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Ctenotus decaneurus STORR, 1970

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesCtenotus decaneurus decaneurus STORR 1970
Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis STORR 1975 
Common NamesE: Ten-lined Ctenotus
yampiensis: Yampi Ctenotus 
SynonymCtenotus decaneurus STORR 1970: 104
Ctenotus decaneurus — COGGER 1983: 145
Ctenotus decaneurus — COGGER 2000: 420
Ctenotus decaneurus — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Ctenotus decaneurus decaneurus — WILSON & SWAN 2013

Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis STORR 1975: 235
Ctenotus yampiensis — STORR et al. 1999
Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis — COGGER 2000: 421
Ctenotus yampiensis — COUPER et al. 2006: 380
Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis — WILSON & SWAN 2013 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, N Western Australia, W Queensland ?)

decaneurus: N Kimberleys, Western Australia and Northern Territory. Type locality: 21 mi WNW of Newry, in 15° 59’ S, 129° 00’ E, N. T.

yampiensis: Yampi Sound, W Kimberleys, Western Australia. Type locality: Wotjulum Mission Station, in 16° 1 I’ S, 123° 37’ E, W. A.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: WAM R23130
Holotype: WAM R11795, Noetype: WAM R11741 [yampiensis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A moderately small member (SVL to 54.5 mm) of the C. atlas species-group, distinguished from congeners by having three of four supraoculars in contact with frontal, frontoparietals paired, prefrontals usually separated, eight supralabials, laterally compressed toes with callose subdigital lamellae, prominent pale mid-lateral stripe, black ground colour with usually ten pale stripes on body, dark vertebral stripe, unpatterned dark upper lateral zone, pale paravertebral stripes not fused posteriorly. 
CommentThe ICZN has designated a neotype for the Western Australian skink species Ctenotus yampiensis Storr, 1975 (family scincidae). Storr inadvertently designated a specimen of C. militaris Storr, 1975 as the holotype of C. decaneurus yampiensis, thus making the subspecific name a synonym of C. militaris.

The only character which reliably distinguished C. yampiensis from C. decaneurus was a higher midbody scale row count (range 29–32 vs 24–28).

Limb morphology: 5 digits, 5 toes (Singhal et al. 2018, Cogger 2014) 
EtymologyFrom the Latin deca (ten) plus neurus (sinew), alluding to the 10 stripes, with an additional allusion to the type locality, Newry Station. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Anonymous 2004. Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis Storr, 1975 (currently C. yampiensis; Reptilia, Sauria): neotype designated. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 61 (3): OPINION 2090 (Case 3196) - 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. 2009. Three new species of Ctenotus (Reptilia: Sauria: Scincidae) from the Kimberley region of Western Australia, with comments on the status of Ctenotus decaneurus yampiensis. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 25 (2): 181-199 - 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
  • Rankin P R 1978. A new species of lizard (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from the Northern Territory, closely allied to Ctenotus decaneurus Storr. Rec. Austral. Mus. 31 (10): 395-409 - 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. 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
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2013. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 4th ed. New Holland Publishers, 592 pp.
 
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