Ctenotus rungulla sp. nov. (Scincidae; Sphenomorphinae), a new sandstone-associated skink that highlights reptile endemism in Queensland's Gregory Range

Abstract

Cuckoo wasp strip.jpg Open-access, online, rapid taxonomy Australian Journal of Taxonomy AJT Home | Taxonomy Australia Home https://doi.org/10.54102/ajt Ctenotus rungulla sp. nov. (Scincidae; Sphenomorphinae), a new sandstone-associated skink that highlights reptile endemism in Queensland's Gregory Range Stephen M. Zozaya, Dylan W. Case, & Conrad J. Hoskin Author details ⏷ Abstract We describe a new sphenomorphine skink, Ctenotus rungulla sp. nov., currently known only from sandstone habitats in the Gregory Range of inland northern Queensland. Ctenotus rungulla sp. nov. would be identified as C. brevipes or C. terrareginae using keys available at the time of publication. The new species differs most obviously from the regionally sympatric C. brevipes in having 5–6 distinct ear lobules, which are entirely absent in C. brevipes. The new species differs from the allopatric C. terrareginae in being smaller and in various aspects of colour-pattern. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data, however, indicate that C. rungulla sp. nov. is most closely related to the allopatric C. ingrami, from which the new species differs in being smaller, lacking a vertebral stripe, possessing a red-orange flush on the hindbody, and in having a higher midbody scale row count. Ctenotus rungulla sp. nov. is now the fourth reptile species known to be endemic to the Gregory Range, highlighting the biodiversity values of this remote rocky region.