Ctenotus essingtonii, also known commonly as Essington's ctenotus and the lowlands plain-backed ctenotus, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Northern Territory in Australia.[2]

Ctenotus essingtonii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Ctenotus
Species:
C. essingtonii
Binomial name
Ctenotus essingtonii
(Gray, 1842)
Synonyms[2]
  • Tiliqua essingtonii
    Gray, 1842
  • Lygosoma (Sphenomorphus) essingtonii
    Glauert, 1960
  • Ctenotus essingtoni
    Storr, 1981

Etymology

edit

The specific name, essingtonii, refers to the locality Port Essington, Australia.[3]

Geographic range

edit

C. essingtonii is found in the northern portion of the Northern Territory, including the Tiwi Islands.[1]

Habitat

edit

The preferred natural habitat of C. essingtonii is forest.[1]

Description

edit

C. essingtonii may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6.5 cm (2.6 in). It has five toes on each of its four feet. It is slender, with 26 scale rows at midbody.[2]

Reproduction

edit

Sexually mature individuals of C. essingtonii breed during the dry season.[1] The species is oviparous.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Fenner, A.; Gillespie, G.; Greenlees, M.; McDonald, P.; Woinarski, J.C.Z.; Cogger, H. (2018). "Ctenotus essingtonii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T109463315A109463324. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T109463315A109463324.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Ctenotus essingtonii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 March 2015.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ctenotus essingtonii, p. 86).

Further reading

edit
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Gray JE (1842). "Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian Reptiles and Batrachians". Zoological Miscellany 2: 51–57. (Tiliqua essingtonii, new species, pp. 51–52).
  • Storr GM, Smith LA, Johnstone RE (1999). Lizards of Western Australia. I. Skinks, Revised Edition. Perth: Western Australian Museum. 291 pp. ISBN 978-0730726562.
  • Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.