You are here » home › advanced search › Ctenophorus nuchalis

Ctenophorus nuchalis (DE VIS, 1884)

IUCN Red List - Ctenophorus nuchalis - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Ctenophorus nuchalis?

Add your own observation of
Ctenophorus nuchalis »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaAgamidae (Amphibolurinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Central Netted Ground-dragon, Central Netted Dragon 
SynonymMacrops nuchalis DE VIS 1884: 97
Grammatophora inermis DE VIS 1888: 812
Amphibolurus reticulatus major STERNFELD 1919: 78 (fide LOVERIDGE 1934)
Amphibolurus reticulatus major — STERNFELD 1925: 233
Amphibolurus inermis — STORR 1966
Amphibolurus inermis — LICHT et al. 1966
Amphibolurus inermis — WERMUTH 1967: 29
Amphibolurus nuchalis — COGGER 1983
Ctenophorus nuchalis — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 49
Ctenophorus nuchalis — COGGER 2000: 318
Ctenophorus nuchalis — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Ctenophorus nuchalis — CHAPPLE et al. 2019: 66 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia)

Type locality: Delta Station, Bogantungan, Queensland
Type locality: Hermannsburg Mission, upper Finke River, N. T. [Amphibolurus reticulatus major; designated for lectotype].
Type locality: Central Queensland [inermis]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: QM J1405. Designation by Wells & Wellington, 1985.
Lectotype: SMF 10316, designated by Mertens 1967
Paralectotype: ZMB 29649, "Hermannsburg, Zentralaustralien", leg. M. Leonhardi. Terra typica: Missionsstation Hermannsburg, Oberer Finke-Fluß, südlich des Macdonnel-Ranges, Zentralaustralien [= Nord-Territorium] [Amphibolurus reticulatus major] 
Diagnosis 
CommentSynonymy that of Cogger 1983.

Habitat: burrowing.

Abundance: quite common, with more than 400 specimens collected (Pianka 2011)

Diet: a large percentage of the diet of this species (10-30%) consists of ants (Lucas et al. 2023). 
EtymologyEtymology not given in original description, but most probably referring to the nuchal coloration, given as "on the nape a large oblong patch of brownish red....hinder part of head with black lines and spots assuming the form of ocellations on the sides of the nape" 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - 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.
  • De Vis, C. W. 1884. On new species of Australian lizards. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 1: 97-100 - get paper here
  • De Vis, C. W. 1888. A contribution to the herpetology of Queensland. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales (2) 2: 811-826 [1887] - get paper here
  • Dittmer, D. E., Chapman, T. L. & Bidwell, J. R. 2020. In the shadow of an iconic inselberg: Uluru’s shadow influences climates and reptile assemblage structure at its base. J. Arid Environ. 181, 104179 (2020) - get paper here
  • 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
  • Klages,H.G. 1982. Pflege und Nachzucht der australischen Bodenagame Amphibolurus nuchalis. Salamandra 18 (1-2): 65-70 - get paper here
  • Licht, P., W.R. Dawson & V.H. Shoemaker 1966. Heat resistance of some Australian lizards Copeia 1966 (2): 162-169. - get paper here
  • Licht, P., W.R. Dawson, V.H. Shoemaker & A.R. Main 1966. Observations on the thermal relations of Western Australian lizards Copeia 1966 (1): 97-110. - get paper here
  • Manthey,U. & SCHUSTER,N. 1999. Agamen, 2. Aufl. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 120 pp. - get paper here
  • Maryan, B., Gaikhorst, G., & Parkhurst, B. 2024. The terrestrial herpetofauna of the Zuytdorp coast and hinterland of Western Australia: Exceptional richness in a global biodiversity hotspot. Western Australian Naturalist, 33, 3
  • McGregor, L.K., C.B. Daniels & T.E. Nicholas 1993. Lung Ultrastructure and the Surfactant-Like System of the Central Netted Dragon, Ctenophorus nuchalis Copeia 1993 (2): 326-333. - 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
  • Mertens, R. 1967. Die herpetologische Sektion des Natur-Museums und Forschungs-Institutes Senckenberg in Frankfurt am Main nebst einem Verzeichnis ihrer Typen. Senckenbergiana Biologica 48: 1-106 - get paper here
  • Pianka, Eric R. 1971. Comparative ecology of two lizards. Copeia 1971 (1): 129-138 - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1919. Neue Schlangen und Echsen aus Zentralaustralien. Senckenbergiana 1: 76-83 - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1925. Beiträge zur Herpetologie Inner-Australiens. Abhandlungen Herausgegeben von der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 38: 221—251
  • Storr, G. M. 1966. The Amphibolurus reticulatus species-group (Lacertilia: Agamidae) in Western Australia. J R. Soc. West. Aust. 49: 17-25
  • 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.
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator