomus.

Distribution: see maps in Sadlier et al. 2019: 203 (Fig. 2: groups 3-5), EDWARDS & HUTCHINSON 2023: 177 (Fig. 1)

Diet: a large percentage of the diet of this species (30-50%) consists of ants (Lucas et al. 2023). 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Julian Ralph Ford (1932-1987), an ornithologist, herpetologist, and chemist who worked at the Western Australian Museum. He collected the lizard holotype and many of the paratypes. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bian, X., Pinilla, A., Chandler, T., & Peters, R. 2021. Simulations with Australian dragon lizards suggest movement-based signal effectiveness is dependent on display structure and environmental conditions. Scientific Reports, 11(1): 1-11 - get paper here
  • Cavalcanti, Lucas B Q; Gabriel C Costa, Guarino R Colli, Eric R Pianka, Laurie J Vitt, Daniel O Mesquita 2023. Myrmecophagy in lizards: evolutionary and ecological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023;, zlad175, - get paper here
  • Chapple, David G.; Reid Tingley, Nicola J. Mitchell, Stewart L. Macdonald, J. Scott Keogh, Glenn M. Shea, Philip Bowles, Neil A. Cox, John C. Z. Woinarski 2019. The Action Plan for Australian Lizards and Snakes 2017. CSIRO, 663 pp. DOI: 10.1071/9781486309474 - 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.
  • Doughty, P.; Maryan, B.; Melville, J. & Austin, J. 2007. A new species of Ctenophorus (Lacertlia: Agamidae) from Lake Disappointment, Western Australia. Herpetologica 63 (1): 72-86 - get paper here
  • Edwards, D., & Hutchinson, M. 2023. Sand Dragons: Species of the Ctenophorus maculatus Complex (Squamata: Agamidae) of Australia's Southern and Western Interior. Journal of Herpetology 57 (2): 176-196 - get paper here
  • Ellis, Ryan J. 2019. An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. Records of the Western Australian Museum 34: 115–132 - get paper here
  • Goldberg, Stephen R. 2008. Longitudinal variation in timing of the testicular cycle of the Mallee dragon, Ctenophorus fordi (Squamata: Agamidae) from Australia. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 44 (4): 138 - get paper here
  • Manthey,U. & SCHUSTER,N. 1999. Agamen, 2. Aufl. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 120 pp. - get paper here
  • Melville, Jane; Schulte, James A.; Larson, Allan 2001. A molecular phylogenetic study of ecological diversification in the Australian lizard genus Ctenophorus. Journal of Experimental Zoology: Molecular and Developmental Evolution 291(4): 339-353 - get paper here
  • Pianka, E. R. 1969. Habitat specificity, speciation, and species density in Australian desert lizards. Ecology 50 (3): 498-502 - get paper here
  • Sadlier, Ross A.; Donald J. Colgan; Cecilie A. Beatson; Harold G. Cogger 2019. Ctenophorus spinodomus sp. nov., a new species of dragon lizard (Squamata: Agamidae) from Triodia Mallee habitat of southeast Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 71(5): 199–215 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1965. The Amphibolurus maculatus species-group (Lacertilia: Agamidae) in Western Australia. J R. Soc. West. Aust. 48: 45-54
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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