ReptilesCentral Netted Dragon Ctenotus leonhardii Ctenotus saxatilis Crocodile Geckos Gidgee Skink Goanna, Monitor, Perentie Inland Bearded Dragon Lined Firetail Skink Long-nose Dragon Serpentes Thorny Devil Yellow-Bellied Water Skink (Eulamprus heatwolei)
Known as the Common Desert Ctenotus (Ctenotus leonhardii) it is a widespread skink found across a range of arid and semi-arid regions throughout mainland Australia.
A member of the genus Ctenotus, one of the largest genera of lizards in Australia, it is named after German anthropologist Moritz von Leonhardi (in 1919).
In addition to Common Desert Ctenotus, other common names include Leonhard’s Skink and Leonhardi’s ctenotus.
The Ctenotus leonhardii pictured here was recovered hibernating during a cold spell from a garden pot being re-potted with another plant.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Class: Reptilia
- Order: Squamata
- Suborder: Sauria
- Family: Scincidae
- Subfamily: Sphenomorphinae
- Genus: Ctenotus
- Species: Ctenotus leonhardii
Footnote & References
- Many thanks for ID to Christine Schlesinger, member of Alice Springs Field Naturalist Club, Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/alicefieldnats/
- Ctenotus leonhardii, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenotus_leonhardii
- Leonhardi’s Ctenotus Ctenotus leonhardii), iNatutralistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/37085-Ctenotus-leonhardii
- Ctenotus leonhardii (Sternfeld, 1919), Leonhardi’s Ctenotus, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/53856a0c-89d2-4753-9755-ff270ab45d24
ReptilesCentral Netted Dragon Ctenotus leonhardii Ctenotus saxatilis Crocodile Geckos Bynoe’s Gecko Eastern Tree Dtella Southern Spotted Velvet Gecko Gidgee Skink Goanna, Monitor, Perentie Black Headed Goanna Perentie Pygmy Mulga Goanna Sand Goanna Inland Bearded Dragon Lined Firetail Skink Long-nose Dragon Serpentes Blind Snake Central Carpet Python Children’s Python Stimson’s Python Thorny Devil Yellow-Bellied Water Skink (Eulamprus heatwolei)