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Ctenotus robustus STORR, 1970

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Robust Ctenotus, Striped Skink 
SynonymCtenotus robustus STORR 1970: 100
Ctenotus robustus — COGGER 1983: 151
Minervascincus josephinae WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984
Minervascincus harringtonensis WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 34
Minervascincus robustus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 35
Minervascincus josephinae — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 35
Ctenotus harringtonensis — SHEA & SADLIER 1999: 62 (see comment)
Ctenotus robustus — COGGER 2000: 439
Ctenotus harringtonensis — COUPER et al. 2006
Ctenotus robustus — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Ctenotus robustus — PRATES et al. 2023 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia)

Type locality: Barrow Creek, in 21° 31’ S, 133° 53’E, N. T. Rabosky et la. 2014 suspected that this locality may be in error.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMV D4957 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: “A very large member of the lesueurii group, usually with a very wide black vertebral stripe and 7 upper labials. Further distinguishable from C. inornatus by more numerous nuchals (usually 3 or 4 rather than 2 or 3) and third supraciliary usually not much smaller than second.” (Storr 1975: 217) 
CommentSynonymy: after Glenn Shea, pers. comm. 4 Sep 2014. The status of Minervascincus harringtonensis is unclear. It may be a valid species but is possibly a synonym of Ctenotus robustus.

Limb morphology: 5 digits, 5 toes (Singhal et al. 2018, Cogger 2014)

Distribution: see map in Prates et al. 2023: 5 (Fig. 2) 
EtymologyFrom the Latin robustus (strong like an oak), referring to the robust body form. (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. 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.
  • Colgan, D. J.; D. O’Meally and R. A Sadlier 2009. Phylogeographic patterns in reptiles on the New England Tablelands at the south-western boundary of the McPherson Macleay Overlap. D. J. Colgan; D. O’Meally and R. A Sadlier. Australian Journal of Zoology 57: 317-328 - get paper here
  • 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
  • D'Amore, Domenic Corvasce; David Meadows, Simon Clulow, Jeremiah Sean Doody, David Rhind, Colin McHenry 2018. Increasing dietary breadth through allometry: bite forces in sympatric Australian skinks. Herpetology Notes 11: 179-187 - get paper here
  • Escoriza Boj, D. 2005. Australia. Reptiles and Amphibians, Part 1: Rainforest. Reptilia (GB) (40): 70-75 - get paper here
  • GARNHAM, J., AND R. OSBORNE 2020. Ctenotus robustus (Eastern Striped Skink). Nocturnal Foraging. Herpetological Review 51: 596.
  • Horner P; King M 1985. A new species of Ctenotus (Scincidae, Reptilia) from the Northern Territory. The Beagle 2 (1): 143-148
  • Horner, P. & A. FISHER 1998. Ctenotus rimacola sp. nov. (Scincidae), a new species of lizard with two allopatric subspecies, from the Ord-Victoria region of northwestern Australia. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 19 (2): 187-200. - get paper here
  • Jolly, C., Schembri, B., & Macdonald, S. 2023. Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Northern Territory. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne - 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
  • Michael, D.R.; D.B. Lindenmayer; M. Crane; C. MacGregor; R. Montague-Drake; L. McBurney. 2011. Reptilia, Murray catchment, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. Check List 7 (1):25-29 - get paper here
  • Prates, I., Hutchinson, M. N., Singhal, S., Moritz, C., & Rabosky, D. L. 2023. Notes from the taxonomic disaster zone: Evolutionary drivers of intractable species boundaries in an Australian lizard clade (Scincidae: Ctenotus). Molecular Ecology, 00, 1–25
  • Rabosky DL, Hutchinson MN, Donnellan SC, Talaba AL, Lovette IJ 2014. Phylogenetic disassembly of species boundaries in a widespread group of Australian skinks (Scincidae: Ctenotus). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 77: 71-82; doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.026 - get paper here
  • Reeder, T.W. 2003. A phylogeny of the Australian Sphenomorphus group (Scincidae: Squamata) and the phylogenetic placement of the crocodile skinks (Tribolonotus): Bayesian approaches to assessing congruence and obtaining confidence in maximum likelihood inferred relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 27: 384–397 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Storr G M 1970. The genus Ctenotus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in the Northern Territory. J. Royal Soc. Western Australia 52: 97-108 [1969] - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1978. Notes on the Ctenotus (Lacertilia, Scincidae) of Queensland. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 6 (3): 319-332 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1971. The genus Ctenotus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in South Australia. Rec. South Austral. Mus. 16 (6): 1-15 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1975. The genus Ctenotus (Lacertilia: Scincidae) in the Kimberley and North-west Divisions of Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 3: 209-243 - 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.
  • Watharow, Simon 1998. Aspects of the natural history of the striped skink Ctenotus robustus at the Organ Pipes National Park, Victoria. Monitor 9 (2): 57-58
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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